Dawn of the New World Order
by BlazeSilvermageVIII
Summary: Unbeknownst to the rest of the world, a number of nations have hidden their true selves. They have fooled the world, they have manipulated events and no one even suspected. Now, these nations will tear off their masks and show the world what they can really do. They will make a new world order. They will change the world... or die trying. Current arc: Justice
1. How it all began

**Okay! After much thought I decided that my main story will be this one. This chapter has been in the works for months. This is NOT a rehash. It may seem like that at first in the first few chapters but I add a ton of my original ideas later on. I want to make the difference clear and not be a copycat. I borrowed a few concepts and idea but that's it. Now, on with the show.**

 **PLEASE READ THIS EDIT.**

 **(Edit March 20, 2018 Now that I look at it I have come a long way in my writing skills. Sorry if the first chapters aren't too good, but I slowly got better, especially in chapters 10 and onwards.)**

An elegantly dressed man let out a sigh as he frowned at the archduke yelling in the throne room.

"How insufferable" he thought.

Roderich Edelstein, also known as the personification of the Archduchy of Austria, was frustrated. Why should he, one might ask? He is the Archduchy of Austria. He is strong, he is rich, and he is elegant, bah!

Yes, that is true. But in reality, it is really not that glorious when you have no real power. He has little to no influence on his leader's decisions and thus, he has little actual power in his entire land.

He shook his head in disappointment and left the room. The little "issue" in his nation that is getting his leader riled up is the Protestant reformation that started when that man Martin Luther posted his theses in protest of the Roman Catholic Church. To be honest, he felt a bit of respect for the man for challenging the Catholics even though he did not really care for religion. And now it was spreading rapidly in the Hapsburg territories. It was truly an interesting development. But although, he sensed that his leader will make things very difficult for the man.

Deciding to forget about the things going on in his lands, Roderich decided to go to his room for a bit of peace and quiet. He would go outside to get fresh air but he is not really that fond of the outdoors but when things get too stressful for him he makes an exception. Austria sat in his room and once again thinks about life in general.

It was something he had been accustomed doing for several years, when things get too stressful or ridiculous he would evaluate his life and then criticize many parts of it. Sometimes he would even try to imagine that he lives in a much more ideal world. Well, we all have dreams no?

While he couldn't call his life terrible, it certainly wasn't great. He was sick of all the wars over things like territory or religion or dislike towards the Archduke. Honestly, they would start wars because people do not believe the same things they do? How petty! He's willing to bet that the Ottoman Empire doesn't have to deal with this kind of nonsense! In fact, he is willing to bet Mariazell that somehow this whole reformation conflict will somehow lead to the Hapsburg lands being divided, again.

Sighing once again, he looks at the window towards his city filled with his people.

"I wish I could make a world where there is less prejudice, no pompous leaders and most importantly, no wars caused by greedy men or religious differences." He paused before smiling. "Perhaps I can do it! I will show those fools that they are being children and create a new world!"

His frown vanished when he realized he was an idiot, and he slammed his hands on his study. "No. Not now. I am not strong yet and the time is not right. Perhaps in the future I can do it as I get stronger. No…"

He is going to need allies. There has to be other nations who share his mindset or at least something similar to it, but they are not going to be easy to find. He'll bide his time. He has a lot of patience to spare, after all Rome wasn't built in a day.

He will make his wish come true, not matter what difficulties he may face. He will change the ways of the world. He will make a new world order.

He smirked and chuckled to himself as he looks out the window.

 _"_ _There's a lot of work ahead but I'll succeed"_

 _/ / / / / /_

"Looks like I managed to get away. But I'm badly wounded. Shit." Gilbert thought as he clutched his arm. He was again chased by the villagers because of his appearance for what seemed like the thousandth time. Thankfully, this time he managed to get away but not without suffering injuries from an angry mob. And now, the representative of the Teutonic Knights was currently hiding behind a tree so that he can rest and heal his wounds.

They were trying to throw him into a lake this time, while binding his arms and legs with rope. Maybe they figured out that they couldn't kill him by stabbing him multiple times, poisoning him, decapitating him and burning him at a stake? Probably.

Since Gilbert was immortal, he kept coming back after every single death, but that doesn't mean that it didn't hurt like hell.

"Must the world be so cruel?" People hated him and tried to kill him because he did not look like them. They kept screaming that he was a demon, not caring that he is just a child. Although he was used to the killing attempts, it still hurt his feelings.

Having nothing better to do, he leaned back on the tree and decided to rest. Hopefully the villagers won't try looking for him. He looked up at the stars.

"How can a world so cruel and unforgiving still be so beautiful?" he wondered as he started to close his eyes.

And he fell asleep dreaming that he lived in a better world than his, he loved those types of dreams even as harsh reality will return to him when he wakes.

Many hours later, Gilbert waked up. Sighing to himself, he got up and went to a nearby lake to see how his injuries were faring. As he gazed at himself on the surface he frowned.

"I'm still bruised everywhere and I have some cuts too." And he will probably get new ones sooner or later.

"I wish I lived in a world where there is no prejudice." that way people like him won't ever suffer like he does. His eyes widened. "Perhaps I can do it!" But then he paused and shook his head. "No, I am too weak to even try. I'll have to get stronger."

Gilbert crossed his arms as he thought more about his plans. "I not only have to become powerful, I'll need allies as well." He looked up at the sky with determination in his eyes. "There may be people I can trust but they will be very hard to find. Either way, no one can know of my plans.

He had an idea that may help. Looking at the surface of the lake again, he used the strength he had to smile as cocky as he could. His injuries made the effort hurt but it looked great and then he stood up and screamed the loudest he could. "I AM AWESOME!"

 _Yes, this façade will do nicely._

 _/ / / / / /_

Far away, in a distant undiscovered continent. Well, until recently. A certain immortal female was shaking in anger, tightly fisting her hands in complete rage. She was very, _very_ angry. No, anger would be a huge understatement, she was downright pissed. These outsiders are entering her lands! How dare they just appear and start behaving like these lands were theirs from the beginning! And start massacring her people! If this continues she will… What if they decide to target her children? They did not look native except for her daughter. These white men or "Europeans" seemed to be accompanied by several men who seemed to be nations, nations seeking to conquer.

"Mama?" a young boy's voice called out.

Gaho turned around to see one of her children; the voice belonged to her eldest child, who was looking at her worryingly. The other one was a lot further north. She was glad; the north was a vast land of ice and snow, which meant that perhaps they may not find him. Her eldest, who takes mostly after his father, had blonde hair, blue eyes like the sky and pale skin.

Her eldest and second eldest resemble each other closely and had a strong bond. Not even their own mother could separate them. Overall, Gaho was very happy with her children.

Until the arrival of the white men. Even worse is that her son was seen by one of the nations who she believed was called "England" but thankfully her child managed to escape while the man was fighting with another nation named "France", quite like toddlers too. Gaho sadly sighed when she saw her body starting to fade; she looked again at her son.

"Listen to me, my son," she weakly said with a forced smile. "These… "Europeans" are conquering our home… I may not be…" she trailed off.

At this, her eldest widened his eyes and an expression of denial appeared on his face. It hurt Gaho to see her son hurt, but she cannot do anything, she is dying. She looked down at her body, she was fading rapidly.

"No, you cannot! Please do not leave me all alone!" her eldest pleaded, tears starting to form in his blue eyes. "They… they will take me!"

"I'm sorry, my son." She apologized, voice becoming more strained. "I will not be here much longer, but I will not leave without giving you advice. Be careful with these greedy men, look after Kanata and Mexica and protect one another. Tell your brother in the north what happened too." She then gave them a loving smile, trying hard to not cry herself. "Remember that I love you with all my heart, you are my beloved son. Promise…" she coughed, and the boy rushed towards her. "Promise me that you'll love and look after each other, no matter what those Europeans do to make you think otherwise."

The boy hugged his mother tightly, as if desperately trying to prevent her from disappearing, and sobbed. "I… I promise Mama." Her son said between sniffs, then the eldest's arm's shook but his eyes had determination. "Yes, we promise. I promise I'll protect my siblings with my life."

Gaho closed her eyes and smiled, a single tear fell out of her eye. "Then I can die in peace… I love you, my son." And with that the woman was gone, leaving a grief-stricken boy to stare at the spot where his mother was.

He did not know what to do. His mother was gone, and they are helpless against the Europeans. What could he do? He was just a child. But he glanced at the Europeans in the distance and he then started to feel a powerful feeling in his heart. Anger.

He glared with slowly increasing rage at the distance, where the Europeans were walking about acting like the disgusting fat ugly fools that they are. They invaded their home, they brought their diseases, they slaughtered their people, they murdered Aztec and Maya and the others, and now they killed Mama.

They are going to pay dearly for that. He will avenge Mother.

But, he cannot do it by himself, and he was too little to do anything, but that will change. He knows that there are others who share his pain, who had what they cared about stolen from them.

 _They will make them pay, one way or another._

 _/ / / / / /_

It was the War of Austrian Succession, most of the powers in Europe are fighting over the question of Maria Theresa's succession as ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, but it was probably due the fact she was female, and the men just could not accept that. The king of Prussia gave an offer, she would recognize Theresa as ruler if she gives him Silesia or even just part of it. But something about a document and wish to not lose power made Maria Theresa refuse and so the war began.

Much to the contempt of certain nations in Europe.

The war was silly in their opinion, the king was an idiot, the queen was an idiot, every monarch in Europe was a complete idiot. But alas, some of them were forced to take part in it per the orders of their leaders. But in the future, they would be grateful that this war happened, because it made their alliance grow and most of all…

It is how their two leaders met.

In a dark room inside a palace in Austria, sat two men on the opposite sides of a dining table, cold and calculative looks on their faces and they stared at the other in silence. They were analyzing each other, trying to figure out how the other's mind works as well as their intentions. No sound was made, they didn't move a muscle, and they never broke eye contact. Austria and Prussia were not doing this out of distrust, they were curious. After the two fought in a one on one duel, Austria suspected that the loud and arrogant Prussian was hiding something. They both took off their masks, it appeared that Prussia thought the same thing about him.

And here they are analyzing each other, but they were both eager to talk. So, Austria finally broke the silence by chuckling.

"So… the arrogant, self-absorbed, narcissistic idiot was all a mask?" the aristocrat gave the albino an honest smile. "I should have known, no living being acts like that. Especially one who has been through hell as a child. I applaud you, you even fooled me for a long time."

Prussia smiled, nothing like his usual smirk. "And I you. I never would have thought the elegant aristocrat with no sense of direction was all a lie."

The two men laughed at their masks before returning to a more serious demeanor.

"So tell me, Roderich." Prussia began, crossing his arms with a serious look. "Why would someone like you hide his true self? What do you hope to achieve?"

Austria closed his eyes and clenched his hands. "What I hope to achieve, Gilbert?" he asked. "I hide who I truly am so that the others, people who could stand in my way, won't ever suspect me. What I want, what I wanted for centuries is to create a new world."

This surprised Prussia, he raised an eyebrow. "A new world?" Could it be…

"Yes!" The Austrian shouted as he banged his fist on the table. "By establishing a new world order, a new world can be created that will be better than the last. Tell me, Prussia…" he looked at the man mentioned, who was very interested in what he was hearing. "This war is ridiculous do you agree?"

"Yes, very much." He agreed, nodding. "Much like…"

"Many others that you and I have fought in." Austria finished. "And much more that other countries start and participate. I am tired, no, frustrated of this." He gritted his teeth in anger. "I want to stop all of that. Stop all these wars of power and religion. And do not get me started on prejudice…" he sighed but continued, eyes steeled with resolve. "I want to create a better world… no… I WILL create a better world, no matter how many men I must butcher to accomplish this. Our leaders are idiotic humans, they have brought us nothing but pain and suffering. Some of us even died because of them! We embody the land, we are more connected to it than any human, so why shouldn't we make the decisions? I am aware that this sounds delusional for a normal person, but I will make a new world order. I swear it."

After that ranting speech, Austria was left breathless and he looked at Prussia, who remained silent, in the eye. Prussia was very impressed, he always thought that Austria was just another arrogant idiot who cared only for elegance and power, but he was wrong. He could tell that what Austria said was genuine, he thought a lot like him, he was also disgusted at the world. Prussia even berated himself for it. Someone doesn't need to go what he'd been through to think like him, if you just watch the world long enough like them, you can see all the flaws in society and want to do something about it.

Prussia decided to give his story, he narrowed his eyes at the memories. "As you know, when I was a child, I represented the Teutonic Knights." Austria nodded for him to continue. "And… we all know that my appearance is… very unusual. So, because I looked different from everyone else I was…" he started shaking, not wanting to cry and look weak. "…chased."

Austria gave him a sympathetic look. "You were persecuted and hated." He stated.

Prussia laughed bitterly. "Correct. They called me demon, they would try to kill me more times than I can count, and when they saw I didn't die they simply tried again with a different method. They didn't care that I was a child, they just know that I must die. Father…" he said it like the name disgusted him. "Germania didn't even bother to help me or give me any sort of comfort, he saw me as a disgrace because I let myself be captured by mere humans."

"Father was always known for his kindness." Austria muttered sarcastically.

"I suffered and suffered, but no matter how many times people are disgusted at me I always thought the world was beautiful." Prussia said as he looked towards the window where the moon shined brightly. "I wanted to make a difference, so I vowed that I would make the world better. So, that people who are different won't ever have to suffer like I did."

"We really are alike, aren't we"? Austria thought as he also looked at the window. It was true, the world was beautiful, it is the nations and people who are disgusting. If they could just fix that, then the world can truly be beautiful again. Prussia understands perfectly what must be done, and they'll do it together. Austria made up his mind, he stood up from his chair and started to walk around the table.

"Our way of thinking is similar." Austria stated.

"And our goals are the same." Prussia added.

Austria nods and puts his hands behind his back. "Yes, we both want to change the world for the better, but for us to accomplish such a feat…" he looks at Prussia.

"We are going to need allies." Prussia finished as he also stood up, understanding what he's trying to say, he raises an eyebrow. "Are you proposing we become allies?"

"And with other nations too." He added, hoping he agrees.

Prussia's eyes widened slightly, and he smiled. "So you have found other nations like us too? You continue to impress me, Roderich."

Austria smirked. "And I you. Yes, I have found others in Europe who share our mindset, and some in Asia too." He added with a bit of pride. "And I assume you also found your share of allies?"

Prussia nodded. "Yes, I also have allies. Very ferocious ones too."

They smiled at each other, both liking this development very much.

"So, we have an agreement?" Austria asked smiling, though the answer was obvious, and held out his hand.

"Yes." Prussia smiled, taking his hand. "We do."

 _The movement grows._

 _/ / / / / /_

"I cannot believe him!" Mexico shouted angrily as she paced back and forth in the room.

America frowned at his sister's upset demeanor, but deep down he was enraged himself. After many years of being apart, the siblings managed to reunite thanks to requests and vague hints on both sides, sweet talking in Mexico's case (They may have an unmeasurable hatred for Europeans, but acting like sweet obedient children does have some perks), and when the two men left the room to discuss something about trade, Mexico immediately ran up to him and tackled him in a suffocating hug.

They then told each other all events that happened on their respective territory after they separated, America was saddened to learn that Aztec was dead, murdered by that accursed Spaniard, who took his sister after destroying the city. Only served to add more fuel to fire that is their anger. When America told his sister a rather important thing that happened recently, Mexico's face lit up at the news, he told her he was reunited with their brother who was now known as Canada.

But it wasn't good news.

When America was told by England that he is going to have a brother from up north, he immediately knew who it was, and he showed genuine excitement. Apparently, England gained his brother as a territory after he defeated France, and when England brought Canada over to America's house, America greeted his brother with a loving hug. Canada didn't seem to have changed much and seemed just as happy to see him again. Things were fantastic.

Until America had to discuss their mother, and Canada's reaction truly baffled him.

When he told Canada about their mother's death, he reacted just like he expected, he broke down in tears. But when America said that it was the Europeans who made her die, Canada was confused and said he shouldn't go blaming their "brothers" that their mother died of illness, and America was stunned.

At first, he assumed he misunderstood what he said, so he went on to the topic of the natives, their real people, and Canada reacted by shivering in fear and saying that they're _scary_. Now, America was starting to get worried and frustrated, so he asked him if it doesn't bother him that these men are killing their people and forcing them to become "civilized", Canada had the nerve, the _nerve_ , to say that he shouldn't be angry at the people who took them in and raised them.

It took all his self-restraint to not strangle his brother in a fit of rage. Instead, he calmed himself down and went back to his façade, and the conversation was quickly forgotten.

When he told Mexico of this, she could only look in horror and curse their idiot brother angrily because _she could not believe_ that their own brother is ignorant of the fact that he is whoring himself to the Europeans. Before his sister can destroy the room in her ire, he calmed her down and said that he blamed himself, much to Mexico's chagrin, he waited too long to tell him what happened to their mother and of the plan and this is just the consequence. America suggested trying again when _the three of them_ reunite together.

Mexico reluctantly agreed, and they waited until their "caretakers" met again. This time all three siblings reunited. Canada had the same reaction when he was reunited with America with Mexico, he was overjoyed and all but now it was time for the reason they were anxious for this event.

And once again, Canada's reaction baffled them. America had to tightly squeeze his sister's hand to prevent her from tearing Canada's throat apart. After much self-restraint, it became dark and Canada went to bed. England and Spain went out to who-cares-where, so the two siblings had a lot of time to meet in secret.

Which brings them back to the present, to a furious Mexico and an upset America.

"What are we supposed to do now?!" she asked, face a cross between sadness and anger. "One of our own has let himself be corrupted by those… bastards!"

America admitted that he honestly did not know. "Kanata was always a gentle soul, it might his way of coping-"

Mexico wasn't having any of it. "Stop making excuses for him, hermano! You heard what came from his own mouth, he sounded confident that "Papa" is _a very kind and often misunderstood person._ " She mocked, then kicked a nearby crate. "Ugh!"

"Well, we can worry about Canada later. Besides…" he smiles at his sister. "You said things were going well in rounding up our cousins in the South, no?"

Mexico stopped pacing and smirked. "Si, they are all eager to overthrow the Europeans bastards and to have revenge for wiping their people and culture away."

"And I managed to get some allies in the Caribbean as well…" he added, then wrapped his arm around his sister's shoulders. "So, we have the advantage in numbers now, all we need to do now is to rile up our people so that we can break free." His face took on a calculative look. "So, if I'm correct, it's only a few years before my people start to rebel, then the rest will follow."

"Good." Mexico said. "Then the plan can begin?"

"Yes, then it will begin, little sister." He said softly as he kissed her cheek.

"Who needs Canada anyway?" Mexico muttered as she leaned on her brother. "He always was the weakest one, always crying when practicing, too submissive, and lacks a backbone. We shouldn't be surprised."

America frowned slightly. "Now, now, don't talk about our brother like that. He can be very strong." Though he did agree with some of the things she said. "But still, this hardly affects our plans. It can be done with or without him."

He hugged his sister, stroking her hair as his mind wandered back to Canada. He honestly hoped that his brother will open his eyes to the truth and join them, as much as what Canada said angered him, he did not mean any harm. His eyes trailed down to his sister, and he smiled. But most of his family is on board, that's what matters. The plan is the main priority.

 _One little obstacle means nothing to them._

 _/ / / / / /_

Prussia walked through the war camp, eyes occasionally glancing at some of the soldiers. Prussia was at the 13 colonies to help train the soldiers to win the Revolution, but he only had one thing in mind. According to the General, the boy likes to frequent around a rather secluded area of the camp where he keeps to himself. Prussia has a suspicion about the rebelling colony based on what he has seen of him, and he wants to confirm it. He hopes he is right.

As he nears his destination, he spots the boy appearing to be having a conversation with… Prussia's eyes widened, a young woman? No, he recognized her, she was Spain's colony. They seemed to be having a serious conversation, and just by looking at their faces he knew that his theory was correct. When he got closer to them, the boy looked in his direction and widened his eyes, the Spanish girl looked at him confused before glancing at Prussia and gasping.

Prussia stopped walking and gave them both a cold stare, glancing at the boy then at the girl, which caused the boy to hug his sister close. It appears Austria was right, the colonies in the Americas couldn't have been that accepting of the Europeans. And Prussia was right, they had facades too. Now, that his theory was confirmed…

"So, it appears you have masks too." He stated bluntly, wanting to get straight to the point.

The colonies were taken aback at being quick pinned into a corner, they looked at him in shock before glaring at him. America hugged Mexico closer as the look he gave was full of anger, and narrowed his eyes.

"So, you found us out, now what do you want?" he asked suspiciously.

"I have had my suspicions about the colonies in the Americas. All of you are having their cultures being washed away and your natives are being chased, slaughtered and enslaved. I have a hard time believing that you would have accepted it without showing any animosity." Prussia explained, face serious.

America snorted. "Well, it was quite easy. You Europeans are very stupid, assuming we will just roll over and forget all the things you've done to us. And it looks like we're not the only ones pretending, you're very different from what I remember too."

Prussia nodded. "Yes, I have wearing this mask for centuries, fooling others and hiding what I can truly do. Just like you" he said.

"Wait." Mexico cut in, raising an eyebrow. "You sounded like we are not the first ones with a façade. Are there others too?" she asked.

"Yes, there are others." He responded, but back with what he wanted to do. "Which brings me to the topic I want to discuss with you two. I think you will find it very interesting."

A few hours later, Mexico left to return to her lands, and Prussia and America put on facades and proceeded to train for the coming battles. Prussia allowed himself a genuine smile, this was a very productive day and Austria will be very happy as well. As Prussia and America trained, and Mexico walked away from the camp, they all had one thought in their minds.

 _More allies, that's good._

 _/ / /_

Austria and Prussia stood together side by side as they looked at the world map sprawled before them on the table. Both felt proud of themselves and each other for what they have accomplished over the centuries.

They have fooled the world; the others don't know that they have manipulated events to go the way they did and that some of their closest friends, even family, have helped them plan their downfall.

Speaking of them, they have acquired a good number of allies each strong, determined and loyal. They owed a lot to their allies, they've couldn't have grown to their prominence without them. The allies even helped get more allies.

Austria smiled. "It's almost time." he said.

"Ja, it is." Prussia said, looking serious but is just as glad. "Do the others know what they need to do?"

"Ja, of course, they've been prepared for years."

"Ah, true. And do you think they're ready for this?"

"They knew what they were signing up for."

"Just a little bit more, then we can finally show who we really are."

"And the world is completely unprepared."

"We'll change the world…"

"…or die trying." They finished together.

 **This took quite a while to write. I hope you liked it. Don't forget to review!**


	2. Calling all the monsters

**Wow, this turned out a lot better than I thought it would be. Thanks to all who reviewed, faved and followed. And to answer a question from a reviewer, is that you'll want to remember that question because it'll be important in the future. Now, on with the show.**

The sound of a clock ticking could be heard loud and clear in the rooms where of a certain number of nations, they were waiting, waiting with bated breath for when the clock strikes twelve, so it can all begin. The beginning of the end. Just a little more, they waited for years, centuries for this. The anticipation was nearly unbearable for them. Some of the more bloodthirsty ones are barely managing to restrain their lust for gore and carnage. Others are sitting in their rooms waiting for when it's finally time. It's all up to their leaders.

Speaking of, the two leaders are currently sitting together in a table, both staring at the clock that hanged in the wall, eyes on the hand that is nearly on the number twelve. Finally, after years and years they can finally destroy their masks and bury them for good. Their ideal world will finally come to existence.

Austria smiled at Prussia. "It's finally time." he said.

"Ja." Prussia smiled back, holding out his hand for his friend to squeeze it. "The others are probably in agony from the wait."

"They have waited years for this, this is nothing." Austria reminded.

"True. Do you want to be the one to send the message that will start everything?" Prussia asked, glancing at the phone that laid on the table with one message intended to be sent to all their fellow members. The message that will bring about the end of the old order.

Austria shook his head. "Nein, I think…" he smiled proudly. "We should do it together."

They both looked at the phone, Austria reached out and grabbed it to bring it near Prussia, who seemed rather worried about something.

Austria frowned. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Prussia gritted his teeth and looked away. "I… it's just…"

"Is it about Ludwig?" Austria's frown deepened when his friend didn't answer, he looked down in guilt. It wasn't easy for them to lie to Ludwig all these years, there were several times when the guilt was so strong they almost cracked and revealed everything. But they couldn't. Ludwig could not know the truth. They know he will be angry that they lied to him all these years about who they are and what they were planning, now they just hope he understands…

And Elizaveta… Austria clenched his fists as he tried to not let his guilt rise. What's done is done. There's no point in regret now, not when they've come this far. Elizaveta… he hopes she understands and joins them.

"I'm sorry." He heard Prussia say quietly. "I shouldn't hesitate."

Austria gave him a sympathetic look. "It's alright. I'm feeling a bit of guilt myself." He said, trying to comfort him.

Prussia remained silent and kept holding Austria's hand, deep in thought, likely still thinking about Ludwig. Austria also thought about him as well as Elizaveta. They remembered all times they had with each other, the good and the bad. From Gilbert reuniting with Ludwig after the demise of the Berlin Wall to the day of Roderich and Elizaveta's wedding. They know the consequences of what they will do. They know that after this, things will never be the same again.

But sacrifices must be made, and they all sacrificed so much.

Putting his hand on Prussia's shoulder, he brings the phone nearer, Prussia looks up to see his friend with a serious look. "Now?" Austria asked, resolve strong.

Prussia's face becomes stoic again and he nods. "Now."

Gilbert puts his finger on the screen, sending the message.

Now the New World Order will take the world and obliterate all those who stand in their way.

/ / / / / /

America rolled over in his bed in discomfort when he heard his phone buzz, he gritted his teeth when it kept buzzing and stood up to put on his glasses. He hated it when someone disturbs his sleep, especially when he's exhausted from dealing with his stupid politicians. Since everyone who really knows him knows that he gets angry when he doesn't get his sleep, it's probably one of the idiots, like that bastard England.

Groaning in frustration, he snatches his phone from his nightstand and he sees he received a text from Prussia. He felt a bit of relief, that means he doesn't have to use his idiot façade.

America's eyes widen as he reads the text, he takes off his glasses to clean them a little before putting them back on again, just to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. The message remained the same. He remains frozen in disbelief.

It's time.

It's finally time.

America smirked at the phone and lets out a small chuckle. Finally, _finally_ , it's time. It's time to finally drop his façade for good, the other nations will know what the idiot American is capable of, they know nothing of what he can really do. He'll finally shut that damn brit for good, he just can't wait to see England's reaction when his "little brother" shows what he really felt, not to mention how Canada will react.

As he happily imagines his "family's" fall, he realizes something. If he got the text, then does that mean everyone else did too? He laughs a little when he thinks about how his sister's reaction to the news might be. She'll be ecstatic, that's for sure. As he smiles fondly at the thought of his sister, he nearly flinches when he hears his ringtone, he snorts when he sees the number.

Well, well, speak of the devil. As soon as he accepts the call, an excited voice spoke loudly from the speaker.

"Hermano! Hermano! Did you also get the text?! It's finally time!" Mexico talked so fast and so excitedly that America barely understood what she said, but he understands her feelings.

"Yes, Rosa. I got it too." He said smiling. "We can finally show the world who we really are."

"Si! Now, we can finally avenge Madre! We'll finally make those pendejos pay for what they did to us!" she cried out in joy, America was sure she was near tears.

"I know. They'll feel every single ounce of pain we've felt all these years at the hands of their precious former colonies." He couldn't help but grin at hearing his sister squeal in delight.

"Hermano, do you think _they_ are already preparing for the first attack?" she asked.

Alfred chuckled. "Considering how long we had to wait, they are probably already loading their guns. Then after they're finished, we'll make our move."

"Change the world or die trying?" she asked.

"Change the world or die trying."

/ / / / / /

Switzerland fired another shot at the target, feeling satisfaction when he hit bull's eye, and loaded again. He's been at this for what? One, two, maybe three hours? He really doesn't care, he just wants to perfect his shot for the coming storm, the storm they are going to cause. It won't be long, so he has to practice his perfect shot.

He must be perfect for this, perfect for the Order, perfect for having the role of the mercenary, and perfect for Roderich. Because in the chance that they fail (despite Switzerland's numerous protest to Austria that they won't) in accomplishing their goal of creating their ideal world, they're all going to die. Roderich will die.

Not on his watch.

He fired multiple shots in anger, mostly with himself, imagining that he's shooting all the nations that caused so much mess in the world. Then nations in the way of making their dream world a reality, but they won't be for long. He flips his gun once he saw that the target was nearly destroyed. Good, he is getting even better.

He takes a deep breath as he looks at the sky, he's probably been gone for quite a while, Lili might start to wonder what's keeping him. As he wipes the sweat from his forehead, he hears a buzz coming from his pockets. He takes out his phone and raises an eyebrow. A message from his leaders? Could it be?

Switzerland read the text and he nearly gasped. What? Are his eyes deceiving him? No, they're not. It's right there. It's finally time.

It's finally time for them to change the world.

He feels a rare smile find its way to his face, one usually reserved for Liechtenstein and Austria, and he almost wanted to laugh in relief. Finally, permanently neutral Switzerland will get to unleash his anger. His anger towards the nations of the world. All his pent-up anger and stress will-

"Big brother?"

Switzerland, surprised by the sudden interruption of him rejoicing at the news, whirled around to see Liechtenstein looking at him with curiosity in her big cute green eyes. Ah, so he was gone for a long time. He must have worried her, he quickly puts his mask back on and greets his little sister with a nod.

"Hello, Lili. I'm sorry if I made you worry, I was too concentrated in my shooting practice." It wasn't a lie, he really was busy practicing but not for the reasons she thinks she knows. It was probably the hardest part of his mask, other than maintaining his neutrality, the fact that he has to lie to his own little sister. She is too sweet to understand that what they were doing is for the greater good.

She just can't know, and he plans to keep it that way for as long as he can.

Liechtenstein blinked and looked behind him, and Switzerland allowed himself to show his embarrassment at the little mess he made, then smiled cutely at him. He felt relieved when Liechtenstein smiled brightly at him and didn't ask any questions. Thank God for her innocence.

"It's alright brother, I know how much you like practicing your aim." She said, still smiling. "And you look so happy too! Your smile looks very nice. Did you have a lot of fun?"

The last few sentences caused Switzerland to pale, did he still look happy? Curses, he is so used to not smiling that he doesn't know how to get rid of a smile! He can't smile, it's very out of character for his mask, even for Liechtenstein. He covers his mouth as his face flushes red. "I-I'm really smiling?" he asks, inwardly berating himself for stuttering.

Lili nodded happily. "Yes! Don't be embarrassed, big brother!" she giggled. "You shouldn't hide your happiness. There's no shame in showing that your happy, Vash."

His little sister's words did strike a chord with him, even if his sister didn't know the real reason, and realization dawned on him. She's right. His brilliant little sister is absolutely right. It's finally time. The time he has waited for so long has finally come, he waited long years of pain and patience for this day. He and the others have been through so much and endured a lot throughout the years and now the day has finally come. They will show who they really are.

He has every right to be happy about that.

Even if she doesn't know.

Removing his hand from his mouth, he allowed his smile to come back, and Lili looked happier at seeing her brother showing his happiness. It felt… nice, it felt nice to smile. He felt… free. Outside of the members of the Order, Liechtenstein is the only nation he shows at least a little of his real personality. But now since it's time. He feels the burden slowly lift itself and feels the need to keep up his act lessen. Even if he can't tear off the mask right now, a little show of happiness won't be a problem.

Putting his beret back on, he puts his hand on his sister's shoulder, smile still on his face. "You're right, Lili. Thank you." he said. "And now that I'm finished practicing, we can go have dinner in any restaurant you want, I'll pay for all of it. It doesn't have to be cheap."

Liechtenstein is taken aback by the sudden invitation, and that he said he'll take her anywhere and pay for it. Maybe that was too out of character. "R-really? Are you sure big brother? Don't you want to save money?" she asked, shock in her voice.

"I'm sure, Lili." He responded, resisting the urge to laugh at the look of her face. "I was thinking that perhaps I've been too cheap, you deserve better than all the cheap things I buy for us. I'm not saying that this will be a thing that happens often." He doesn't want her to get curious. "But today we can go to any place, even if it is expensive, any place you want. Does that sound nice, Lili?" he asked, hoping his smile will convince her.

Liechtenstein doesn't respond for a few seconds, likely still processing that her brother is saying this, but then smiled again. "It sounds wonderful, Vash." She beamed.

/ / / / / /

Cuba sighed happily as he lied on his beach, enjoying the sun and the smell of the ocean that surrounded his island.

It's been an easy week for him, much to his relief. He doesn't have to deal with his boss right now and he can now relax so he can forget about all his stress and worries. Then maybe the migraine that's been becoming more common can-

He hears his phone buzz and Cuba was not pleased in the slightest.

Grumbling, he snatches his phone and goes to his messages, preparing to give a very pissed off rant to the idiot who decided to interrupt his day off. He just hopes to whatever deity that exists that it isn't that idiota. He swears that if that ass is planning to come to his country again, he will-

Oh, it's just the jefe. He sighs in relief. Good, he doesn't have to play nice with Canada right now. Let's see what they want.

He nearly falls off his chair when he sees what the text from the jefe says. It's time?! It's really time?! Finally, all these years of pretending are finally going to pay off! He bursts out laughing from all the happiness he's feeling right now, tears of joy starting to form in his eyes. It's about damn time!

His mini celebration is interrupted when his phone buzzes again, raising an eyebrow he reads the new message that popped up and realization dawns on him.

Ay, of course! He can't believe he forgot about that! He needs to get ready right away! He gets off his chair and sprinted towards away from the beach. But before he can start there's someone he wants to visit to make sure they know. Then they can go with the others.

 **You and the other four know what to do.**

/ / / / / /

Brazil scores another goal and laughs at a job well-done.

It's what he's been doing for a while now, in an effort to calm his excitement so he won't crack too early, he decided to entertain himself with his favorite sport. He walks over to the goal and kicks the ball up, catching it and wiping the sweat from his face. He grins when he notices that his excitement hasn't been suppressed, it's growing stronger.

Can you really blame him? After all, rumor on the Order says that their day is almost here. He and the others are getting impatient, they want European blood. They want to paint the world red with the blood of every nation that destroyed who they were, and they will see blood. Brazil licks his lips at the thought and he feels the thrill getting even stronger.

His head snaps towards a small table when he hears his phone's ringtone. Who could it be? Brazil walks over to the table and picks up his phone.

Meu Deus… Is it really…?

Brazil starts to slowly chuckle, his body shaking in excitement, and the chuckling turned into maniacal laughter. Oh, he can just smell the other South American's delight.

/ / / / / /

In an unknown location, a certain nation sat in his home drinking his coffee, which he added a huge amount of sugar in it, and watched his city's lights as he became lost in his thoughts. Ah, look at that, people going about their every-day business in this world. Just a normal day, right?

Well, he wonders if people would still be like this when _they_ show themselves. When they make a new world order, will people act like nothing has changed?

No, that's not allowed. Everything will change, and everyone too.

That's the goal of the New World Order, change. Nothing like the change those silly politicians like to babble on about. Real change. Which reminds him, he needs to go… "visit" some certain people later.

A ring from his phone interrupts his usual philosophizing and sees that it's a message from their leaders.

"Oh?" he said as he smirked at what the message said.

Well, would you look at that? It's finally time.

He cackled.

/ / / / / /

Morocco was enjoying a nice cup of tea and overall having a pleasant day when he heard his phone. His day just became a lot better when he saw what the message from his leaders was. His normal relaxed smile concealed his euphoria at the fact that justice will be served.

"I wonder how the other Africans are reacting to this news?" he asked out loud at himself. The others are not as composed as he is, despite what Cameroon's appearance suggests, and the multiple scenarios of how his friends would react brought a smirk to his face.

Well, he can't say he's not hungry.

/ / / / / /

Mongolia sat cross-legged at the highest point of his country, Khuiten Peak, eyes closed as he meditated in the cold wind. But it didn't bother him, centuries of coming here for long periods of time caused him to build a sort of immunity to the cold. Meditating always helps him with his frustration, he understands why Tibet likes to do it so much, especially in an rather empty place.

But he didn't come here to calm himself, no. He came because it is almost time.

The world has gone long enough with its current horrendous world order. The nations are nothing but petty children blaming each other for their problems, saying that their bosses made them do it, being hypocrites, and shaming the memory of the ancients. Especially China.

That fool believes that because he has lived longer than all of them, he is the wise man who is always right. Hah! There are many Asians who say otherwise. Besides, Mongolia himself is very old, even fought him many times back then. That fool mocks the nations of the west to draw attention away from his own mistakes. The ancestors would scowl at him for what he has done.

Not to mention what he did to his capital all those years ago.

He clutches the area where his heart is, trying very hard to not let himself drown in the past. He will not make the same mistake as the others. Thankfully a distraction came when he heard footsteps crushing the snow. What brings him here? Not that he minds, he loves the boy with all his heart. As the footsteps become louder, they finally stop, and he heard panting. It's not easy climbing up here, after all.

Mongolia does not move a muscle and his eyes remain closed, but he gives the boy a smile.

"Hong Kong." Mongolia greeted. "You sound like you came here as fast as you could, what brings you to my home?"

Hong Kong continued breathing heavily as he feels his legs getting tired from the long trek up to the peak, still slightly freezing even when he's wearing winter clothes. But it would be worth it, telling Mongolia the big news will be worth it. After a few deep breaths, he finally straightens himself and bows in front of Mongolia, head touching the snow. The highest form of reverence.

"Mongolia… Master…" he laughs weakly. "I… it's… it's…" he wheezes out, still tired.

"Leon." Mongolia said in concern, wondering what got the boy so excited. "Calm down and take a deep breath, then say it slowly. I know the trip here isn't easy."

"I'm… I'm sorry, master." Leon said, sounding a little stronger. "I just… you just have to know. Prussia and Austria… they said it's time. We can finally be ourselves again! We'll get what we wanted for so long, master!" he said in joy, a grin on his face as he waits in anticipation his master's reaction.

Mongolia remained silent at that. Oh? Their leaders have finally let loose the dogs of war? Perfect. The waiting is finally over, and the nations will burn. He will burn China like China burned him, only much, much worse.

Mongolia smirked and opened his eyes, and he stands up. He walks toward the still bowing Hong Kong and pats his head, causing the boy to look up at him with an enthusiastic grin. "Really? That's fantastic news."

"I'm going to be my own nation." He said eagerly.

"I know." Mongolia smiled proudly.

"And you're going to get your revenge."

"I know that too." Mongolia smirked and offered him his hand, Hong Kong accepted it and lifted himself up. "Let's go prepare ourselves, the world will be in chaos soon and we're going to go to war soon after. We'll both have to fight for what we want."

"Of course, master."

/ / / / / /

Cuba banged on his neighbor/fellow member's house door, knowing the guy was probably asleep. "Hermano! Wake up! It's time!" he yelled, hoping that woke the kid up, he's a heavy sleeper. He kept at it until he heard stomping from inside the house and he smirked.

The door flew open to reveal a teenage boy with tan skin, messy dark brown hair from waking up, and tired and angry brown eyes. Puerto Rico does NOT look happy at being woken up so early, he's has that in common with America. Puerto Ricco growled at Cuba.

"CARLOS! It's… what? Three, maybe four in the morning!" the territory yelled angrily. "You better have a good explanation as to why you decided to come to my country so early, showed up at my front door, and woke me up with-"

"It's time!" Cuba cut him off, mostly sue to not wanting to deal with an angry Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico froze at the sentence. "Otra vez?" he said, not believing what he just heard.

"You heard me, hermano! It's time! The Order is finally showing itself!" Cuba shouted in joy and laughed when Puerto Rico's jaw dropped.

"Q-Que?" the territory stuttered. "Really? When did they announce that?"

"They sent a text to all of us a few hours ago."

Puerto Rico became grumpy again. "And instead of waiting for me to wake up and see it myself and you decided to come here and disturb my sleep?" he deadpanned.

Cuba snorted. "No, hermano! Don't you remember what we have to do?" he asked.

Puerto only raised an eyebrow before he slowly remembered what he meant. "Oh…" his eyes widen. "Oh! Then that means…!

Cuba laughed and ruffled Puerto Rico's hair, much to the latter's chagrin. "Si, now go put on some clothes, get your weapons, and let's go to the pier!" he smoked his cigar and smirked. "After all, you, me, and the other three have the honor of being the ones who start it all."

 _It's finally time for the New World Order to take the world and make a new one. We will finally show who we really are and avenge what we lost. Stand by for orders and keep an eye on the news for the Caribbean's attack. Report the reactions of the nations. Soon you will all have your time to shine. Thank you for your patience in these years of waiting. We know it was not easy for any of us. We will change the world or die trying._

 **Phew! Well, that's that. As you saw in the chapter, these are some of the nations of the New World Order, there are obviously more and they will appear. As for the unnamed nation, this is a guy I want to keep as a mystery for a while but I dropped a little hint and if you know Hetalia then you will know who that guy is.**

 **Mwahahaha boy do I have plans for this story! What nations do you think will also be part of the NWO? I'd love to hear your guesses. I think you'll be surprised when I reveal them.**

 **Please review!**


	3. It begins

**Thank you for those who reviewed, faved and followed. Now, on with the show!**

Haiti sat quietly in his chair, feet on the table and an unreadable expression on his face as he twirled a needle with his fingers. His green eyes were focused on all the dolls of his neighbors and of some other nations, voodoo dolls. Look at them, the cute little dolls he made, dolls that give him complete power over them. He smirked at the thought and the dark-skinned country started playing with dolls of Martinique and Guadeloupe.

"Poor little ti fi." Haiti cooed in a sickly-sweet voice. "Having the misfortune of being overseas regions of that nonm-jennès France." He said the name with a snarl but quickly returned to his care-free/malicious disposition. "Not that it would have made any difference, you would have die either way, but I will have to make it… painful, so that he can feel it." He chuckled and then in the blink of an eye he impaled both with a knife.

He cackled a little at the morbid display. He knows that what he did had no effect on the girls, it was just a little… practice. As he pulled the knife out of the dolls, he heard the door open and he turned around to see who it was, he smirked at the visitor.

"Hello, cheri." Haiti greeted as he stood up.

Dominican Republic smiled as Haiti wrapped his arm around his shoulders. "Hola Hennrick." He glanced at the table where the impaled dolls were and gave an amused smile. "A little too gruesome, don't you think? And we haven't even started yet." He said with a disapproving tone, but at this point he wasn't surprised.

Haiti pouted. "Can you blame me for getting excited?" he asked innocently.

DR rolled his eyes. "Well, then you'll want to hear this." He said, and Haiti listened attentively. "I got a call from Cuba, he said that he and Puerto Rico are going to meet us in my capital in a few hours, and we'll get our ride there."

"I see. Well, we shouldn't keep them waiting. Let's go, Luis." Haiti said, DR nodded, and the pair held hands as they started to leave but Haiti stopped. "Ah, wait I forgot something." Before DR could ask, Haiti whirled around and threw a needle at a doll, pinning it to the wall. Haiti smirked and wrapped his arm around an also smirking DR. "Now we can go." And the pair left, closing the door behind them.

The doll pinned to the wall was France, the needle impaling it in the heart. After a few seconds the doll fell, its stuffing falling out as it laid on the floor.

/ / / / / /

Austria smirked as he watched Prussia talking on the phone with one of their members in the Caribbean, they were starting the preparations to start the spark that will soon flare into the war that will begin the New World Order. They have given the option to the Caribbean five to allow other members to take on the mission, but the island nations insisted on doing it themselves. It was not out of hate and spite for their neighbors, but for the sake of the future as well as expanding their borders. As island nations their desire to become more powerful was probably the strongest.

Though he couldn't help but frown at the fact that they're ordering them to kill their own neighbors, who hadn't done anything wrong, but it had to be done. The other Caribbean islands have no point in existing in the world they're making, and they are not strong enough to be a nuisance. They're just… pointless.

But he trusts that the Caribbean five will save their cruelty for the Europeans.

Austria's attention goes back to his friend as he hears them beginning to finish up their conversation. "…England, France and Netherlands will notice something is wrong the moment you strike their overseas territories down, so make sure that you finish the killings as quickly as possible and that they won't trace it back to you." He paused as the nation on the other line spoke. "Yes, and remember that you and your brothers have the honor of starting the war, so I trust that you will not fail?"

/ / / / / /

In a house near a beach, a dark-skinned man with dreadlocks watched the waves as he spoke on the phone, the man inhaled from a marijuana joint and blew out a puff of smoke. The man had a stoic look on his face as he wondered what the future will be after their little murder party is over. It truly saddens him that his neighbors, people he considered to be close friends, have to die, probably at his own hands but they knew what they were signing up for.

"Trust us, man." Jamaica said to one of his leaders. "We've been looking forward for this war for too long to even consider fucking it up, mon." And after a quick goodbye, he hung up.

Jamaica smoked again as he checked the time, and he smiled. Well, time to go meet up with the others. He grabbed his car keys and made his way out of his house. While entering his car he couldn't help but feel a little sad. After this is all over, things will never be the same. But the time of faking is over, and justice will be served.

/ / / / / /

America was busy typing on his computer, preparing stuff for when shit hits the fan, when he heard someone knock on his door. That made him raise an eyebrow as he stood up and went over to this door, he wasn't expecting any visitors today, unless…

As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted by a blur tackling him in a bone-crushing hug. "Wh-What the?!" He exclaimed as he nearly fell. The person lifted her head up revealing exactly who America thought it was. "Rosa?!"

Mexico grinned and buried her head in his chest. "Sorpresa hermano!" she giggles, unaware that she was suffocating her brother. "I was so happy that I decided to come visit you! I want us to see the Caribbean make the news together! I've been looking forward to this for so long!" as she went on, America managed to pry her off him, despite her pouting.

America took a deep breath and smiled at his sister. "Well, you're welcome to stay here as long as you want, little sister. I've love to see it happen with you." he said, and Mexico smiled gratefully and jumped onto the couch, America sitting next to her.

"Speaking of the Caribbean, have you given Puerto Rico his independence yet?" Mexico asked.

"I did. I gave it to him this morning." America smirked. "He's really come a long way, he'll do great."

/ / / / / /

Jamaica leaned against a wall, eyes searching the crowds for his fellow Caribbean nations. The plan was simple, once they all meet up they'll discuss who's going after who, go to wherever they need to go to, and get the job done. He smoked from his paper joint, blowing a puff of smoke before something caught his attention. Jamaica smiled when he saw Cuba wave at him, Puerto Rico following closely behind him. Cuba sprinted towards him through the crowds and the brothers shared a hug.

"Hola, hola hermano! It's finally time, can you believe it?!" Cuba laughed merrily.

Jamaica smirked. "I know, we've waited so long for this day, mon." He looked at Puerto Rico. "Did America give you independence, Manuel?"

"Si, a few hours earlier. I'm my own nation now." Puerto Rico said, smiling proudly

Before Jamaica could congratulate him, he heard a familiar carefree voice speak. "Well, well, looks like everyone is here."

The three of them turned around too see Haiti and Dominican Republic walk towards them, smirks on their faces. "We're not late, aren't we?" DR asked.

"No, brotha." Jamaica shook his head, smiling at the fact the everyone is here. "You came here just in time, mon."

"Alright!" Cuba shouted, smirking as he cracked his knuckles. "Now, are we gonna get this fiesta started or what?!"

"That's right!" Puerto Rico agreed. "This war isn't going to start by itself, you know!"

As the four started to chatter about the chaos they're going to cause, Jamaica, while sharing their excitement, frowned. "I'm going to miss them." He said

The four stopped talking and looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" Puerto Rico asked.

"Our neighbors, mon. As much as we've forward to this, this is also the time we dreaded." Jamaica said melancholy, and he looked at the sky. "Bahamas, Trinidad, Barbados, Dominica, and all the others… they've nothing wrong, they didn't do anything to us, and yet we're still going to slaughter them."

Dominican Republic laughed bitterly, looking remorseful. "Si… not to mention all the fun times we've had together. All the hangouts at the beach, all the parties…"

The five were silent as they remembered all the good times they had with their neighbors. Dominica's one-sided rivalry with DR, Bahamas cheerful personality, Saint Lucia's parties… her parties were always the best. They were all like family, they've helped each other when they were in tough times, they grew up together. They truly cared about them, and yet they're going to kill them. As eager as they are for revenge, they all felt guilty for doing this.

"We have to do this." Cuba stated, serious expression on his face. "We knew what we were going to have to do the moment we joined the Order. But still…"

"I think…" Jamaica looked somberly at his brothers. "The least we can do for them is to give them a quick death, as painless as possible. They don't deserve dying in a brutal way, mon. Don't you think, mon?"

Everyone muttered in agreement at that, even Haiti, who was originally planning on torturing France's territories. As much as all of them hated the Europeans, they should save their anger for them, not their innocent neighbors.

"Come on, guys." Jamaica said as he turned around. "The jets are right this way."

/ / / / / /

Sweden sat in front the table, looking at the four empty chairs with his normal stone-faced expression with his hands clenched in a raised position. He has called for a Nordic meeting earlier to discuss a matter of upmost importance.

The New World Order

Sweden heard the door open and saw Denmark walk in, a cold and calculating look on his face and grunted in greeting. Then Finland came in with a serious expression and greeted Sweden with a nod. And finally, Norway and Iceland came in and went to their chairs, and while those two seem to look "normal" at first glance, you'll then notice that Norway has a menacing aura on him and Iceland's eyes are cold and dangerous. These are the real Nordic five.

"Now that everyone is here…" Sweden began. "We can begin the first order of business."

/ / / / / /

Dominica went over to the front door, curious about who would be visiting her and slightly annoyed that she was interrupted from reading her scriptures. She opened the door and she nearly groaned. What was Dominican Republic doing here?

"DR, why the heck are you here in my house?" Dominica asked, too annoyed to care she sounded rude.

DR didn't seem bothered by her rudeness and simply grinned. "Well, you know how you're always angry that people confuse us?" he asked cheerfully.

Dominica's eyes twitched, where was he going with this? "Yes, I know very well, so?" she asked, he gets to the point.

"Well…" He laughed as it were a joke. "I just wanted to let you know…" DR's smile vanished and was replaced with a cold look. "That you don't have to worry about that anymore, because I'm going to the only one." He said with a dark tone.

Dominica was startled by the sudden change of behavior and before she could ask what he was talking about, DR took out a gun and shot her in the chest, killing her. Dominican Republic looked at her limp body for a few seconds with an unreadable expression and left.

/ / / / / /

Kugelmugel calmly painted on the canvas, being very careful to not mess it up, because it was supposed to be a present for Roderich. It has to be special. Ever since Austria and Prussia announced that it's time, Kugelmugel wanted something to capture the moment perfectly. Something that can embody the Order and the world they want. It will also serve as a thank you present for Austria, for all he did for him and for the fact that Austria said he would give him more land, so he could grow.

The micronations of the Order, Kugelmugel, Molossia and Ladonia are very loyal to the nations that raised them and to the organization itself. They've all been raised in the organization, since their older brothers were members of the Order, very high up ones too. They didn't hide much of who they really were. Kugelugel still passionately loved art, Molossia is still violent and Ladonia is still hot-headed. But they added a few things just in case.

They didn't really care for the other micronations, in fact they only hung out with them for the sake of espionage. At first, none of them wanted anything to do with them, they were annoying, bratty, and stupid. Kugelmugel managed to chase them off by acting very eccentric, he was very relieved when Sealand, Wy, and Seborga quickly left him alone. Ladonia spied on them for most of their journey to see if they're worth getting close to or not. Molossia reacted the most violently, immediately becoming enraged and flipping them off, he was happy that they left until he realized this could be a chance to win over their trust, so he can later kill them. Ladonia soon revealed himself later and Kugelmugel joined Sealand's stupid group.

Oh, for the love of art, is that micronation annoying. Too bad Molossia got dibs on killing him.

Anyway, now that the war will begin soon, the micronation trio will have their time to shine. They just have to wait for their orders.

/ / / / / /

"NO!" Aruba shouted as he struggled in Cuba's grip. "Why?! Why are you doing this?"

Cuba didn't answer for a few seconds before narrowing his eyes. "That won't matter, because you'll be dead in a bit."

Aruba struggled more frantically when he saw Cuba pull out a gun, he screamed before being silenced when Cuba pulled the trigger.

/ / / / / /

Netherlands winced when suddenly pain in his chest, he clutched the area and gritted his teeth. Aruba?! Did… something happen to one of his territories? It felt like someone swiftly pulled an organ out of his body, like he lost something. He had a bad feeling about this.

/ / / / / /

In war-torn Syria, as you'd expect there was gunfight between several factions, shouts and gunshots could be heard for miles and the smell of blood and death filled the air. But standing on top of a building observing with amusement the chaos was an Arabic man wearing a white keffiyeh with a brown agal and a dark brown thawb. The man had dark brown hair and amber eyes and some facial hair along his jawline. He looked like a normal Arab, but he isn't.

He is the personification of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia smirked at the ongoing battle as if were just a silly game. "Poor unfortunate souls, so sad that you tear this country to shreds just to accomplish your selfish goals. But the truly sad thing is…" his smirk grew, and he laughed. "That it'll be all for nothing!" he cackled.

"Didn't you fund several groups because of your "beliefs"?" a familiar voice asked.

Saudi turned around and grinned to see a man with dark brown hair with a cowlick on his head and green eyes smirking. "Iran." Saudi greeted and then snorted. "You know that is just an excuse I gave to my leader. You and I both know the real reason I help those groups."

Iran smiled in amusement. "I know, to weaken the Middle Easterners. So when the time comes…" he laughed in delight at what he said next. "We can easily kill who we need to kill and capture who we want to join our little group."

"Exactly." Saudi agreed then chuckled. "It was too easy, look at Iraq, look at Yemen, look at Syria!" He spread his arms to show his point and grinned maliciously. "Oh, and by the way… are you going to be playing the role of the villain when the Caribbean five finish their work?" he asked, his expression turning into a curious one.

Iran shook his head. "Nope. I was told they're going to go for the other villain." He said, not needing to say the person's name to know who it is. "Also, have you figured out how we're going to get Israel in the game?" he asked, concern in his features as he remembered how cruel the two of them were to him because of orders.

Saudi Arabia frowned. "Not really, but I'm hoping a chance for revenge will appeal to him, however…" he crossed his arms and closed his eyes, deep in thought. "I'm worried that he might not trust us, especially after what we did to him and I think it will get worse after he finds out that America is also a part of it."

"Yeah, we're not exactly the most trustworthy trio, aren't we?" a jovial voice asked.

The two looked up to see the third Middle Eastern member sitting casually on top of a building, the third stood up then jumped from the building and landed next to his fellow members. "You got a point in the "we've had to act like bastards to him" part but you two are forgetting something." He reminded them, he chuckled at his friends' confused expressions and wrapped his arms around their shoulders. "Hello?! We're the New World Order. Our goal is to change the world for the better and get revenge on the people who wronged us. Like Saudi said, I'm sure all those years of living with bad neighbors is making him pissed off. And then he'll see that what we're doing is for the greater good, no?"

"I suppose you have a point, there. And if we can't convince him, maybe America or our wise leaders can convince him." Iran pondered, and maybe he can make up for betraying him.

"You're right, /%&$#+." Saudi Arabia smiled. "In the end of the day, the Order will win, and the world will be like it should be." He said confidently.

"That's the spirit!" the third laughed, and then he smirked at Saudi. "By the way, Saudi… I've been here watching for a while. So, did my ears deceive me or did I hear you quote a Disney movie?" he teased, poking at him playfully.

Saudi Arabia blushed and scowled at the third. "So what if I like Disney movies? You're in no position to talk, princess Jasmine." He retorted back, smirking.

"Sorry to interrupt." Iran spoke before the third could say anything, and grinned. "But am I the only one who knows there's a group of soldiers behind us ready to shoot at any second?" he asked, and the three looked behind them.

Iran was right, there was a group of soldiers pointing their guns at them, but the three were not intimidated in the slightest. Iran rolled his eyes, Saudi Arabia looked unimpressed and the third just whistled. "Oh, would ya look at that? We're cornered." The third mocked and cracked his knuckles. "How about a little practice before we make a massacre?"

"Sounds fun." Iran said as he took his weapon.

"Practice makes perfect after all." Saudi remarked as he took out his own weapon.

The three of them smirked at the group of shooters, who started backing away at the bloodthirsty aura the three emitted, and charged.

/ / / / / /

Martinique struggled in her bonds as she looked in fear at her captor, Haiti, who was holding a doll that looked disturbingly like herself. She wanted to scream, but she had a gag covering her mouth, so she could only cry as tears spilled from her eyes. Why? What is he doing and why?!

Martinique fell her fear increase when Haiti turned his cold gaze back to her, and in vain she tried to move away from him. Haiti didn't say anything, but his face suddenly became remorseful.

"Don't cry, cheri. I promise that this will not hurt at all." He said in an attempt to comfort her. Haiti took out a small knife and aimed it at the doll. Oh no. "Padonem, Martinique." And he sent the knife down through the doll.

/ / / / / /

France smiled charmingly at Monaco, who he was having dinner with, but suddenly felt a strong pain in his chest. He clutched his chest in pain as he suddenly felt like he lost something important.

"Big brother France?" Monaco asked in worry, what was wrong with him? "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

France groaned a little in pain but forced a smile for Monaco, not wanting to worry her. "D-do not worry, Monaco!" he laughed, hoping it sounded convincing. "Your big brother is tres bien! Just a little chest pain, nothing seriagaahh!" France groaned when he fell to the ground.

"Francis!" Monaco stood up from her chair and ran over to France. "Do you need to see a doctor? Ne t'en fais pas! I'll make a call right now!" She told and started to look for her phone only for France to grab her arm.

"N-non…" France said, sounding in pain. "This is…" He widened his eyes in disbelief. "Martinique?!"

/ / / / / /

Mongolia walked through the city, Hong Kong walked closely beside him as they walked in the direction of a casino where a good friend of theirs was currently in. Mongolia frowned because he never specified _which_ casino in a city famously known for its many casinos, it's as if he did that on purpose to see how long it would take for them to find him. Then again, he was a mischievous one.

They've checked 12 casinos and asked several locals who knew the man, but they have zero results. That alone took 3 hours. And there are still 26 casinos in the city they haven't checked yet. Mongolia was a little annoyed at their colleague's playful streak but he a lot of patience to spare. Hong Kong however…

"Master." Hong Kong grumbled, a lot more annoyed than he is. "Why does he love doing this to us? It's more frustrating than fun."

"It's in his nature, Leon." Mongolia reminded him as they neared towards the thirteenth casino they were going to check, he prays to the ancestors that the "13 is bad luck" nonsense is not true and that the man was sitting there bankrupting his own citizens while wearing his calm smile. "He is a clever man, one of the most cunning in the Order, of course he likes to play games with other people."

Hong Kong looked grumpily at the floor. "Probably what Brazil finds so hot about him too." He muttered, and Mongolia smiled amusedly at the remark.

"Well, let's go in, Leon." Mongolia said, patting Hong Kong's shoulder. "Who knows? Maybe he'll give you a video game for your troubles." He pointed out, and Hong Kong seemed to bright up a little at the idea and the pair entered the luxurious casino.

/ / / / / /

Jamaica finally managed to pin Cayman Islands to the ground, the latter was a lot harder to deal with than he thought. But no matter, he was down and helpless to do anything to defend himself. As Cayman struggled, Jamaica took out a machete and aimed it from up high.

"Sorry about this, brotha." Jamaica apologized with a sad look.

He impaled Cayman Islands with the machete, and the island went limp.

/ / / / / /

"Bloody hell!" England yelled when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, dropping the cup of tea he was holding. What… what on earth?! Where is that pain coming from? No… it cannot be… His territories in the Caribbean, did something… happen to them?

Whatever it was, he needs to make some calls.

/ / / / / /

Puerto Rico kept knocking on Bahamas's front door, growing more annoyed each second that there's no response. He tapped his foot impatiently and scowled at the door. This wasn't right, Bahamas was taking too long. He saw her car, so she couldn't be out, unless…

Puerto Rico narrowed his eyes, does she know? If she does, then she must be eliminated right away.

Taking two steps back, he kicked the door open and looked at his surroundings as he entered Bahamas's house. He frowned when there seemed to be no sign of her. She's probably hiding in one of her rooms, he thought. Just as he was about to go upstairs, he saw something in the corner of his eye, there was a piece of paper taped to the wall. He walked over to the paper and took it off the wall.

It was Bahamas's to-do list for the day, this could be useful. His eyes read each line until a certain one caught his attention. Oh? Puerto Rico smirked. Bahamas was still in the Caribbean but it's a little far from where he is right now. It's time to make some calls. Puerto Rico took out his phone from his pocket and quickly dialed one of his brothers' numbers.

"Hey, there's a slight problem with Bahamas." He started, and after the person on the other spoke, he smirked. "No, no. I think you'll want to hear this, you'll be able to take out three birds with one stone. She's in…"

/ / / / / /

Mongolia and Hong Kong passed by many tables filled with people playing all sorts of gambling games such as blackjack, poker and roulette. It was very surprising that the man isn't greedy by nature despite the obvious high levels of gambling in his home. Anyway, there has been no sign of him, but something tells Mongolia that… he stopped.

"Master?" Hong Kong asked.

Mongolia glanced to his right at a poker table where a man hiding his face with a gold colored fan sat. Mongolia narrowed his eyes and walked over to the table, a confused Hong Kong following him, they sat next to each other in the chairs in front of the man. The man still hid his face and didn't say a word until Mongolia smirked.

"You are very sadistic, Macau, but you are aware of that aren't you?" Mongolia said, a knowing look in his face.

The man chuckled and closed his fan, revealing a smiling Macau with mischief shining in his eyes. "A little challenge can be fun from time to time." he said slyly.

"Except when it's a waste of time." Hong Kong scowled at Macau, who only kept smiling in return.

"Oh, don't be so grumpy, Leon. You are lot cuter when your smiling." Macau teased, and Hong Kong blushed. "Anyway, back to more important matters. I trust that you are aware of what was announced not so long ago?" He asked, switching to a more business-like tone, the other two nodded.

"Have the others arrived?" Mongolia asked.

Macau nodded. "Yes, we were just waiting for you two." He informed them, ignoring Hong Kong's "And whose fault is that?" and standing up. "Come, we mustn't keep them waiting."

He guided Mongolia and Hong Kong out of the room, where the other East Asians were waiting.

 **Okay, I hope you like this chapter. This was more of an exposition chapter since I introduced a lot of Order nations in here, but there are still some more. BTW I put another hint on who the mystery nation is, but I'm afraid that I made it too obvious. But still, I'd like to hear your thoughts about it. What did you think of the nations and my OCs? PLEASE REVIEW! I would really appreciate it if you tell what you think so far.**


	4. Run

**Thank you for those who reviewed, faved and followed. Now, on with the show!**

Trinidad shook in fear as she sat down on the floor of her closer, tears prickling her eyes as she gasped when she heard banging again from the other side of the door. She whimpered and buried her face in her legs, praying to whatever deity out there _to make him go away_. Please, please, _please_ make him go away. He wants to kill her, just like he killed Tobago. That wasn't a temporary death, if he kills her, she'll die for good. Why?! Why is he doing this?!

She yelped when the banging got louder quickly scooted away from the door until she backed into a wall, Trinidad tried very hard not to cry when she heard her attacker, Jamaica, speak. "You're only delaying the inevitable, Trini!" he called out from the other side of the door, and Trini scowled when he called her Trini, because he no longer had any right to call her that. "Open the door and let me end your suffering or I will have to do it myself! I promise that I'll make it as painless as possible! Don't make this harder for yourself!" he warned her, almost pleading her, and banged the door again.

Trinidad mustered up all the courage she could muster, she stopped trembling and glared at the door. "Go to hell, greedy traitor!" she screamed in rage, tears falling from her eyes. It wasn't much of an insult, but it was all she had. That… bastard thinks she'll trust anything he says after he just comes in and murders Tobago in cold blood? Ha!

There was silence from the other end, and Trinidad wonders if what she said affected him in some way. Jamaica chuckled bitterly. "Traitor? Yes, I am, I know. Greedy however…" his tone turned dark at the last sentence. "You'd be wrong if you think we're doing this to all of you of out of greed, Trini."

"Then why… wait, we?" Trinidad asked, there are other people involved in this?

Jamaica went silent again but spoke again. "Enough of this, open the door. The truth will only hurt you." He warned her again, dodging the question, but realization dawned on her and she became horrified.

"Wait… are there other Caribbean nations out there killing the others?!" Trinidad asked him, dreading the answer.

Jamaica cursed under his breath. "Why do you have to be so perceptive, Trini?" he lamented. "Yeah, there are others in the Caribbean that are slaughtering the other islands. Now please-"

"YOU KILLED EVERYONE?!" Trinidad shouted at him in anger and despair, and sobbed. No… no, no, no… The others are getting betrayed and killed too? Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia… Barbados?! Trinidad couldn't take any more of this, so she broke down, wailing for the deaths of her friends and family. Why? They are all friends so why do this? "HOW COULD YOU?!"

"Not everyone, at least not yet, there are still some more to go. Bahamas, for example." Jamaica quickly told her, not wanting to hear more crying. "I told you the truth will only hurt you, now stop stalling and open the door." Trinidad shook her head then heard buzzing from her pockets.

Barbados. Earlier today he told her he was going to go to Saint Lucia's house to help her set up a party, and she thinks she remembers him mentioning Bahamas was going to be there too. Then she got an idea. Trinidad is going to die, there's no escape for her and she's sure Dominican Republic can easily beat her in a fight. But there's still hope for her friend, she checks her pockets frantically and she smiled when she took out her phone and quickly typed. Trinidad heard banging again and she hurries up, she has to let Barbados know, if they haven't gotten to him yet. Hopefully he'll understand and can get Bahamas and Lucia as far away from the Caribbean as possible. Please.

She sighed in relief when she sent the message, but that quickly vanished when the door flew open, revealing Jamaica looking at her with emotionless eyes. Trinidad tried to back away when he started walking towards her, but he had her trapped. Jamaica stood in front of her and raised hid knife, he looked at her sadly. "This will only hurt for a second, goodbye sista." Trinidad closed her eyes as Jamaica brought the knife down.

/ / / / /

"No, no, no, no, no!" A dark-skinned teenage girl with shoulder-length curly black hair and brown eyes shouted, lifting her traditional dress and stomping her feet in frustration, this can't be! "You're supposed to put the streamers from red to violet! Not the other way around!" she scolded Barbados and puffed her cheeks in anger as Barbados sighed.

"But they look fine either way, Luce." Barbados protested, a young man with wavy dark brown hair and brown eyes wearing a navy-blue t-shirt, sea green shorts and brown sneakers, shrugging as he's used to his kind of behavior from her. "And if you want the decorations to be just like the way you wanted them, then why don't you do it yourself?"

"Because…" Saint Lucia trailed off, then glared at Barbados. "I'm the boss! And as the best party girl in the Caribbean, I know how to throw a fantastic party!" She declared, pride in her face.

"I'm pretty sure bad colored streamers won't ruin a party, Lucy." Bahamas, young woman with long thick curly black hair with a light blue head-wrap and hazel eyes wearing a white puffy off-shoulder top and a patterned skirt that matched her head-wrap commented as she set down a box with the others and smiled at her two friends. "Especially if it's one of your parties! Everyone always loves your parties."

Barbados made a "see?" gesture and ruffled Saint Lucia's hair, much to her embarrassment. "Your parties always rock, don't worry about streamers and look forward to when everyone comes and has a great time." he says to her.

Saint Lucia looks at her feet and slowly smiles. "I guess your right." She admitted, and her two friends smile which vanish as soon as Saint Lucia says the next sentence. "Which is why you two have to work your butts off all day to make it awesome!" She burst out laughing at her friends' dismayed faces. "Just kidding!" she exclaimed, grinning. Bahamas and Barbados looked at each other then joined in on the laughter.

"By the way, Isaiah." Bahamas said to Barbados. "Do you know why Trini isn't here yet?"

"Yeah…" Saint Lucia frowned and crossed her arms. "Why isn't she here yet?"

"I don't know." Barbados scratched his head, confused. "For some reason she hasn't been answering my calls for a while, wonder why?" he asked to himself more than the others.

"Maybe her flight got delayed and she ran out of battery." Bahamas suggested, pensive look on her face.

"Nah, I don't think that's it." Barbados said, frowning when he started to get a bad feeling in his stomach. Why is he so worried?

"Trini or no Trini, we should get back to decorating! I'm sure she's fine!" Saint Lucia waved it off, Bahamas agreed and went back to cheerfully sorting the boxes. Barbados, however, remained where he was, a worried look on his face. Why can't he shake off a bad feeling whenever he thinks of Trinidad? It's no big deal… right? But why isn't she answering?

Just as he asked himself that question he heard a buzz coming from his pocket, he reaches for his phone and sighs in relief when he sees it's from Trinidad. He smiles, good, Trini probably is going to explain why she's late and apologize for worrying them and he can get rid of the bad feeling. Barbados opens his messages and reads the text he got from Trini, except it wasn't what he thought it would be. Barbados blinks several times to make sure he's not hallucinating. What?

 **I'm not coming. You're probably never going to see me again. Take whoever's with you out of the Caribbean to someplace far, far away as possible. NOW. Don't trust Jamaica. Don't call anyone else, they're probably gone or in on it too. If someone show's up where you are, then run away as fast as you can. Goodbye.**

/ / / / / /

South Africa packed up all he was going to need for the African Union meeting that he's hosting in his city of Johannesburg in two days. He ran his hand through his spiky dark brown hair (which looks like Netherlands' hair only a bit longer) and smirked.

Like everyone else, he got the message that it's time and that the Caribbean five have begun their takeover of their neighbors. Now, while everyone else is distracted and panicking about the Caribbean situation, the Africans can begin _their_ takeover of their continent. South Africa lamented that it has to be a peaceful one, but there's more than likely going to be some resistance, so he and the others can vent their bloodlust. He licked his lips in anticipation.

He placed a stack papers into his briefcase. Every single one of these papers was created for the sole purpose of gaining new territory. If any of the Africans refuse to comply to their demands, well… They'll show them just how powerful they truly are. Not to mention they have bombers waiting in each of their countries.

Another advantage was the fact they are all going to be in his country. _South_ Africa. The southernmost country in the continent, far away from their countries. No escape.

Now, as for getting the others to comply, it should be easy. He has landlocked countries that depend on him, children in fact, those two are in his grasp. He can also use Swaziland to threaten Mozambique to join. Zimbabwe, he scoffed, now that's probably the easiest of all. Zimbabwe depends on him heavily; his economy is one of the worst even with his dictator of a boss no longer in power. The islands would know they don't stand a chance. Namibia…

South Africa chuckled, he's really looking forward to that.

But what he's _really_ looking forward to is when England falls. Zulu will finally be avenged. South Africa will make that damn brit pay for what he did to Zulu and his natives. It will be glorious. Ah, but he mustn't forget there are others who want to take part in the British corpse party. Not that he minds, sharing is caring. America wants to maim England for causing his mother's death and for slaughtering his natives, Nigeria wants to rip out England's organs one by one for forcing him to be his colony and for the Anglo-Aro War, Hong Kong wants to burn him alive for stealing him from his home and shoving him into Western culture, and Jamaica wants to castrate him for the Maroon wars, the racism towards his people, British domination and the death of his ancestor Taino.

Anyway, after he's done with his conquest maybe he can go visit Brazil and see if he recorded how the South Americans kill Spain, perhaps he should tell him to do that. Then they could work on getting India on their side. South Africa hopes that he willingly joins them, he actually likes him.

South Africa glances at his watch, he needs to go to Johannesburg, so the others can meet up with him, they still need to discuss exactly how they're going to convince the other Africans to sign the papers. Then, the games will begin.

/ / / / / /

He heard nothing. He saw nothing. It was all… empty. He didn't understand at first, but that's when it hit him.

Suddenly a barrage of visions overwhelmed him, and it went by so fast that he barely understood what he saw.

There were two girls trying to outrun a storm of shadows chasing them, a man surrounded by bloody corpses laughing, a lotus flower covered in blood, a girl standing in front of the Eiffel Tower with a face full of determination waving a flag, two brothers fighting each other to the death and….

Egypt's eyes snapped open and he quickly sat upright as he breathed heavily and sweat fell from his face. What…? What… was that? Was that a promotion of what's going to come? But… why would any of that happen? Whatever it was…

He has a very bad feeling about it.

/ / / / / /

Bahamas busily checked off a list of things she had to, Saint Lucia went off to check her storage and told (ordered) Bahamas to see if there's any more stuff they're missing for the party. Let's see… speakers? Check. Decorations? Check. As she scribbled her pen, she glanced up and saw Barbados staring at his phone with a blanched expression, like he saw something frightening. Now that she thought about it, Barbados has been unusually quiet for a while. What's bothering him? Worry growing for her friend, she sets down the pen and notebook and walks towards him.

She puts her hand on his shoulder. "Isaiah, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly, and flinched when he whirled towards her, and he looked pale.

"N-nothing!" Barbados quickly answered, hiding his phone behind him. "W-why would you think something's wrong?" he laughed nervously.

Bahamas frowned at him. "Because your acting very weird for a while, Isaiah. You look… tense, and I've _never_ seen you tense before in all the years I've known you." She explained to him, and Barbados looked down, hair hiding his eyes. "What's wrong? Please tell me, you can trust me."

"Can I?" Barbados whispered, and Bahamas was taken aback by this.

"Wh-where did that come from?" She asked, eyes wide.

"I…" He gritted his teeth, and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Aiyana, but…" he trailed off.

"Is this about Trini?" Bahamas asked, and she gave him a comforting smile. "I'm sure that she's-"

"TRINI'S NOT COMING, AIYANA!" He shouted in her face, and Bahamas backed away a little in surprise.

"What… what do you mean? You're not making any sense, Isaiah!"

"What's with all the drama? I was just looking for costumes when suddenly I heard Barbados snap, scared the pee outta me too." A girlish voice asked, and the two turned to see Saint Lucia with her hands on her hips and a raised eyebrow. Lucia walked towards them and looked back and forth with a curious expression. "And did I hear the name "Trini?" What about her?" she asked casually.

"Barbados says that Trini's not coming." Bahamas said to her.

Saint Lucia tilted her head in confusion. "Oh, really? Well, that's a bummer. But I still don't get how that's the source of the drama. Too bad she can't come but-"

"You two don't get it!" Barbados shouted at them, he trembled and showed his phone to them. "Read this."

The two female islands leaned forward and read the text that was apparently sent by Trinidad, Bahamas widened her eyes. Huh?! Saint Lucia only frowned at the message and looked at Barbados. "What the heck? We're probably never going to see her again? Don't trust Jammie? Get out as soon as possible? Is this some sick joke?!" she asked incredulously, but was visibly shaken by what she read.

"Isaiah…" Bahamas muttered, worry increasing even more than before. "What does this…?"

"That's not all!" Barbados exclaimed, balling his fists. "I tried to call immediately after I read it, but she didn't pick up. So, I tried to call Tobago to ask him only to have the same result." He grabbed Bahamas's shoulders, paranoia becoming more evident in his face. "Even though Trini said not to call anyone, I tried to call some our other neighbors but they…. Martinique, Aruba, Cayman, Grenada, Dominica, Anguilla… no response."

The girls were shocked by this information, they couldn't believe their ears. But… what does this mean? "Wh-what happened to them? And what does Jammie have to do with this?" Saint Lucia asked, struggling to not show her nervousness.

"I don't know… but judging from Trini's text, I bet my favorite trident that Jamaica's got some big role in what's happening." Barbados said grimly, and he looked at his two friends. "Something really bad is going on here, and I mean really, really bad. I've been getting a bad feeling in my gut for hours, this must be why."

"What do we do?" Bahamas asked, dread pooling in her stomach.

"Right now? We do what Trini told us to do, get the hell out of here as far away as possible. Because whatever's happened to our neighbors, something tells me that we're next…" Barbados looks at them sadly. "…And that we're the only ones left."

Following that last sentence, the trio jumped when they heard knocking coming from the main door. The trio huddle together as they looked at the door.

"Lucy…" Bahamas began, worry in her features. "Did you invite…?"

"No, just you two and Trini." Saint Lucia answered in a quiet voice as she clung to Barbados, she swallowed and opened her mouth to speak only for Barbados to cover her mouth.

"No, don't say anything." Barbados whispered, sweat falling from his face. "Trini mentioned that there are other Caribbean nations "in on it" too."

"Hola? Santa Lucia?" A familiar cheerful voice asked from the other side of the door. "It's Dominican Republic, you in there?"

"Luis? Why is he…?" Bahamas asked quietly.

"Like I said, I didn't…" Saint Lucia trailed off.

"And he showed up without any sort of notice." Barbados whispered, he hugged the girls protectively. "He's probably in on it too. Shit, Trini said that if someone shows up, we hightail it out of here. Lucy, this place has a back door, right?"

Saint Lucia nodded. "Y-yeah, it's right this way, follow me." She began walking and gestured the others to follow her. The trio began to quietly walk towards the other side of the house, with Barbados glancing back at the door to make sure, Saint Lucia leading them.

Only for a puff of purple smoke to appear in front of her, catching the trio off guard and making them cough. Saint Lucia, unable to see anything, felt herself bumped into something. She looked up to see Haiti smiling down amusedly at her. "Hello, tifi. Where do you think you're going so suddenly?" He asked innocently, the evil in his smile was obvious.

Saint Lucia screamed in terror at Haiti's appearance and ran to Barbados, clinging to his arm as the young man looked at him in shock. "Haiti?!" the trio exclaimed in disbelief.

"Wi, my friends, and you should have known better than to try escape." Haiti chided them, and smiled at something behind them. "Cheri! Our friends are trying to escape!" he cheerfully called out to DR.

"Cheri?" They all thought, and they nearly jumped when they heard something break. The trio turned around and saw the door ripped off from its hinges revealing Dominican Republic looking at them coldly. But to their surprise, he smiled at Haiti as he walked toward them, also blocking them from escaping.

"Well, they should no there's no escape from us, querido." DR said, and the trio looked back and forth at the known rivals in confusion. Cheri? Querido?

"Since when were you two so lovey-dovey with each other?" Saint Lucia asked, and gulped when the two men grinned at her.

"Well, it's only natural to be so affectionate to your lover." Haiti explained as if it were a common fact.

"LOVERS?!" The trio exclaimed. "YOU GUYS HATE EACH OTHER!"

"No, we only pretended too. We're quite the actors, aren't we?" Haiti smirked. "Now, I have to ask… how did you know we were going to kill you?"

"S-so, you two are in league with Jamaica?" Bahamas asked, still quite in shock of the revelations.

DR narrowed his eyes at Bahamas. "How did you know about Jamaica?" he asked suspiciously.

"Trinidad warned us." Barbados glared at them. "And I tried to call some of the others, but they didn't pink up, what did you do to them?"

"Gone. Forever." DR told them. "And I do mean forever, they're not reviving anytime soon."

"Wh-what? But that's impossible!"

"It's not, we discovered a couple of ways to eliminate a nation forever, mon." A familiar thick-accented voice said, and everyone saw Jamaica standing at the main door with a stoic expression. "One of which we'll use to kill all three of you."

"Jamaica!" Barbados and Haiti said at the same time, the former in shock and the latter grinning. "Came along to help, fré?"

"Just in case, mon." Jamaica said as he coldly stared down at the scared trio, and raised an eyebrow when he noticed Barbados was glaring at him with pure hate. "Why do you look so hateful at the sight of me, brotha?" he asked, which made Barbados even angrier.

"What did you do to Trini? She warned me about you, don't tell me that you…" Barbados trailed off anger turning into suffering, and Jamaica looked at him with pity and guilt.

"Yes, I was the one who killed her, brotha." Jamaica balled his fists tightly.

"B-but why?!" Bahamas stood in front of her friends, looking near tears, and the three intruders had to look away to avoid guilt swelling up. "You and Trini are childhood friends! Even though when there were tensions you two loved each other! Why?! Why would you all do something like this?! We're friends, family even!" She cried, tears falling from her eyes like a waterfall, she sounded so betrayed and hurt that they no longer could keep up the cold act.

"I do love Trini, she's my sister, mon." Jamaica said quietly and closing his eyes, smoking from his marijuana and blowing out a puff of smoke. "So, don't misunderstand our intentions. We all care about all of you and it pains us to do what we are doing so know this…" He opened his eyes to reveal brown orbs full of determination. "We're not doing this out of grief nor hate nor greed. We are doing all of this…"

"So, we can avenge our father Taino." Haiti and Dominican Republic said with the same amount of determination.

"How is killing all of us avenging your father?!" Saint Lucia snapped at them, she may not be a child of Taino but even she knows this doesn't make sense.

"No, no, no, he means we're doing this, so we become stronger…" DR corrected and snarled at what he said next. "So we can kill the Europeans."

"So, we're all just stepping stones for your revenge, that's what your saying?" Bahamas sobbed and buried her face in her hands, then Bahamas looked at the enemy trio with something no one has ever seen on Bahamas, anger. "I can't believe you… your killing us all for revenge… you lied to us for years…" She falls to her knees and cries, Saint Lucia doing the same soon after. Barbados had an unreadable expression and was silent.

The enemy trio truly felt guilty for what they're doing to their neighbors, but they had to do it. For the sake of their goals. Besides, it was mercy, they won't live to see the terrible war that will follow. They won't suffer, they'll rest in the afterlife with the others. It was for the best.

"Enough of this. Your suffering will end in a bit." Haiti said, pain in his voice as he brought out three dolls, Barbados, Bahamas and Saint Lucia, and a needle. He smiled sadly at them. "We're truly sorry but believe me when I say this is all for the greater good." He starts to raise the needle towards the Saint Lucia doll…

…Only to be punched in the face by Barbados and sent flying to the wall.

Bahamas and Saint Lucia looked up in shock at what just happened, and Barbados panted and looked at them and mouthed one word. "Run". Dominican Republic tackled Barbados down in anger for what he did to Haiti, but Barbados barely managed to push him off. Jamaica took out his knife and walked towards Barbados, who then looked at the girls again. "RUN!" He screamed at them just as DR punched him in the stomach.

Taking Saint Lucia by the hand, Bahamas sped off to the back of the house, trying to ignore Barbados's scream of pain. Jamaica noticed that they were escaping, and tried to run towards them, but Barbados grabbed his leg. "This is for Trini." And he uppercut him.

As the girls got to the back, Saint Lucia led Bahamas towards the back door and opened it but not before hearing Haiti calling out to them. "You cannot escape us!" he yelled at them, sounding slightly insane. "North, South, no matter where you go you cannot escape your fate!" Bahamas closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. No. They will escape. They must. She takes Saint Lucia by the hand again and they run away, as fast as they can, to somewhere where they'll hopefully be safe.

/ / / / / /

Haiti glared at Barbados, who was struggling under Dominican Republic's foot. Bahamas and Saint Lucia escaped, and they have no way of tracking them, but they're more than likely to go to an Order nation. He glanced at Jamaica, who is on the phone with one of their leaders, then back at Barbados. That idiot. He has no idea what he just did to his friends. Jamaica put his phone back in his pocket and smoked from his pot again, looking at Barbados with an emotionless expression.

"So, did they say we should pursue?" Haiti asked him, twirling a needle with his fingers.

Jamaica shook his head. "No, brotha. He said to let someone else take care of it, we've done our work for today, mon."

"You'll never…" Barbados rasped out as he kept struggling, and glared at the trio. "You'll never find them… They're gonna go somewhere where you can't reach them." He smiled victoriously, fully confident that he won, but it vanished when he saw Haiti smile at him.

"Oh, and that's where you're wrong, and _very_ wrong." Haiti cooed as he crouched down to Barbados's level and started stroking his cheek. "You didn't think it was just the three of us, did you?"

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Barbados asked fearfully.

Haiti smirked. "I'm saying that you're very wrong to think we would do something like this without people backing us. You see… there is no safe place for them."

"What?!"

"This little massacre we made is just the start of something much, much greater. This situation is a lot bigger than you realized. No matter where they go, someone will find them and finish the job." Haiti explained to an increasingly horrified Barbados. "The Caribbean is under our control now, even if those two are running free. And if you think someone in the continent will help them, then you're wrong again. America, Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico and most of South America, they're all with us! They're all in on the plan too! And Bahamas and Saint Lucia are completely unaware of that little fact."

"N-no… that's impossible!" Barbados cried out.

"And another thing… you made us very angry, Isaiah." DR began as he buried his foot deeper in Barbados's back, making the latter cry out in pain. "Why? Because you made a very big mistake."

"You all had the chance to die painlessly, hurt by our betrayal, but still go on to rest with the others." Jamaica continued as looked at Barbados coldly. "Now, all thanks to you, they're going to suffer the more they find out. They just jumped from one hell to the next, mon."

"Let's say in the small chance they survive the others and live to see what comes next. What comes next… is a war unlike any other, one that would make World War II look like a child's tantrum." Haiti grabbed Barbados's chin and leaned closer. "They're not like us larger islands that fought wars and had civil wars. Can you imagine what they'll feel as everyone they know is killed off one by one? How some of the people they know never existed?"

"I… I…" Barbados barely managed to speak in his shock. No…

"And in the end, they'll die seeing many horrors not meant for their good souls." DR finished, and snarled at the helpless island. "And they have you to thank. But don't worry…" He smiled sardonically. "We're still going to make sure they die as quick and painlessly as possible."

"Now, I think we tortured the poor thing enough." Haiti said as he stood up and took out a doll of Barbados, much to the latter's horror. "Now then…"

/ / / / / /

Bahamas continued running through the beach, with a tired Saint Lucia in hand. She glanced behind her, none of them appeared to have followed them, but she didn't want to take any risks and make Barbados's sacrifice for nothing. What should they do? They can't think running forever! Bahamas noticed that Saint Lucia is starting to slow down, and she heard her pant, and she stopped to the allow the poor girl to take a break. To be honest, Bahamas was exhausted herself, physically and emotionally.

"Ai… Aiyana?" Saint Lucia looked up at her with eyes full of fear. "What happened to Isaiah? Is he… Is he…?" She teared up and started to clutch her head.

"I don't know. But I'm pretty sure that he's…" Bahamas couldn't bring herself to finish lest she start to cry herself.

"Dead. They killed him… they killed him!" The fifteen-year old screamed, on the verge of a breakdown. "What do we do?!"

Bahamas wiped the tears from her eyes and grabbed Saint Lucia's shoulders. "We have to get out of here. We need to contact some powerful nation, like America or England! They can help us!" She said optimistically with a smile. "Lucy, you said you got a private jet a few years ago, right?"

Saint Lucia brightened up a little at the idea and nodded. "Y-Yeah! I got it stored in my international airport. I can get one of my people to fly us out of my country!"

Bahamas smiled brightly at her. "That's great! We have a plan, that's good!" she cheered, pumping her fist in the air. "So, don't worry, Lucy! We'll survive this!"

"But..." Saint Lucia frowned. "How can you be so... peppy after what just happened?"

Bahamas bit her lip at that. "Don't get the wrong idea, Lucy. What happened back there... no, what happened today was horrifying." She smiled comfottingly at her friend. "But still... I... wanna be positive about this. The others..." she trailed off then shook her head, no. "Barbados too. He stayed behind so we could live. I don't want to make his death be for nothing, do you?"

"Of course not!" Saint Lucia said, offended. "But how?! We... we're just island nations! We're not big and strong like America or England. We don't even have a military force!"

"I know! But that doesn't mean we can't survive!" Bahamas objected. "I'm scared too... but we're not gonna go anywhere if we stay here moping! Please Lucy... don't give up. Let's just try to live... for everyone. For Isaiah."

Saint Lucia remained silent for a while, thinking about what Bahamas said. Bahamas could undersyand why. Both of them are small island nations, they're not used to this sort of thing with wars and tragedy like the bigger islands. Bahamas became glad when Saint Lucia looked back up, she still looked rather tense, but she smiled and held Bahamas'd hand again. "I... I guess you're right, let's get going!"

/ / / / / /

America searched through his channels in boredom with Mexico leaning on his shoulder sleepily as he frowned in annoyance. There's really nothing interesting worth watching right now, mostly because he just wants to start with the war already. Mexico snuggled closer to him, her chest pushing against his body and he nearly snorted. For some reason, his sister likes be very affectionate and borderline intimate with him every time they're together. Though some of it is normal for her people, Americans… value their personal space.

He supposed it was to make up for the "love-hate" act, he's more than happy to do that too. But still… Kissing on the cheeks as a greeting? Sure, but only his sister. Sleeping on the same bed? Alright. Wearing her underwear when he's in the room? No... just… no.

America also suspects it has something to do with her feud/grudge/hate/rivalry with his lover. He just can't really figure out why she doesn't like his love and makes sure she sits between them. His lover always tells him that Mexico's "always out to get him." Ah, one day they'll get along, he's sure.

His thoughts about his little sister were interrupted when he arrived at the news channel and he lightly shrugged his sister off. "Rosa… Rosa! Look at this!" he exclaimed.

Mexico blinked several times and rubbed her eyes. "Yes, hermano? Look at what…" she trailed off as she saw the screen and squealed in joy. "They did it! They really did it!" she exclaimed excitedly and America hugged her which she happily returned. The siblings laughed happily as they heard the news play.

They were playing the news about the Caribbean. According to them, many islands have descended into chaos. Earthquakes, storms, and the mysterious assassinations of the leaders of the nations there. The only nations unaffected by this are Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Haiti and Dominican Republic. And to some extent Saint Lucia and the Bahamas.

"Just a little more, sis. Then it'll be payback time." America stated as he hugged his sister.

/ / / / / /

France sat quietly in his armchair, hand covering his eyes as his headache gradually started to heal, but still gradually. Monaco stood not far from him, looking at him worriedly and she contemplated whether she should talk to him or not. It's been like this for like an hour or two. After France's condition got worse, Monaco drove them back to his house, despite her insistence that they should call a doctor. After that, France went to sit down and barely has said a word since.

As Monaco considered asking him what's going on, she heard the phone ring and she rushed over to where it was and picked it up. "Oui? Who is it?" She asked calmly, and her eyes widened slightly as the person on the other line spoke. "Oui, he's here with me… Alright, I'll tell him." Monaco agreed reluctantly and looked at France in concern. "It's Angleterre, he says it's urgent."

France glanced up and nodded. "Alright, thank you Lucille." He thanked her, stood up from his chair and Monaco handed him the phone. "What is it, Angleterre? I'm not in the mood for your whining right now."

"That makes bloodly both of us." England grumbled from the other side. "But I mean it when I said this is serious, frog. Now did you also felt something happen to your territories in the Caribbean?"

France widened his eyes at the question. "Oui, I did. It felt like…"

"Like they were ripped off from us? Yes, it did."

"Don't interrupt me, Britain. So, you're saying something happened to your Caribbean territories too?" France asked, this was odd.

"Yes! I tried to contact them to see if they're alright, but they didn't bloody answer! Then, I saw the news."

France raised an eyebrow. "What news, Angleterre?" he asked confused.

There was silence on the other line. "…You don't know?"

"Non, I wasn't feeling well."

"Well, as it turns out the Caribbean went mad! Weather disasters, the leaders' dead, it's bloody hell there!"

"But who did this? Who would try something like this?"

"I don't know, frog. But they attacked _our_ territories, it's a declaration of war. I'm calling an emergency meeting in my country, we're going to get to the bottom of this."

/ / / / / /

"The first step is done." Austria remarked, looking at the map with the Caribbean crossed out.

"Now, while everyone is suspicious of each other, we'll continue our operations." Prussia stated.

"Everything is going according to plan. The Africans will begin the conquest of their continent and we'll own almost half of the world and later more."

/ / / / / /

Bahamas and Saint Lucia sat quietly in their seats in the private jet, they held each other's hands as they kept thinking about the uncertain future. Honestly, they're not sure if they're going to survive this, but they're both glad they at least have each other for support.

The sudden sound of the TV being interrupted caught their attention, it was the news. They felt sick to their stomachs. News about _them_. Their neighbors…

Bahamas covered her mouth in shock as she saw what was happening everywhere in the other islands. Everyone… they really are…

She heard crying and she looked next to her to see Saint Lucia shaking as tears fell from her eyes and she grabbed her hand tightly. Saint Lucia was trying very hard not to cry and Bahamas's heart broke for her. Bahamas put her hand on her shoulder and Saint Lucia threw herself at her, finally letting out sobs and crying her broken heart out. Eventually, Bahamas started to cry herself.

Today started out like any other one, it was great, they were happy…

Until it all shattered in just a short amount of time.

 **Welp, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. This is kind of a set up for a kind of sub-plot of the two girls trying to escape the Americas. Also, what did you think of Egypt's dream? He saw some stuff that symbolizes very important stuff that's gonna happen. PLEASE REVIEW! I really want to know what you think.**

 **Fun fact: I was originally going to have Cuba killed off along with the other Caribbean nations and later that would create some angst with Canada but one day a thought occurred to me. What if Cuba was in the Order too and was pretending to be nice to Canada? The more I thought about it the more I started to like that idea more. It's a lot more interesting like that, no?**


	5. Conquest

**Thank you for those who reviewed, followed and favorited. To Carmen, thank you for what you said about my OCs. I'm glad you like them. And don't worry about the long review, I know that the brits don't have all the blame but in the eyes of vengeful and angry America and Mexico, England is the one responsable for starting it all, they blame him for the deaths and for the racism. BTW I'm a history nerd too, so I understand. Now, on with the show!**

Everyone is aware how Macau takes great pride in his casinos, every single one of them are built to be luxurious resorts meant to feed on the greed of Macau's gambling-loving population and of course look very stylish. But one little fact that many countries aren't aware of is that he helped design and fund these places, with the assistance of America (who also has his fair share of casinos in Las Vegas). If a nation was told of this fact, they would probably say "Oh, really? Interesting," or something along those lines. But the thing is…

That fact has a different meaning if you know that Macau is a member of the New World Order.

Yes, and the parts that he helped design are various secret rooms meant for the Order to use for their own needs. For example, the one that the East Asian Order nation are using right now is a room meant for when the six East Asian members meet up to talk about important matters… or just enjoy a fun game of poker.

"So, have any of you have thought of how we're going to divide China's territory between us?" Macau asked calmly as he kept his eyes on his cards with his legendary poker-face.

Mongolia looked up from his cards and put on a thoughtful expression. "Not really… But I am definitely going to take back Inner Mongolia." He stated with slight bitterness.

"Ah, of course." Macau smiled, then glanced at Hong Kong. "Leon and I were discussing on splitting the provinces on the coast South China Sea then going north, depending which is closer to us. We'll split Guangdong in half, I will get Guangxi and Hainan while he will get Fujian and Jiangxi. We already agreed on that, but we wanted to discuss with all of you first."

"Master, are you going to get Beijing?" Hong Kong asked his mentor. "You deserve it."

Mongolia smiled. "Perhaps, but I thought it'll be much worth once I burn it to the ground." He commented, and Hong Kong nodded in understanding. "Do you have any desire for territory, Felipe?"

Felipe AKA the Philippines, took another card from the pile and looked in thought. "Well… not really, I was considering getting a bit of land from Malaysia or Indonesia, but I'm not interested. You can all have fun without me." The brown haired young man waved it off.

"I see, feel free to let us know if you change your mind."

"Hmm… What about you North Korea? Do you have any plans to expand your borders after you become the sole and unified Korea?" Macau asked the long-braided young man who has been mostly silent through the entire game.

North Korea looked at his friends with a stoic look that seems to be present mask or not, and smirked. "My main priority is eradicating Yong-Soo from this world…" He smirked, which would be very terrifying for nations not in the Order. "But the idea of expanding my borders and torturing China at the same time is very appealing. I will be taking a province or two."

"Sounds good." Macau smiled, then glanced at the sixth member of their little meeting, who also has been oddly quiet the entire time. Macau figured he's probably busy imagining how's he going to accomplish his goal. "How about you? What do you plan to do after you've made your dream come true?"

The sixth one didn't answer at first, instead deciding to chuckle a little before revealing his hand to everyone present. Mongolia's eyes widened, and he smiled, Hong Kong's eye twitched and he looked dangerously close to ripping his own hair out, Philippines burst out laughing and Macau pouted playfully. It was a royal flush. The sixth smirked at his friends' reactions (Mongolia had to restrain Hong Kong from attacking him). "To answer your question, Macau. I already said that I wanted to take part in torturing China, I want payback just as much as you all do. But for now, I think I'm going to focus…" he brought all the chips that he won to him and smirked ominously. "…on taking back what's mine."

/ / / / / /

It's been two days since the attack on the Caribbean. The Europeans were suspicious of each other, but as much as England, France and the Netherlands. The fact that they lost contact with their territories is very worrying. Spain tried to call Cuba, but no luck. The three affected were angry that someone dared to attack their overseas territories, it was declaration of war!

But from who? No one knew.

Everyone waited anxiously for the attacker to come forward and reveal themselves. But some are trying to find out themselves, but come back with zero results. Things were, for a lack of a better word, tense.

Despite how worried the Europeans were, people outside the continent weren't afraid of an attack on them.

They should be.

/ / / / / /

Morocco, South Africa, Cameroon, Nigeria and Liberia arrived early to make sure everything was in place for when the entire continent arrive. Everything must go according to plan. Failure is not an option for the African five. They didn't wait years hiding their bloodlust just to fail.

South Africa oversaw the agenda and needed to have all the statistics for each of the members, since he was the one hosting the meeting. They placed the papers were inside folders in front of each seat, ready for the other Africans to sign them. The African Union meetings usually go well, they make sure of it. They're going to make sure this one is no different.

They _will_ succeed. The contract was on the first pages in each folder. They're going to get straight to the point. No discussions about crime, poverty, migration, corruption, no. They're going to talk about trade and allegiances in the next World War.

They looked up when they heard the door open, and they weren't surprised to see an almond skinned young woman with wavy waist-length dark brown hair with her bangs pulled to the left. She was wearing a plain black sleeve top with and an Ovambo tribe patterned skirt and matching headband. Two maroon anklets rest on her left leg and she was also wearing black flats. Namibia entered the room, brown eyes landing on South Africa.

"Hello, Chris." Namibia greeted as she walked over to him. "How are you…" she trailed off when she saw the other four walking around, looking confused.

South Africa came up with a lie with ease. "They volunteered to help me set up the meeting." He smiled brightly at her, it was technically true. "They came pretty early."

"Hiya, Namibia!" Liberia greeted loudly, grinning and waving. "Still the early bird, aren't ya!"

"Yeah, I can see that…" Namibia's eye twitched in annoyance and she sighed. "I'm going to go sit down."

Just as she turned around and started to walk away, South Africa frowned and held out his hand only to brush her beautiful brown locks. As South Africa watched her go, he felt something in him snap and he grabbed her arm. No… she's not going to walk away from him… she'll never leave his side… better start getting used to it. Namibia was startled by the sudden and tight grip and yelped. The other four snapped their heads at the sound and immediately became worried that South Africa slipped up. Luckily South Africa realized his mistake and quickly grinned at Namibia.

"Aw, come on, Talisa! It's been a while since we saw each other, let's catch up!" He laughed loudly and wrapped his arm around Namibia, much to her chagrin.

"We saw each other three days ago." She grumbled angrily, trying to get her neighbor's arm to let her go.

"I know, right? It's been forever!" South Africa grinned. Again, technically true, in his opinion. It feels like it's been years every time he sees her again. "We should meet up more often!"

"Really? I think we see each other too much." Namibia muttered, looking like she wanted to smack her neighbor in the head.

"Aww, don't be like that, Tal!"

"Don't call me Tal!"

As the two chattered on, or one-sidedly argued, the other four African allies sighed in relief. Just because today they're going to show their true colors, doesn't mean they should act rashly and tear off their masks too early. Liberia whistled as he saw the amusing conversation.

"Wow, that was close." Liberia sweat dropped, South Africa looked readier to crack than Molossia.

"Yeah, someone's getting really hungry." Nigeria smirked.

"Aren't we all?" Morocco asked with a deceptively pleasant smile.

"We're all hungry for our first kill and for our revenge." Cameroon stated with his usual stoic face, and grabbed at his tie, if you look closely you can see he looks conflicted with himself. "The taste of the raw flesh of man and the need to quench our thirst with our enemies' blood has nearly driven us insane in all the years we had to pretend and hide this side of us. Now that it's finally time, our bloodlust is only getting stronger." He fisted his hands, and looked at his friends with a determined expression. "We just have to wait a little bit more… then, we can eat."

/ / / / / /

Egypt parked his car in one of the few good spaces left, he glanced at the building where the meeting is going to take place, and sighed. He hopes that the others won't notice that he's arriving a little later than usual, you can thank the lack of sleep for that. Egypt frowned, the dream he had was still fresh on his mind and he couldn't stop thinking about it. So, he devoted hours he should have spent on sleeping on trying to find the meaning of his visions.

First, he wondered _why_ he even had those visions to begin with. What could it all mean? The two girls being chased by shadows means that the two are trying to escape from a powerful threat they are powerless to fight against, the man surrounded by corpses… Egypt isn't so sure what that disturbing vision means. Death? Insanity? The lotus flower covered in blood… he has a suspicion on who could it be referring to but he does not like what it means. The girl with the French flag, he has no clue. The two brothers, there literally dozens of possibilities on who could they be.

It doesn't help that for some reason he can remember what _happened_ in the visions, but he can't remember what they looked like.

Overall, it worried him a lot. He kept getting a bad feeling ever since then, something terrible will happen today. What made things even more worrisome is that as he got closer to South Africa and to the building, the feeling grew. Egypt wished his mother were still here, she'd know how to help him. Well, he shouldn't stay here wasting more time, there's a meeting he must attend.

Egypt was glad to see that he wasn't running late and there were still a few empty seats. He took a seat next to Libya, a woman with sleek black hair that passed her shoulders and gold colored eyes who smiled at him in greeting, and waited for the others to arrive. A few minutes later he heard two people arguing and saw Algeria talking to her brother Tunisia, the former was a woman with long wavy dark brown hair, light brown skin, and brown eyes and the latter was a man slightly younger with the same color of skin and eyes, but his hair was brown and a little messy. Their arguing continued even after Algeria sat next to Egypt with Tunisia next to her and he felt a headache forming.

Thankfully Algeria must have noticed his discomfort because she smiled apologetically at Egypt. "Oh, hello Egypt. Sorry if we're disturbing you but it just seems that my brother…" she glared at Tunisia. "…thinks that I have gone insane."

"I did not!" Tunisia exclaimed, waving his hands in denial. "I said you were being too paranoid!"

"It still doesn't change the fact that you're blind to what's happening."

"I'm not! You're just overthinking what's happening!"

"What is happening exactly?" Egypt asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's Morocco." Tunisia answered worriedly. Oh, did he and Algeria have another fight? "I know what you're thinking, but this isn't about any argument about Sahara or something. You see, Algeria and I arrived at the meeting together, when our brother passed by to say hello to us. Now, Algeria's being paranoid." He explained in dismay, while Algeria's eyebrow twitched.

"You're paranoid… because he went to greet you?" Egypt asked slowly, questioning the veracity of that statement. "Morocco is a very polite man, I don't see-"

"Gah! You don't understand, Gupta!" Algeria angrily cut him off, looking like she's at her wits end. "You weren't there. When Morocco came over to say hi, I rolled my eyes and readied myself for another… remark about my appearance. But no, he didn't do that. After he greeted Tunisia and looked at me, he _smiled_. My brother, who loves annoying me and I him, smiled an honest and happy smile. He literally said "Well, hello sister. How is your day?" Since when was he so friendly with me?!"

"Maybe he's in a good mood!" Tunisia suggested.

"Maybe he is planning something! I saw it when he smiled at me, brother. He looked like he knows something very big is going on and that he's going to enjoy watching me suffer." Algeria insisted, sweat dropping at the last part.

And the two began arguing again while Egypt thought about what the siblings told him. Morocco being nice to Algeria? That did sound rather suspicious if you think about it. Looking like he knows something is going on and that he's going to enjoy it? While he could understand Tunisia not wanting his two siblings fighting, he trusts Algeria. Algeria is a smart and stern woman, paranoia is not in her character. Before he could delve deeper into it, he noticed that the last Africans arrived, and the doors closed. The meeting was going to begin. Egypt kept his attention at the country hosting only to notice that he was smirking with Morocco, Nigeria, Cameroon and Liberia. That's odd.

South Africa stood up to address all the other nations. "Thank you for coming, everyone." He said and smiled. "Please open your papers to page one."

Everyone did as they were told, and Egypt opened the folder and took out the papers. He opened the first page expecting to see something like Zimbabwe's economy, the violence in Uganda's country or Somalia's civil war but he didn't see any of that. His eyes widened. In fact, he did not expect this… at all. What… what in Tutankhamen's name is this?! He could hear the others are having the same reaction as him, only the confusion turned into outrage.

"What the hell is this?!"

"Is this some kind of joke, Chris?" That sounded like Namibia.

"Explain yourself, South Africa!"

"If you are all done being noisy…" Morocco began, not looking bothered by the papers at all, in fact he looked a little bored. "Let us explain what we gave you."

Everyone quieted down, confused by Morocco's nonchalant attitude towards the situation, including Egypt and Algeria. "Morocco…" Algeria began slowly, a worried Tunisia beside her. "What is the meaning…"

Morocco ignored her, much to Algeria's anger, and to add another surprise to this already confusing day, Liberia stood up. "That papers in front of you are contracts." Liberia explained, raising even more questions. "By signing them, you'd be cutting off all ties to some nations and only trade exclusively to those in the contract and you'd give aid when requested. Basically, become allies."

As soon as the nation finished saying that, everything clicked. Egypt paled. Of course, that's why he kept having a bad feeling when he arrived! But question still remains. Why?

"Rahim!" Algeria yelled at Morocco, this time louder and angrier. "Answer my question! What is the meaning of this?!"

Morocco only smirked at his sister, apparently amused by her confusion. "Exactly what Liberia said, these are contracts and you're going to sign them." He explained calmly as he sipped his mint tea.

"And what exactly makes you think we'll sign them?" Ethiopia asked suspiciously.

Laughter was heard, and everyone's eyes landed on Nigeria, who was sitting casually with his feet on the table and an amused look on his face. "Trust me, we have our ways to make you cooperate, Ethiopia." He smirked at the man's shocked reaction. Egypt felt both shock and sadness, Ethiopia must feel very betrayed. South Africa, Morocco, Liberia and Nigeria… who else is involved?

"So anyway…" South Africa finally spoke, and Egypt suddenly felt a change in atmosphere when he looked at South Africa. He felt a shiver go down his spine and he realized several Africans are looking at South Africa in _fear_. He then realized that yes, for some reason, South Africa felt terrifying. "…if you could all just-"

The sound of someone banging the table interrupted the South African, and Egypt saw that the one responsible was Namibia, whose hand was on the table and she looked really, _really_ angry. No, that would be an understatement, she looked pissed. Namibia's furious brown eyes glared at South Africa, who only looked mildly surprised by the outburst. Namibia gritted her teeth in seething anger, ready to maim South Africa.

"You… You damn selfish lying greedy bastard…" Namibia hissed, hate and anger very present in her voice. "How dare you! You… what… how could you?! This… if I sign this… which I won't… I'll be your territory again!" It was no surprise that she was angry at that, Namibia fought fiercely to escape South Africa's grip and gain freedom for herself. Now, he's telling her to sign her freedom away.

South Africa looked mildly amused at Namibia's anger. "Yes, pretty much. You're going to be _mine_ again. Isn't that great?" He asked with a cheerful smile, that now that his apparent true nature has been revealed, looked very unnerving.

"NO! IT'S NOT GREAT!" Namibia screamed at him, the nations next to her, Mozambique and Botswana, had to cover their ears. Namibia then calmed down a little, stood up, and stomped over to South Africa, despite some nations' objections. "You… really think… that after what you put me through… after we made up… and especially after this stunt, I would happily agree to this and run to your arms?"

"No, I expected this reaction from you." South Africa admitted. "But like Nigeria said, we have our ways."

"Well, guess what? I'm not scared of you." Namibia growled, and held up the paper in front of her. Egypt really had to admire her bravery. "In fact…" she slowly ripped the paper from the middle, but something happened. As soon as she ripped the paper Namibia screamed, startling almost everyone in the room, and collapsed on the floor clutching her midsection. Egypt saw that her face was in pain, but no wound was visible.

The four allies looked unbothered by this and South Africa even smiled at seeing Namibia in pain. "Oh, that wasn't a smart thing to do, Talisa." He cooed mockingly. "Rip the papers, then your organs will suffer, setting it on fire will get your organs cooked." Much to everyone's disturbance, he licked his lips at that idea. "Get water all over it… will liquefy your organs."

And so, any ideas the nations had of destroying the contract were destroyed and Egypt was now very worried at their situation. Curses, they can't destroy the papers and they're in South Africa's territory, far, far away from his land. Egypt looked at Namibia, who was now being tended to by Mozambique and Botswana, and noticed that someone else was standing in front of them handing them another paper for Namibia. To add even another surprise, it was Cameroon, who was looking at the scene with an emotionless face. Namibia glared at him and reluctantly took the paper and Cameroon went back to his seat. Cameroon… now that is surprising.

"So…" South Africa clapped his hands. "Who wants to sign first? Or do I need to call the bombers?"

"B-Bombers?" Zimbabwe asked.

"There are bombers in each of your countries waiting for our orders to attack, if you refuse to comply." Cameroon stated calmly.

"W-wait a minute…" Namibia weakly said as she tried to stand up. "Are you behind the attack at the Caribbean?" she asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion as she refused to let her injuries make her weak.

"Actually, that was the work of our allies in the Americas." Liberia answered, smirking. "Well, _some_ of them."

"We've been working for years for this all of this. We've hidden them for you can't find them, we've made sure you can't sense any of our soldiers, air or naval force, or even explosives in your lands." Morocco said, smirking at the others' faces.

"T-that can't be!" Libya exclaimed.

"So, should we call them or not?" South Africa grinned, eyes full of malice. "Because I already have a target or two in mind…" his eyes trailed to Lesotho and Swaziland, who shook in fear at the nation that mostly surrounded them. Egypt felt horrified at the threat, South Africa was like an older brother figure to Lesotho, not to mention the child depends almost completely on South Africa. He… he would brutally injure children to get them all to comply to their demands?!

"You… you wouldn't…" Botswana shook his head, fear in his features.

"Oh, yes I can." South Africa said. "Don't believe me? Then let me demonstrate-"

"WAIT!" Mozambique shouted, regret in her features. "I'll… I'll sign."

"Me too." Botswana said quietly.

South Africa smirked, putting his phone back in his pocket. Egypt watched sadly as Mozambique and Botswana dejectedly signed the papers, those two are also close to the two children, he understands why they would give in. Egypt glanced back at a still smirking South Africa, feeling a bit of anger starting to rise. Five nations in their own continent… doing this to all of them… and from what he saw, they're not afraid and they're willing to cross the line to get what they want.

Egypt looked around and what he saw saddened him. Many Africans are signing, he could see the fear in their faces as they resigned to their fates. He noticed some of them occasionally glanced up at South Africa in fear. He understands why many are giving in. South Africa's military is not someone you want as an enemy, and he has influence on several countries too. There's also the fact that South Africa knows how to make nuclear weapons and giving how his true nature is…

Yes, it would not be wise to have him as an enemy.

Egypt looked at his paper with his usual blank stare, masking his inner turmoil of what to do now. He frowned. What should he do? This day was full of revelations, bad ones. What would be the smart thing to do? What would be the best for his people? He thought about the five nations. South Africa is a force to be reckoned with, like he said. Nigeria has good strength. Morocco, Cameroon and Liberia are not nations known for their military, but the fact that they're doing this and that tkhey apparently hid their true nature tells him they're more powerful than they make themselves out to be.

"So, when are you going to sign, Salah?" Morocco asked calmly, and Egypt nearly flinched when he realized the man was almost standing in front of him.

"Hmm… how about never?" Algeria spat, looking determined to stand her ground. "I'll never sign this paper of shit!"

Morocco stared at her for a few seconds before smiling at Tunisia. "How about you, Ubon?" he asked.

Tunisia glared at his brother. "I don't think so." He said.

"Oh, what a shame." Morocco lamented with faux sadness. Egypt felt slightly alarmed when Morocco's eyes landed on him. "And you, Egypt?"

"Please. Egypt would never give in to a nadhil's demands." Algeria snapped as she crossed her arms.

"We'll see about that. Egypt also knows he should do what's best for his nation, no?"

This is it. Egypt narrowed his eyes at the Moroccan and looked at his paper. If he signs this, then he won't have to worry about his country being nuked. If he signs this, then the five nations will able to use his resources however they want. If he signs this, then he's signing his freedom away. He thought about the dream he had, and what it could mean. Something horrible did happen today, but this is just the beginning to something much, _much_ worse. But he won't let that defeat him. Egypt glared at Morocco. "She's right. I'm not signing this contract."

Morocco remained silent at that answer, staring at him with an emotionless expression that seemed to pierce his soul, and then looked around. "Oh dear. It seems there are some who share your stubbornness." He mutters.

Egypt looked at the others and saw that most of the Africans have signed but there are ten nations that didn't sign, including Namibia, and remained glaring at the five allies sitting at the head of the table. At least there's some resistance.

"Are you going to sign or not?" Liberia asked, looking annoyed.

"No way." Kenya snapped, glaring with venom. "We're not letting you do whatever you want to us."

"Don't worry, we have the majority." Cameroon said, and he looked at the nations that didn't sign. "You can all go."

The ten nations kept glaring at the five before standing from their seats, and leaving the room. Algeria gave Morocco one last glare before looking at Tunisia, the two siblings also stood up and Algeria looked at Egypt. "Come on, Egypt. Let's go." She told him. Egypt glanced at the five allies, and then nodded, standing from his chair and following them. As Egypt walked away, a question burned in his mind, and he decided to turn around.

"Wait!" He exclaimed, and the room snapped their attention towards him, Algeria and Tunisia also stopped to look at him confusedly. Egypt narrowed his eyes at the five. "Just how long have all of you been planning this?" he asked, wanting to know just how long they've fooled them.

The five allies looked thoughtful at this, and South Africa was the one who answered. "Well, Prussia approached me in the late 1800's after-"

"Prussia?!" Most of the room exclaimed in surprise. Egypt's jaw almost dropped to the floor. Now, _that_ he did not expect. Then again, he didn't expect any of this.

"That's right~" Nigeria sang, amused. "He's one of our leaders, along with Austria. Totally fooled you, didn't we? Hell, everyone in our group fooled you for years!"

"And who else is also in your group?" Egypt asked, eyes narrowed.

"The answer to that question is in page two." Morocco answered as he sipped his tea (does he always do that?). The nations on the table did so, and Egypt saw that most of them stared at the names in shock and denial. Some looked downright completely horrified. There must be people who they considered close friends in there. As Egypt wondered just who, Morocco spoke again. "You might want to read them too, Egypt. There's someone who I'm _quite_ sure will surprise you, Algeria and Tunisia too." He commented cheerfully, and Egypt wondered if the man was looking forward to his reaction.

Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia looked at each other and they went towards their papers and opened them. They were not ready for what they saw. Egypt felt completely horrified at the names of the nations. America, Switzerland, Norway… Brazil?! North Korea?! North Korea was also involved? And with America too? It took all of Egypt's self-restraint to not crush the paper or risk very painful injuries, but he was close when he saw some other people and he paled. Saudi Arabia? Iran? What on earth are they… his eyes saw one name of a certain country and he froze. He blinked several to make sure that he actually is seeing that name on the paper. It was. No… No, no, no no…

"Ya 'iilhi…" Algeria muttered, seeing the same name Egypt did. "It can't be…"

"I cannot believe this…" Tunisia muttered in shock. " _He_ lied to us too?"

"La…" Egypt said quietly and slowly. "La. No, no, no, no, no, NO, NO, NO!" Egypt shouted, each time louder and angrier. So much that the others had to cover their ears, the five allies smirked in amusement. "THIS CAN'T BE! That bastard lied to us too?! I cannot believe this! How could he…" he gritted his teeth and screamed in pure rage at the sky.

/ / / / / /

The third sneezed, mildly startling Iran and Saudi Arabia as they sat on the open back of the truck, and he had a feeling someone was thinking about him. He smirked, and not in a good way. If he had to guess, it's probably Egypt. The Africans have probably gotten to the point where they reveal who's in the group.

He relaxed and enjoyed the breeze. He'll see his reaction himself soon enough.

/ / / / / /

Austria relayed the message Liberia gave him to Prussia. Things are going all according to plan. Now, they have to give new orders to the nations in the Americas sans the Caribbean. Ones that they're sure that will bring a smile on their faces. It is what they've waited for so long.

Austria heard a chuckle from Brazil after he told him about the orders he had given to him and his neighbors. "I'm sure they'll be pleased." he heard him say. Austria also told Brazil that in the chance he sees Portugal, he can get him too, just try not to kill him. This made Brazil even happier.

The orders they gave concerned Spain, the South Americans are finally going to get their revenge. He can only imagine how happy they'll be to hear this news, it would be like a tree full of dozens of Christmas presents. They made a good decision in recruiting them, angry orphans are truly a force to be reckoned with.

/ / / / / /

"…Okay, I got it. We'll head over there and start them as soon as possible. Later." And with that, America ended the call and turned to look at his sister, who was looking at him curiously.

"What did the jefes want, Alfred?" Mexico asked.

"Yup. You're going to come with me…" America began, and Mexico already brightened up, making America's smirk widen. "To meet up with our family in the South plus Cuba, Puerto Rico and DR to take care of Spain." He finished, and he waited for her reaction.

Mexico looked at him in shock for a few seconds before a smile spread on her lips. "De… De verdad?" America nodded, and Mexico beamed and hugged her brother in joy. "Si! Finally, I'll get back at that puto for everything he did to me and everyone else. Our first step to avenging madre is going to be complete!" she exclaimed excitedly.

America nodded, pleased to see his sister so happy. "Yes, and I'll be there to watch you and the others tear the bastard apart." He told her.

"Oh, Alfred! This is great! Our days of pretending are over and we'll get the revenge we waited for so long!" Mexico buried her face in his chest. "And we can finally show how we really feel. We'll be there together."

"I know, Rosa." America stroked her hair. "Nothing and no one will ever try to keep us apart ever again."

After a few minutes of blissful silence Mexico spoke again. "So what time are we going, hermano?" she asked, breaking the hug to look at him.

"In a few hours, right after our third traveling companion arrives." America answered, slightly dreading how she'll react to who it is.

Mexico raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Is Cuba coming with us?" she asked, smiling.

"Well, no. Cuba's going on his own ride." America scratched his head. "My boyfriend's coming with us." And let the explosions begin.

Mexico did not say a word after he answered, her smile became very tight and her eye twitched. "Oh." She said simply.

America smiled slightly nervously at the obvious massive restraint and sighed. "Listen, sis, he-"

"Does he… does he know that I'm coming too?" Mexico asked, smile becoming more strained.

"Yes, but he really wants to spend time with me so-"

"That… incubus is coming with us? To spoil our family reunion of killing España?"

America sighed at the nickname. "Just for a while-"

"No. I'm not allowing it." Mexico crossed her arms.

"Rosa…"

"Come on…" Mexico put on the cutest puppy-face look she could muster. "Your hermanita who loves you very much wants some alone time with you. Pwease?" she pleaded, hugging her brother and stroking his chest. "For your sister?"

"Rosa…" America sighed, and gently pulled her arms off. "It'll just be for a while. After we arrive at Spain he can return to his post." Mexico hugged him tighter. "Please?"

Mexico groaned. "Fine. That pendejo can come with us. But I'm keeping an eye on him" she warned, cracking her knuckles. "He can't beat me. I'll show him!" Mexico continued grumbling angrily as America sighed. Sometimes he worries for his sister.

/ / / / / /

Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Namibia, Chad, and the Sudans and Congos. The nations that didn't sign the papers, waited at the airport. They decided that they would travel to Europe for help, hopefully news of this spread outside the Union. They would try to escape. But there was one thing that bothered them.

The five let them go easy, too easy. They have to be planning something, after all the threats. They're probably in a lot more trouble than they think.

Somalia narrowed his eyes in suspicion, looking around, before he noticed something.

The airport was empty, completely empty. Not a single soul was in sight. How can that be?! The airport was filled with people a few minutes ago! Why would every human suddenly… Oh no.

Somalia cursed under his breath and directed his attention towards the others. "Everyone, we need to get out of here. Now." He hissed.

"Why?" Ghana asked.

"When was the last time you idiots looked at your surroundings?" Somalia snapped angrily. He resisted the urge to facepalm when the others looked around and their eyes widened at the realization.

"You're right." Ethiopia said, alarmed. "We should leave."

As if the fact that they moved was the sign they needed, suddenly South African soldiers burst into the room from all directions. The soldiers quickly closed in on them and pointed their guns toward them, looking ready to shoot at any sign of resistance. The nations were caught off guard by this and could only stand there in shock until the soldiers started to close in. Despite their efforts, they were all eventually restrained.

"Curses! They knew!" Somalia growled.

"Let… go!" Kenya shouted, as soldiers struggled to restrain her.

Suddenly the soldiers froze, and they could hear footsteps approaching. Which one of them is it? The soldiers cleared to reveal two people that they did not expect.

"Switzerland?! Lithuania?!" Uganda questioned.

Switzerland smirked while Lithuania looked at them coldly, both of which looked terrifying.

"We knew some of you would try to escape. You honestly thought we didn't know that? It was obvious that you would go to the airport." Switzerland explained, pointing his gun at them.

"Why are you two a part of this?" Namibia asked, not happy that the enemy is managing to scare her.

"We have our reasons." Lithuania explained coolly. "Now, let's get you back to the African five. I'm sure they'll be delighted to punish you for this."

 **BTW the Namibia I'm using is Otamari's deviantart OC.**

 **Haha another member revealed! And what's this?! ANOTHER mystery nation?! This one should be slightly easier to figure out. Well, Carmen I said I'd give you plenty of Africa OCs, I hope you liked them. Sorry if I got anything wrong. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	6. To Escape

**Thanks for those who reviewed! Now, on with the show!**

Canada was worried.

It's been two days since the incident at the Caribbean and the culprit is still unknown. When he first heard the news, he immediately tried to call Cuba, but he didn't answer, he tried again a few hours later only to get the same result. Canada tried again and again and with other Caribbean islands he had ties to but nothing. And now here he is sitting in his couch hugging Kumajiro anxiously.

"What do you think, Kumakichi? Is Cuba going to be okay?" he asked his pet bear, who looked at him curiously.

"Who are you?" It asked.

Canada sighed, of course even in dire situations Kuma can't remember who he is. "I'm Canada your owner." He reminded, _again_.

"I'm hungry." It complained.

This is really getting old, he sighed again and frowned. Canada didn't need any more reminders that he's forgettable, he needs some sort of comfort, he needs… he widens his eyes and quickly dials a number. Of course! America! America is always the optimistic one, he's willing to sit through the hero speech if it means getting reassurance that everything's going to be ok. Cuba's probably fine, right? He heard that Cuba strangely hasn't suffered any damage along with three or four others. Cuba's probably in his house grumbling and complaining about something… right?

He stops hearing the beeping and moves the phone away a little. "Hiya Mattie!" America's voice loudly sounded from the phone and Canada smiled. "What's up, bro? Do you need help only the hero can provide?" his brother asked cheerfully, and Canada took a deep breath.

"A-Alfred… I… I'm worried." Canada said, then shook his head, "About Cuba I mean."

"Why ya worried about the commie? I heard he's doing okay. Silly Mattie, did ya even read the news?"

"O-Of course I heard the news!" Canada exclaimed, but not too loudly. "But I can't contact him for some reason."

"Huh?"

"I mean I keep trying to call him, but I get no response, it always goes to voicemail." his hand trembled as he explained. "A-And I'd go to his place just to see for myself, but I discovered that all the flights to Cuba had been cancelled! No one can get in! Maple hockey! How are you not worried, Alfred?! Aren't you worried about Puerto Rico?"

America remained silent for a few seconds and Canada guessed he must be surprised that he snapped, before Canada could apologize he heard America's voice again. "Rico? He's doing fine, he's tough. Besides I called him yesterday and I saw that he's A-Okay! Well, not completely but he's not hurt. Turns out that the power outage situation got worse and he's been trying to call me for hours, it's kinda funny how he sounded when he finally got the line working! Hahahaha." Canada sighed at his brother's care-free attitude, this is serious, but he supposed he should have expected this. "Poor kid, and just when I gave him independence too! He never gets a break…"

That caught Canada's attention. "W-Wait, you gave Puerto Rico independence? When?" he asked surprised.

America laughed. "The day the attacks happened. But thankfully all the hero training I've gave him paid off! I'm surprised you haven't heard, Mattie! You really need to stop playing hockey and start watching TV!"

"O-Oh that's horrible but I'm glad that he's fine."

"Oh, and Mattie?" America asked. "Don't worry about the commie. The jerk's a jerk commie but he's a tough guy! I'm sure he's probably in his home eating his entire supply of commie ice cream cause he's bummed he can't reach ya!" he said cheerfully to comfort Canada.

Canada thought about it a little and a smile formed on his face. He never thought America would ever compliment Cuba, but he supposed he just wants to see his brother happy. "You know what? You're right, Alfred, it's gonna take a lot to take down Cuba. I'll keep trying to reach out to him. Thanks, America."

"Anything for you, Mattie."

"Alfred?"

"Yeah, dude?"

"What do think… about all this? Do you think everything's gonna be okay?" Canada asked, looking down.

There was silence on the other line for a few seconds. "Don't you worry Mattie. If anything happens, the hero will be here to save you!" America declared loudly.

"Thank you, Alfred. And if anything happens, I'll be there to help you too. I promise." Canada said determinedly.

If only he could see how America rolled his eyes at that.

/ / / / / /

Seychelles hid behind Mauritius as the latter peeked from the corner to see if there was anyone suspicious on the streets, squeezing his hand tightly. The wavy black-haired man glanced back to give her a quick smile before keeping a lookout again. Seychelles also occasionally looked behind her in fear that one of the five allies followed them here.

They never signed the contract, they only pretended they did. Seychelles clutched her purse where her and Kelvin's contracts were stored away. It was a dumb plan she knew but it was all they had. They didn't want to sign, but they're islands, there's not much they can do, and the five Africans looked terrifying. Before she could sign, Mauritius grabbed her arm and he quietly explained. Mauritius had come up with a plan. He told her he's going to try to escape and ask the other nations for help.

This baffled her, but he told her to wait until the five leave and when they did, he, Comoros and Madagascar came over. Comoros immediately voiced her disapproval and Madagascar tried to convince him to just sign the paper and avoid possibly getting himself very hurt. But of course, Mauritius was dead-set on his genius plan. He's going to try to escape to Madagascar's house with his contract and then catch a plane to India, his go-to guy. To do all that he's going to need some sort of distraction.

The other two still didn't really like the plan but Seychelles did something they did not expect, she asked to come with him. Comoros objected fiercely to that and even Mauritius was reluctant out of fear of her getting hurt and whatever punishment they're going to get if they get caught but Seychelles insisted. Saying that it'll take a while for anyone to notice they're missing, especially her. Many minutes of arguing later Madagascar and Comoros gave up.

So here they are now, somehow leaving the building without anyone noticing and their contracts with them. They took the papers out of fear one of them might do something that'll hurt them a lot but there a more important reason. Proof. Proof of what happened and knowing exactly who's in on it.

Mauritius looked back at her and nodded, and they went into the streets, hoping they'll blend in. Seychelles is scared, she's _terrified_ but one thing's for sure. She feels a lot safer out here with Mauritius than with South Africa, Morocco, Cameroon, Nigeria and Liberia.

/ / / / / /

Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Namibia, Chad, and the Sudans and Congos were tied up in a truck glaring at the duo in front of them. Switzerland kept loading his gun, taking out the rounds and putting them back in, looking rather bored. Lithuania ran his hand on the blade of his sword, ignoring the Africans. Both were ignoring the prisoners. Whenever they tried to ask them where are they taking them and _why_ , they acted as if they weren't there.

It was very frustrating.

Somalia snarled at the two Europeans and struggled in his bonds before muttering some curses in Somali. Ethiopia looked at him worriedly, Somalia rarely loses his temper, but considering the situation he doesn't blame them. Lithuania glanced at him for about two seconds before going back to ignoring him again. Somalia looked at the others, who were glaring at the duo, and narrowed his eyes. "Tani ma fiicna. Sideenu uga baxaynaa halkan?" he whispered to the others, only to get many confused looks in return from the ones who didn't know Somali.

"What?" Namibia whispered.

"I mean, we must find a way to escape." Somalia hissed.

"Ya think?" Kenya glared at him.

"B-but how?" Uganda asked, interrupting them from having an argument.

"I don't know." Somalia admitted. "But cannot let them get away this."

"I agree with Somalia." Ethiopia said, looking serious. "This is situation is a lot worse than we think. So, we can't afford to argue." He said this last part to Somalia and Kenya. "We have to think of _something_."

"You know..." Lithuania began, looking rather disappointed in them. "Normally when you're in a conversation that you don't want the others to hear, you talk _quietly."_ The Africans froze at that statement which made Lithuania smirk slightly. "Not that it matters, really. Escape is impossible"

"You're pretty cocky." Ghana commented in distaste.

"Lithuania cocky? No. He's just stating facts." Switzerland said, still grinning.

"You're never gonna get away with this!" Kenya snarled, struggling in her bonds.

"Oh be quiet, won't you? Don't make this more difficult for you than it needs to be. You're already going to be at the African's mercy and you've already seen just how cruel they really are. Possibly the most bloodthirsty of us all."

Well, that did not sound good at all and the Africans started to get scared at the thought of what they might do. The five allies looked insane, and they shivered at what "punishment" might be waiting for them.

"What do you want with us anyway?" Sudan asked.

"Your resources, simple as that." Lithuania said, and some Africans flinched at his cold stare. "Your land has a lot more value than you think."

"Oh, I should have known." Ghana snarled, looking very angry. "Of course you greedy Europeans would want that."

"Trust me, it has nothing to do with riches." Switzerland narrowed his eyes, almost looking offended. "It's necessary for our goals and to make weapons."

"And just what are your goals?" Ethiopia asked, raising an eyebrow.

Switzerland smirked at Ethiopia. "You'll see."

None of them liked that answer, and they did not like the idea of helping with anything at all. But it apparently looks like there's nothing they can do to get away, these people really have prepared for this. They have no idea what's in store for them, but judging what they've seen of the two Europeans and the five African allies, it wasn't good. They're at their mercy.

/ / / / / /

"ITALY! YOU'RE NOT RUNNING FAST ENOUGH!" Germany yelled at Italy, who was unsurprisingly failing horribly at training, and resisted the urge to bang his head on a wall. Verdammt! How is it that after all these years, Italy still can't run a full lap?! "AND HOW ARE YOU EXHAUSTED ALREADY? IT'S BEEN 20 SECONDS!"

Italy pitifully waved a white flag from where he laid exhausted on the ground. "B-But, Germany! I'm tired!" he whimpered.

"That's no excuse!" Germany shouted, causing Italy to curl up in a fetal position, but Germany wasn't having any of it.

"But-"

"No excuses!"

Japan sweatdropped at the sight in front of him as he finished running his lap, breathing heavily. "Germany-san, perhaps you are being too harsh on Italy-san. It has been a long time since we fought in a war." He pointed out, despite not having fond memories of that time.

"Exactly. Which is why we must train rigorously for when the enemy finally reveal themselves." Germany said, clenching his fists. "We don't know who is behind the attacks, they could attack us anytime, anywhere. So we need to be ready for when war begins."

"W-What? We could be attacked right now?!" Italy looked around frantically in fear.

"Ja, so-"

"GERMANY!" Italy threw himself at Germany, wailing as the latter tried to pry him off. "VEEEE~ Please protect me~!" The pasta-loving idiot clung onto Germany like a boa constrictor, afraid that if he lets go then the bad guys will jump out of the bushes and kill him. You know, Italy's usual fears.

"Italy… GET OFF!" Germany pried him off and sent him flying to the sky, a ve~ could be heard slowly trailing off into the distance and Germany sighed. Remind him how Italy did it in World War II… Oh, right, he hid behind Germany most of the time. He looked at Japan, at least Kiku is doing well in training. "Anyway… good job in running laps, Japan."

"Arigato, Germany-san." Japan nodded, and he looked worriedly at the sky. "That was a little… extreme don't you think?" he asked, wondering if Italy is going to be okay.

"Nein, think of it as practice for when…" Germany trailed off and looked down in guilt. "Alright, maybe I was a little too harsh on him. I'm… sorry but… I'm worried. I feel like that we have to be ready for whatever's coming for us. I just… I have this bad feeling that… Something tells me that…" he groans and turns around, clutching his head. "Forget it. I must sound ridiculous."

Japan frowned, wishing he could help Germany but didn't know what to say. But he has gotten better at this sort of thing lately, so he takes a deep breath. "Germany-san." Japan began. "I know… you're worried that a war might happen, we all are even though some don't show it. Please do not stress yourself so much, there isn't much we can do except wait. If a war does happen, the three of us will make it through it."

"Japan…"

"Forgive me if what I said doesn't help much." Japan looked away, embarrassed of himself. "I am not very talented in these sorts of things."

"Nein…" Germany gave him a small smile. "It did help a little. Thank you, Japan." He looks at the sky where Italy flew off. "Thank God that his brother isn't here or he would be annoyingly screaming at my ear for throwing his brother into the sky."

"Which reminds me… where is Romano-san?" Japan asked curiously.

"Fratello is visiting Boss Spain's house because he's scared of being alone!" Italy's voice cheerfully answered from behind. Germany and Japan jumped and whirled to face a smiling Italy covered in dirt with his hair messy and leaves all over him. "I said that he can come with us for training, but he didn't want to be with Germany, so…"

"How the hell did you get here so fast?!" Germany exclaimed, it normally takes a day or two for Italy to find his way back!

"I landed on a shrub then a nice and pretty lady told me where to go!" Okay… Italy hugged Germany, this time less like a boa constrictor. "Ludwig, I'm sorry for not doing training! I'm promise I'll try more so please, please don't ever throw me again because I found a spider near the shrub and the pretty lady's boyfriend tried to punch me~!"

Germany raised an eyebrow at Italy's story, but he patted his head. "It's alright Italy, and I'm sorry for being too harsh."

"Does that mean we can have pasta?" Italy asked hopefully.

"No, you still have to run five more laps."

"Ve…" Italy said dejectedly.

Well, it took 15 minutes of enduring Italy's begging and whining but Germany finally managed to get him to run five full laps, in good speed too (thanks to the promise that they will all go to have pizza and pasta if Italy finishes in time). And while Italy happily went on about what sort of pasta they'll have to Japan, Germany couldn't help but smile at his closest friends. While he sometimes gets exasperated with them (especially Italy), he truly cares about them. That's why he was so harsh with the training, because he doesn't want anything to happen to them, and he can't always protect Italy…

He clenches his fists. Nein, he won't let anybody hurt the people he cares about. When the enemy appears, they'll be ready. Him, Italy, South Italy, Japan, Austria, Hungary… they'll all be ready.

Unbeknownst to the axis trio, two figures watched them from a distance, they've seen the whole thing. Prussia watched his brother go off with his friends with a sad smile. "Brother… you look so happy with your friends, you really do care about them with all your heart." he said wistfully. But still… his younger brother is unaware that he's training to defeat his own brother. He doesn't know that his friends will have to… He closes his eyes and a tear falls, and looks at Norway. "That's enough. Let's go back to headquarters."

Norway nodded and holds out his hand. After a few seconds a bright circle appears around the ground they're standing on and they vanish without a trace.

/ / / / / /

"Come on, I think this way is safe." Algeria pointed to the right, and Egypt turned the wheel, so the car can go that direction. As they went into a mostly empty street, Egypt took a moment to glance at his companions. Algeria kept her eyes on her window, looking for anything suspicious while Tunisia kept a lookout on the back window to see if someone's following them.

Shortly after leaving the room with emotions ranging from worry to anger, Algeria proposed a plan to escape South Africa and seek help from the Europeans, with the other two agreeing. The problem was how were they going to leave. Leaving the continent via airplane was the first option. Algeria was the one who came up with the idea, but Tunisia wasn't very convinced. It seemed like the easiest but also the most dangerous, it was very unlikely that the five allies didn't think that they wouldn't escape through there, so the idea was out. On foot was out of the question. And so, car was the best option.

So here they are, in Egypt's car trying to make it out of Johannesburg before one of the five try to catch them.

Egypt has mostly calmed down from his… fit of anger when he discovered _that man_ was also a part of all this and is now focusing getting himself and his friends out of harm's way. Although… he frowned. He wondered how will that be possible when most of the Africans have signed the contract. Perhaps they can go to the nations that haven't signed, Namibia is a good choice since it's next to South Africa.

"Do you see anything suspicious, Tunisia?" Algeria asked, looking at her brother.

"I don't think so. I don't see any car that's been following us for a while or a driver that looks like Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Cameroon or Liberia." Tunisia responded, and he glanced back worriedly at them. "I still think it's odd that they let us go so easily."

"I think that too." Algeria said, narrowing her eyes. "They're probably luring into a false sense of security."

"Or getting our hopes up only to crush them." Tunisia wondered. Egypt silently agreed, he had a feeling that it's something _they_ would do.

"Whatever the reason." Egypt spoke, getting the siblings' attention. "We can't let our guard down."

They all agreed on that. And after that everything was quiet, the three kept doing what they were doing and so far, nothing happened. It all seemed too easy, which worried Egypt. But after a while Algeria suddenly gasped and widened her eyes.

"Egypt… stop the car." Algeria said, looking shocked.

"Why? What's wrong?" Tunisia asked.

"What's wrong…? Is it just me or I am seeing Mauritius and Seychelles walking through the streets?" Algeria pointed and the other two were surprised to see that yes, there were two island nations out here. What could they be doing here? Are they trying to escape too?

"I see them too!" Tunisia exclaimed.

Egypt hits his foot on the break, and they slowed down. As soon as the car stopped Algeria swiftly opened the car door and exited the car before anybody could say anything. "HEY!" Algeria shouted at the two islands.

Mauritius and Seychelles jumped and quickly turned around, looks of fear on their faces that turned into confusion. "Algeria?!" They exclaimed at the same time.

/ / / / / /

South Africa, Morocco, Nigeria, Cameroon and Liberia waited with emotions ranging from boredom or impatience outside of the building. The rest of the continent was still there, trembling in fear, for a reason. They figured that the nations that didn't sign would try to escape, it was obvious. They weren't really mad, this gives them an excuse to practice their skills in torture and show what happens if they try to piss them off in any way. But one thing bothered them.

Where the hell are Mauritius and Seychelles?

Liberia came bursting in to the room exclaiming that Mauritius and Seychelles were nowhere to be seen and at the same time Nigeria noticed that the two islands' contracts weren't signed. They were tricked. This pissed them off big time. The others can fight or try to run in vain, but trickery? Ohohohoho, that's supposed to be _their_ specialty. Liberia already interrogated Comoros and Madagascar, but got no answers. Not because they didn't spill, but because the two don't know where Mauritius and Seychelles went.

Fantastic. But no matter, they'll fall back into their grasp again.

But the thing is: who's going to go look for them and who will remain here to play with the prisoners?

After several games of rock-paper-scissors ending in ties and arm wrestling ending in the destruction of various pieces of furniture (they're gonna need a new desk to replace the one Cameroon broke.) they finally decided to draw straws. Even after that a lot of stuff was broken. But it was a little hilarious to see South Africa yelling that they're all going to pay, _literally_.

The five smirked when they saw a truck approaching, it soon arrived in front of them and the five went to the back. The door of the box lifted revealing Switzerland and Lithuania in front of them, the two smirked when they saw them. "We brought the runaways back to you, gave them quite a shock." Switzerland remarked jumping to the ground.

"I'm sure you did." Morocco chuckled. "Did you happen to find my sister and brother there too? They have also vanished into thin air."

"Ne." Lithuania shook his head. "Just the eleven. We didn't see them, sorry."

"Don't worry. We'll find them soon enough." South Africa waved it off, he looked behing the duo with a smirk. "Now, let's take the prisoners out of your hands. Thank you for helping us."

"No problem." Switzerland smiled and Lithuania nodded. "If you need anything else, let us know."

The five African allies entered the box, enjoying the looks of fear and anger from the prisoners when they saw the five. South Africa walked around, smirking at every single nation present, especially at Namibia. South Africa burst into laughter. "Did you seriously think you could escape us?" No one responded, only settled for glaring at the man. "You should have known it would be all in vain. Now, you're all going to sign."

"We already made it clear that we won't sign!" Namibia snapped.

"And we already made it clear that none of you have any say in this matter. All of you are going to join us..." South Africa grinned as he suddenly grabbed Ethiopia by the collar. " _After_ we're done making all of you scream in pure agony."

The five went to grab the prisoners, who of course put up fight. They're not going to just allow them to take them to be tortured. But they were no match for the African five's strength. South Africa grabbed Namibia and Ghana, Nigeria grabbed Chad and Somalia, Morocco grabbed the two Sudans, Liberia grabbed the two Congos and Cameroon grabbed Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia (being the strongest of the five). The five pulled their prisoners off the truck. Switzerland smirked as he waved them goodbye.

The five dragged their prisoners back into the building, where they passed by other Africans who could only look at them in shock, unable to do anything to help. The five nodded at each other and they each took their respective prisoners in different directions, they're all going to their own little playroom. South stopped to look back at the Africans looking at the scene with fear, and grinned. "Don't be surprised if you hear screaming later~" and he slammed the door shut.

Cameroon dragged the three nations he had with him into a room that only had a few chairs and threw roughly them to the floor. He untied their bonds, keeping them pinned to the ground while doing so. Cameroon silently stared at them for a few seconds, an unreadable expression on his face, and then slammed the door closed.

Kenya scowled at the door while rubbing her back. "Where the hell is he going? He drags us here, throw us like sacks, unties us then leaves?"

"If I had to guess, is that he went for torture tools." Ethiopia narrowed his eyes.

"Well, that's just great." Kenya frowned, looking at the ground. "We just wait for him to come back to torture us?"

"Are they just doing this so we can sign the contract or because we tried to escape?" Uganda asked, shivering a bit.

"In my opinion, I think they're just using it as an excuse to see us scream" Ethiopia said. "You saw how they are, it's like they were born for causing pain and suffering." As if on cue, the three flinched when they heard something that horrified them. It was one of the Congos screaming, screaming in pure agony and suffering. Soon Sudan could be heard screaming as well. Ethiopia gulped. "I think that proves my point."

/ / / / / /

"Sometimes I wonder if the Africans are too psychotic for us." Lithunia commented as he walked through the streets with Switzerland next to him. "Those five possibly beat &%$&#?'s sadistic streak."

"I do too sometimes." Switzerland admitted. "But Roderich and Gilbert wouldn't have recruited them if they weren't fit. Besides, even the five have their rules on their bloodlust, %$#!? too."

"I guess you're right."

/ / / / / /

The third sneezed again, accidentally splashing water in Iran's face, and wiped his nose. "#$%& , that's the fifth time you sneezed today, are you sure you're not getting sick?" Iran grimaced when the third put his snotty hand back into the water.

"I swear, if you fill my hot tub with germs..." Saudi Arabia scowled, cracking his knuckles.

The third simply grinned. "Nah, it looks like a lot of people are thinking about me! I feel so loved~"

Iran splashed water in the third's face, smirking. "I really doubt they're thinking about you in a good way."

"Oh, are you trying to start a water war, Amir?" The third grinned exitedly, Iran grinned and looked ready to tackle the third but both Middle Eastern nations felt a shiver down their spines and saw Saudi Arabia with a very menacing expression.

"You two..." Saudi Arabia growled, and the others swore that the water was getting hotter. "Don't you dare make a mess and get water everywhere. I also want this hot tub in one piece. The three of us came here to have a relaxing time, so-" He was cut off when Iran and the third splashed water at him. Saudi was now soaking wet and his eye was twitching, he sneered. "If that's the way you want it..."

In the end they made a huge mess, but they had a fantastic time doing it.

/ / / / / /

America was reading a mystery novel, to kill time until his lover arrives, while his sister was making food in the kitchen. So far, his sister hasn't made any complaint about the guy, but he could have swore he heard her grumble something along the lines of "pervert pendejo" or "maldito incubus". America brightened up when he heard knocking at the door and quickly put down his book to walk over to the door. He opened the door and greeted the visitor with a loving smile.

"Hello, Hyung." America said, sincerely happy.

"Ann-yeong, Alfred." North Korea grinned. "Am I late?"

"No, you're right on time."

North Korea smirked and threw himself at Alfred, pulling him down to give him a searing kiss that America happily returned. Finally no more hiding their relationship, no more pretending to hate each other, they'll finally be together without anyone trying to tear them apart.

The moment was ruined when the sound of loud banging took them by surprised and make them break the kiss. The source of the banging was a smiling Mexico holding two frying pans, she glanced at North Korea and her eye twitched a little before looking at her brother again.

"Hola, Norcorea." Mexico pointed a frying towards the kitchen. "Food is ready! I made our favorites, don't want it to get cold!"

America sighed and smiled at North Korea and the two went towards the kitchen. When he looked away Mexico gave North Korea a glare that if looks could kill, North Korea would have had his eyes gouged out, castrated, stabbed several times in the stomach and thrown into a cage full of angry dogs. North Korea only narrowed his eyes at her and followed Alfred.

Oh, it's on.

/ / / / / /

"As reckless your actions were, I have to admire how you managed to escape undetected." Algeria commented to the islands nations sitting at the back of the car.

"We couldn't have done it without Comoros and Madagascar." Mauritius said with a sad smile as he wondered how were they doing now. "They created a distraction, so we could escape."

Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia found Mauritius and Seychelles sneaking in the streets, the trio were surprised to see them, and the two islands gave a quick explanation about what happened and what their plan was. After a quick rundown the two islands joined the trio in their mission to escape South Africa. Seychelles sat behind Algeria and Mauritius in the middle next to Tunisia.

"I hope they're okay." Seychelles said worriedly, and Mauritius wrapped an arm around her in comfort.

"Hey…" Mauritius smiled at her. "It's gonna be okay, Michelle."

"How do you know that?" Seychelles asked miserably. Mauritius didn't answer, only continued to comfort Seychelles.

Egypt slightly frowned at the grim atmosphere and he felt bad for the girl. Thankfully Tunisia changed the subject.

"Well, we're out of the city." Tunisia said in an attempt to lighten up the mood. "But we're still pretty far from Namibia, unless we want to risk it and go to Botswana."

"No, a nation that hasn't signed is probably the best option." Egypt said, trying to look for a road that might lead near the border to Namibia.

"So, we're going to an airport when we get to Namibia, right? So… Michelle and I were planning on going to Madagascar then to India's place." Mauritius pointed out, looking at the others. "But where were you planning to go?"

"Well, we were planning…" As Algeria explained Egypt couldn't listen because he suddenly had the bad feeling again. Except this time, it was worse. A bead of sweat fell of Egypt's forehead and he felt his heart beat slowly. The threat… something tells him that something bad is near. But where? He doesn't see anything-

Suddenly a puff of smoke appeared not so far away in front of them blocking the road, much to Egypt's surprise and he stopped the car. What on Earth…? He narrowed his eyes. The others noticed what happened and looked at the smoke in bafflement.

"Where on Earth did that come from?" Tunisia asked in astonishment.

"Is that… normal around here?" Seychelles asked nervously, clutching her purse.

"No…" Egypt muttered as realization dawned on him. "I know this sort of magic… Oh no…" Egypt looked at the others with a distressed expression, which only served to worry them more because they have _never_ seen Egypt looking that worried. "They're here!" He shouted.

There were two silhouettes in the smoke walking slowly towards them as the five nations waited with emotions ranging from fear to apprehension. Egypt glared as he already knew who they were and exited the car without a word much to the others' worry. The smoke eventually cleared up to reveal a grinning Nigeria with his hands behind his head and a stone-faced Cameroon with the look of a trained soldier.

"My, my, where do you think you're going?" Nigeria asked, tilting his head. "You didn't really think we didn't notice certain people missing, did you?"

"It was more of a hope than thought." Egypt said, brave in the face of the enemy.

Nigeria laughed at that. "Well, then your hopes are crushed~" He sang, then put a hand on his hip. "I sure hope you're ready for your punishment for trying to escape. _Especially_ those two." Nigeria looked directly at Mauritius and Seychelles, and Seychelles hugged Mauritius in fear.

"You must adore watching people suffer." Egypt remarked.

"We do. It's something we had to hide for _years_." Nigeria agreed. "Now enough chit-chat, you're all coming with us."

"We're not going without a fight." Egypt looked back and smiled when he saw Algeria with her rifle ready. Algeria smirked at Egypt then glared at the two allies. "If you want to take us to give us hell, then you're going to have to fight us for that."

"Oh…" Nigeria smiled chillingly. Cameroon cracked his knuckles and let out a roar of rage as he punched the ground, producing large cracks and shaking the ground. "I was hoping you'd say that."

 **DUN DUN DUNNNNNN! Yeah... bad stuff kinda happened in this chapter, but you ain't see nothing yet. And poor Canada, he's really going to be in for a lot of heartbreak in the future. PLEASE REVIEW! They're really motivating.**

 **Fun fact: the African Order nations were the hardest to choose out of all. I switched many times and I couldn't decide. Until one day while looking at African flags I stumbled on Liberia and I was like "That's perfect!" Liberia could be a member thanks to America. I chose Cameroon because I thought he looked cool and strong (It sounds dumb but the fanart of him is pretty cool!)**


	7. One step forward and one step back

**Thanks so much for those who reviewed. Anyway, OMG! Patient Harmony read my story and she likes it and even followed it! You have no idea how happy that made me. I'm a big fan of her stories. Now, on with the show!**

 **Warning: this chapter is a little bloody.**

Belize, a teenage girl with long brown hair in low pigtails, wandered around the streets of Belize City as she looked around her with a raised eyebrow. She stopped and looked left and right as she wondered which path leads to what's she's looking for, she eventually decided on right. Following her was fellow Central-American Honduras, a woman with long thick unruly dark brown hair, who was rather confused to what's going on.

Someone, a nation, is in Belize's land, but she doesn't know _who_. This was very suspicious to Belize. She didn't have anyone over right now except for Honduras and if someone did decide to visit her, then why didn't they let her know? It doesn't sound like a big deal but considering what's happened recently, Belize is on a lookout for anything fishy.

"And you're sure that another nation is here, Bel?" Honduras asked as she looked around too.

"Yup, there's someone _here_ , in my land, in my city." Belize glared at her surroundings and clenched her fists. "And I'm gonna get to the bottom of this."

"I wonder who could be visiting? Maybe it's Guate or Ángel!" Honduras beamed cheerfully, not seeing what the problem is. "Though I wonder why they would want to make it a surprise."

"Yeah… I don't think it's them." Belize shook her head, then sprinting towards another direction, Honduras quickly following her. "Cause whoever it is, they've been here for a couple of days, two I think."

"But… why would someone…?" Honduras asked worriedly.

"To be honest, I dunno, Ana. But they're here, and I'm gonna get answers." Belize looked to her right where an apartment building was and brightened up. "Bingo." Belize sprinted towards the building, feeling that the person was _here_ , no, she _knows_ they're here. She pushes the doors open and quickly runs up the stairs, with Honduras struggling to keep up with Belize's speed. Belize stops at the third floor and walks towards one of the doors, staring at it with suspicion. Honduras arrives next to her and tilts her head.

"Is this it, Bel?" Honduras asked a little nervously, looking back and forth between Belize the door.

Belize narrowed her eyes. "Only one way to find out." She said and took a few steps forward to knock a few times on the door. Belize waited patiently for a response, but she raised an eyebrow when she heard voices from the other side of the door. They were too quiet and muffled for her to make out what they were saying but she couldn't help but feel that they sounded familiar. Belize straightened herself up when she heard footsteps coming and Honduras looked on in curiosity. Finally, the door opened…

To reveal a shaken looking Bahamas armed with a crowbar with a terrified Saint Lucia hiding behind her.

Belize shrieked at the extremely unexpected sight, causing Bahamas and Saint Lucia to shriek which caused Honduras to shriek. Belize grips her head tightly and tries to make sense of what just happened while recovering from the scare, but Honduras beat her to it. "Bahamas? Saint Lucia? Dios mio, what are you doing in an apartment in Belize's house? Wait, are you two okay? How did you escape the damage in the Caribbean? Why-"

"P-Please… please wait." Saint Lucia gasped out, shaking slightly and that's when Belize _really_ saw Saint Lucia's appearance. The island girl looked terrible, and she doesn't mean in clothing. Saint Lucia looks like she barely slept judging by the bags under her eyes. And she looks like she'd been through something traumatizing.

Bahamas put her hands on Saint Lucia's shoulders and bit her lip. "Um… hi?" she smiled rather nervously.

"Yeah, hi. So… what's going on? I heard you two made it surprisingly okay on the damage done. Why did you come here?" Belize asked, becoming more serious.

"More importantly, what happened to you two? You look like you haven't slept in days!" Honduras said worriedly.

Bahamas couldn't look at them in the eye. "We… we escaped from…" she trailed off. "We escaped using Lucy's private jet, we… decided to hide here for the time being."

"Oh, it's a good thing you could escape but…" Belize raised an eyebrow. " _Who_ exactly are you hiding from? No nations got a clue to who attacked you and the others, do you know?"

"We know… they showed up and tried to kill us. Kill us for good." Bahamas said quietly.

Both Central-Americans widened their eyes at this. "W-What?" Honduras stuttered, shock in her features. "But how would someone do that? Why would they do that? No, who would even do that? And to you and your neighbors?"

"And who would go so low as to wipe out islands?" Belize demanded. "Who did all this?"

The Caribbean girls looked down, as if they didn't want to answer that question. "You… you probably wouldn't believe us if we told you." Saint Lucia murmured, hugging Bahamas's arm.

This confused the Central-American duo and Belize narrowed her eyes. "Try us." She said determinedly.

/ / / / / /

Mauritius watched at the ongoing fight with anxiety from behind the car along with Seychelles, who tightly squeezed his hand as she looked on in fear. Mauritius didn't blame her, because it wasn't going very well for Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. Nigeria and Cameroon… they're strong, _very_ strong. Like, a lot more than they thought. The two are fighting very violently, he noted in distaste. Not as in blindly attacking, no, they're fighting as if they _want_ gore and carnage.

They're _hungry_ for blood.

Cameroon fought like a savage beast, he was silent but kept ferociously attacking Egypt with his fists, though Egypt managed to avoid most of them. Cameroon is very strong, almost like America's superhuman strength, and every hit that missed and hit the ground produced cracks.

Nigeria was more terrifying. He wasn't as physically strong as Cameroon, but still just as dangerous, he was _faster_. Nigeria rapidly swiped his hunting knife at Tunisia, grinning maniacally while doing so, and had the upper hand in the fight. Tunisia already had some cuts on his body and Mauritius could tell he was getting tired. But Nigeria looked like he was having the time of his life, even laughing.

Mauritius still couldn't believe that they and the other three have lied to everyone all these years, no, he couldn't believe there are dozens of nations that lied to everyone. What's more, their real personalities horrified him. They're sadists, that's the simplest way to put it, and they don't seem to care that they're insane.

How could they be so heartless?

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Seychelles gasp, and he saw why. Nigeria stabbed Tunisia in the shoulder, the latter cried out in pain as the former twists the knife deeper, clearly taking pleasure in his pain. Mauritius looked at the right, where Egypt blocked a blow from Cameroon with his staff and is now struggling with Cameroon starting to push him. Algeria came to Egypt's rescue by kicking Cameroon in the leg, unfortunately it only distracted him and not hurt him. Cameroon slowly turned his head towards Algeria and narrowed his eyes, but Egypt surprised him before he could do anything.

They weren't doing bad, but Tunisia wasn't so lucky. At this point Tunisia sank to his knees, clawing Nigeria's arm that had the knife. Mauritius looked back and forth between the two fights, unsure what to do, until he took a deep breath and glances at Seychelles. "Be right back." He whispered to her, and before she could react, he ran towards Nigeria and tackled him to the ground. Nigeria did not expect this and was pinned to the ground by Mauritius.

Mauritius felt a surge of triumph, but it vanished as Nigeria thrashed around and Mauritius had difficulty keeping his arms down. He noticed that even pinned down, Nigeria still looks excited and almost looks impressed. "Not bad, you really caught me by surprise there, your strength is good too, a lot better than I thought." Nigeria commented, smiling slyly in a way that made Mauritius very uncomfortable.

"You really think so?" Mauritius asked, gritting his teeth.

"That and the fact that you had the courage to fake signing the contract and escaping with your little friend makes you a very impressive individual… or a foolish one." Nigeria slipped his right arm and tried to uppercut Mauritius, but the island pinned the arm down again which made Nigeria's smirk grow. "Though I think the former. You could do very well in our group, you know." Nigeria remarked.

Mauritius felt angered at that statement and tightly gripped Nigeria's arms. "What the hell makes you think I would join your group?!" he demanded, glaring at man with venom, who only shrugged.

"Trust me, we have ways to make you a very devoted member to our cause." Nigeria said, and Mauritius did not like the sound of that.

"You're crazy."

"You only figured that out _now_?"

"I… I don't understand how you can be cruel." Mauritius muttered, and Nigeria raised an eyebrow. "How… How could you? All of you! The five of you were good people, but it turns out all that was fake? Everyone in your group were faking all this time! And the… real people… you're all sadists!" Mauritius exclaimed, a hurt look on his face. "South Africa threatened Swaziland and Lesotho, kids and one of which he's very close to, with missiles if we didn't sign your stupid contract! I saw him smile at seeing Namibia hurt! Liberia was downright cruel. Morocco was having the time of his life watching all the chaos. Cameroon didn't seem to care about everything messed up happening. And you… you just watched like it was all a fun game! Why are you all like this?!"

"Why? The world did this to us." Nigeria said darkly, almost angrily. "Europe did this to us. Treating us as nothing more than possessions to expand their empires and using us for their own gain only for it to turn out they just wanted to conquer us. Our kingdoms were demolished, villages burned, our people forced into harsh labor and we were shoved into a culture and forced to adopt it as our own. We're independent now, but we can never be what we once were before."

Mauritius was stunned at that. "But… that's still no excuse to go out and hurt others! They don't deserve this. Europe doesn't deserve this!" he protested.

That last part seemed to have struck a nerve and Nigeria looked _furious_. "Oh, yes they do…" he growled, and Mauritius was having more difficulty keeping him in place. "They deserve every single ounce of our rage. We…" Nigeria escaped Mauritius's grip and threw him to the ground. Mauritius grunted in pain and tried to get up, but Nigeria pushed him down with his foot on Mauritius's chest. Nigeria completely turned the tables on him. "ARE THE MONSTERS THEY CREATED!" He shouted in Mauritius's face.

The island resisted the urge to shake in fear.

Mauritius watched uneasily as Nigeria seethed in rage, but the short dreadlocks haired man suddenly returned to his previous gleeful sadistic demeanor. "Also, you have no right to talk, or did I just imagine all the times I overheard you ranting that you blame most of your childhood agony on the Netherlands?"

"That… that's…" Mauritius was caught off guard by that question, but he shook his head. "Maybe, but I least I'm not a bloodthirsty psychopath because of it!" he countered but Nigeria just raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him and stomped on Mauritius's chest, making the latter cry out in pain.

"True but I'm willing to bet that…" Nigeria trailed off, grinning insanely at whatever's he's thinking. "Ah, I'll tell you later but now…" Mauritius became alarmed when Nigeria crouched down and crawled on top of him, a hungry look on his face as he directly faced Mauritius. "I'm going to give you a sneak peek of what's coming for you. I like you, but it doesn't change the fact that you tried to escape. It'll also serve to satisfy my bloodlust, even for just a bit." Nigeria licked his lips and slowly started to lean down.

Mauritius did _not_ like the implications of that and started to thrash around, but Nigeria was stronger. "Wh-What are you going to-" he asked only to get shushed by Nigeria.

"Shhh, be a good boy and stay still." Nigeria smirked coldly, making Mauritius widen his eyes in fear, and he leaned down to Mauritius right shoulder. "It's been too long since I've done this." Nigeria whispered chillingly in Mauritius's ear and then chomped on Mauritius's shoulder.

Mauritius heard a shriek from Seychelles and soon enough he began to scream at the sharp pain in his shoulder as Nigeria tore through the skin and chewed it off. Mauritius desperately tried to shake Nigeria off, but the man was latched on to him, biting the flesh and he could smell his blood coming out. Mauritius could only look on in horror as he saw what Nigeria was doing. Nigeria… Nigeria was eating his flesh! Mauritius felt sick at the thought, which turned into confusing when Nigeria leaned back up, sighing happily and licking the blood off his mouth. Nigeria flashed him an insane grin and leaned down to do the same thing again.

Until Mauritius saw a flash in the corner of his eye and saw Seychelles running over to pull Nigeria off him. Nigeria grunted in surprise and barely budged, but Seychelles kept trying. "GET OFF HIM!" Seychelles cried out, tears threatening to fall from her pretty brown eyes. "STOP IT! STOP IT! LET. HIM. GO!"

Nigeria did not appear to appreciate the interruption and roughly pushed Seychelles to the ground, growling. Mauritius immediately became worried for her and tried to get up, but he felt pain in his ribs from when Nigeria stomped on him and he was bleeding a lot from his shoulder. Seychelles tried to scoot away in fear as Nigeria got closer and a rescue came just in time. Tunisia stabbed Nigeria in the leg with the knife the latter used earlier, glaring as Nigeria roared in anger. Tunisia takes out the knife and quickly takes a few steps back, ready for round two.

As the battle raged on, Seychelles rushed over to him and crouches down with her face full of worry. "Are you okay, Kelvin?" she asked, distressed as she looks at the bloody wound on his shoulder, paling as she notices the teeth marks.

"I'm… I'm fine, Michelle." Mauritius smiled comfortingly, grunting as he touches his wound.

"He… He tried…" Seychelles cried, horrified, and Mauritius put his hand on her cheek.

"I know." Mauritius said, looking at the fight between Nigeria and Tunisia. "They're hungry for blood, _literally_."

/ / / / / /

Ecuador tapped his foot as he sat in the leather chair while he waited for his sisters. They're going to be leaving for Spain in a bit to finally torture the man they hated for centuries, but they must prepare first. Ecuador's expression grew annoyed as he leaned his cheek on his hand, but it wasn't because of his sisters. No, it was because of a little information he was told earlier about two certain escapees.

Cuba informed America, Mexico and everyone in South America about what happened and told them to keep a lookout since the two Caribbean girls are most likely going to go to an Order nation. So, they waited until the girls arrive in one of their lands to finish the job. But unfortunately, they never came. He and the others checked and there were no escapees in their countries. At first, they assumed they went to one of the few non-Order South American nations like Uruguay but no. Their spies did not see them but one of their spies in Central America did.

Bahamas and Saint Lucia were in Belize. Oh, they just had to go to Central America. There's… what? 14 out of 21 chance they'd go to an Order nation and they decided to go to Central-America. The area where there are no New World Order members except… for one.

Ecuador smirked. Ah, of course, how could he have forgotten _him_? That nation can go to take care of the job after they're done with Spain. He's coming along too, maybe he can remind him when they arrive to go to Belize later.

/ / / / / /

"Things are going smoothly for us. In just two days we've thrown Europe in panic and gotten most of Africa." Austria smirked as he brought two bottles of beer to his seat with Prussia, who smiled. Prussia may have a ridiculous love for beer in his façade, but in reality, he still loves it.

"Ja, though there was be some resistance, Switzerland is taking care of it." Prussia said as he grabbed a bottle. "Europe truly has scarred Africa, they are not what they once were a long time ago. It's understandable why Morocco, South Africa, Nigeria, Liberia and Cameroon are angry at Europe."

"True, they may be a mess now…"

"But the New World Order will change that. We'll fix the damage the Europeans have done, and they'll be an example of what we want for the world"

"And England, France, Russia and others will be an example of what happens when they defy us."

The two clinked their bottles and drank.

/ / / / / /

Egypt gritted his teeth as he kneeled on the ground clutching his bleeding arm. Curses, things are not looking good for them. Cameroon was a lot stronger than he looked, and more dangerous. The man already did a number on him and Nigeria had the upper hand with Tunisia until the unexpected intervention of Mauritius, the island kept him down for a while until Nigeria broke free. Egypt saw the two exchange some words that he couldn't hear from this distance, but it did cause Nigeria to get angry enough to escape, and then what he saw next horrified him.

He saw Nigeria bite Mauritius's shoulder, he was _eating_ Mauritius. The sight nearly caused him to get impaled by Cameroon. Psychopaths, heartless killers and now flesh-eaters. What-

Egypt was roughly shaken out of his thoughts when he felt someone connect their foot to his back and shove him to the ground, he weakly glanced up to see Cameroon keeping him to the ground with his foot and Algeria on the ground clutching her stomach. "One of the basic rules of a fight…" Cameroon began as he stomped on Egypt's back, making the latter grunt. "…Is that never get distracted. Now, you are helpless as you struggle under my foot. You lost the moment we appeared, but I suppose you wouldn't be nations if you just accepted defeat."

"I never pegged you as someone who enjoyed carnage, Cameroon." Egypt remarked, who was starting to feel his back getting crushed.

"I've always been wild, you know." Cameroon said. "But Europeans wouldn't react well to personifications like us. You know what they would have done if they knew."

"True."

"Like you said, we derive pleasure from the misery of others, and now we get finally release all the bloodlust we've been building up for _years_." Cameroon's lips curled up in a slight smirk. "I must say it feels wonderful."

"Cameroon… let me ask you something." Egypt asked as he tried to free himself. "Why are you a part of this? What exactly is your goal?"

Cameroon looked thoughtful at this and closed his eyes. "Our goal is to end the current order of the world but to do that and why me and others are doing this…" He opened his eyes, revealing cold and lifeless orbs staring down at Egypt. "War. We want war."

"You want to bring about a total war to get what you all want." Egypt asked, glaring. "You want blood."

"Oui." Cameroon said coldly. "We, the Africans of the New World Order, want blood. And we're going to get it." Egypt nearly had a heart attack when Cameroon suddenly had a feral grin on his face. "In more ways than one." As soon as he finished saying that, Cameroon lunged to grab Egypt's collar and brought him close. Egypt barely had time to react when Cameroon grabbed his bleeding arm and bit it roughly.

Egypt did not want to let his enemy have the satisfaction of hearing him scream but eventually he couldn't hold it in. He screamed as Cameroon violently chewed on the wound, he never had someone try to eat his arm and it was not an experience he recommends. "Egypt!" he heard Algeria shout, but he couldn't see her.

Egypt can't get out of Cameroon's grip. He can't get him to stop biting. He can't see how the others are faring in their respective battles. He can't do anything right now. He's… defeated. He wondered if he should have signed the contract after all. He wondered if he should have convinced the others to not try to escape. No… What is he saying? He refused to sign the contract so that he can keep his freedom. And if he and the others hadn't tried to escape, Mauritius and Seychelles would have been easily caught and punished harshly. If they lose, they're all going to suffer.

Not if he can help it.

But what can… wait. Of course! The gift his mother gave him. She told him to use it wisely and only in the direst of situations so now is a good time to use it. "Algeria!" Egypt shouted with all the strength he could muster, hoping that would help the woman get up. Just as he expected, he heard a gunshot and Cameroon grunt. He takes advantage of this to get out of Cameroon's grip and smirks. Egypt takes a deep breath and screams a sentence in an old language. After a few seconds a bright light started to engulf the area, everyone stops what they're doing to watch what was going on.

Egypt closes his eyes and smiles as the light absorbs him. He knew could always count on his mother's old spells.

What happened after that was a blur but suddenly he landed on hard ground and he winced a little from his injuries. Egypt opened his eyes and saw a gray cloudy sky. Where did the spell take him? But before he could investigate that he remembered about his friends and he looked around frantically. He sighed in relief when he saw all four of his companions trying to get themselves off the floor and groaning. Good. They're safe, for now at least.

"What… what happened back there?" Mauritius asked groggily, clutching his head.

"For that matter, where are we?" Tunisia asked as he looked at his surroundings.

"Wait a minute… Egypt." Algeria said, helping Tunisia off the floor. "Did you do it? Did you somehow teleport us away?"

"Teleport? That's impossible... right?" Mauritius asked skeptically.

"No… it's true." Egypt said as he clutched his arm. "I used… a spell my mother taught me. One that… she said I should only use as a last resort." He said weakly then chuckled. "This… this is actually the second time I've used it and-" he coughed.

"Hey, hey! Easy there, Egypt. That spell must have taken a lot out of you" Tunisia went over to him and grimaced when he saw his arm. "Not to mention you're hurt. Are those… teeth marks?"

"You too, huh?" Mauritius laughed, clutching his shoulder. "Those guys are crazier than I thought, right Michelle?"

Seychelle didn't answer, only looking at the left direction. "I… I'm sure pretty sure I know where we are." She said.

"Really? Where?" Mauritius asked then looked at where Seychelles was looking at. "Oh."

Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia all looked towards the left and they saw what they meant. Seychelles smiled. "We're at big brother France's capital!" she said, sounding happier at the fact. The five of them were in a forest but they realized that this wasn't a forest, this was Bois de Boulogne, and to the left was a large white house. The Château de Bagatelle. They were in Paris. "Oui, oui! We're in Paris!" Seychelles cheered, and the other four smiled.

"Well, since we're here…" Algeria smiled at the others. "I don't suppose France will mind a visit from some of his former colonies and Egypt, no?"

/ / / / / /

Liberia's smile grew when he heard ROC scream as he dragged the knife on his skin, loving the sound of the skin breaking and the sweet smell of blood. It's really been a while since he practiced his skills and ate and he is loving it. While he's not as bloodthirsty as the others, one can even consider him the kind one, he has nearly the same amount of sadism.

Liberia proceeded to put the meat in his mouth, chewing it, savoring it, and swallowing it. Delicious. He smirked at the horrified expressions of the Congos and began to stab ROC's toes and break them _one by one_. His smile growing with every _crack_.

A little technique America taught him. Speaking of him, he wonders how his older brother is doing. He should really call him after this.

He was rudely snapped out of his mind and interrupted when he heard a loud crash and the room shook a little. There's only one nation he knows that can cause that and if he's right then Cameroon must be really angry. He leaves the Congos in their agony and sprints across the hall until he arrives to see...

A seething Cameroon over a broken meeting table and Nigeria licking his hunting knife, which he noticed was soaked with blood. Liberia noticed the lack of the bloodied bodies of runaways and he sweat dropped, no wonder Cameroon was upset. "What happened?!" He demanded.

Nigeria looked up and waved. "Well, long story short, we really need a counterattack against Egypt's magic."

"Ah... I see."

Cameroon punched the table again and Nigeria rolled his eyes. "Cameroon stop breaking the table or do you want South Africa on our asses?"

Cameroon clenched his fists and took a deep breath before looking remorseful. "I'm sorry, I lost my temper."

"Aw, don't worry about it big guy." Nigeria patted his back. "We'll get them but remember that today was a success! Look at the bright side!"

"Yeah!" Liberia smiled. "You had fun right?"

Cameroon's mouth twitched. "Yes, I did."

"And did we or did we not got our first taste?" Nigeria asked, grinning.

"We did."

"And we got to use our real strength, didn't we?"

"We did."

"So stop moping around and take it out on the prisoners. I think you kept them waiting long enough." Nigeria smirked, twirling his knife. Cameroon nodded and he went off, leaving the two Africans. Oh, the poor, poor, guys. A pissed Cameroon is never good. Nigeria turned towards Liberia. "Where's South Africa and Morocco?"

"Having fun with their victims." As soon as Liberia finished saying that, Sudan's screams sounded through the room, and the two smirked. "As you can clearly tell."

"Good for them. By the way... remember about the recruit list?" Nigeria asked.

"Of course I do. Why?" Liberia tilted his head.

"Because I want to add Mauritius to the list."

Liberia raised an eyebrow. "Really? Mauritius?"

"Yes." Nigeria grinned excitedly, most likely imagining something. "I think he has a lot of potential. He just needs a little push in the right direction. I see a good future for that guy, there's a killer waiting to be unleashed. And if he refuses... Well, that's what _that room_ is for, no?"

/ / / / / /

Portugal walked through the halls of Spain's house while conversing with the Netherlands on his phone. Portugal decided to come to his brother's house to check on him and discuss about what's happening and he was glad to see Spain was being his usual cheerful self and annoying Romano who was apparently there because he was scared (Italy's words but Romano fiercely denied it). Spain was now on the hunt for a runaway Romano hiding somewhere in the house, who was probably using every curse word he knew at Spain. Portugal decided to leave the hilarious situation alone and chat with Netherlands, who was telling him about a strange event that happened yesterday.

"It was… weird, really." Portugal heard Netherlands scratch his head. "I go visit America's house to discuss a little about trade and when I arrived he seemed… ecstatic to see me. Not that I mind someone being enjoying my visits, but he was really, really happy."

"Isn't America always happy? And you're fond of him, aren't you?" Portugal asked, not quite understanding the problem.

"Yes, but he looked happier than usual. I can't explain it but… it felt genuine?"

"So, you're saying he wasn't before?"

"No. I… Oh, forget it."

"No, I understand how you feel." Portugal smiled, a twinkle in his eyes. "I saw Venezuela yesterday and she looked pretty happy to see me. She was in a pretty good mood when I saw her considering what's happening in her country."

"Venezuela… in a good mood?" Netherlands asked slowly, questioning the veracity of that statement.

"Yes. How would have thought she was interested in me that way?" Portugal asked proudly. "It's also annoying Spain!"

"I really doubt she's interested." Netherlands said bluntly, then sighed. "Anyway, I have to go. I still have a lot of work to do and my boss is stressed out after…"

Portugal frowned. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Ja, but I'm still worried about Aruba and the others, I can't reach any of them. But don't worry, I'm working on it. Bye, Fausto."

"If you say so… Bye, Lars." And Portugal ended the call, sighing. He was truly getting worried for Netherlands. The man is spending more time working than usual and he is stressed out, despite how much Netherlands tries to hide it. Belgium and Luxembourg were getting worried too and are doing their best to be there for him.

Portugal had no idea who would do something like this, and to islands too. Other than the usual suspects of North Korea, Russia or a terrorist group, he felt that there was something much bigger going on and he had a very bad feeling about it. They can't let their guard down; the enemy could be anywhere and anyone.

As he thought about this, he suddenly heard knocking at the door. Portugal looked around, Spain was probably too busy finding Romano to notice someone's at the door, so he went to answer the door himself. He grabbed the doorknob and opened the door. He was surprised to see who it was.

"Brazil?" Portugal asked his smiling ex-colony. "What are you doing here?"

"Ola, Portugal." Brazil greeted with an amused smile. "I wanted to visit you and I guessed you'd here, looks like I was right. Hope you don't mind."

"That was a lucky guess, Xavier. It's probably better if you call next time." Portugal beamed at Brazil. "Oh! Where are my manners? Of course, I don't mind, come in. Spain's somewhere in the house looking for Romano in case you're wondering."

Brazil laughed and entered the house. When Brazil passed him, Portugal felt a shiver go down his spine and felt something was very wrong. He looked at Brazil again, who decided to make himself comfortable at the couch, and shook his head.

That's silly. There's no way Brazil would want to hurt him.

 **Oh Portie. You're going to find out in a horrible way that is not the case. Bahamas and Saint Lucia are A-Okay for now, but there's someone in Central America coming after them soon. PLEASE REVIEW! I would really appreciate it.**


	8. Dark minds

**Thanks for reviews, faves and follows. Hi! Sorry for the long wait but I'm back with a new chapter! BTW I rewrote some bits of chapter 5, 6 and 7 so if you're confused then read them again. Now, on with the show!**

 **(Sorry, something went wrong and I had to post this chapter again)**

Bulgaria sat in a chair in an empty and deadly silent room, looking at the wall with an unreadable expression. Bulgaria wasn't moving an inch, he almost looked like a doll like this, unmoving with glassy eyes. A very eerie light shined in his eyes Bulgaria quietly began to sing a nursery rhyme in Bulgarian.

"Ring around the rosie, a pocket full of posies. Ashes... Ashes..." Bulgaria chuckled to himself. "We all fall down." Bulgaria smiled briefly before moving on to another one."Round and round the cobbler's bench the monkey chased the weasel..." Bulgaria kept singing as he took out a knife and played with it. "The monkey thought twas all in fun..." Bulgaria suddenly grinned. "POP! Goes the weasel~."

As he kept laughing he heard someone knock and he grinned. "Come in!" He sang, and the door opened to reveal Lithuania, a good friend of his. "Hello Toris, how have you been in the last few days?" Bulgaria asked cheerfully.

Lithuania smiled but he couldn't help but frown when he saw the knife in Bulgaria's leg. Lithuania never really approved of that habit of his. "I don't think I'll ever understand you, Dimitri." Lithuania sighed.

Bulgaria tilted his head and glanced at his leg. "Oh, don't worry, Toris, you really don't need to." He gave a friendly smile.

"Maybe but what I should be asking is your relationship with &$?!$&, it's very sweet yet so twisted." Lithuania said, raising an eyebrow.

"That's the magic of it!" Bulgaria exclaimed with a wide grin. "He's the sadist and I'm the masochist!"

"I can clearly see that..." Lithuania muttered.

"Say what you want about how our relationship works. One thing is for sure..." Bulgaria put his hand on his chest, a dreamy expression on his face as he blushed. "We love each other. I love him with all my heart and he returns it in full. It's a truly wonderful thing."

"Sounds nice..." Lithuania said. He never really had romantic feelings for anyone, his feelings for Belarus are fake, but the idea of a romantic partner did interest him on a certain level.

"Oh, it does!" Bulgaria exclaimed, now drooling from his mouth and the red in his cheeks became darker as he began to sweat. "Love is truly a wonderful thing. It's a feeling of freedom and euphoria! It's like nothing matters, it's only about love." Bulgaria said feverishly and looked at Lithuania, breathing in and out heavily. "I feel bad for you, Toris. You really do deserve to find someone who can give you all this."

"Maybe, but right now I'm focusing on the Order."

"Very well, there's no hurry I guess." Bulgaria grinned, starting to sweat more. "Oh, my beloved. I wonder what he could be doing right now..."

"Bulgaria, calm down, you look like you're having an orgasm." Lithuania said worriedly, then paled. "Please tell me you're not having an... you know."

Bulgaria looked down at his legs with a pensive expression. "Hmm, I don't think so."

"Good, because I am not cleaning that up." Lithuania grimaced, shuddering as Bulgaria laughed. Lithuania sighed again but smiled. "But still, you two do look happy and in love so I'm happy that you found someone who you want love for the rest of your life. Even though it's twisted."

"Aww, thanks Toris." Bulgaria said happily. "Speaking of love, when are you going to Belarus to "confess your feelings" for her?"

Lithuania's face turned dark. "Actually, that's why I'm here. I need a little favor."

"Name it."

Lithuania began to tell Bulgaria all the details of the plan, Bulgaria listened with full attention and then Lithuania finished. "So, do you want to help?" Lithuania asked.

Bulgaria smirked and pulled the knife from his leg. "Of course! I would love to help you with this plan." Bulgaria then threw his knife at a map of the world. "They'll all fall down."

/ / / / / /

They've done it. After a while of walking and assuring some people that they didn't need a hospital, they finally arrived at France's house. Egypt looked at the wound in his arm, the bleeding has mostly stopped but he still needs a bit of medical attention. Tunisia and Mauritius too. However, informing someone of what's happening is the main priority. And they must stick together.

Seychelles stepped in front of the door and looked at the others worriedly. "This is it. Are you sure we shouldn't go to a hospital first? What if the wound gets infected?" She asked, looking at Mauritius.

"Michelle, we heal fast. Don't worry so much." Mauritius waved it off, which didn't ease Seychelles' worries.

"But you, Egypt and Tunisia…"

"Seychelles." Egypt smiled comfortingly at the island girl. He truly understands her worries, but this situation is serious. "We'll be fine, I promise."

Seychelles looked at Tunisia. "And you?"

Tunisia smiled, though he was still holding his shoulder. "I'm fine."

Algeria put her hand on Seychelles' shoulder. "Seychelles, if it worries that much, then we'll go to an emergency department later. For now…" she looks at the house. "We need to tell at least one nation outside of Africa what's going."

Seychelles reluctantly gave up and went up to France's door, she knocked a few times and waited. Egypt then suddenly remembered about the incident about the Caribbean, he heard that France's overseas territories are on very bad shape, it's probably affecting him too. Also, he realizes that France won't react very well to some nations that are responsible, notably Haiti and Morocco. Egypt hopes that Seychelles' word and their injured states will be enough to convince him. Egypt started to hear footsteps and soon enough the door opened, but it wasn't France.

"L-Lucille?!" Seychelles exclaimed in surprise at Monaco.

"M-Michelle?!" Monaco exclaimed in similar shock. "I didn't know you were visiting, Brother France is…" That's when she noticed the others. "Maurice? Algérie? Tunisie? And Egypté too? Why, this is quite a surprise-" Her smile vanished when she noticed the injuries on them. "Mon Dieu! What happened to you?"

"I-It's a long story, Lucille." Seychelles smiled sadly. "Where is Francis?"

"He's in the living room, he's a lot better than he was a few days ago…" Monaco trailed off before shaking her head. "But that still doesn't answer my question! Why most of you look like you just fought savage animals?"

"That's actually a good way to describe them…" Algeria muttered.

"What?" Monaco asked.

"Monaco, there's something you and France should know." Mauritius stepped forward and Monaco gasped when she got closer look at the wound.

"Kelvin… Are those teeth marks?" Monaco asked disbelievingly and leaned forward a little while adjusting her glasses. "Teeth marks that look disturbingly human?"

"You… don't want to know." Mauritius grinned nervously.

"Non, I do!" Monaco stomped her foot. "I spent the last few days being there for Big Brother France, he was depressed, devastated and neither of us had any idea what was going on. And now… you show up with four other Africans with very disturbing looking injuries. I want to know what's going on! And why haven't you gone to a hospital or something? We may be immortal but still! Infection is a good possibility."

"Lucille… I know how scary this all looks but it's a lot worse than you think." Seychelles said distressfully. "We need to talk to Big Brother France. Please."

Monaco bit her lip and was about to respond when another voice interrupted. "Lucille? What's wrong? Who's at the do-" France showed up next to Monaco and when he saw his former colonies he went into his flamboyant mode. "Seychelles! Maurice! Algérie! Tunisie! My precious ex-colonies came all this way to visit your frere? And even Egypt came-" France froze when he noticed the bloody bite mark on Mauritius' shoulder. "Mon Dieu! What happened to you, Kelvin? What happened to all of you?!"

"It's a long story, an ugly one too." Algeria narrowed her eyes. "Something happened during the African Union meeting and it's connected to what happened in the Caribbean."

France and Monaco widened their eyes at that. "What do you mean something happened?"

"Well, we discovered who's behind all of this mess." Tunisia said, scratching the back of his head.

"You did? Who did it, Tunisie?" France demanded.

Tunisia suddenly found his shoes very interesting and didn't answer, Algeria looked bitter and looked away, Mauritius looked conflicted and Seychelles bit her lip. Egypt took a deep breath and answered for them. "You might want to sit down for this because you are not going to like it."

/ / / / / /

Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia flinched when the door suddenly flung open but they very scared when they saw who arrived or came back. Cameroon, and something told Ethiopia that he was not happy. Cameroon looked at them with cold eyes and slowly made his way toward them, each step increasing their fear, almost as if to see their terror. Uganda gulped and scooted a little away, Ethiopia narrowed his eyes as a trail of sweat fell down his forehead and Kenya glared at him.

"Where did you go?" Kenya demanded.

"I don't see how's that any of your business but if you must know…" Cameroon's glasses gleamed in the lighting. "It turns out that there are some runaways left. Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria to be more specific. With Mauritius and Seychelles too."

"What happened to them? What did you do?" Ethiopia asked.

The question seemed to anger Cameroon. "You'll be happy to know that they… _escaped_." He said it like it caused him physical pain.

"Ha! Maybe you're not as tough as you think you are!" Kenya smirked, much to Uganda's worry.

Surprisingly, Cameroon did not get angry (or maybe he was holding it in) and he narrowed his eyes. "And maybe you shouldn't further anger me especially in your current position and how upset I am right now. I'll have you know that I'm still _very_ hungry."

"Wh-What do you mean hungry?" Uganda asked nervously.

Cameroon suddenly flashed a feral grin, terrifying Uganda. "You're going to see in a bit. Also, don't get your hopes up just because some nations escaped, you're all under our foot whether you like it or not. Now, you're going to see what happens when you defy us."

"Hey, leave him alone!" Kenya snarled, getting on her feet, ready to fight Cameroon.

"K-Kenya, please-" Uganda tried to stop her from doing something she might regret.

"I'd listen to Uganda, Kenya. You have no idea what we're capable of." Cameroon said.

"I don't care! You're not gonna get away with this!" Kenya then tried to punch Cameroon, but the latter quickly caught it and he threw her to the ground. Kenya winced but she quickly got up and tried again, but Cameroon just dodged with an unimpressed look on his face. Kenya finally managed to punch him in the shoulder and she smirked, but it vanished when she saw that Cameroon didn't react to it. Cameroon smirked and grabbed her arm, gripping it tightly until a "CRACK" was heard. Kenya screamed, and Cameroon kicked her to the ground.

"KENYA!" Uganda and Ethiopia shouted as Kenya fell to the ground in pain.

Cameroon chuckled as Kenya writhed in pain. "That wasn't smart. Then again, you wouldn't be nations if you just accepted it. Now then…" He cracked his knuckles. "Writhe in pure pain and agony for me, please."

/ / / / / /

"Mon dieu… They've been fooling us all for years?" France asked in disbelief, Monaco next to him with the same expression. "And they took over your continent?"

"Pretty much." Algeria crossed her arms. "They threatened us with bombers if most of us didn't sign a contract."

"Contract?"

"We have two right here. Kelvin and I took ours with us." Seychelles said as she searched through her purse then took out her contract and handed it over to France, who took it and started reading its contents.

"By signing this contract, we cut off all ties with the nations whose names are in the paper." Egypt explained. "The names are on page two, but I guarantee that you are not going to be happy with some of them."

France reluctantly turned the page and he immediately widened his eyes, betrayal in his face. Monaco covered her mouth in shock. "N-Non, this can't be… How can they… Mon dieu, Amerique? Maroc? Cameroon? Haiti? Am I really seeing this?"

Algeria frowned and nodded. "Yes, turns out my brother has been playing us like a fiddle."

"Other than them, other members include most of the Americas, Switzerland, Nordic five and among others." Egypt said. "But what you really need to know is the two nations leading this group, and that is…"

"P-Prussia? My good ami has also…" France's hand started shaking. "Non, this cannot be!"

"Also…" Mauritius scratched the back of his head. "Apparently according to South Africa, Prussia and Austria are the leaders of the group."

"W-What? I… Non, pardon mes amis. I just cannot… I just cannot believe this." France rubbed his temples, obviously very upset.

"But, Francis…" Seychelles began.

"Why would they…? Why would they do something like this?" France asked.

Algeria narrowed her eyes. "I tried asking the same thing but all I got was a smirk. I have no idea what would drive my brother to join an organization like that and fool us for years but one thing is for sure. From what we've seen of them, they're deadly and cruel."

"And cannibalistic too." Mauritius muttered, touching the place where Nigeria bit him.

"C-Cannibals?" Monaco stuttered.

"Yup." Mauritius laughed, sounding rather forced. "When I saved Tunisia from Nigeria, I tackled him to the ground. But Nigeria got out and then ranted on about how Europe ruined them and destroyed them and creepily said that I should join them, which I won't, and they said they're gonna get revenge."

"He did?" Tunisia asked.

"I asked Cameroon why he was a part of this too and he responded with one word..." Egypt said as he narrowed his eyes. "War. He said that he and the other Africans of the New World Order, which I assume that is what they're called, want blood… in more ways than one. And then…" He showed his arm.

France remained in a state of shock. "Revenge? Don't tell me it's because of…"

"I hate to break it to you." Tunisia said. "But it probably is. It explains Morocco, Cameroon and Haiti too."

"Did Nigeria really say that they want you to join?" Seychelles asked fearfully.

"Yeah, but don't worry, there's no way I'm going to join with psychopaths." Mauritius stated, smiling at Seychelles.

"You'd better not." Algeria warned.

"I'm not, honest! Those guys are sadists, one of them tried to eat me and they want hurt Seychelles." Mauritius waved his arms frantically then frowned. "But Nigeria mentioned about something about them having ways to make me a "very devoted member to our cause". Mauritius shuddered. "I do not like the sound of that."

"Nothing about this New World Order sounds good." Tunisia frowned.

"Anyway, France, do you think you can call an emergency meeting?" Egypt asked. "We need to inform everyone of this."

"I don't think that's smart." Monaco shook her head, adjusting her glasses.

"What do you mean?" Seychelles asked.

"Well, if you call an emergency world meeting, then every single nation will show up, no? Including the members of the New World Order. It seems like it's a good chance for them to do something to us."

"But it'll be a good chance for us to outnumber them and stop them!" Mauritius protested.

"Maybe, but exactly how powerful is this group? They managed to wipe out the Caribbean and leave no evidence behind and take over your continent in just one day. Will bringing them all together at once only help them?"

Mauritius didn't answer but France spoke next. "Non, we will have a meeting, perhaps not with everyone but a lot of nations nonetheless. While the culprits continue their act, we will inform Angleterre, Canada and the others about it. Egypt is right, this must be known." Everyone was rather shocked at the seriousness in France's tone, he frowned. "Poor Angleterre and Matthieu, this will break their hearts, as well as many others."

/ / / / / /

It's been a few days since the conquest of Africa, and some nations started to notice that something was very wrong.

The Africans were cutting off all ties with them, all at the same time. Whenever someone tried to contact them, there was no answer, and the same could be said for their bosses. The entire continent just suddenly decided to stop trading and isolate themselves. This was very suspicious, nothing was happing to their countries.

Things were getting even more tense, and everyone was nervous, well, most were.

To add to the mysterious chain of events, North Korea has come out of isolation, at a very odd time too. South Korea, Japan, China as well as others were surprised by this and couldn't help but feel suspicious at this. North Korea still avoids his brother, who came running to him for answers. Many thought that America wouldn't be so happy with this but to many nation's bafflement, he doesn't seem worried.

None of this made any sense to anyone except to a certain number of personifications.

/ / / / / /

Mongolia looked out the view from the window of his house, hands behind his back as he wandered in his thoughts. Hong Kong and Macau were sitting on the couch playing Injustice 2, the former occasionally making a "tch" sound and the latter chuckling. They were waiting for Philippines and North Korea to come. The sixth member of their little group had no interest in participating and instead opted to be their pilot. The man still wanted to see the look on the others' faces when they see him.

Mongolia heard knocking and went over to open the door, revealing a smirking Philippines. "Hi, sorry to keep you waiting. Is everyone here?"

"North Korea is the only not here yet, come in Felipe." Mongolia gestured for him to come in.

"I heard Hyung went to visit America." Philippines said as he plopped himself in a chair, grinning. "The two forbidden lovers reunited."

"He's probably not here because he's too busy staring at America like a teenage girl." Hong Kong growled, scowling when Macau's character dealt a combo on him.

Macau chuckled at Hong Kong's remark. "Oh, don't be so hateful towards love. Those two have to pretend that they hated each other for years, it was torture for them." Macau then sighed. "I can't imagine pretending to hate Xavier, it's already painful pretending that we barely interact."

Hong Kong gagged, and Macau's character used a super move, defeating the teen. "You sneaky bastard." Hong Kong muttered, squirming when Macau ruffled his hair.

"That's what you get for being so cranky~" Macau singsong and Hong Kong threw a cushion at his face.

"That's what you get for being so patronizing." Hong Kong retorted.

Philippines and Mongolia laugh as Macau pouts and suddenly they hear a "whoosh" and North Korea materializes in front of them. North Korea nodded in greeting. "Hello, I apologize for the late arrival, I had to meet with our pilot."

"It's okay, you just missed Macau crush Hong Kong in their videogame." Philippines joked, earning a glare from Hong Kong.

"Sounds entertaining." North Korea chuckled.

"So, how was your… _visit_ to America?" Macau asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Did you have a lot _fun_?"

"Macau…" Mongolia said disapprovingly but his mouth was twitching.

North Korea turned red at Macau's tone and he glared. "It was fantastic, I loved every minute of it if you must know except… for his sister."

The other five Asians sweat dropped at that. Everyone knows of the infamous feud between North Korea and Mexico, his lover's possessive sister. The attacks include: Mexico sneaking into North Korea's to place a bunch of loud speakers that will blare Gangnam Style in the morning, North Korea giving her a gift box with a gift tag saying it's from America that has a stink bomb in it, Mexico putting something in North Korea's food that will give him diarrhea, North Korea replacing Mexico's tacos with Taco Bell tacos, and so forth.

"I swear, if that woman wasn't a member of the Order, I would…" North Korea went into a series of mutters that probably include a lot of bad stuff happening to Mexico and then took a deep breath. "But no matter, I had a great time and she can never take that away from me."

"And the war rages on…" Philippines snorted.

"And probably will forever." Hong Kong finished.

Mongolia cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention. "Anyway, now that we are all here, we can now begin with our part. There are some nations we need to get a hold of for various reasons including tactical advantage. We agreed that North Korea will go to extract Laos, Philippines and Macau…"

"Malaysia, Indonesia and East Timor are mine." Philppines smirked. "Though I don't mind extra help in keeping them in line."

"Hong Kong." Mongolia said, and Hong Kong straitened himself up.

"Yes, master?" Hong Kong asked.

"You will come with me as I take care of Tibet." Mongolia stated and then he chuckled. "It's time to see my old friend."

/ / / / / /

Hungary smiled awkwardly as Poland kept going on and on about how they are "like totally gonna have so much fun shopping" as they walked through the streets filled with shops. She really likes Poland but shopping isn't exactly her favorite activity but she can use it to take her mind off stuff.

She had a nasty feeling in her gut about all this. Attacks on islands, Africa isolating itself, North Korea coming out of isolation, it all spells disaster. But she can't do anything about it, no one has a clue who's behind it.

Hungary wanted to visit Austria and ask what he thinks about all this but she hasn't seen him lately. She started to get worried that Prussia or something worse happened to him but when she called Kugelmugel he told her that everything is fine and Austria went out for a bit of alone time.

She was relieved but she couldn't shake off the feeling that something was fishy.

"...And then, like, I totally try to call Liet again but he, like, doesn't answer! It was, like, totally uncool." Poland complained, a pout on his face.

"Why didn't he?" Hungary asked.

"You, like, tell me, Liz!" Poland exclaimed. "And it was, like, the seventh time I, like, tried to call him but he totally doesn't answer!"

"Maybe Russia bullied him again and he needs some time alone to recover?

Poland gasped in horror and paled. "Oh, my, like, God! Tori's probably totally out there, like, scared and totally alone! I'm, like, gonna try again."

/ / / / / /

Lithuania smiled softly as he watched his fellow Baltice happily talk while eating, it truly filled him with happiness to see them happy, especially Latvia. The three of them are happy without the fear of... Russia.

A dark look appeared on Lithuania's face. He can't wait until he gets to wipe that damn smile on Russia's face. But alas he must wait. At least in the meantime, he smirked, he can kill Belarus. He can get revenge for all the times she hurt him and hurt Russia through her. Two birds with one stone.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard his phone buzz and he scowled when he saw who it was. Poland. Damn it, that's the eighth time today! He canceled it and went back to cooking.

He has better things to do than to talk to Poland.

/ / / / / /

Kenya watched in horror with a terrified Uganda next to her as Cameroon yanked out a piece of Ethiopia's flesh with his pliers. Ethiopia screamed his lungs out as Cameroon used his pliers to grab a piece of flesh, slowly yanking it out and then placing it on a plate. Ethiopia was bleeding from his abdomen, but Cameroon doesn't mind… at all. They finally figured out what Cameroon meant by he's hungry and they miraculously managed to stop themselves from throwing up.

Kenya could hear Uganda gagging and she saw that he was turning green, she doesn't blame him, she can feel her breakfast rising up as well. All this, Ethiopia's screams, watching get his guts picked off, the smell of it and Cameroon eating some of it is too much. She couldn't take any more of seeing Ethiopia in pain. "STOP IT!"

Cameroon snapped his head towards her. "Excuse me?"

"S-Stop torturing him. Let him go! Please!" Kenya begged, and she was surprised that Cameroon lowered the pliers.

"Will you join us?" Cameroon asked, Ethiopia said something incoherent that sounded like a "no" and Cameroon growled, shutting him up.

"No, we won't." Kenya shook her head.

Cameroon gave her a look that resembled disappointment. "Then he will continue to suffer thanks to you. The sooner you join us, the sooner he will be freed but at least I'm being entertained." Cameroon looked at Ethiopia, who was weakly glaring at him. "True friends would surrender so that their friend won't have to suffer, don't you think? That must be hurting you emotionally."

"You're the one hurting me." Ethiopia spat.

"Less talking, more screaming." Cameroon grinned, snapping his pliers.

"NO!" Kenya screamed. "Just let us go!"

"Please, just please stop all of this." Uganda pleaded. "We won't tell anyone about all this, we won't interfere, anything except making us join! Please, let us go."

Cameroon regarded them for a few seconds before smiling. "That just won't do, I'm afraid."

And with that said, he continued torturing Ethiopia and the screams began again. Kenya started shaking, holding back sobs and Uganda hugged her, who has started crying. Soon enough, Kenya burst into tears and cried on Uganda's shoulder.

/ / / / / /

Brazil watched amusedly alongside Portugal at the scene playing in front of him. He was just doing his mission on keeping an eye on Portugal, who thankfully still hasn't left Spain's house, when they passed by a very amusing scene involving Romano. In which… Romano is trying to fit himself into a crate to hide from Spain. He burst out laughing as soon as he saw it, which earned a lot of cussing from Romano. Now, Romano is now inside the crate holding lid to glare at the two laughing nations in front of him.

"Stop laughing, you bastards! It's not funny!" Romano hissed.

"I really think it is." Portugal chuckled.

"Well, it's not! I'm going to hide in this crate until the tomato bastard happies himself to sleep." Romano looked around suspiciously.

"Sooner or later he's going to find you, you know." Brazil remarked, and Romano scowled at him.

"Oh, shut up, carnival bastard! Why the fuck are you still here, anyway?" Romano demanded.

That question took Brazil aback but he quickly came up with a quick retort. "I should ask the same thing about you." Brazil countered, smirking.

Romano blushed, and he cursed. "I-I have my reasons, bastard! And what about you?" he asked Portugal.

Portugal narrowed his eyes "Because something very bad is happening in the world and I want to keep my brother out of trouble. Not to mention his conquistador side."

And that's another reason Brazil is here, not just because of spying. They all know about Spain's dark side, especially when drunk. But the others can be just as dark and cruel as Spain, perhaps even more, especially the Africans. The South Americans may not be African five bloodthirsty, but they're still brutal nonetheless. They mostly get it from their ancestors, most notably in Mexico. They all got stronger and darker by clinging on to the anger and brutality they felt as children. Spain will experience every single bit.

"Fine, you two want stay here, I get it." Romano rolled his eyes. "But if you rat me out I'll get my mafia to-"

"LOVIIIIIII~ WHERE ARE YOU?~" A cheerful voice sounded through the halls.

"Shit, I was never here!" And he slammed the lid shut.

Portugal sighed, and he smiled at Brazil. "Well, that's that. Do you want to get a drink, Xavier?"

Brazil nodded. "Sure."

As they walked through the hall, Brazil looked at Portugal with an unreadable expression. Oh, Portugal, on the lookout but completely unaware that the enemy is standing right to him. Brazil didn't hate Portugal, he liked him, but he still holds a grudge on certain things but it's not enough for Brazil to want to kill him. Brazil wants him join. Brazil smirked as he imagined what his father figure's reaction will be that Brazil fooled him and Macau too. Brazil wants Portugal to see what they're capable of as he makes him watch The Americans tear Spain to shreds.

Which reminds him, he promised South Africa he would record it.

His feelings for Portugal are a little hard to describe and sometimes tend to fluctuate or change. Brazil hates Portugal for what he did to him, for what Portugal made him see... No, Portugal is like a father to him, he made Brazil happy as a child. Portugal exploited him, Portugal did a goob job raising him, Portugal waved off Brazil's worries for the slaves, Portugal... Oh, you see? One or the other, or maybe even both.

While he watched Portugal drink, he heard his phone ring. Brazil glanced at Portugal and went into another room. "What is it, Argentina?"

"What's the status of our two targets?" Argentina asked.

"Spain is off on a Romano hunt, pretty funny actually, and Portugal doesn't look like he's going to leave for a while."

Brazil heard Argentina chuckle. "Perfecto."

"By the way, what are we going to do about Romano?" Brazil asked.

"If he's here when we finish off España then we finish him too, but if he's not then we'll let him live. A little surprise for him." Argentina said darkly.

"Alright then. Is everyone here?" Brazil smirked.

"Si, the preparations are nearly complete. We'll let you know when we're ready."

"Understood. I'm looking forward to it." Brazil grinned and ended the call, smirking. The show will be glorious and bloody. He still has to wait a few hours, maybe he can-

"Who were you talking to, Xavier?" Portugal asked out of nowhere.

Brazil jumped and exclaimed in surprise at the sudden appearance of his father figure. "Gah! Don't scare me like that, Portugal!"

"Sorry, you just vanished and I wanted to know why." Portugal said.

"I was just talking with Argentina, jeez." Brazil frowned, crossing his arms.

"Oh, what were you two talking about that made you so excited?"

"Martin is just being his usual "I'm so great and rich" self, I sassed him a little, and he challenged me to a game of futebol." Brazil lied with ease, wanting Portugal to stop asking. "I'm looking forward to kicking his arrogant ass."

"And what do you mean by "Is everyone here"?" Portugal asked, almost sounding suspicious.

Brazil inwardly groaned but kept his false expression."I meant that everyone is there for the big showdown."

Portugal raised an eyebrow. "But wouldn't "Is everyone there" be the right way to say it?"

"What's with all the questions? I feel like I'm being interrogated." Brazil grumbled, finally showing his discomfort. "Me and Martin butting heads isn't rare, you know."

Portugal looked guilty and he sighed. "I'm sorry, Xavier. I'm a little on edge with all that's happening so I can't help but feel paranoid."

Brazil put on a betrayed look. "You... You don't trust me, Fausto?" he asked with hurt laced in the tone.

Portugal immediately paled and waved his hands in denial. "N-No, Xavier, I trust you, I really do."

"Doesn't look like it." Brazil grumbled.

"Look... I'm sorry, Brazil." Portugal put his hand on Brazil's shoulder. "The truth is that I'm worried about you. I... I can't contact Mozambique, Angola or any other of my former colonies in Africa, I haven't heard from them in days and... I'm sorry. I'm really stressed right now."

Brazil smiled warmly at Portugal, while on the inside he was smirking. "Hey... don't worry, Portugal. I'll be fine. Just try to wait and see what happens next. Whoever's behind this, _wherever_ they are, they'll show up."

"But what will happen when they do?"

"Then we make them to tell us what's going on. Simple as that."

"You sound like you think it's going to be easy."

"Truth can run but not hide."

"I guess you're right..." Portugal smiled.

"Trust me..." Brazil grinned. "Everything's going to be okay."

Brazil inwardly smiled psychotically. Oh, he just can't wait.

 **BTW I just realized something about the New World Order, I wrote them in a similar way to an organization from a favorite series of mine, Blue Exorcist. The Illumnati (yes, that's what they're called). Think about it. They're both organizations that worked in the shadows and want to bring world peace but their methods of doing so are obviously evil. But I think the NWO is less evil in comparison.**

 **This chapter was kind of yikes, and by kind of I mean it is. Sometimes I wonder if I should be worried. I'm a Danganronpa fan, and Bulgaria is kind of based on Mikan and her obsession with Junko. The "Junko" of this story is the mystery nation. The torture scene with Cameroon and Ethiopia will get kind of worse. Jeez, **I hope my mom doesn't read this.****

 ** **Hungary is finally introduced! She's gonna play a big role especially with the Prussia and Austria situation. I can promise that she will not die. **Please review! Pretty please!******


	9. Dark plans

**Thanks for the reviews. Now, on with the show!**

 **(Edit: I saw one of the anon reviews and I think they're kind of right. The story is going too fast. So to slow down the pace and have more time to develop the characters, after this chapter will be a storyline or "arc" that will mostly focus on one group of characters for a few chapters. And after that focus on another group and so on.)**

Namibia bit her lip as she hugged her knees while she sat on the less than comfortable bed in what is the room she is being kept prisoner in. Namibia sighed and glanced at the door, which was closed and locked from the outside. She honestly doesn't know what to do. She was worried, stressed, anxious and as much as she hated to admit it, scared. Scared of the five nations that managed to scare most of the African Union to comply with their demands, especially South Africa. He, as well as the others, are terrifying.

Namibia looked at the room around her. It wasn't much but she doubted rooms for prisoners are meant for comfort. She's been here all alone for… what? One, two, three days? She really doesn't know. She's been here in this suffocating room with the only nations appearing being one of the five coming to deliver food. Namibia just made a "hmph" sound, took the tray, and turned away to eat. None of them really spoke to her, not that she wanted them to, they're creepy. Especially Morocco, who gave her what has to be the most obviously fake smile she has ever seen in her entire life, and Nigeria, who came with a creepy grin that stretched across his face.

When Nigeria came, he told her that she doesn't need to worry. South Africa went to meet the two leaders of the organization that's been hidden for what appears to be centuries and he will be back soon to play with her. Namibia tried very hard not to show how unnerved she was by that sentence. Speaking of the leaders, she couldn't believe her ears when she discovered _who_ the two leaders are. Austria and… Prussia.

That revelation nearly caused her to have a nervous breakdown.

It was all too much. The lies, the revelations, the loss of her independence, everything. She doesn't think she can handle that much stress. And she doesn't have anyone to talk to. Yes, South Africa took her and Ghana with him but as soon as they arrived in this room South Africa shoved her to the floor, slammed the door and left. Taking Ghana with him. She has no idea why he just left her here and took Ghana somewhere else. That bastard just cheerfully waved goodbye and left.

So here she is… alone and fucking scared. Namibia knows that he's going to come back, but she doesn't know when. Causing her to be filled with fear and paranoia every single minute that at any minute or second those doors will burst open revealing that bastard with a shit-eating grin. She's here sitting on a stupid bed with a stupid uncomfortable mattress with absolutely nothing to do in this room that's slowly suffocating her except to wait for the suffering that's coming.

Suffocating… that's probably the best way to describe what's she feeling right now. It reminds her of her days of being under South Africa's rule. No freedom. Also, Germany's rule. Painful. In some ways her current situation is worse, because there's no way she can fight right now. She's powerless. But at least people aren't being brutally killed right now… or at least she hopes so.

Namibia has no idea what's going on right now outside her room, but she does know that the other Africans are still here in this building. Namibia keeps hoping that Botswana, Angola or someone that she knows that isn't a lunatic will talk to her from the other side of the door. Namibia knows she heard Botswana approach the room but then she heard him yelp and she didn't hear anything more. Instead she heard something worse. She heard the screams coming from the others that tried to escape with her. DRC, Ethiopia… all of them. They're obviously being tortured by one of the five and she gulped because she knows it'll be her turn soon.

At the thorough analysis of her situation she started to shake and kept thinking about how she hated all of this. She hated it! She can't take any more of this. Someone please come and save them! Namibia finally broke down and curled up in a fetal position as she lied down, tears streaming down her cheeks. Words couldn't describe how much she wants to break out, run out to where the five are and punch them where it hurts. But no, she tried breaking the door, she bruised her foot and hands trying.

"Awwwwww, don't cry, Namibia. I haven't even started yet and you're already breaking. I thought you were stronger than that" A familiar voice that sent shivers down her spine cooed and she froze as her blood went cold. Laughter, horrible laughter, was heard. "That's riiiiiiight~ I'm baaaaaack~!"

Namibia did not want to turn around to see South Africa's face, at all. She just wanted to remain like this until he leaves but she gulped and turned her head towards where the door was, and she paled. South Africa was leaning against the doorway with a smirk on his face, arms crossed as his smirk grew when he saw her face. "C-Chris…" Namibia stuttered, unable to say anything else.

South Africa laughed again. "Yes, _me_. Sorry about the late arrival." He scratched the back of his head. "I had to go to my bosses because they kind of got mad that we left out the part that five nations managed to escape." Namibia widened her eyes at that detail. South Africa then frowned, looking rather ashamed of himself. "They were… upset with us. We'll make it up to them, I swear it." He declared, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists but after a few seconds he suddenly went back to his previous disposition. "But never mind that. Let's _talk_ , Namibia."

Namibia gulped but put on a brave face. "T-Talk about what, you bastard?" She spat, glaring at him. "Just leave me alone."

"Hmmmmm, nope. What we need to talk about is how stupid you were to try to escape." South Africa snorted. "The airport? Really?"

"I-It was the logical solution!" Namibia said.

"More like the most cliché and stupid. You might as well have split up and gotten picked off one by one. Like in Alfred's horror movies!" South Africa said that last part cheerfully.

"W-Well, what other option was there?!" Namibia snapped.

"None. That's exactly what should have occurred to you, all of you." South Africa smirked, brown eyes filled with malice. "There _is_ no way out."

"What about the five nations that escaped? Looks like you're all not as high and mighty as you thought." Namibia retorted, scoffing.

Her feeling of victory was short lived as she saw South Africa darkened at that. He looked furious, indignant, and insulted all in one. South Africa was seething in pure rage and Namibia could tell it was taking a lot of self-restraint not to tear her to shreds. "Listen, Talisa…" He said in a low voice, growling. "For the sake of your innards, don't _ever_ say something like that again."

"Why? Was your pride wounded because of your epic fail?" Namibia mocked. The logical, smart and scared part of her mind screamed at her for saying that.

"Namibia…"

"Hmph. Some warrior you are."

South Africa roared and punched the wall next to him. Namibia flinched at the sudden snap as South Africa breathed deeply and turned around to face her with a grin. "Okay, that's enough. I didn't come here so you could insult me." South Africa smirked and there was a strange light in his eyes. "You won't be feeling so tough when I'm through with you. Now then… Let's begin, shall we?"

Namibia cringed.

/ / / / / /

Nigeria grinned at the sound of Somalia choking on his own blood while he rummaged through his bag for a certain torture tool that's sure to spice things up even more. He doesn't need to look to know that Chad and Ghana are horrified and helpless as poor Somalia starts to suffer the effects of the poison Nigeria gave him. They're scared. They're scared of what he'll do. It was really nice of South Africa to give him Ghana, Nigeria really needs an extra subject.

Considering his and Cameroon's… Nigeria gritted his teeth and but quickly shook his head. Now, now, Nigeria. Focus on the task at hand. You can plan on recapturing the runaways later and take Mauritius to _that room_. Nigeria giggled as he thought about the possibilities of _that room_. No Order member has ever taken a nation there, but now that the war is starting, that room's gonna be put to a lot of use for the people they want.

Brazil and Macau want to use it on Portugal, Saudi Arabia wants to use it on his brother United Arab Emirates, &$&/?% wants to use it on Egypt (after Nigeria and the others punish him of course) and Cyprus, America and their leaders want to use it on the Netherlands, etc.

Though Nigeria is going to need a little teaching of what to do. America, Bulgaria, Mongolia and Switzerland are the ones with the knowledge of all the works, considering _they_ were the ones that created it on their leaders' orders. Most people know that room and its uses as Project MKUltra. The Cold War was just an excuse. As for the Canadians that were forcefully taken there… America did it just to spite his brother.

What could they use for Mauritius? Just how could they erase that happy and pacifist personality and mold it to their liking? Oh! He could use the-

"Oh, here it is!" Nigeria cheerfully exclaimed out loud as he pulled out a small box with a few holes in it. "Sorry for the wait!"

Somalia, Chad and Ghana glared at him despite their states. Somalia coughed out more blood onto the floor, Chad had many slits cut into his stomach and Ghana had cuts on her shoulders and bruises on her wrists. They've been holding out well, they've refused to join every time he asks. So, it's time to kick it up a notch.

No that he minds, their defiance gives him a good excuse to break them.

"What? What exactly did you find?" Ghana snapped, struggling against the ropes tying her to the chair.

"Oh, don't be such a bitch, Ghana." Nigeria laughed at Ghana's indignant expression. "And to answer your question…" Nigeria showed them the box and grinned. "I want you to meet my cute little friend in this box."

"And… what exactly is in that box?" Chad asked, puzzled.

"Well, I'm glad you asked, Chad. Because you're going to get to know him well." Nigeria smirked and opened the box to take out a brown rat.

"A rat?" Somalia asked, having gotten most of the blood out of his throat.

"Yes, I call him Ebi. I found him on a subway in New York, all hungry and alone." Nigeria petted the small rodent, cooing. "But thankfully I give him all the food he needs but right now Ebi's very hungry and I don't have anything to give him." His tone turned dramatic and put his hand on his forehead. "Oh, what am I going to do?"

"What's your point with the stupid rat?!" Ghana yelled, quickly getting annoyed and disgusted of the rat.

"Shut up, Ghana. You all know that rats love to eat all sort of things, grains, seeds, bugs, other small animals, even garbage. Why? Because rats are opportunist omnivore eaters. They'll eat _anything_ that's edible." Nigeria explained while petting the rat's fur. "Which brings me to why I brought Ebi here."

"Just where are you…" Somalia coughed a little blood. "Just where are you going with this?"

Nigeria grinned and looked at Chad, who paled at the sudden attention. Nigeria only giggled and walked over to said nation with the rat in his hands, he crouched down a little and lifted Chad's shirt up where Nigeria cut many slits where Chad's intestines were. The three Africans were very confused at what Nigeria was doing. Chad winced as Nigeria stretched a large slit open, the sadistic nation then looked at the three of them. "Before I do anything, I'm feeling nice so if you surrender right now I won't do anything." Nigeria said sweetly, then smirked when all three shook their heads. "Works for me."

Nigeria licked his lips as he stretched the slit enough and placed the rat inside. "Wh-Wha-" Chad didn't have time to finish that word as he felt something gnaw at his insides. The effect was instantaneous, and he screamed. Chad screamed and thrashed around, in a desperate attempt to somehow free himself from the pain. The rat was halfway inside of his stomach and eating whatever it could find.

Ghana and Somalia stared horrified at the sight in front of them. Ghana felt complete horror and snapped her head towards a grinning Nigeria. "What did you do, Nigeria?!"

"Simple, it's called rat torture." Nigeria lifted his index finger. "You cut the victim's stomach open, get a starving rat, place the starving rat inside the open cut and watch as the victim is eaten from the inside. This results in a few hours of agonizing pain, almost always ending in death. But since we're nations…"

"IT'S EATING ME!" Chad screamed in agony, still thrashing around. "GET IT OUT! GET IT OUT!"

"Yeah, I already mentioned that." Nigeria deadpanned at Chad then smiled. "And sure, I'll get Ebi out of you, if… _you_ join us. You want out? Then join."

"You bastard!" Ghana snarled, tears starting to fall from her eyes.

"Oh, you flatter me, Ghana."

"P-Please get it out! Get it out!" Chad begged, sobbing. "It hurts so much."

"I told you~" Nigeria sang. "You have to join us~"

"No! I-"

"Nigeria, knock it off!" Ghana screamed.

"For Allah's sake, Chad, stop this!" Somalia begged, looking worriedly at Chad. "He just wants to see us suffer. The resistance is just an excuse." Somalia glared at Nigeria. "This torture is too much for you, don't prolong your suffering and give Nigeria a show!"

Nigeria stared at them emotionlessly, even as Chad's screams got louder, which slightly unnerved Somalia. Nigeria put his hand on his hip and tilted his head and spoke to them. "So, it seems." Nigeria spoke in a much more serious tone than the one before, much to their surprise. "What about you, Ghana? Even the egotistical Somalia cares. Are you willing to cause pain to yourself and those around you to preserve your freedom?"

Ghana was still shocked at the shift in behavior. "Wh-What's with the personality change?"

"Answer my question, Ghana." Nigeria said coolly. "Are you willing to be a good friend and stop this innocent soul from suffering more? Or will you ignore all of that and stand your ground through the blood and screams?"

"I… I'm not ignoring Chad's pain! Do you really think I don't feel horrible that I can't do anything help him or stop you? And why are you judging me so suddenly? You're the one causing this!"

"I am." Nigeria agreed. "But remember that you do have the option to surrender and stop this."

"You're asking us to give away our freedom." Somalia stated.

"What are you imagining will happen if you surrender? What are your fears?" Nigeria asked. "Oppression of your people and culture? Exploitation? Horrible forced labor conditions? Cities and villages burning to ashes? Loads of humans dead in the streets? Starvation? Tyranny? Violations of human rights? No… no. We have no intention of doing that to any of you. We may enjoy causing pain and suffering in just about any shape and form, but we have no desire to inflict any of that on you. We have our targets but they're not you."

The two Africans were completely speechless. They honestly don't know how to respond to that. Sure, they may say that they don't want to hurt their countries but that still doesn't change how dangerous they are. These people who are torturing them right now are asking to give away their freedom. "That still doesn't change the fact that what you're doing is insane." Somalia said, narrowing his eyes.

Nigeria continued staring at them. "It doesn't, does it?" he asked, and then he frowned. "This spoiled my mood, I'm not enjoying this anymore so here's a deal, Chad." Said nation shook and looked up at him with a face contorted in pain. "If you join, I'll get the rat out, you'll get medical treatment and you'll go with the rest of your friends while I take care of the remaining two. Deal?"

"I… I…" Chad grimaced and gripped the arms of the chair. "No… I'm not…"

"No? Wow."

"Chad…" Ghana began, looking at him sadly. "We won't hold it against you. Honest."

"But I…" Chad screamed again.

"Don't be stupid!" Somalia yelled. "That damn rodent is slowly killing you. Even if you die and come back, this bastard will do it again!"

"True." Nigeria nodded.

"I…" Chad let out another scream as the rat gnawed deeper into his intestines and he looked remorse. "Okay, I'll sign the damn paper. You win."

Nigeria smiled, a normal one for once, and walked towards Chad. Nigeria grabbed the rat and carefully pulled it out, causing Chad to yelp. Nigeria held the rat, which was covered in blood much to their disgust, and put it back in the box. "Thank you, I'll get the papers and we'll fix you right up. BRB." Nigeria turned around, opened the door and slammed it shut after he left. Leaving three shaken Africans.

"I'm sorry." Chad cried, tears falling.

"It's alright, we don't blame you." Ghana smiled sadly.

/ / / / / /

"I heard you've been going out to watch Ludwig from afar." Austria said suddenly, Prussia flinched, and Austria smiled sadly. "It's alright, I don't blame you. In fact…" Austria took a deep breath and smiled sadly at Prussia. "I'm doing the same with Elizaveta."

"I'm sorry, Roderich, I shouldn't…" Prussia gritted his teeth and looked away, so his friend wouldn't see the sad look on his face. "I really want him to join us but I fear that he will not agree. I… it makes me happy to see my bruder happy but…"

"We're soon going to end that with the war." Austria finished, and adjusted his glasses. "Gilbert, trust me, I completely understand. Elizaveta looks so happy too. I love her, truly from the bottom of my heart, and it pains me that we've lied for years."

"I really doubt it would worked if she knew the truth."

"The same goes for Ludwig."

"What do you think we should do to-" Prussia was interrupted when the doors flung open to reveal Iceland bursting into the room, breathing heavily. Austria decided not to let his annoyance that their serious talk was interrupted show and let Prussia, who was just as annoyed, do the talking. "What is it, Iceland?"

"Ja, what's so important that you barge without knocking and interrupt our important conversation?" Austria asked with a snide undertone. Iceland noticed it and sweat dropped a little.

"I told you that you should have knocked!" Denmark's voice called from down the hall.

A tick mark appeared on Iceland's head and the teen's eyebrow twitched. "It also would have interrupted them anyway!" Iceland shouted.

"But at least you would have been politer about it!"

"Does it really matter if I'm polite or not?!"

"Emil, please tell us why you came." Prussia requested, wanting to sign and facepalm at their comrades' behavior.

Iceland slowly regulated his breathing and straightened himself up. "Oh, right, Nigeria called to say that Chad surrendered, and he thinks that the others will follow soon."

"The first runaway has surrendered, excellent." Austria smirked. "Anything else?"

"Yes, Lithuania is on his way to recruit the other Baltics and kill Belarus. Oh, and he's taking Bulgaria with him to help."

"Finally getting the justice that's been out of his hands for years." Prussia nodded in approval, crossing his arms, then chuckling. "As for Bulgaria, has he been with his love lately? He should be ecstatic that they will be able to spend more time with each other."

Iceland scratched his head. "I'm not sure but I did hear Lithuania complain about Bulgaria "going on and on about his beloved this and his beloved that" and "drooling all over the house", among other complaints about Bulgaria's obsession with #&$%?#."

Prussia and Austria chuckled at that. "So, they haven't met up yet. Perhaps after they're done with Belarus and the Baltics, we suggest that Bulgaria sees his lover again." Austria smiled. "I'm sure #&$%?# will be delighted at the idea."

"Speaking of him, where has he been these last few days?" Prussia asked.

"In the Middle East with Saudi Arabia and Iran having what I think is a road trip with the three of them ending up doing a threesome." Iceland deadpanned, remembering when he called the guy all he heard were shouting and giggles. He loves the guy but he's really weird sometimes.

"Oh, I really doubt that." Prussia narrowed his eyes. "Bulgaria would kill Iran and Saudi Arabia if that really happens."

"Slowly and painfully too." Austria added.

"Yeah, yeah, and another thing. Mongolia also called." Iceland said. "He and the other Asians are beginning their part in the plan. The other guy is going with them just to see the looks on the prisoners' faces."

"They're going to be in for quite a shock then." Austria remarked, then remembered something. "How are the South Americans doing?"

"The South Americans and the others are ready. I think you should give them the signal to begin, because I've been getting calls filled with complaints and I don't think they can wait any longer. Oh, and Brazil said that Portugal is still there as well as Romano."

"Not... yet. We don't want things to go too fast." Austria said. "Is that all?"

"Yes."

"Then please return to your station. We were in the middle of a dramatic conversation before you rudely interrupted."

Iceland sighed and turned around to leave through the door, as he walked away he passed Denmark. "I still say you should have knocked." Denmark said.

"Stop saying that!" Iceland shouted.

/ / / / / /

Mongolia glanced at North Korea, who looked very annoyed at the person he was speaking to on the phone. Judging by how formal but snide he is talking, the nation is either China or South Korea. North Korea growled. Ah, definitely South Korea. He knew he heard the words "da-ze!".

Mongolia couldn't help but pity South Korea. The boy is going to get quite a heartbreak.

And a painful death at the hands of his brother.

No, he thinks the person the sixth wants to kill is the person he should really pity now that he thought about it. She will probably be the most heartbroken of all when she finds out who the sixth is.

As much as he respected the sixth's desire for vengeance, Mongolia mourns the death of the happy young man and rebirth as a bitter soldier that despises the world for leaving him to rot. The boy just wanted to live, but the way things were wasn't good for him, so he became angrier and angrier until he just couldn't fight anymore.

The young man was there on the muddy floor filled with blood and corpses, dying. As the shock and despair of what had happened destroyed his mind, he cursed the names of the people who did this to him.

But a helping hand from the friend who left but returned kept him alive. He became determined to live and to reclaim what is rightfully his and more. To give her the same pain she gave him but much, much worse.

The boy's heart was poisoned by all that happened, but with help from them, he slowly began to learn to smile again.

He may never be that happy youth again, but they can make him happy and give him kindness.

Everyone in the Order did because that's what the Order does. They look for each other and got each other's backs.

Perhaps what the boy needs, other than revenge, is love. He knows that the boy was and still is in love with-

"I don't get it, China's right at your doorstep. Why don't we go and get him already?" Hong Kong complained.

"We have to plan our steps carefully, Leon." North Korea said.

"If we can wait decades and centuries then we can wait a little bit." Philippines remarked.

"But still..." Hong Kong grumbled.

"You're really cute when you puff your cheeks like that. You look like a cute little critter." Macau chuckled as he pinched Hong Kong's cheeks.

"Touch me for five more seconds and I'll rip your arm off and beat you with it."

"Who's a cute little Hong Kong? You are~ Yes, you are~"

"Alright." Mongolia decided to step before Hong Kong tries to maim Macau, again. "Macau, stop provoking Leon. Leon, don't kill Macau. Both of you please behave."

"Oh, did Macau call Hong Kong cute again?" A new voice asked. Everyone turned to look at a smiling young man with short messy dark brown hair and golden-honey colored eyes wearing a soldier uniform from a certain faction that existed in the 50's, 60's and 70's.

"This moron pinched my cheeks like a grandma." Hong Kong glared at Macau, who of course wasn't bothered.

"But he looked so adorable like a little cat!" Macau grinned, and Hong Kong's eye twitched.

The sixth Asian snorted at that comparison. "A rabid cat is more like it."

"That does sound better." Hong Kong muttered.

"What did you say?" Macau asked.

"Nothing."

Everyone laughed and Hong Kong even cracked a smile as he blushed. Mongolia smiled warmly at the sixth and patted his back. "It's really nice to see you in a good mood..."

"...South Vietnam."

/ / / / / /

Lithuania looked out the window of his home with a solemn expression, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly. It's now or never, Lithuania. Estonia and Latvia left a few hours ago, but not back to their houses. Apparently, Russia has proposed (more like ordered) that they, as well as Belarus, will stay over at his house so that he'll be able to keep them "safe". Lithuania scoffed, safe, Russia is the complete opposite of that. Lithuania and others were anything but safe in the days of the Soviet Union.

He'd rather throw himself into a sea of spikes than be in the same house as Russia.

Lithuania was getting impatient and he's really getting tired of acting like a scaredy cat but it'll be over... soon...

He can do this. His brothers will feel betrayed by his actions but when they see how much stronger the Order is, they'll never feel afraid again. No one will ever abuse them again.

Lithuania narrowed his eyes and turned around where Bulgaria was standing busily carving something in his arm with a scapel, not looking in pain but instead quite happy and humming. "Bulgaria, we're leaving now."

It took a few seconds for Bulgaria to notice and he blinked. "Hmm?" Bulgaria replied then smiled sheepishly. "Oh, sorry Toris. I was too busy making a picture of my beloved. Pretty accurate, huh?"

Bulgaria showed his arm and Lithuania was impressed. It did look very accurate. "Yes, it looks very good."

"Thank you~"

"Now, let's go, Dimitri. I have a score to settle and people to recruit." Lithuania frowned at Bulgaria's arm. "And maybe we should stop by a pharmacy while we're at it."

"But I worked hard on that picture!"

"The wound might get infected."

"...Can you at least take a photo of it first?"

/ / / / / /

"...So do you think you can pull it off, Norway?" Nigeria asked.

"Of course, don't insult me." Norway said, slightly offended.

"Perfect. Then you can reach all of them. It should be nighttime right about now in where they are." South Africa smirked at the laptop screen. "Give them a scare, a preview for what's coming and make their fears come true.

"Alright then, just leave it to me."

/ / / / / /

Egypt had no idea how he ended up here. It was so sudden. He lied down in his bed and quickly went to sleep only to be whisked away to a world of nothingness. The place he was in had nothing, just darkness. Egypt of course assumed it was a dream, perhaps a lucid dream, but recalling the visions he had days ago he braced himself for things that will serve to help or worry him. But...

Something didn't feel right.

Egypt felt something dark, he's sensing another power responsible but... who?

Just as he finished that thought the world of darkness suddenly shattered and Egypt flinched. And before he knew it he found himself falling. As he fell endlessly, he reached out a hand, in a foolish hope that someone will somehow find him and save him. But nothing came, only the shattered glass of the world of nothingness fell in his hand and he continued falling.

It went on for what felt like centuries until his back hit the cold hard ground. Egypt groaned and sat up only to freeze when he saw what was in front of him. It was Sudan and South Sudan bound to chairs, they were hurt badly and Egypt glared at the man responsible. Morocco. Morocco was licking a large knife drenched in blood and didn't seem to notice his presence, neither did the Sudans.

Egypt wanted say something, or at least move. But he suddenly found himself unable to move.

Morocco stopped his disturbing actions and took a momento to glance behind him. Egypt could have sworn that the man was looking directly at him. Morocco smirked, grabbed South Sudan's throat and moved to plunge down the knife.

"NO!" Egypt finally managed to shout but the world rippled and he found himself in a similar room but with Liberia and the Congos. The teenager was wielding a hammer and had a sadistic gleam in his eyes. Egypt saw Liberia smash several bones of the two Congos while he could only watch horrified.

And that's how it kept going. Egypt would be taken to several rooms where one of the African five were torturing the others. He found himself going pale at their brutality and violence. Egypt had already witnessed it himself twice on the same day. Cameroon was proof of how bloodthirsty they are. But he's seeing what their definition of torture is. He saw Morocco stab Sudan's shoulders several times, Liberia slowly break DRC's bones, Nigeria putting a hungry rat in Chad's stomach, Cameroon ripping out Ethiopia's innards and South Africa holding down a screaming Namibia while he chewed on her shoulder.

Egypt was currently in the last one, watching South Africa torture the poor girl. Egypt thinks that this is the least worse of what he saw, but he knew it was a nightmare come true for Namibia. For a second, Egypt thought that South Africa was going to rape her but he was glad it wasn't the case. It doesn't make this scene any less worse though. Egypt started to feel anger at all this. Were they doing this just to make him suffer? Well, he was not going to let this continue.

"ENOUGH! Let her go at once!" Egypt shouted with all the anger he had, and much to his surprise, South Africa stopped. Egypt felt alarmed when the room rippled again but he noticed that South Africa remained. They ended up in a rather dark room with nothing in it. The spiky haired man turned around and smirked at the confused Egyptian.

"You interrupted the show we made for you. That hurts my feelings, did you not like it?" South Africa asked with faux sadness, which only served to further anger Egypt.

"How... did you... expect me... to like _this_?" Egypt said slowly, not wanting to lose his composure in front of the enemy. "Are you hurting them just because we escaped?"

"No, those nations that you saw? They tried to escape just like you and your friends." South Africa giggled, and smirked. "Only they weren't so lucky."

Egypt was surprised that he and the others weren't the only ones, but he remembered that those are the same nations that didn't sign the contract. "You caught them?"

"Pssh! Of course!" South Africa snorted. "We caught like them like mice in a trap and now these mice are being punished for trying to run away. Just like you will be. Until they surrender, we'll continue to have fun with them and break those minds into pieces."

"You're a very evil man." Egypt said.

"Say what you want. By the way..." South Africa's tone turned serious. "You made Nigeria and Cameroon very angry with your little stunt. So when your cold, half-dead carcass is dragged back to us, expect them to get a little revenge on you."

"How... _kind_ of you."

"I'm just reminding you that even though you're out of the continent, you're far from safe. Enjoy your short-lived victory while you can before we come."

"Are you... angry that we escaped?" Egypt asked, and the question only served to annoy the rainbow nation.

"Did you expect us to be overjoyed that we were duped by two islands, and then those islands joining your little gang of runaways, then having Cameroon and Nigeria kick your asses only to be defeated by magic? Ahahahahahahaha no." South Africa spat, then suddenly did a 180° again. "But I guess it wasn't a total loss. Nigeria found himself a new potential recruit."

"Mauritius mentioned that. He said that Nigeria mentioned having "ways to make him a very devoted member to the cause"." Egypt narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "What is that supposed to mean?"

South Africa scoffed. "I'm not telling. I'm not here to answer questions. But if you must know... it's something that you too will experience."

"Experience? What do you mean? Why?"

"Again with the questions. Wow, _that man_ was right, you really are a chatterbox."

Egypt widened his eyes and he felt a brief surge of anger that South Africa noticed. "Oh yeah, he's the one who recommended you, you know. He thinks you got a lot of potential. I can see why."

"I don't care what _he_ thinks." Egypt gritted his teeth. "I don't know what other twisted methods you have but Mauritius and I have no intention of joining you. You won't capture us again."

"Never say never~" South Africa sang, and Egypt cringed a little. "And you should care what _he_ thinks, because he's **_right behind you_."**

Egypt immeadiately tensed up but he did not turn around. It could be a trick. Then he felt someone whisper in his ear. "He's right, you know~" A familiar cheerful voice said, and Egypt whirled around to come face to face with _that man_ , who had a shit-eating grin on his face that made Egypt's blood boil. "Oh, you don't look so happy to see me, Gupta."

"You..." Egypt growled, clenching his fists.

"That's right, me." That man laughed along with South Africa. "A big thanks to Chris for telling me about this."

"No problem." South Africa grinned and gave him a thumbs up.

"You bastard... How could you..." Egypt seethed, looking dangerously close to snapping.

"Oh, Gupta." That man smiled amusedly and affectionately poked Egypt on the nose. "Gupta, Gupta, Gupta, Gupta... Where do I start?" _He_ laughed and contiuned poking an increasingly angry Egypt. "I'm really impressed that you managed to escape the Africans, and when they're hungry too. You really are something."

"What are you doing here?" Egypt asked, then realized something. "Now that I think about it, what am I doing here? How am I here? Is this the work of one of your nations with the magic touch?"

"Ugh, what is with Egypt and questions?" South Africa groaned, resting his head on his hand. "He's been asking non-stop since we brought him here."

"Yeah, don't let that "I'm so quiet and mysterious" look fool ya!" That man cackled then suddenly grabbed Egypt's collar and sneered. "Listen, Gupta. You should keep in mind what South Africa said. You and the other four are not out of the woods and never will be. This situation is much larger than you realize and none of you are prepared for what we have in store. But don't worry." He cooed mockingly. "You're going to see all of it happen. When you're dragged back to us, I'll be having you slitting throats by the end of the week!"

"Not while I'm here." Egypt said determindely. "I'll make sure that whatever you're planning goes down in flames. I swear it in my mother's name."

That man smiled. "We'll see. Now, bye-bye!"

The grip on Egypt's collar was released but instead of hitting the ground he was falling again. As he fell, he saw _him_ and South Africa waving him goodbye. Egypt started to feel tired and he closed his eyes as he heard _his_ laughter.

Egypt snapped his eyes open and immeadiately sat up, breathing heavily and sweating. He wiped the sweat off and looked at his hands. No... that wasn't a dream. It was real.

He didn't have time to think about it as he heard screaming from one of the other rooms.

 **Time for a cliffhanger! So, this was an interesting chapter, huh? Remember that mystery guy from chapter 5? That's South Vietnam. But who could the other guy be? I've left hints almost every chapter. Do you know who he is? If you do please don't spoil it in the reviews.**

 **I've did research for torture methods and I came across rat torture. It left me a little uncomfortable. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	10. Standing ground: Intruder

**Thank you for the reviews. Listen, I want to make some things clear. I do listen to criticism, and 73011 is right, I did listen to the reviews and wrote some parts out. I did not mean to sound rude by deleting them and I'm sorry. I have my reasons and they're not egotistical. On a lighter note, I noticed some of you said you think you know who the mystery guy is and thank you so much for not spoiling.**

 **I decided that that several chapters will be separate storylines focusing on a different group of nations that will eventually merge to slow down the pacing and develop the characters. There will be at least 3 I think. Now, on with the show!**

"Seychelles?!" Egypt shouted after he heard the screaming. He started to worry. Oh no. When South African said that he should enjoy his short-lived victory while he can, did he mean that they were going to attack now? Did those two visit him in his sleep just so they could taunt him while another one of them harm his friends? Curses, if that's so then there's no time to waste.

Egypt threw the blankets off, grabbed his staff, and burst out the door, not bothering to put on his keffiyeh. He looked left and right frantically, trying to remember which room Seychelles was in before he heard a different voice yelling angrily. Mauritius. He then heard something that sounded like a crash while more yelling and cursing in both English and French was heard in the background.

Mauritius is obviously fighting with the intruder, but he cannot do it on his own.

Where are the others? Oh, there's no time! Egypt just hopes all the racket woke them up and they'll come themselves.

He quickly followed the direction where he heard all the commotion, running while hoping he won't be too late and find a bloody mess before his eyes. Egypt couldn't believe this, just how could one of them sneak in without any of them noticing? Didn't France say that he had his agents keeping an eye out for… Egypt stopped as he realized something that did not make sense. How _did_ the intruder sneak into France's land without the nation himself noticing? When a nation stays in another nation for a certain amount of time, the other nation will sense their presence.

But then again, he recalls one of the African five mentioning the fact that they planted bombs in the other nations without them noticing. What sort of magic could they have that has that ability?

He remembers seeing Norway's name in the contract, but that Nordic cannot be that skilled, can he? None of the magic trio have that sort of magic.

He was engrossed in his thoughts that he nearly bumped into a tired-looking Algeria with her hair all messy and bags under her eyes. Has she been sleeping well? Egypt flinched, and Algeria narrowed her eyes, not in annoyance but in concern.

"What on earth is going on here, Gupta?!" Algeria demanded, worry and anger in her tone. "I've been trying to get some sleep when I heard Seychelles screaming!"

Before he could reply, Tunisia came running to them looking out of breath and tired as well. "Wha-What's going on? Are we under attack?!"

"Did you hear Seychelles scream too, Ubon?" Algeria asked.

Tunisia nodded. "Y-Yes, I did, scared me awake. What happened?"

"I don't know." Egypt looked at the room on the far left, gripping his staff tightly. "There's only one way to find out. If it's Nigeria, Cameroon or someone else that they sent, then we better prepare. Tunisia, Algeria, are France and Monaco awake?"

"I'm not sure; I didn't see them on the way here." Tunisia said.

"I didn't either." Algeria said.

"Should… one of us go wake them? We don't know who's here."

"There's no time! Mauritius and Seychelles are there alone!"

"Curses." Egypt muttered, nearly flinching when there was another crash and the sound of Mauritius screaming was heard. "Mauritius!"

Egypt sprinted off towards Mauritius's room, Algeria and Tunisia following behind him. Egypt grabbed the doorknob and burst through the room to finally get a good look at what's going on. The scene in front of him was a guest room torn into a million pieces with furniture torn apart, fragile things like glass shattered all over the floor, a few holes on the walls no doubt from punches, and a large piano with Seychelles hiding behind, who widened her eyes upon seeing them. As for the other two, Mauritius was breathing heavily, thank the gods looking not too hurt with only a few cuts. The island was glaring at a person that Egypt did not recognize.

The intruder was dressed in what one would think as stereotypical thief clothing. The intruder looked like a male, and he was wearing black clothing. Sweater, pants, boots, gloves, everything needed to blend in the dark and strike someone by surprise. The intruder was wearing a helmet liner skull cap that covered his hair and mouth, with the only clue to his identity visible being green eyes and dark skin.

This man… did not seem to look like any of the Africans. But he was obviously a nation and one that Egypt thought that looked familiar.

Mauritius heard the door open and snapped his head towards them, smiling in relief at the sight of reinforcements. The intruder of course was the opposite of happy, and Egypt did not need to see the man's entire face to see that he was angry. The intruder growled and twirled in his fingers what seemed to be a large needle.

"Egypt! Algeria! Tunisia!" Seychelles exclaimed in joy from her hiding place, waving at them. "Dieu merci you came!"

"Are you alright, Michelle?" Egypt asked, keeping his eyes on the intruder.

Seychelles nodded. "Oui, I'm fine, but Kelvin…"

"I'm fine, this bastard bruised me a little with his needles, but I'm fine. Nothing to worry about." Mauritius chuckled while rubbing his arm, then glared at the intruder. "You're in big trouble now."

The intruder narrowed his eyes and swiftly threw his needle at Mauritius, just barely scraping his cheek and hitting the wall near the trio.

"What happened in here?" Tunisia asked, mildly startled at the needle.

"This guy…" Mauritius pointed lazily at the intruder, who rolled his eyes. "Sneaked into my room while I was peacefully having a good night's sleep, I woke up, but he had me at needlepoint at my throat, so I tried to punch him. Then, he started to mumble about something in some language that I don't understand but Michelle came in and he tried to hurt her!"

"And then you two made quite a mess." Tunisia noted with a bit of amusement.

"Well he's not going to hurt anyone else." Algeria stepped forward, a pistol in her hand. "We have him surrounded."

"Be careful!" Seychelles said worriedly, looking at the intruder in fear. "He's very fast and I think that he's-"

The intruder aggressively growled at Seychelles, and the island girl promptly covered her mouth and shrank into her hiding place. Mauritius gritted his teeth and raised his fists to attack the intruder again, who saw him and started to reach for something in his belt. But before he could find what he was looking for a bullet shot past him, and he turned around to see Algeria with her gun, having fired a warning shot. Tunisia didn't bring a weapon, but he was prepared for combat. Egypt started at the intruder with a stoic look.

"Don't even think about trying something." Algeria warned, finger on the trigger. "Or the next one goes into the rotting piece of meat you call a brain."

The intruder cursed under his breath and did not move a muscle.

"Yeah, or at least take off the mask." Mauritius suggested, raising an eyebrow. "Seriously, we know who's in your group, so why bother with the disguise?"

The intruder did not answer and remained motionless, only staring at Mauritius.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

Again, no answer or a change in position.

"You're just going to stand there doing nothing and saying nothing all night?"

Nothing.

"Mon Dieu, say something!"

Nothing.

"Anything!"

The intruder chuckled at Mauritius's frustration, which made the island get a tick mark on his head and shrugged, surely grinning behind the mask. Suddenly looking strangely at ease despite the obvious enormous disadvantage he's in right now, which felt very suspicious to Egypt.

"Mauritius, I think he's messing with you." Seychelles said with a frown.

"I kind of noticed that." Mauritius deadpanned.

"Enough of this." Egypt said with a firm tone and raised the tip of his staff towards the intruder. "Who are you?"

Like before, the intruder remained silent. But something else happened, Egypt heard rapid footsteps and he turned around to see France running towards them with a frantic expression, his clothes looking like they've been hastily put on, and the hair he is so proud of all messy. Monaco appeared a few seconds later, still in her pajamas and standing behind France. France entered the room and looked around, probably shocked of both the crisis and the fact the room was a mess.

"Mon Dieu, what is going on here? What…" France looked wide-eyed at the scene in front of him. "Sacre bleu! Are you alright mes petites?"

"Where were you?" Algeria snarled. "We all thought you were too busy having a beauty sleep!"

"Pardon, Algerie, but do not be grumpy because Big Brother France is now here!" France smiled proudly, causing Algeria to roll her eyes and Tunisia to smile, then looked at the intruder, who was now glaring at France with something akin to anger and pure hate. "Who is this?"

"We don't know, but he managed to sneak in without raising any alarms." Algeria explained, then looked at her former colonizer. "You have any idea who he could be?"

"Non, but I don't understand how he could do that, I didn't sense anyone else in my land!" France said in confusion.

"You didn't?" Tunisia asked.

"Non, of course not! So, how…" France's eyes met with the intruder's hateful green eyes, and a sense of familiarity came over the Frenchman. "Wait…"

"What is it, Francis?" Monaco asked, looking up at him in puzzlement.

"Could it be…?" France asked in disbelief, and he shakily reached out a hand towards the intruder, but just when he opened his mouth, something happened in the span of just a few seconds. There was a dark blur and suddenly the intruder was in front of France with a several needles in his fingers, ready to impale France in several sensitive spots that would cause a lot of pain. But Egypt grabbed the intruder's arm and pulled him back. The intruder slapped Egypt's arm away and quickly took several steps back.

"I'll ask you one more time… Who are you?" Egypt asked again.

The intruder looked at Egypt, then at Algeria, then Tunisia, then Mauritius, then Seychelles, then Monaco, then at France with an angry gleam, then back at Egypt again with a cool look. The intruder scoffed then pushed Mauritius to the ground, Algeria immediately tried to shoot him, but the intruder sprinted towards the window and dived out of the house, the sound of broken class echoing through the house and more glass littered the floor.

Seychelles gasped, Mauritius groaned in frustration as he got up, Tunisia and Algeria widened their eyes, Monaco remained frozen, France looked shaken, and Egypt narrowed his eyes.

"He's getting away!" Algeria shouted, and then she heard footsteps and realized Egypt was running down the hall. "Gupta, wait!"

"Egypte, do not be so reckless! Wait for moi!" France called out to him while he chased after him, much to Algeria's chagrin.

"France, what are you…"

"Don't worry, Algerie! Egypte and Big Brother France will be back!" France cheerfully called out from the halls, and Algeria face palmed.

"Oh, for the love of…"

/ / / / / /

Monaco was not a war type of nation in any way, and she was content to stay that way. She has no navy or air force though she does have a small military force but they're mostly there to protect her Prince, she thinks she doesn't have a reason to have an army, so she relies on France for defense. In the scenario that someone decides to attack her, Big Brother France will be there to defend her and drive the attackers away.

And with the help of Monaco's intelligence too.

She remained neutral in conflicts, such as World War II. Monaco remained neutral, and she was fine until Italy invaded her. When it happened, she did not know what to do or feel. Most of her citizens supported the fascist regime, but it was still force. Even though the happy-go-lucky Italian was his usual self during the entire time, his dictator wasn't so kind. Italy forcefully gave her a fascist government, a puppet government.

So, of course, that did not make her very happy.

Then about a year later, following Mussolini's defeat, Germany took Italy's place in occupying her and that is when the trauma began. Just like every other German occupied territory, he started to deport her Jews to concentration camps, and Monaco broke a little at this. But despite her predicament, Big Brother France still tried to help her even though he was in bad shape, and Monaco used her smarts to do what she could do.

One year later, the German troops left, and Monaco could breathe again. The most frightening part of her life was over, and her Prince ruled again. Monaco was fine, shaken, but fine. But she knew that other nations had a much harder time. She was lucky she wasn't bombed or forced to watch her people die horrible deaths.

Monaco moved on, not holding a grudge against the two Axis members, even going on an entertaining date with Seborga after she defeated him in a game of poker.

The point is that Monaco is not used to war, and she always hoped something like that would never happen to anyone ever again. Monaco knows that France can only do so much for her. But still, she kept worrying over everyone, the economy, wars, everything. All while looking at the sky she worried.

She guessed a part of her knew something would happen again.

So, when Big Brother France suddenly fell to the ground in pain, she knew something was very, very wrong. Monaco noticed the seeds of distrust growing in Europe, no one exactly pointed any fingers, but you could feel the tension. She didn't know what she could do. Not even gambling could take her worries away.

Then she opened the door only to be greeted by her good friend Seychelles accompanied by four other Africans in very bad shape. Monaco felt her stress and anxiety levels rise at that as well as bile up her throat when she saw what she hoped to be not human teeth marks on Mauritius's shoulder.

Imagine her disgust and horror when she was told how he got it.

After that, they explained what happened in the African Union Meeting and she paled. Worry again. Worry for her connections in Africa (as well betrayal when she discovered some of those connections were involved in all of it), worry for Seychelles and the others, worry for what this "New World Order" could be planning, etc.

She wondered, how would this group deal with her?

France tried to assemble an emergency meeting, but another suspicious event happened, something happened with the signal or along those lines and he couldn't contact anyone. Europe, Asia, Americas, everything. But France kept reassuring them that he will try to solve it as soon as possible, but Monaco wasn't so sure. So, the plan got delayed and the Africans made themselves at home.

Monaco tried to comfort a distraught Seychelles, who was still overwhelmed by everything not that she blamed her, with the assistance of Mauritius. They both tried to cheer her up while suppressing Monaco's own worries about the situation. Monaco tried not to let her paranoia that at any second, someone will jump them, or a nuclear bomb will be dropped on Paris.

Eventually she confessed all this to France, and her older brother figure admitted that he had his own fears as well, but he kept promising everything would be okay and she won't be hurt.

Monaco smiled, but on the inside, she frowned.

One of her fears came true when she woke up at the sounds of a brawl, and before she knew it she was with France and seeing Mauritius with cuts fighting with an unidentified intruder. Monaco stood near France the whole time, watching the whole scene unfold with a rigid stance, and remained frozen in shock as the man tried to attack France with his half a dozen needles in his fingers. Monaca was sure France would have had several parts punctured if not for Egypt's quick reaction.

Merci that man, she should thank him later.

Regarding to who she thinks who the mystery man is, she wasn't very sure, but she is starting to form some theories. Despite the bad lighting, distance and the mask, Monaco could see the dark skin and the piercing green eyes when he stared at her. He looked at her with something akin to… indifference? Pity? Thoughtfulness? Again, she really couldn't tell. Anyway, with the dark skin the logical conclusion would be an African, but she doesn't remember any of the Africans mentioned having green eyes.

Of course, contacts weren't a ludicrous possibility, but one must wonder what the point of the disguise in the first place is if they all know who's in the organization. To avoid being spotted by spies or by the masses? Maybe.

Another important clue is France's sudden shock and denial, Monaco was sure that France would have said the man's name if the person in question hadn't tried to use him as a pin cushion.

But, who could fit in the description? Aside from the Africans there are also people with dark skin in the… Oh. Monaco frowned and a she felt a little ashamed for not realizing sooner.

Monaco thought about this while stroking her chin, biting her lip, and was later snapped out of her reverie when she realized she should save the theorizing for later. Egypt and France left a couple of minutes ago to chase the intruder, much to Monaco's dejection, but someone must catch him. Monaco looked around, Algeria and Tunisia are tending to Mauritius who kept trying to shrug them off, and Seychelles stood not far looking Mauritius with worry.

Oh no, Seychelles. Monaco had been too busy lost in her thoughts that she forgot to see if her friend was alright. Monaco straightened up and walked towards her island friend. "Are you alright, Michelle? Were you hurt?"

Seychelles slightly widened her eyes upon seeing her, probably having also been lost in thought, and forced a smile. "No, I'm fine."

"Emotionally?"

"…Okay, I guess."

"Don't lie to me or yourself, young lady."

Seychelles looked down at her feet. "Fine, I'm not okay, happy?"

"Why would I be happy?" Monaco crossed her arms.

"Sorry, I… I think I'm just tired and…" Seychelles hugged herself and looked close to tear up. "Scared."

"You've been woken up in the middle of the night, nearly got hurt, and saw Mauritius get injured fighting yet again while you could only watch." Monaca stated. "It's only logical that you feel this way, and in times like this too."

"Yeah… I guess." Seychelles admitted dejectedly. "But now I'm worried about Big Brother France and Egypt too."

"Oui, me too." Monaco took Seychelle's hand. "But I'm sure that they'll catch the intruder in time."

"OUCH!" Mauritius exclaimed in pain, and the two girls turned to see Mauritius rubbing his arm with Tunisia keeping him in place and Algeria with a needle in her fingers. "You should be more careful doing that!"

Algeria raised an eyebrow. "I asked you whether you liked your bandages ripped slowly or quickly, and you said quickly. In my opinion, getting it over and done with is always the better option."

"Except these aren't bandages, they're needles!" Mauritius protested.

"It's an expression, Mauritius."

"I know it's an expression- OW!"

"Sorry about that." Tunisia chuckled nervously, having taken out a needle in Mauritius's foot.

"Y-You've been impaled by the needles?" Seychelles stuttered, covering her mouth.

Mauritius turned to look at her with an uneasy smile. "Just a few, no need to worry, Michelle. I'm fine."

"No, you're not!" Seychelles shook her head and immediately walked over to fuss over Mauritius. "You got hurt again!"

"Oh, come on, this is a lot less worse than what Nigeria did!"

"That still doesn't make it better!"

"Before you two start arguing, I want to know something. What are we going to do about the intruder situation?" Tunisia suddenly asked. "Should we let Egypt and France handle it?"

Ah, that's the million-dollar question, no? While Monaco is sure that France and Egypt are good fighters, they still don't know the full extent of the intruder's abilities or if there are any other enemies sneaking in Paris waiting for the right time to strike.

"We should help them! We can't just sit here doing nothing!" Mauritius growled as he slowly got to his feet.

"Maybe, but those two are probably long gone in the vast city of Paris." Algeria sighed, crossing her arms. "Unless one of them took their phones with them, in that case we could contact them, so they could tell us their location."

"Big Brother France is stronger than he looks, I'm sure he and monsieur Egypte will find the intruder." Monaco said reassuringly, though she wondered if she was saying this to the others or herself.

"But Paris is huge, they're going to need more people to help look." Mauritius insisted. "We need to stick together."

"But you're still hurt!" Seychelles protested.

"Maybe, but I can move, that's enough."

"Doesn't France have another car?" Tunisia pointed out. "If we can find the keys, we can use that car to catch up with them. Though I hope France doesn't mind."

"There's still the figuring out where they are issue." Algeria said.

"Then we can use one of our phones to see if they have theirs."

While the others began to plan, Monaco spotted something in the corner of her eye lying in the floor littered with broken glass. She turned her head towards it and she saw something reflecting the light, and Monaco adjusted her glasses. She carefully walked over to the object and saw that it was a phone. Monaco looked up to see the broken window and then back to the phone. How odd, did that man drop this?

More importantly, on purpose?

Monaco slowly stretched out her hand to pick up the phone, wiping off the tiny bits of glass, and inspected it. She turned it on and was greeted with the screen displaying the time and date and a rather plain wallpaper. Monaco swiped it and to her surprise it unlocked without needing a password. No password… even more odd.

"Lucille?" Monaco looked back to see Seychelles looking at her curiously. "What are you doing?"

Monaco took a deep breath and looked at the others. "Everyone… you all probably want to see what I found."

"Why? What did you find?" Mauritius slightly limped towards them, Algeria and Tunisia following with the same amount of confusion and noticed the phone in Monaco's hand. "Your phone?"

"Non, not my phone. I found it on the floor near the window the intruder flew out of." Monaco said while remaining fixated on the screen, there was nothing out of the ordinary, other than there were only a small number of applications.

"You mean… he dropped his phone when he escaped?" Tunisia asked uneasily.

"Then… that means we have something we can use for information!" Mauritius grinned.

"Not quite, Maurice, there really doesn't appear to be any of the sort in here, it's like when you buy one. Completely empty except for a few applications." Monaco said.

"But… why would he have it like that?" Seychelles asked.

"More like why have something like that and bring it with him." Tunisia said, and they all became more puzzled.

"If you ask me, mon amis, is that he did it on purpose." Monaco narrowed her eyes.

"That's absurd, why would he do that?" Algeria asked disbelievingly, and as if on cue, they all flinched when the phone buzzed and a request for a phone call appeared on the screen with a number none of them recognized. One of the members of the New World Order is calling.

"Oh no, what do we do?" Seychelles asked fearfully.

"Well, answer it!" Algeria said.

Monaco reluctantly pressed the green circle and put in on speaker, holding it out for everyone to hear. As the white noise sounded through the speaker, everyone waited anxiously for the nation on the other side to speak, but only white noise was heard. Were they waiting for them to speak first? Monaco swallowed. "B-Bonjour?"

There was silence again but then they all heard a familiar chuckle. "Oh, I wasn't expecting you, gambling girl."

"YOU!" Algeria and Tunisia shouted at the same time.

"Hey, hey, my ears." The man complained. "Wait, do you have me on speaker, girlie?"

"Oui, everyone can hear you. Why are you calling us?" Monaco questioned.

"Did the guy you sent drop it on purpose? What's your plan?" Mauritius demanded, then glared when the man laughed again.

"Because, because, and because." That man said simply, angering Algeria and Mauritius, most likely grinning wherever he was. "How ya doing, tortoise boy? Is the wound healing up?"

Tortoise boy? Monaco thought to herself. If the situation weren't grave or if the nation wasn't the enemy she would have cracked a smile. But no, this nation was dangerous, and Mauritius did not look amused at the nickname.

"Stop calling me tortoise boy! The wound's almost gone, thank you very much." Mauritius grumbled, touching his shoulder in reflex.

"Good. Nigeria's got quite a bite." That man laughed, a horrible and cringing noise.

"What do you want, you bastard?" Algeria snarled.

"Salah? Hey, nice to see ya! Is Ubon there too?"

"Yes, I'm here." Tunisia muttered, not looking happy with this situation.

"&%&$#%... What in Allah's name do you want?" Algeria asked slowly and angrily.

"Is Egypt there? I wanna talk to him." That man said, and the group tensed.

Monaco would have responded if not for her intellect. "Why exactly should we tell you?"

The response seemed to delight the nation, as he laughed again. "Hahahaha! Good point! Well, girlie, if you must know… I'm going to point to where my fellow nation went."

"That's… that's preposterous!" Tunisia exclaimed. "Why would you want to give away your subordinate's location and risk him getting caught?"

"So… is that a yes or a no?"

"Oh, hang up, Monaco." Algeria spat, crossing her arms and looking away. "This man is nothing but filled with trickery!"

"Don't be like that, Salah. We left this little thing here as a present, so we can contact you whenever we want. Anyone, anywhere, anytime. But even though you don't believe, for good reason though, I'll give you the place anyway. Search for a certain tower in the Champ de Mars. Obvious where, no?"

"The Eiffel Tower." Monaco stated.

"Bingo, girlie! Now, bye-bye!"

Before any of them could object, he ended the call.

/ / / / / /

The intruder kept running through the streets, never stopping and never slowing for even a split second, for he knows that there are people on his tail. He cursed, he knew that the others would wake up at all the noise he and Mauritius were causing, but he felt ashamed of himself for losing his composure when he saw France. All in due time, not now. Thanks to that he risked getting captured, but he supposed it doesn't matter now.

It was fun toying with Mauritius, he chuckled.

Also, he wondered if the nations at the house have noticed the little gift he left for them, it will certainly be entertaining.

Well, now on to the next plan. He finally reached his car, and just as he opened the door he twitched when he heard a shout and saw a gray car speeding towards him. He squinted his eyes and saw familiar blonde hair. Oh dear, he should really hurry.

He hurriedly entered his car and started the engine, grinning excitedly as he hit the pedal, and he got away just in time. He glanced at the rear-view mirror and saw the same car on his tail.

Ah, the classic high-speed chase. Challenge accepted.

/ / / / / /

Egypt narrowed his eyes at the car not far from them that they almost lost, three times. He was on the edge of his seat, and not in a good way, as France whirled them through the city in a speed that made it surprisingly that they hadn't hit other cars or pedestrians. It did not help at all how much traffic Paris has, even at night. Oh, Anubis, the traffic. And he thought the traffic in England was chaotic, Paris is the definition of congestion.

"Is there… any other way? We are wasting valuable time." Egypt said bluntly, too tired to notice if he sounded rude.

"Pardon, Egypte, but I forgot how the unflattering traffic in my capital can be." France said miserably, looking just as miserable as Egypt. "But if we are stuck then he is stuck too."

"I suppose you have a point." Egypt tapped his fingers, and again frowned at the traffic. "How long does a trip usually take?"

"About 40 minutes to 2 hours."

"…What?" Egypt growled.

"Depending if it is weekend or weekdays."

"And you wonder why your ex-colonies seldom visit you."

"Now, now, Egypt. That angry face doesn't suit you." France smiled, and started to laugh his signature laugh. "Losing your temper won't help us. You are tired, in fact have you been sleeping alright?"

Egypt froze as he remembered the dream he has earlier, the laughter echoing in his mind. "Not today, I haven't."

"Ah, it's understandable." France sighed. "Mon petite Michelle hasn't been well these last few days, the poor girl is always up at night drowning in her fears. Lucille has recently confessed her own fears to me. This is so tragic. Mes filles are suffering."

"Yes, what happened that day in the African Union was… frightening." Egypt crossed his arms at the memory. "Those five, especially South Africa, they excel at being intimidating and I'd say they relish the fear towards them. Not to mention Seychelles had the misfortune of watching Nigeria indulge in cannibalism on Mauritius."

France's face contorted in distaste. "Oui, she mentioned how she witnessed that… act."

"Has she been getting better or worse?"

"A little better with the help of her frère France as well as Kelvin and Lucille."

"Good…" Egypt sighed in relief. "To be honest, I worry for her and Mauritius a lot. They took a great risk escaping, they were lucky to have encountered us on the way, and the African five aren't happy about the fact two island escaped from them. Those two will receive a harsh punishment if they get recaptured."

"But they won't." France stated, conviction in his voice. "I share your worries, Egypt, I truly do. I swear that I won't let anyone harm my ex-colonies."

"These nations are deadly."

"So can any nation when in a war."

"They're hell bent on recapturing us and making us pay for defying them."

"Well, I am hell bent on protecting Monaco and the others, I would gladly bleed for them if it means keeping them safe. Even…" France frowned and looked away. "Even if some of the nations with the enemy were once my colonies and a good friend of mine…"

Egypt felt bad for the Frenchman, the European took it hard when he discovered who was in the Order. "How are you feeling about that right now?"

France smiled sadly at Egypt. "I would obviously be lying if I said it did not break my heart. Morocco, Cameroon, Haiti… I was shocked when I saw their names but not long after that… I realized that it made sense. I… did not treat many of my colonies well, I tried to keep a suffocating grip on them and I harshly suppressed any resistance that appeared. I'm surprised that Congo or Niger aren't there too."

"Algeria and Tunisia have forgiven you, they get along well enough with you." Egypt pointed out.

"And I am glad they feel that way, but it doesn't change how imperial moi was. I don't blame them for how violent they became, I think I contributed much to that."

"Nigeria mentioned that they've always been that way, it was a side they had to hide for years."

"But you must admit, mon ami, that I played a role in encouraging that behavior." France narrowed his eyes. "Remember how violent Morocco became in wanting independence, his citizens attacking European residents, the rioting, how furious he was. I never told anyone this… but during that time whenever I came to visit him to try to negotiate, he became nearly feral. Always snarling and even once attacked me in a fit of rage after I exiled his sultan."

"He did?" Egypt asked.

"Oui, he was filled with anger and hate towards me, a lot more than the others."

"Morocco must have been slipping out of his façade as he was losing patience." Egypt said.

"Oui, he must have been getting sick of me then. I blamed the badly divided nationalist movement and the rising violence but now…" France laughed bitterly. "I know exactly why. Morocco started to behave calmly again, and we repaired our relationship, or at least that's what I thought."

After hearing all of that, he learned more about how things are, but one thing remained clear. "You may feel guilty but remember that it doesn't excuse their actions."

"I know… but a part of me feels that it's… what do the Asians call it? Karma. You should have at least let Haiti take his anger out on me."

"No, it…" Egypt blinked then raised an eyebrow. "That was Haiti?"

"Of course, who else has dark skin and green eyes in the list?"

"Ah, good point."

"Anyway, forget about me, how are you feeling about your amis that are a part of this?"

"I…" Egypt glanced at the front, only to realize something and open his mouth in shock. "Oh no."

"What is it, mon ami?" France asked.

"The traffic is moving, and Haiti is getting a head start and getting away!" Egypt shouted as he pointed towards Haiti's car that was driving away to a less crowded lane.

"Mon Dieu! We are losing him, but we are still stuck, I don't think we can catch him!" France exclaimed in distress as he pushed the car horn.

"Where could he be going?" Egypt asked as he leaned forward towards the window, following Haiti's car as it went toward the direction of a very tall building. "The Eiffel Tower?"

/ / / / / /

Haiti gritted his teeth as he grabbed onto another iron and hoisted himself up to grab another part of the wrought iron structure carefully lest he fall off into the cold Parisian hard ground, focusing on getting to the top of the tower. This was the plan. Lose them and then get to the very top of the Eiffel Tower to wait for further action. He took a deep breath and lifted himself again, getting closer to the top. If the gradually decreasing temperature is any indication.

Don't look down, Haiti. Don't. Look. Down.

Every member of the New World Order train themselves to fight and prepare themselves for anything as well as get out of their comfort zones. Learn every language, pilot a plane, a lot of things including… climbing. Climbing is not exactly his strong suit, but he's decent at it. The main problem is the climate.

As an Caribbean island, he is not made for the cold.

Almost there, Haiti. Do it for the group. Haiti really hopes that there isn't any human gawking at him and recording him to later post it on YouTube. Hopefully, the fact that it's past midnight which means that visiting hours are over means that there won't be anyone to see him. He grabbed a rail.

Wait, couldn't he have used his magic to poof himself to the top?

Haiti groaned as he grabbed the last rail and he threw himself at the iron floor, sighing in relief and dusting himself off. Haiti stood up and whistled as he saw leaned on the rail and saw all the Paris city lights illuminating the night. It truly is a beautiful sight from up here. He's currently on the floor above the observation deck, not accessible by normal means.

Now, to wait.

/ / / / / /

France hastily parked the car in a nearby location so that they wouldn't lose time, and he hopes that none of his police saw him go past the speed limit or he'll lose his driver's license (again). But now he was more worried about apprehending his former colony, his former colony that knows voodoo or hoodoo or whatever his people call it. Haiti is a strong nation, despite the problems in his land, ruthless even.

He's pretty sure he is more ruthless in his true personality.

Another reason he wants to catch Haiti, other than prevent him from harming anyone else, is because he has some questions he wants Haiti to answer. Questions considering his territories in the Caribbean. Haiti along with four Caribbean islands are members of this Order and strangely weren't affected by the disasters happening. That raised some questions, but he dreaded the answers.

Oh, his poor petite Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint Barthelemy and Saint Martin. Haiti wouldn't go that far for revenge… would he?

Has he really driven him mad all those years ago? If so, then he's sure Joan would be even more ashamed of him.

"I could have sworn I saw Haiti here." France muttered as he and Egypt looked around, taking a moment to glance up at his glorious Eiffel Tower.

"I know, I did too." Egypt narrowed his eyes as he looked up at the iron tower. "Perhaps…"

France raised an eyebrow in confusion and looked at the tower, then back at Egypt. It clicked. "Are you implying that Haiti is up there? But it's past midnight, visiting hours are over."

"I really doubt Haiti cares about that detail."

"Well, mon ami, since it's a dire situation I am sure I can get us in! I am their nation after all!" France smiled proudly, then marched towards the inside, only to gasp at the sight that greeted him. It was the Eiffel Tower lift, completely crushed, torn apart and demolished beyond repair. France gaped. How did Haiti manage to do that?

Egypt stood next to him with a dismayed look. "I think he knew we would try to find him here and took precautions."

"Oui… but how did he manage to do that with his bare hands?" France asked in horror.

"I saw Cameroon create a large crack in the ground with a punch."

"But still…"

"Doesn't this place have stairs?" Egypt asked, turning around.

"Oui, but it will take a while for you to reach the next floor and they only take you to two floors, and the top floor is only reachable by elevator which Haiti destroyed." France explained, still staring at the mess.

Egypt stood still, silent, and clenched his fists. "Well, then it looks like I'll have to go with another way."

"Tres bien, what do you have in…" France trailed off as he looked behind him and saw that Egypt vanished. France blinked and looked around confusedly. "Egypt?"

/ / / / / /

Haiti leaned his cheek on his hand as he tapped his foot out of boredom. He began quietly sing in his language while he waited for the _something_ that was supposed to happen. It was starting to get really cold up here.

As if his prayers were answered, he heard a "whoosh" sound, and he grinned. Haiti turned around to see a stoic faced Egypt standing in front of him.

"I knew you'd find a way up here eventually." Haiti tilted his head and gave him a relaxed smile.

"Enough of games, Haiti." Egypt said then conjured up his staff, pointing it towards the island. "You're coming with us."

 **Things might not go as you think next chapter. BTW, if some of you guys are curious about the backstories of the NWO nations, then you can know about them in the upcoming story _History of the New World Order_. P** **LEASE REVIEW!**


	11. Standing ground: Cornered

**Hiya, guys! I'm back again! Now, on with the show!**

As the cold Parisian wind blew at the very top of the Eiffel Tower, despite how much they were freezing, Egypt and Haiti remained in place having a sort of stare-off. Both the Caribbean and Middle Eastern were very uncomfortable at the icy temperature that they were so unused to. But they refused to move an inch or look away. Haiti continued grinning and Egypt continued staring at the former emotionlessly. The former's grin never faltering and the latter never showing a change in emotion.

Egypt doesn't know how much time it has been, but he's sure it's been a while, but he had no intention of letting his guard down. Though he wished he brought a coat with him.

The city was already chilly but all the way up here it was freezing.

Egypt knows how high the place he's in right now is, and it did slightly worry him that they only thing keeping them from falling to their temporary deaths are rails that are only half his height. He wasn't afraid of heights but he was afraid that Haiti will push him off the rails and escape while Egypt falls to the cold, hard Parisian ground. He isn't sure he can use his magic to save himself if that does happen.

He's also aware of Haiti's own abilities in magic, known as voodoo or hoodoo, which can be dangerous. Haiti could probably have many spiritual allies on his side and have a doll of Egypt for several methods of torture. Egypt hasn't seen Haiti do it with his own eyes, but he has seen Haiti gleefully play with a doll of France while the European ran around screaming.

As hilarious that was, it has a dark meaning. Now, the question is that what should he do to fight Haiti?

Before Egypt could delve into that, he nearly flinched when Haiti switched to a more relaxed smile and leaned on the railing. "You know, I almost didn't recognize you without the keffiyeh." Haiti remarked. "Or the robes for that matter."

Egypt raised an eyebrow. With this man trying to make small talk with him? What game is he playing at? But yes, in the rush and panic of Haiti attacking then escaping, he forgot to put on his keffiyeh, but it wasn't a big deal was it? Egypt briefly glanced at his clothing. It was a simple dark brown sweatshirt, black pants, and brown shoes. Different from what he usually wears. He and his friends obviously didn't bring a change of clothes with them during their escape, so Monaco kindly gave them some euros to get themselves some extra clothes for the stay. France offered to let them borrow his clothes.

Egypt bluntly refused. He doesn't know where France has been or _what_ he's been doing.

And so, Egypt got himself some nice and simple clothing. It felt a little odd to be dressed in a more Western style instead of his usual traditional clothes, but he didn't mind or complain.

Haiti chuckled a little at Egypt's silence. "Oh, don't take it the wrong way, I was just saying. It's a nice change."

"Thank you?" Egypt said reluctantly, not sure how to respond. "And the stealth clothing you're wearing is really good for sneaking in the darkness."

"Mési." Haiti grinned, then Egypt decided that was enough small talk.

"Why did you disguise yourself even though we all know who's in your organization?" Egypt asked, the question having been on his mind for a while now.

"It's called stealth clothing, and my mission was a stealth mission. Besides the bright blonde hair is not good for blending in the dark." Haiti smirked while running his hand through his golden slicked back hair rather smugly. It looks like Haiti did inherit some of France's vanity, as much as the island would probably deny it.

"You have a point there." Egypt narrowed his eyes. "Why are you pleasantly starting a conversation with me even though this is a serious situation?"

Haiti shrugged. "Well, why not?"

"Shouldn't we be fighting now?"

"Non, it's way too cold up here." Haiti shivered, sighing. "I wish my leaders have picked a warmer location to retreat, but orders are orders and I'll gladly obey them."

"Yes, I know it's cold, I am pretty sure I'm having a worse time than you." Egypt muttered, resisting the urge to shiver at the cold.

"Oh yeah, you're a desert nation. Wow, this must be torture for you." Haiti burst out laughing, much to Egypt's annoyance. "If I feel cold and I'm an island, then I do NOT want to know how cold you're feeling right now."

As Haiti continued shrieking in laughter, as if Egypt freezing and possibly getting hypothermia is comedy gold to him, Egypt felt a tick growing on his head. How is this even that funny even for a sadistic person? This island was messing with him, trying to get him angry for his own amusement or to manipulate him. Enough is enough. "I want to ask you something, Haiti."

"Wi, Egypt?" Haiti asked between laugher.

"Why did you sneak into France's house all by yourself? You should have known you would have caused a commotion and gotten yourself unnumbered. If you wanted a more successful chance of recapturing us, then you should have brought more nations with you."

Haiti's smile vanished and was replaced with a blank look. "I don't understand why I should explain our plans to you. This isn't a children's cartoon. I won't spill all the details of my mission for no logical reason." He said with a cold tone, the opposite of his previous disposition.

Egypt felt a little taken aback by this change of behavior, but he pressed on. "And another thing, just how did you enter France's land without him noticing?"

"I'm not telling." Haiti scoffed.

"Why did your leaders tell you to go the Eiffel Tower?"

"Again, why do you think I'll tell you?" Haiti asked in a bored tone, then turned around towards the sights. "Speaking of France, where is my former colonizer? I know I saw him with you when you were chasing me."

"Don't change the subject, Haiti."

"Oh my, did you leave him below all by himself, so you could come here? I don't blame you, I'd need a nice break of dealing with him too."

Egypt frowned a little. True, he knows he left France behind with only a cryptic sentence and the man is probably very confused right now. He felt a little bad for just leaving him like that, but Egypt can take care of Haiti. "What exactly is your point?"

"Nothing really." Haiti shrugged. "Just curious."

Egypt resisted the urge to sigh and slap his face with his palm at Haiti's seemingly nonchalant attitude. This conversation, if you can even call it that, isn't appearing to be going anywhere. Is Haiti playing some sort of mind game or stalling for a rescue? These nations are very confusing. Haiti reminds him of South Africa's borderline bipolar behavior during the dream, gleeful one second then cold the next.

He decided to stop this pointless conversation and began chanting a spell that will both incapacitate and silence Haiti for the time being. But as if Set decided to mess with him even more…

"Did you know that %$*+ has a lover?" Haiti asked suddenly.

Egypt suddenly found himself spluttering when his brain fully processed that sentence. Egypt blinked several times and gaped. If he was drinking water, he would have done a spit take all over Paris. Egypt had to lean on the wall and rub his head to keep his mind from falling apart at the image of… that. Egypt was sure that his jaw must have been reaching the ground, because Haiti burst out into cackles again.

"…What? What? That… manipulative bastard has a lover?!" Egypt asked incredulously, louder than he intended.

"Wi, they're quite a romantic couple." Haiti smirked in amusement. "Although they're no match for me and Luis-"

"Who would be demented and desperate enough to have him as a lover?"

"Hey, now that's mean, he's a very good boyfriend."

"…How?"

"For starters he's very sweet, despite what you believe, and very affectionate towards his love." Haiti smiled fondly. "And Bulgaria worships the ground he walks on, that guy can spend hours and hours talking about how much he loves-"

"Wait…" Egypt clutched his head and his face scrunched up in disgust at the idea. "Are you telling me that bastard and Bulgaria are in a relationship? Those two are lovers?"

"Exactly." Haiti nodded.

"You cannot be serious."

"Oh, I am."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

Egypt groaned and buried his face in his hands as Haiti continued laughing his ass off at Egypt's reaction. Egypt really needs some bleach for the images his brain conjures up at the thought of %$#%/+ and Bulgaria being in a romantic relationship. Egypt was in a very bad mood for two reasons: One) He just discovered that man is in a relationship with Bulgaria, creating images that'll haunt him for countless nights. And Two) He once again got distracted.

This is going to be a long night, isn't it?

/ / / / / /

France sighed as he walked from the third pillar of the Tower, running a hand through his hair out of stress at the current situation. First, one of his more bitter ex-colonies attacked one of his more forgiving former colonies. Second, Haiti destroyed the elevator that could bring them to the third floor, France remembered that he had other elevators other than the one he saw that was brutally dismantled, but he supposed he should have known better because Haiti destroyed them too. Oh, that is going to affect visits. Third, Egypt just ups and vanishes leaving him to do nothing except pray to God that Haiti is weaker than Egypt.

However, as much as he worried for Egypt, he believes he can best Haiti. As long as the cold doesn't affect them that much.

This also left him to his thoughts from the conversation he had with Egypt. France meant every word that he said back there. This whole situation… he has been feeling guilt the moment he saw his former colonies' names in the list. But at least not all of them are there, he chuckled bitterly. But he left his mark on all of them, both great… and terrible.

Haiti… or Saint-Domingue as France called him back then, was one of the most obvious hateful ones he should have noticed. Haiti's history with him wasn't pretty in any way, and France supposed his hatred of him was expressed through his people. Haiti's society was hell when he was a colony, all the races hated each other and even hated their own due to difference in social class, the white colonists and black slaves were in constant conflict. And in the middle of all the hatred and violence was a young boy glaring at him with anger that France had never seen before, tears falling from his eyes and his body covered in bruises.

Even when Haiti pretended their relationship still wasn't that good. Also, France unintentionally gave Haiti a frightening power through the slaves he gave him, voodoo or hoodoo. Haiti can now use the abilities that accursed religion gives him to…

France shook his head. "Non, stop drowning yourself in your guilt, Francis. You are the country of amour, even though you've done many things that strongly contradict that, and there is a friend of yours fighting one of the monsters you created. Stop pitying yourself like Angleterre and begin to make up for your mistakes by stopping that monster from hurting others."

France took a deep breath and he suppressed all guilt and sorrow for now. Haiti may have destroyed the elevators, but France can still use the stairs despite how tiring it'll be, and if it comes down to it he'll climb up. France smiled to himself and started walking towards the stairs…

Only to hear a gunshot and see a bullet barely miss him and bounce from the iron. "Oh, I wouldn't go anywhere if I were you…"

/ / / / / /

"Oh, where on earth are they?" Algeria asked exasperatedly as she looked on in stress at the window, tapping her feet out of impatience and anxiety. "That bastard better not have lied to us about the location."

"Khalida, maybe we shouldn't jump to conclusions before we even arrive at the Eiffel Tower." Tunisia suggested from the seat behind her.

Algeria sighed and leaned back into her seat. "Maybe, but I find it hard to trust a single word from that man now, don't you?"

Tunisia frowned and glanced at the window. "Trust me, I do too."

"Well, I'm just saying it better not be a trap. We already wasted valuable time in this city's horrible traffic." Algeria groaned in distaste. "Honestly, and France wonders why we seldom visit him."

"Wait… what if we are walking into a trap?" Seychelles asked fearfully from her seat next to Mauritius. "You know what happened last time. What if we get ambushed again?"

The four nations present that escaped from Africa remembered clearly what happened. In fact, they all felt a bit of a sense of déjà vu as they sat in the car, this felt too familiar to some of them. That time, just a few days ago, when they were on the run on the road. They all felt a bit of fear and suspicion at seemingly being let go so easily, but they went on. Then, completely out of nowhere, Nigeria and Cameroon literally appeared and they all witnessed firsthand their cruelty and bloodlust.

Those two easily wiped the floor with them. It was all thanks to Egypt that they escaped. If it wasn't for Egypt they would have been dragged back into the grasp of the five African allies, at their mercy and likely to be forced to sign the contract.

But Egypt isn't here with them right now. It was just the four of them with Monaco. Which made them worry at their chances if an attack does happen and they don't have Egypt to teleport them to another location.

The stern and logical part of Algeria's mind was screaming at her that this was obviously a trap and that she should convince the others that they should hide in a safe location for the time being, that she should trust that France and Egypt will be fine. But where is safe? They all saw how "safe" France's house turned out to be when one of the enemy easily sneaking in unnoticed. The worried and loyal part of her mind, however, kept telling her they should go to help her friend and former colonizer.

Algeria was worried for them, she really was, but could she really trust the words of a snake?

It was a trap, it had to be, but she somehow knew he was telling the truth.

 _You are pointlessly throwing yourself into hell, sister. It was so simple. All you had to do was sign and just like that you wouldn't be in any sort of trouble_

Algeria tightened her grip on the wheel as her brother's words echoed in her mind, glaring at the image of her brother's smile. Pointless…? Pointless?! As if she would trust her entire country to someone like him! After that little stunt he pulled with his friends! No, she's not going back to him, neither she and Tunisia have any intention of giving up their land and freedom to Morocco.

Her brother can-

"I think I see France over there!" Mauritius exclaimed, and Algeria snapped out of her thoughts to see that yes, the self-proclaimed country of love was standing under the Eiffel Tower, and Algeria mentally sighed in relief as she drove the car closer to the nation who didn't seem to notice them.

France was just standing there, looking up at the structure he is so proud of with an unreadable expression and Egypt was nowhere in sight.

Algeria parked the car just as France finally saw them, looking rather shocked, too shocked and even looking pale much to Algeria's puzzlement. Seychelles was the first to leave the car and she ran towards France while waving at him while the rest of the group exited. "Francis! We're sorry for leaving without informing you but we all thought that-"

"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" France shouted alarmingly. Seychelles nearly tripped herself from the sudden command.

"B-Big Brother France?" Seychelles stuttered in fright, and she reluctantly began to walk closer. "What's-"

"I said don't come closer, Michelle!" France repeated, with an increased fear and anger in his voice.

"What's going on, Francis?" Mauritius asked as he arrived next to Seychelles.

"France, what is the meaning of this? What's with you all of a sudden? And where is Egypt?" Algeria demanded as she began to stomp her way toward France.

"Sacrebleu, Algerie, did you not hear what I just said?!" France snapped at Algeria, surprising the African woman because France rarely snaps at her like that. She's normally the one who does that sort of thing. "All of you, please, don't take a single step closer!"

"We would listen if you just tell us what's wrong!" Monaco exclaimed, just as confused as the others.

France gritted his teeth and looked around frantically for something he cannot seem to find anywhere. "It's not safe for all of you to be here, go back now, quickly! I'll be fine, mon petites!"

"What do you mean we're not safe?" Mauritius started to take a few steps forward. "You're not making any-"

"Mauritius, don't-"

France never had time to finish that sentence because as soon as Mauritius took another step forward the sound of a gun going off was heard and a bullet nearly missed the island by a few centimeters.

"GAH!" Mauritius cried out in shock and retreated in alarm, nearly bumping Seychelles. "Where the hell did that come from?!"

Algeria flinched, just where the hell _did_ that come from? She looked around at her surroundings, the place seemed to be unusually empty and it was very dark with only the Eiffel Tower and some lamp posts for sources of light. Algeria doesn't see anyone.

"That's what I was trying to tell you!" France shouted at them, again looking around. "There appears to be a sniper hidden somewhere in this area. If I try to go up and help Egypt or leave, he'll shoot and the same goes for anyone who tries to help!"

The group reacted in shock to this and Tunisia looked around and squinted at the Eiffel Tower. "I don't see anyone here, where is he? And who's _he_?"

"And where is mister Egypt?" Seychelles asked.

"I have no idea where he is and as for our amie, Egypt…" France looked up in dread. "He's in the top floor with Haiti."

"What?! Egypt's up there with-" Algeria was interrupted by a ring coming from Monaco's coat, the blonde girl reached into her pocket and took out the same phone from before that their informant used to contact them. "Oh, now what?!"

"Is it that guy again?" Mauritius asked.

"What could he want now?" Tunisia asked exasperatedly.

"Only one way to find out I'm afraid." Monaco accepted the call and held out the phone for everyone to hear. "Bonjour, who's calling?"

The nation on the other side of the line chuckled, and that's when they all realized it was a different nation from before. "Someone who was his eyes on some runaways with his finger on the trigger."

"Switzerland?!" The five of them exclaimed.

"Correct, I'm the one that has you all in a mouse trap."

"What is going on over there?!" France called out to them, and Algeria forgot that he didn't know.

Mauritius took the liberty of giving a short but very confusing explanation. "Haiti dropped a phone for some reason, we think he did it on purpose for some reason, the old man called us and told us where Haiti went after calling me "tortoise boy" and being a jerk, looks like he wasn't lying but he's still an ass either way, and now Switzerland's calling us!"

"Switzerland is _talking_ to you?!"

"Oui, it's complicated but he's here!" Monaco responded.

"What is he saying to you?"

"You are aware that I'm also part of this conversation, right? I'm right here. I can hear everything you're saying" Switzerland said dryly and probably rolling his eyes.

"Oh, don't worry, we're well aware." Tunisia shot back.

"Good, then you're not as idiotic as I thought."

"And now Switzerland is calling us and being a jerk." Mauritius muttered.

"You know… that really isn't how you should talk to someone who is currently aiming at you and your friends." Switzerland deadpanned, and probably rolling his eyes. "Honestly, I don't have the slightest idea why Nigeria was impressed with you, I really don't see the appeal."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Mauritius demanded, but Algeria wondered if he should really feel offended.

"Then again, you are a good person, I suppose." Switzerland continued as if Mauritius hadn't spoken. "Your pacifist personality is very admirable I'll admit, and it truly would be very sad if you died. Roderich and Gilbert would like you, too. You don't deserve to rot with the others. Although as likeable you are, the Africans are anything but pacifists, so I don't think they'll want you with your kindness."

Algeria didn't really know how to feel about this conversation, if you can even call it that, glanced at Mauritius and saw that he did not look happy.

"Now he's ignoring us…" Tunisia muttered.

"Luckily, the Africans always obey Roderich and Gilbert's orders, so we might be able to work out a compromise. Knowing the Africans, they'll want us to mold your personality into a similar one to theirs, bloodlust and all, they'll definitely want to erase the nice part."

Mauritius shuddered at the thought of being like the African allies. Algeria cannot imagine a bloodthirsty Mauritius.

"But it really wouldn't be right to take one happy and kind nation like you and turn them into a sadistic warrior with an insatiable hunger for blood and gore. Nein, that would not be right, and I really don't want another cannibal in our group."

"How… nice of you?" Seychelles said uncertainly.

"Are we really all listening to how they're going to brainwash me?" Mauritius frowned in annoyance.

"Perhaps with the right programming… we can make your personality into one that will satisfy both sides. You'll be a loyal soldier with a certain extent of bloodlust and sadism that will please the Africans but retain a lot of your kindness towards life and have certain rules like the cannibalism, that's a big nein. It shouldn't that hard, even the Africans have standards and limits to their bloodlust."

Algeria finds that really, really, really, _really_ hard to believe.

"They don't eat children, for example, or rape anyone. Oh, and they also have a strict rule against torturing children too. And they aren't fond of hunting animals or eating them, instead settling for the human flesh."

"Oh… that's… good to know?" Monaco raised an eyebrow and looked rather queasy at the last part. Algeria kind of agreed with that, it's a little comforting to know that her brother isn't a complete monster although she could have done without the part about the cannibalism.

"So, all in all, I… Oh." Switzerland laughed, which sounded very wrong and disturbing considering how his fake personality was. "I'm sorry, I rambled on more than I wanted to. So much that I almost forgot why I wanted to tell you."

"And what is that?"

"Stay still and where you are for a while, don't you? Here are the rules: you move more than six steps forward then I shoot, France moves from his place I shoot, he tries to go up to help I shoot, if any of you try to help I shoot, if you try to leave I'll shoot. Simple, no? Oh, and before you think that the bullets won't hurt you that much, keep in mind that my rifle has the same bullets that Haiti and the other Caribbean islands used to kill their neighbors."

What.

"Wh-What did you say?" Tunisia stammered.

"Is that even possible?" Monaco asked.

"What?! But that's impossible! How can some special bullets kill a nation?" Algeria felt her voice show much more aggression than she intended. "More importantly how did you get your hands on such a thing?"

"Questions, questions, questions, this entire situation just fills you with questions, doesn't it?" Switzerland chuckled mockingly. "It makes you question just how much you really know about everything. Since you've just uncovered the biggest lie that world has ever seen, it's only natural that you demand the truth."

"Now what do we do?!" Mauritius asked miserably, throwing his hands up in the air. "There has to be _some_ way around this mess!"

"Well, you can start by not talking while the enemy is in hearing range. Then after that, do as I said before and _don't move_ until I give you the order to, I really don't want to anger the Africans by injuring their targets." Switzerland said firmly, wanting to make it obvious that they don't have a choice. "Your little runaway trip ends here."

"No, we didn't come this far just to-"

"Spare me the "We won't give up" speech, you're all coming with us whether you like it or not." Switzerland cut him off with a stern voice that sounded like he was saying it through gritted teeth. "Algeria and Tunisia will be delivered to their brother for a special punishment, the same goes for Seychelles but somewhat lighter, Egypt will be receiving the brunt of Nigeria and Cameroon's anger, and Mauritius will be taken straight to _that room_ for reprogramming. Oh, and I suppose we might as well capture Monaco while we're at it."

No… no, no, no, they lost just like that? Algeria feels dread course through her entire body, she can already see Morocco's smug smile, and she clutched her head with the other hand reaching for Tunisia's. Tunisia looked very pale and he tightly gripped her hand. Algeria didn't normally need physical comfort, but right now she could really use comfort from a close one. Mauritius seemed shell-shocked and did not say a single word Monaco looked at them with a lot of concern but the European did not know what to say.

"This cannot be it! Just like that we lost?!" Tunisia cried out, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Ja. You. Lost. Congratulations for making it this far though. Just wait patiently for Haiti to incapacitate Egypt. Now, if you'll excuse me…" And with that Switzerland ended the call, leaving the six remaining nations present to sink in the news.

It was quiet, not in a tense way, just quiet except for wind and the noise in the background but other than that it was deathly quiet. Just what was there to say? They lost. They lost, and they have to go back to their continent for an experience that's sure to haunt them. Just like that it's all over.

"So, that's it then? We lost?" Mauritius asked in disbelief, looking at his hands.

"It really was a trap, after all…" Tunisia muttered miserably.

"I… Je suis désolé, mon amies." Monaco apologized quietly, shuffling her feet. "I wish I could have seen this sooner."

"No… don't apologize, Monaco." Algeria shook her head, a bitter smile on her face as she looked at Monaco. "It… Wait. Wait a minute!"

"What is it?" Monaco asked.

"Where's Seychelles?!" Algeria shouted as she pointed towards the spot Seychelles was a few minutes ago.

/ / / / / /

Egypt felt that he was getting tired of this idle prattle that Haiti always seemed to suddenly blurt out, it even sort of reminded him of America (or America's façade to be exact), where the superpower would ramble on and on about the most ridiculous of subjects only in this case it was much more annoying and pointless. Egypt took a deep breath and was ready to finally put this to an end.

"Haiti, I'm serious, enough, or I will do it myself." Egypt growled, at this point too annoyed to care he sounded rather rude.

Haiti stopped his cackling to smile pleasantly in a way that was very eerie. "Oh, I'm sorry, Egypt. That's enough of me talking."

"Good."

"But one more thing."

" _What?_ " Egypt snapped.

"You're a really good listener, you listened to all my ramblings even though it was a waste of time for you." Haiti complimented.

"And it was. It really was."

"And I really enjoyed this conversation. You want to know why?" Haiti grinned in a way like the Cheshire Cat.

"Alright, why?" Egypt asked reluctantly, feeling he should summon his staff as fast as he could.

"Because while I was talking, and you were listening, it allowed Switzerland enough time to get in position for a perfect shot." Haiti smirked, a victorious gleam in his eyes as he began laughing.

Egypt froze as soon as the last part of the sentence was said, but just as he opened his mouth to question that, he heard a gun going off. Then everything went quiet, Egypt stood there surprised, unable to move from the shock that paralyzed his body. The only sound he could hear was his own heart beating loudly against his ears as he slowly looked down at his abdomen. There was a red circle growing on his shirt. He was bleeding.

Switzerland shot him in the abdomen.

He touched the wound and saw the blood on two of his fingers. Egypt still couldn't move. Why? Why couldn't he do something?

Egypt started to feel a little weak, he was losing blood, it was tiring him. Move.

And then he suddenly found himself falling, falling from the Eiffel Tower, falling to his temporary death. Why is he falling? How did he fall? He doesn't know. He. Doesn't. Know. Even as he was falling, he couldn't move, he was just a human sized doll falling. Was he still in shock? Was he scared?

Egypt really has no idea.

It looks like time has slowed down for him, because he is very sure he should be in he ground dead by now and he saw the Eiffel Tower ascending from his view very slowly. Egypt still had a shocked expression stuck on his face. Because that's what he was feeling. Shock. But he was still oddly enough aware of his surroundings.

Speaking of his surroundings as he very slowly continued falling, something strange happened. The world started to blink in and out. It was a few times at first, but then it started to go faster and faster until the world became dark.

And he saw it again.

Egypt saw the same girl waving the French flag from before, and he got a better look of the vision. The girl was injured with bruises and cuts, but she had her head held high and proudly waved France's flag while the rest of the city was falling apart, determination and resolve in her eyes as she refused to surrender. This girl will defend her land with every ounce of strength she has even in the face of defeat and suffering. Who was this girl? Egypt felt like he should know.

She is going to be very important

Then came the man surrounded by the pile of corpses and Egypt felt himself grimace a little. It was in a vast room, it looked sort of European and very fancy and luxurious. The room was a mess, there was blood and mucus splattered on the walls, and there were dozens of corpses of humans on the floor, slumped in tables and in chairs. But what bothered him most was the state of the corpses. It was horrible, just horrible. There were bodies with their entrails ripped out, with their heads torn in half, with their jaws ripped off, with their bodies all mangled, and even ones that were ripped apart beyond recognition. And at the center of it all laughing psychotically was a man covered in blood. This man was reveling in the carnage he made and judging by his dark skin, he was an African nation.

But it wasn't one of the five African allies.

Then came the lotus flower drenched in blood. Egypt saw the bloodies flower sitting peacefully in the river but then Egypt noticed a trail of red taking over the natural color of the river, and he quickly recognized it as blood. Egypt looked up from the river and nearly gasped at what he saw. The green fields that surrounded the river were in ruins, it looked there was a war, no, there was a war. Corpses of soldiers littered the field; a lot of the land was demolished and in flames. Egypt then saw a silhouette in the flames. The silhouette became smaller and more human in appearance until the silhouette passed through the flames to reveal himself to be a man that Egypt believed to be dead for decades.

The man glanced up at him and smirked then Egypt was suddenly thrown back into the real world where he was still falling. Egypt was going to die, not for good, but it will take a while for him to revive. More than enough time for the enemy to drag his body back to Africa.

Shit.

This was all like the dream he had earlier, where he was falling, except this time it will have effect. How déjà vu. And just like in the dream, he reached out a hand, in a desperate and foolish hope that someone will grab it and save him. Egypt stretched out his arm, silently praying for someone to take his hand, and he felt himself going blind by a glowing light.

Then a hand reached out through the light and swiftly grabbed his hand. Egypt widened his eyes as his fall was abruptly stopped and he dangled from the hand that was preventing him from being sent to his death. Egypt felt the hand grip him tightly, shaking, and he looked up to see who it belonged to. Egypt smiled softly.

"Seychelles." Egypt said weakly as he smiled at the struggling girl, who seemed to be having trouble with handling his weight.

"Don't worry… monsieur Egypt…" Seychelles grunted, gritting her teeth and doing her best in trying to pull him up. "I'll lift you to safety. Please, don't let go. I'll…"

Seychelles continued struggling and she then begun to use both of her hands to lift him up, but only with limited success. The island girl pressed on anyway and Egypt felt his blood circulation being slightly cut off from her tight grip, but he didn't care. "I think I'm a little too heavy for you, Michelle."

Seychelles blinked a little at the use of her human name. Oh, that's right. That's the first time he used her human name. He hopes she doesn't mind.

The girl smiled at him, despite the struggle. "Don't worry, I can help you. I'm… I'm not as strong as I used to be, but I can still save you from falling."

"Are you sure, Michelle?" Egypt asked uncertainly before mentally smacking himself for using her name again.

"Of course!" Seychelles closed her eyes as she brought Egypt closer. "I may not be much and really can't do anything when it comes to fighting, Kelvin is better for that as much as he hates it, but I'm sure I can least pull over someone to safety!"

And she continued trying to pull him up, though there were sometimes when Egypt started to slip, and Seychelles shrieked and grabbed him again, she may not be strong, but she is trying. Egypt decided to stop staring in wonder and help the poor girl. Egypt slowly lifted his other arm and grabbed the railing to support himself and take some of the burden off Seychelles. And so, the two of them worked together to pull himself to safety.

"Listen to me, Seychelles…" Egypt began with the use of her nation name, and Seychelles looked at him in slight surprise. "On the count of three you're going to use all the strength you can use to pull me in. Can you do that?"

Seychelles nodded and grabbed both of his arms tightly. "Oui, Egypt."

"Alright then, One… Two… Three!" And Egypt felt Seychelles pulled his arms with all her might, and he found himself falling face down to the safe floor of the Eiffel Tower. Egypt groaned a little and heard Seychelles squeak before the girl went over to see if he was okay.

"O-Oh my! Are you okay, Gupta?!" Seychelles asked frantically.

Egypt sat up and smiled at the girl. "Yes, I'm fine, don't worry. Thank you." He said kindly, and the girl smiled in relief, then Egypt noticed something. "Did… did you just use my human name?"

Seychelles stopped smiling and started fidgeting. "Oh, I'm sorry, Gup- Egypt!" The island shook her head rapidly. "It's just… you used my human name, so I thought I… Forget it, I sound stupid."

"No, it's okay, Michelle." Egypt reassured, and the girl widened her eyes at the use of her name. "I was the one who used your name without your consent, forgive me."

"You don't have to…" Seychelles trailed off when she saw the gunshot wound, and she gasped. "You're hurt! Oh no, what happened?!"

"I think Switzerland shot me. But don't worry, it didn't hit any vital organ, I just need to stop the bleeding." Egypt said as he touched the wound. "Where are the others? We should go to them."

Seychelles bit her lip and looked nervous. "I-I don't think that's possible. Switzerland called us earlier."

"Switzerland called you?"

"It's a long story, but Switzerland is somewhere in the tower hiding, and he threatens to shoot us if we try to move or leave. I… I decided to sneak up while Switzerland was busy talking to the others, so I could try to find him." Seychelles hugged herself. "But then I saw you falling and I managed to catch you in time."

Egypt leaned against the rails. "So, they're trapped, then?"

"Oui." Seychelles nodded.

"Then we should go help them before Haiti arrives to find I'm not dead." Egypt begins to stand up, clutching his wound in pain.

"But shouldn't we stop the bleeding first? What if you bleed too much and die?"

"It's a risk we have to take. I have to… I have to get down there and help them escape or at least find Switzerland." Egypt winced as he stumbled but Seychelles caught him in time.

"Be careful! If you're going to fight, then at least let the wound heal a little first." Seychelles exclaimed worriedly. "Let's go slowly so you won't fall."

Egypt held on to her and nodded. "Alright, then let's go-" Egypt was cut off when a foot connected with his chest and sent him crashing into the rails. He groaned in pain at the impact and struggled to get up.

"Egypt!" Seychelles cried out then he heard her gasp at an unknown being.

Egypt groaned and lifted his head only to widen his eyes when he saw two familiar faces that he was dreading to see again. Egypt glared as the two nations smirked. The two nations were dressed in clothing like Haiti's, only without the mask, allowing clear view of their faces. He recognized the sinister gleam in the green eyes of the first one, façade or not. As for the second one, it took a little longer for him to recognize him but then he knew who the man was. It looks like Egypt wasn't the only one that looked different without his keffiyeh.

Iran and Saudi Arabia approached slowly, and both smirked at his injured form.

"Hello, Gupta." Iran greeted with faux kindness. "I apologize for interrupting the tender moment you were having, but we have a mission to complete."

"But don't worry." Saudi Arabia snapped his whip against the wall and smiled deviously. "This will only hurt just a bit."

 **Welp, that's it for now. You might notice in the last parts a lame attempt at romance on my part and that's because I ship Egypt and Seychelles (there's a grand total of three fanart of them) and I hope to make my ship sail in this story. Heehee. PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE REVIEW! They're really motivating!**


	12. Standing ground: Win?

**Thanks for those who reviewed. Before we begin I just wanted to say how hard it was to write this chapter. I had to rewrite some parts several times because I didn't like it or I felt it wasn't right. I think I did it okay. Now, on with the show!**

Egypt cried out in pain as Iran dug his foot in his chest, gritting his teeth hard as he hears some mild cracks coming from his bones, and tried to keep his glare on the man in front of him. Iran stopped and raised his foot, the Persian smirked before bringing it down to stomp on Egypt's stomach cruelly. Not enough to break his bones but enough to cause him a lot of pain. Egypt tried to fight if off, but just like the other members he had encountered so far, they're a lot stronger than they look.

He felt a pained groan barely escape his mouth before it got stuck when Iran dug his heel again. The combination of pain and the continued loss of blood from the gunshot wound made his senses a little weary, and it's hard to concentrate on anything when you're getting the air kicked out of your lungs every minute.

Saudi Arabia crouched down beside him, giving Egypt a devious smile that looked very unnerving. "How are you feeling? Are you immobilized enough?"

"I… have…" Egypt rasped out between breaths to regain air, clenching his fists. "I have been shot and now I'm having my lungs crushed all in a span of a few minutes."

"So, I take it that's a yes, then?" Saudi Arabia teased, but Egypt was not amused in the slightest, then relaxed into a kinder smile. "I'm sorry for the excess of brute force, but it's imperative that we make sure that you are unable to escape or resist."

"We know how you played a major role in you and your fellow Africans escaping." Iran said, keeping his foot strong on Egypt. "Very impressive by the way. So, you understand why we have to incapacitate you like this."

"Understandable but not excusable." Egypt said.

The two nations chuckled. "I guess so." Iran said.

Egypt glared at them, then his eyes traveled to a young island girl frozen in fear sitting against the wall, her big brown eyes anguishing over their current situation and his well-being. Seychelles was completely helpless and is unable to do anything to help him, and he knows that was surely heart-breaking for her. To be a defenseless girl relying on others for protection is not a nice position for a nation. She can only watch as Egypt struggles under Iran's foot.

That in turn broke his heart.

Seychelles met his pained green eyes and she looked dangerously close to tearing up. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out, she just looked at him with misery and sorrow all in one and covered her mouth presumably to block a sob. Seychelles was not just heartbroken and miserable, she was _scared_. Scared of Iran and Saudi Arabia, scared of what they'll do, scared for Egypt, scared by the entire situation.

Even as his world was a little blurry and dizzy from the blood loss and pain, he could see her shed a tear. Seychelles was… crying.

No… no… don't cry.

He wanted to cry out to her, a rasp, or just form the words with his mouth without saying them, to run as fast as she could from here where the island girl won't have to witness any more of this. To go to a haven where she can smile and be free from worries and fear. A safe little paradise hidden from the rest of the world and its darkness where her smile can shine brightly. And maybe, just maybe, he can join her there too.

Why does he dive into these delusions? He thought self-deprecatingly. That scenario can only exist in a dream, a fantasy, a fairy-tale. Egypt has long since learned from all the hardships he has faced through the centuries, from his mother's death to his time in the Ottoman Empire to a lot of things, that is not just not possible. Only death can truly set you free and take you to a place where you can be happy for the rest of eternity and join the ones you lost.

Egypt himself waits for the day he can rejoin his mother, to feel her comforting embrace again and leave the cruel world behind, he waits for the day he would be set free from his burden. But as much as he waits for death, he lived. He lived, fought, cried, laughed, smiled, everything. The instinct to live drives him forward. Egypt did not want to subject himself to another suffering rule, so he ran with Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritius and Seychelles. They all didn't want to be caged. And Egypt helped them, he took them all away from there.

He made a vow to stop this madness but now he's failing. Egypt was failing everyone. Even if Seychelles did run, someone was bound to catch her and drag her back. She'll cry even more and fall into the depths of despair. What can he do now?

"Egypt… Are you even listening? Egypt!" Iran repeated louder, and Egypt was painfully shaken out of his thoughts by Iran digging his foot, the man sighed. "We've been trying to get your attention while you were off staring into space. I think the bleeding is starting to take its toll on you."

Egypt blinked several times, starting to get into a daze. "What… What were you saying?"

Saudi Arabia gave Egypt a smile full of pity. "Oh, you poor, poor thing. So tired and hurt." He cooed, leaning down near Egypt's to an uncomfortable degree, he was getting too close. "We wanted you to fall off so that you can have temporary rest for when you're taken to the Africans. Just let your head hit the concrete floor and instantly get taken to a cold sleep. Would have spared you from seeing your friends' despair."

"Incapacitate you in one of the least painful ways possible, that's what we wanted." Iran agreed, smiling similarly to Saudi Arabia. "But it turns out…" The Persian looked up to grin at Seychelles, who gulped at his piercing gaze. "Your little island friend here had other plans and saved you."

Seychelles remained paralyzed in fear and hugged her knees to her chest, this seemed to amuse Saudi Arabia. "Oh, don't misunderstand little girl, what you did was truly noble and touching." Saudi Arabia waved it off, which did nothing to soothe the island's nerves. "How you resolved to save your fellow nation despite your fear and lack of combat skills. And the little scene and dialogue between you was _delectably sweet_."

Egypt didn't know how to explain it, but that last sentence disturbed him quite a lot, but he decided to get their attention off Seychelles. "Enough, so you were planning to make me fall to my death, so I wouldn't "suffer" or help anyone escape."

The two Middle Eastern nations turned their heads toward him, and Iran smiled slyly. "Oh, don't stress yourself further, we have no intention of hurting someone like her. Don't mistake us for the Africans. But back to the main topic…"

"So, since you're not out of commission… We have to do this the _hard_ way." Saudi Arabia leaned his head on his hand and glanced at Seychelles. "And you have your island friend here to thank."

Seychelles flinched, and the feelings of guilt and regret began to appear on her face. "I… I…"

"Michelle, ignore them, their words are nothing but poison." Egypt attempted to console the island but bit his tongue once he realized he let slip something.

The two nations raised their eyebrow while Seychelles blinked in surprise. Saudi then gave a knowing smirk and Iran smiled playfully. "Ooh, "Michelle", getting close, are you?" Iran poked Egypt's forehead teasingly.

Egypt prayed to the great god Ra that he wasn't turning red. "What exactly are you trying to imply?" He asked, somehow not stuttering.

"Oh… nothing." Saudi Arabia covered his mouth to hide his snickers, then smirked at Iran. "It seems these sorts of things really do happen in times of crisis. You learn about yourself and your relationships with others evolve."

"…What?" Egypt asked for clarification, though he doubted he was going to get it.

"Stop being such a tease, Karim. Can't you see how lost he is?" Iran grinned and gestured towards Egypt, who still felt confused but was more surprised at the fact Iran used Saudi Arabia's human name so casually.

"Me? You were also teasing him almost a minute ago!" Saudi Arabia retorted, but kept his smile. "If anything, you should stop."

"So, you could go on and tease him by yourself?"

"Ohohoho, now you're being ridiculous, Amir."

"You're calling _me_ ridiculous?"

"Yes, yes I am."

As the two nations cackled, Egypt's eyes went wide at Saudi Arabia's friendly use of Iran's human name, used in such a casual and familiar way. Egypt knew they had to be on good terms for them to be on the same organization and to have been pretending for a long time. But he was not expecting those two to be behaving so friendly towards each other, laughing and smiling as if they were old friends which he is sure is the case.

It looked and sounded wrong. Because not so long ago, Egypt has seen with his own eyes those two glare and sneer at each other. Iran smirking ominously with his green eyes filled with anger and madness and Saudi Arabia glaring with his cold and formal gaze. Fighting for dominance in the Middle East for years. Now, with his very own eyes, he's seeing Saudi Arabia and Iran laugh wildly together at Egypt's lack of awareness.

"It's so strange seeing you two being so friendly with each other." Egypt remarked.

The two stopped their laughing and smiled strangely at Egypt. "I guess it would be…" Iran said, smiling at Saudi Arabia. "Considering our hate act. We've never hated each other, never did, we've been friends for many, many years."

"But for the sake of the masquerade, we had to pretend." Saudi Arabia returned Iran's smile. "Two enemies aspiring to be the leader of the Islamic World at each other's necks for their different political agendas, interpretations of religion, oil, and relations with the West. Every time we come face-to-face in front of the World, we have nothing but hostility and tension but behind closed doors or with our fellow members we laugh at how we fooled you all."

Egypt wondered how the other Middle Eastern nations would react, it won't be positive, that's for sure. "I imagine that." He muttered.

"We pulled the strings, we worked behind the scenes, we manipulated events." Iran counted off his fingers, then smirked. "Religious ones included."

"Wh-What?!" Egypt exclaimed. "You can't seriously be saying that…"

"Yes, Gupta, what we say is the truth." Saudi Arabia said proudly. "Religion was a sort of cover for some of the things I have done, an excuse, a lie. Though I could have done without some of the strict and ultraconservative things, but it doesn't really matter. I funded and became involved with our neighbors to make them into the failed states they are today. Yemen, Iraq, Syria, you probably know what I mean."

"You… you did…" Egypt growled, clenching his fists in rage.

"Yes… I did." Saudi Arabia said softly.

"That's… I can't believe it…" Seychelles muttered, finally speaking. "You created religions just for… just for this?"

"Oh, trust me, it's a lot easier than it sounds." Saudi Arabia chuckled. "Humans already waged war for things sillier than this, just ask Mexico! It was pathetically easy to do all of this, including controlling my idiot kings. Very impressive, no?"

"And you want to know what the best part is?" Iran asked, then flashing a vicious smile. "We're not even religious!"

"What…?" Egypt asked, barely audible.

"We are a part of no religion, we never believed in any branch of Islam, both of us only pretended." Iran said. "I think it's for the best, no?"

"You… you abandoned Allah… for this New World Order?" Egypt asked in disbelief.

"We have forsaken religion a long time ago, Gupta." Saudi Arabia declared. "We believe in no deity, we don't pray to anyone, we kneel before no one, we worship no one, we don't care."

Egypt could not believe what he was hearing but the two of them did not look like they were joking. "You don't… care?"

"No." They both said simultaneously.

Egypt was truly at a loss for words, he didn't know what to say to these new revelations, or what to feel. Betrayal? Rage? Shock? He's going to go for shock because he's sure that's what he's feeling right now. Seychelles didn't seem to be faring any better, she was in disbelief that these people have that much influence.

The tense silence was interrupted at the sound of banging against the iron, and everyone looked up to see a grinning Haiti climbing down the structure cheerfully waving at them. Egypt felt more dread pool into his stomach at his arrival. Their already slim chances of escaping just got worse. Egypt's body was tired and unmoving, in no shape to stand up and fight on his own.

Haiti's grin widened when his eyes landed on Egypt. "So, _that's_ where you ended up. I was wondering why I didn't hear a splat or see a body all the way down."

Egypt narrowed his eyes and Iran smiled at Haiti. "Did you climb from all the way up there?"

"Wi, the cold is getting a lot worse." Haiti shivered. Saudi Arabia and Iran looked at each other confusedly, Haiti noticed this and raised an eyebrow. "What? What is it?"

Saudi Arabia lifted his index finger and opened his mouth to say something but decided against it, leaving Iran to scratch his head and smile. "But… couldn't you have just used your magic to teleport yourself down?"

"…Huh?"

"Save yourself the trouble and risk of falling off and enduring the cold? And save a lot of time too."

Haiti didn't respond to that question, only started to smile strangely, very strangely. Haiti kept smiling forcefully and tightly that looked like it was taking a vast amount of self-restraint to explode right here and there. The Caribbean island's smile was twitching a lot and then he opened his mouth but then closed it and put his hands on his back.

"So, how did Egypt escape the fall?" Haiti asked suddenly, desperate to change the subject.

"You… completely forgot, didn't you?" Saudi Arabia asked, an unimpressed look on his face while Iran face palmed.

"So, how did Egypt escape the fall?" Haiti asked again, this time with a firmer tone.

"Let me guess, you also forgot about that when you climbed up." Iran deadpanned.

"JUST ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!" Haiti screamed angrily, and the two Middle Easterners winced and covered their ears at the outburst.

Saudi Arabia clapped his hands. "To answer your question Haiti as for how Egypt survived…" Saudi walked over to Seychelles and grabbed her shoulders, causing her to flinch. "This nice little girl sneaked her way up here and managed to catch Egypt just in time and get him to safety."

Haiti narrowed his eyes at Seychelles, who recoiled under his gaze, and he seemed to be looking at her with something akin to disapproval or disappointment. "Is that so…"

"Quite the clever girl, isn't she?" Iran smiled at Seychelles, who did not at all like the sudden attention.

"More like troublesome." Haiti muttered, then knelt to Seychelles' level, frowning. "Why do female nations always want to do it the hard way?" He asked quietly almost in a melancholy way, then his brows furrowed in mild anger when Seychelles remained staring at him in fear. "Look at yourself, you're like a little mouse completely surrounded by felines, scared and paralyzed in fear! It's… It's…"

Seychelles looked at him in confusion, then swallowed as she tried to put a brave face. "Oui, I'm scared, I'm very scared."

"How stupid… you're stupid. So, so, so stupid." Haiti snarled. "Why would you go through all this trouble? Don't you know how much you're going to suffer when you return? This… This escapee trip has been for nothing! The only thing you managed to accomplish is give yourself false hope. Why… Why?"

"It's normal for nations to fight for their right to be free, right?" Seychelles asked carefully, slowly scooting away.

"But you don't fight. You _can't_ fight."

"That doesn't mean I can't try."

Haiti gritted his teeth. "Estipid ti fi."

"If you're done with this drama and the others are done watching this drama…" A new voice appeared revealing himself to be a mildly annoyed Switzerland making his way towards them. "Then we can finally leave. Everyone we need is rounded up and in no position to escape. We accomplished what we needed to do, now we just need to take them ourselves."

"Right." Iran smiled, nodding then turned his head towards Egypt, who was starting to get more tired by the minute. "Goodbye for now, Gupta. This'll only hurt just a bit."

Egypt, feeling his senses getting weaker and his eyes getting heavier from all the blood loss and exhaustion, barely managed to register what Iran said. He was tired and didn't have the energy to move. He could only stare at them groggily as he cursed at their current situation.

They... lost. Egypt and the others... they lost?

No... this can't be...

Iran towered over him, Egypt was tired, but he still used what energy he had to glare at him. It was all he could do. Iran slowly raised his foot above Egypt's head, intending to kick him into unconsciousness. As Egypt watched, he glanced at Seychelles and found her shaking, hugging her knees and refusing to watch.

Good, he'd rather that she doesn't see him like this.

Iran then brought his foot down and harshly stomped on Egypt's head. Egypt felt a jolt of pain from the impact and the back of his head hitting the hard iron floor. And Egypt's world fell into darkness.

/ / / / / /

At the same time in the same city, somewhere near where everything was happening, the third watched through his binoculars all the events that took place. He watched Algeria and the others freeze in shock and despair at how they couldn't escape. That was gold. He wasn't lying when he said where Haiti went but that didn't mean he didn't have some ulterior motive. And he smirked as he saw Egypt fall to his death only to be rescued by Seychelles. Adorable.

Jeez, he doesn't need binoculars or a hearing device to know that hearts are oozing out, and not in a literal way unfortunately.

But it's about time Egypt got himself a special friend. His little Egyptian friend needs to get laid, fast. Enjoy the happiness and warmth of love while he can before he gets sucked into a maelstrom of grief and despair. He almost feels bad for them, in the (extremely) likely event that they fell head over heels with each other, the relationship will be short-lived. But at least he'll experience love.

Speaking of love... He smirked. He wondered how his own love was doing, it's been a while since they've seen each other and he's pretty sure Bulgaria must be going cray-cray without seeing him. Then again, he already is cray-cray. Bulgaria was probably somewhere, love-sick as he thinks about him 24/7, longing for them to see each other again and do what they always do. He snorted, that's his good ol' lover for you!

But… he would be lying if he said that he didn't share the same feelings. He misses Bulgaria just as much as he misses him, probably even more. Despite the questionable aspects of their relationship, there _is_ love. A love so, so, so strong that can easily be seen the same as obsession. If anyone tried to take Bulgaria away from him…

He started shaking as he looked at his hands then threw his head back as harsh and raucous cackles came out of his mouth. Well, if anyone with a rotting, poisoned, miniscule, retarded, dumb, malfunctioning, dying piece of brain, because that would be the only sort of person who would have the guts to try that, tried then they will have to deal with his anger. You. Don't. Want. To. See. Him. Angry.

Well, that's enough ominous inner monologues, let's see how things are heating up. He was a part of this mission too, but he requested that he play the part of hiding in the shadows and not to tell any of the runways, especially Egypt, about his involvement. As far as they know, he just gave them a tip and abruptly left. But why would you do that? One might ask. Don't you want to fight?

Yeah, but he feels that it's not his time yet to make his official debut. He wanted his reveal to be a shocking moment that will remain in the minds of the other nations forever, when he takes off the mask and showed his true nature. Call him whatever you want, but he wants his debut to be exactly the way he wanted it.

He brought his binoculars back up and tries to see what's going on right now. Huh. He raised an eyebrow. That's a twist.

/ / / / / /

Tunisia really wished he brought _something_ he can use to fight. Anything. Because he could really use a gun or a knife or something to give him at least a slight advantage over someone like Switzerland. His frown deepened, and he folded his arms across his chest. His sister was currently pacing around the area, trying to cool off and muttering multiple curses in Arabic and Berber.

This… hostage situation he supposed… is nerve wracking.

He mused that it could be worse in some ways. Tunisia could be dealing with his brother, Morocco, he shuddered. At least Morocco wasn't here with that unnervingly warm smile that served to both mock and intimidate enemies. Morocco…

What in Allah's name is going on with his mind? Tunisia doesn't remember anything from their younger days that would have caused Morocco to have become… what he has become. Was it just the European colonialism that drove his brother to join the New World Order? Or is there something that he, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania or West Sahara don't know about? Something no one in the Maghreb except Morocco himself knows.

Something that drove his brother to become a bloodthirsty monster, forsake his own family, lie to them for Allah knows how long…

Tunisia was determined to find out why, so that at least he could maybe understand his brother, even if Algeria doesn't want to.

/ / / / / /

Seychelles hugged her knees as she looked at Egypt's unconscious form in front with a troubled face, she felt nothing but worry and dread. The other nations were saying something, probably to her or someone else, but she didn't hear them. She didn't _want_ to hear them. She wanted them to go away and leave them alone.

Egypt still hasn't woken up.

Although, he was suffering from blood loss, multiple beatings and a concussion. So, you can't blame him.

Still, even if he woke up, he still wouldn't be feeling too well to do anything to help. Seychelles still felt bummed that she's useless in these situations, only watching from the sidelines as her friends risk their lives and get hurt. Maybe that's why she decided to sneak her way to the second floor, even though she didn't know what she could do, and she might risk running into Switzerland.

But in the end, she was glad she did it, she managed to save Egypt, and he looked happy. Seychelles couldn't help but wonder why Egypt used her human name, and much to her embarrassment, she used his human name. But he didn't seem to mind. Seychelles wondered if it was because if their situation, and they all grew closer as a result. She and Egypt barely interacted before all this started but they've talked to each more than they have in the last century.

It's a good thing, no? Seychelles was happy about it.

She felt a little ashamed of herself that she couldn't do anything as Iran stomped and dug his foot on Egypt, while he endured and endured pain she just sat there shaking like a coward. But… could she have done something? Even if she wasn't scared, would she even get them to stop hurting Egypt?

Now that she thought about it, there was no way she could have done something.

Seychelles buried her face in her knees and waited for it to be all over.

/ / / / / /

Egypt felt panic flood through his entire body. He wasn't sure why. He had no idea what was going on and he is sure that he wasn't supposed to be so aware if he's unconscious. Was he even unconscious? Was he dying? What was going on?

He didn't know how to explain it, there's probably no way he can. He wasn't awake. He couldn't see or hear anything. Whatever it was, he wanted it to stop.

His heart was deafeningly beating against his chest with a gradually increasing speed. The air burned at his throat and seemed to be incinerating his lungs. He wanted to say something, even scream, but only a few incoherent noises came out.

What is happening to him?

Egypt tossed and turned on the mysterious ground(?), in agony due to an unknown force or cause, and is unable to do anything to stop it. Something was grabbing with his mind, sinking their nails into it, and slowly tearing it apart.

Why? Why do these strange and bizarre happenings occur in his sleep or when he's falling to his death? Is it because of his magic touch? Is it someone else's work? An enemy tormenting him? An ally giving him warnings. Just what was the purpose of all this?

He felt the agony in his body get worse and he desperately tried to scream, if only for it to help a little, but no sound came.

Then, as he minds cracked, he heard voices. Voices of all kinds screaming or talking normally, of men and women, of nations he recognizes, and they're all talking all the same time and doing it so fast that Egypt cannot process it all. For a moment he thought he was going insane, but then they quieted down.

The pain decreased if only a little and Egypt heard several voices loud and clear.

 _I will not allow myself to be consumed by hatred and anger. He has taught me that._

 _This... This is amazing! I've never felt such a wonderful feeling in my entire life!_

 _This world no longer has any right to my heart. The world that left him to rot. I have nothing but contempt for all of you._

 _I have had it with you all these years! Trying to make me into a perfect loyal son! Trying to erase me! Patronizing me! But now… you are going to pay for everything._

 _The endgame… is just beginning._

Egypt felt something in his mind snap. The voices silenced. The pain vanished. The air no longer burned his throat and lungs.

It all just… ended.

The surroundings began to vanish as a growing blinding light began to consume everything, and Egypt felt himself getting blind as it got closer. Egypt couldn't move, so there was nothing he could do, only wait for it to devour him. The light then washed over him, and he felt being carried along, like being pushed by a wave. It didn't hurt, it was oddly… warm and soothing.

 _Wake up!_

And Egypt screamed as the world faded to nothing.

/ / / / / /

It was… awkward, that's one way to put it, very, very awkward. And a little shocking, they were all frozen in shock, Seychelles thought. None of them had no idea what to day or do in this position they were in. Because none of them have any idea what just happened.

One moment they were in Paris held hostage by the Order, Seychelles was sweating and quivering in fear as Switzerland tightly grabbed her arm, then suddenly they're no longer in Paris. Suddenly, a bright light engulfed her and she's with the others in a whole different location.

It was… It was just like last time.

Egypt was still unconscious and was lying on the floor with his face down. Seychelles was currently looking in front of her with a blanched face and widened eyes. The people in front of her basically has the same shell-shocked reaction as her.

They were in some sort of house and instead of the chilly night in Paris, it's sunny and warm outside. In front of them was a round dining table where four female nations sat. The first one had long thick hair and was currently looking at them like they were ghosts, Bahamas. The second one was a teenage girl with shoulder length curly hair gaping at them like a fish, Saint Lucia. The third had long unruly hair and was currently spilling the drink she was pouring in a cup, Honduras. And the fourth was a teenage girl with low pigtails with her mouth hanging open, Belize.

The four female nations clearly didn't expect them to suddenly appear in the room out of nowhere.

Deciding to break the ice, Seychelles laughed nervously and waved. "U-Um, hi?" She said lamely.

None of them responded, but then Bahamas seemed to slightly recover from her shock and waved hesitantly. "Hi?"

It was a bad attempt but at least it got a teeny little less awkward.

Seemingly snapping out of her shock, Belize suddenly banged the table and pointed an angry finger at them, she made a compilation of disjointed mumblings before yelling. "WHAT THE F-"

/ / / / / /

Egypt groaned as he woke up, bringing a hand up to his face and rubbing his eyelids. What…? Where…? He felt pain in his head, it was pounding, and he clutched it hoping it would go away. His head felt like someone shoved his head on concrete, the pain was mostly on his forehead, he noted. He brought his hand up to touch the painful spot and hissed when he did. A bruise.

He felt a little dizzy and he closed his eyes to stop himself from seeing everything spin. Egypt groaned some more as he tried to keep his half-asleep mind together. Calm down… Relax… Focus…

First: What happened? Egypt carefully tried to remember the events that led to him… passing out? Knocked unconscious? Wait. Something clicked in Egypt's mind.

That's right, Iran knocked him unconscious. So then... Does that mean...

"Where...?" Egypt mumbled, trying to process the world around him to little success. Although he is sure of one thing, he can tell he was on a bed, a cozy one at that. The need for answers made him open his eyes.

He was in a bedroom, one that he did not recognize. Egypt turned to the left and looked at the window, it was daytime, and the weather appeared to be rather warm. What is this place?

But what about the others?

He started to sit up only to abruptly stop when he felt something float down from his chest to his lap. It was a folded piece of paper with black writing visible. A letter. He picked up the paper, unfolded it and began to read, squinting through his sleepy eyes.

 _Hi, Egypt._

 _If you're reading this, then that means that Seychelles has fallen asleep while waiting for you to wake up. You're probably wondering where you are right now, and the confusing answer to that question is Belize, apparently._

Egypt blinked at that last part, then did a double take. He rubbed his eyes and read it again, finding that he was not imagining He... they… were in Belize? But how is that possible? He shook his head and decided to continue reading the letter before jumping to conclusions.

 _Don't worry about us, we're fine. Well, not really, but it'll probably be better if we explain it to you ourselves. Ubon and I will be in the living room with Belize herself as well as the other three nations with her, two of which will surprise you, it certainly surprised us._

 _Seychelles will be in the chair beside your bed, so wake her up when you're ready. I'm sure she won't mind._

 _Algeria._

Egypt turned his head towards the bedside, and just like the letter said Seychelles was there, sound asleep and breathing in and out softly. Her hair was completely down, no pigtails or bows in sight, and was curled up in a ball so she would fit in the chair.

Although the letter had told him to wake her up, he hesitated. He didn't want to disturb her, but at the same time he wanted to speak to her. His hand hovered above her shoulder and he gently shook her awake. "Seychelles."

Seychelles remained asleep but stirred a little. "Not now, Kelvin." She mumbled sleepily.

Egypt raised an eyebrow at the mention of the nation. He tried again, louder this time. "Michelle."

That seemed to do the trick. She woke up, sitting up abruptly. Seychelles rubbed her eyes before she saw him and smiled. "Egypt? You woke up!" But the grin faltered slightly. "Are you okay? Do you want me to get someone?"

"No, that won't be necessary, Seychelles. I'm fine." Egypt said, then rubbed his forehead. "I feel a bit of pain but it's nothing serious."

The smile returned, but for some reason it almost didn't reach her eyes. "If you say so. I'm really happy you're okay!"

Egypt gave her a small smile, then remembered the letter. "Seychelles, are we really in Belize?"

Seychelles glanced at the letter then nodded. "Oui, we were taken here a few hours ago. I.. really don't know how or why." She put her hand on her chin. "Believe or not, it just… happened. One moment we were in France then another moment we were in Belize's house giving her a heart attack."

Egypt had a lot of questions burning on his mind. Why were they in Belize's house? What happened to France and Monaco? Who else was in the house? But he decided to focus on the main topic. He can ask the other questions later. "But why did we go here?"

Seychelles bit her lip and shrugged. "I don't know. We all thought you did it… did you?"

"I… I think I did." Egypt said hesitantly, trying to make sense of his fuzzy memories. "But strangely, it wasn't intentional."

"Really?" Seychelles asked. "Was it by accident?"

"I'm not sure. My memories aren't very clear right now."

"O-Oh, right. You're still recovering." Seychelles said apologetically, then smiled. "But accident or no accident, you saved us again. We really owe you, Egypt."

Egypt shook his head. "No need to thank me." Then something popped in his mind. "Are the others…?"

"They're all in the living room, we're actually waiting for you. But Egypt…" Seychelles twiddled her thumbs, looking from his face to the bed with a pained expression. "There's something… you should know."

Egypt felt slightly alarmed. "What? What's wrong, Michelle?"

"I… not…" Seychelles hugged herself, her hair hiding her eyes.

"What?"

"When… not… he didn't…"

"Seychelles?" Egypt asked, feeling dread pool into his stomach.

Seychelles didn't respond, only hiding again curling up in a ball and hugging her knees, hiding her face from view. Egypt attempted to reach out a hand, but he hesitated when he saw her shake. He started to hear sniffles and sobbing from her, she was crying. Pain and confusion gripped his heart at the sounds.

Why was she crying? What happened? Did something go wrong?

Egypt didn't know what to say. He wasn't good at comforting others especially if he didn't know the reason why, but he did not want to see her like this and he need to know what happened. He had to try. "Michelle…" He began slowly and softly, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Tell me what's wrong."

She calmed down a little, but she kept crying. Taking a deep breath, he took her hand gently, and she gripped it tightly. Seychelles slowly looked up at him, eyes puffy and watery, and choked on a sob as her expression became more pained. "Michelle, if you don't want to…"

Seychelles wiped her face with her arm and looked at him hopelessly. "It's Kelvin."

"What about Mauritius?" Egypt asked, growing tense.

"He's… gone. Kelvin's not here with us."

That sentence pierced his heart like an arrow and he heard the sky shatter.

/ / / / / /

Mauritius didn't want to wake up when he did. He was having a really great dream, one where everything was normal, and he was having fun at the beach without a care in the world. Seychelles, Madagascar and even Comoros were there too. Everything was great, and they were happy, except for maybe Comoros but even she cracked a smile. The four of them were in his home exploring the forests in the mountains, he burst out laughing when Comoros had a bunch of butterflies fly up on her face, he had no idea how they managed to get that far or when they even set out.

But he didn't really care. He was with the people he cared about. That's all that mattered.

Then he woke up, and they weren't there anymore.

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks, and just like it sounded, it hurt. When cruel sick reality finally sank in, he blinked and almost expected to be blinded by light, but he wasn't. Mauritius felt a bit of pain in the center of his forehead, like something impaled it. Did he have a concussion or…

The memory returned to him and he remembered what happened. He and the others… they walked into a trap by Switzerland. Seychelles went missing and he panicked, but Switzerland nearly shot him within two seconds. As he dreaded and hoped that she was okay, a… bright light? Yeah, a big light suddenly swallowed everything and when he could see again, Algeria and Tunisia were gone. Mauritius and Monaco, as well as France, only looked on dumbfounded.

What the heck was that anyway? Where did Algeria and Tunisia go?

He kept asking himself those questions over and over then suddenly he saw something shiny fly and… plunge into his forehead. He… died? Mauritius widened his eyes in realization. Haiti killed him.

And now Mauritius has been captured?! No… no, no, no, no.

Mauritius immediately tried to move, but he felt a slight pain on his wrists and he realized he couldn't move. He was trapped, bound to a chair apparently. There were straps keeping his arms and legs bound to the chair, keeping him down no matter how much he struggled. Mauritius kept trying to break out or slip his hands out, but every attempt was met with failure or pain.

He sighed in defeat. Looked like there's no way out, at least for now. What he was really worried about was what the others are doing? Just what happened to them? Did they all disappear? Was Seychelles okay? He hopes the others will try to protect her while he's… Where is he again?

The room he was in wasn't well lighted, that's for sure. Mauritius looked to the left and saw what he thinks is a desk filled with papers, charts, and monitors. Like something a genius would have. There were also a bunch of drawers. For what? Who knows. He looked to the left and saw a board with various notes and a large bookcase with well, books obviously, but also some other miscellaneous items.

What type of room is…? Mauritius looked in front of him again, and nearly screamed and had a heart attack. There was a young man with dreadlocks that nearly reached his shoulders and insane and excited light green eyes with a grin that stretched too much. This was a nation that loved to visit Mauritius in his nightmares. Mauritius felt himself pale and swallow when the man giggled.

"Hello~" Nigeria sing-songed.

 **Uh-oh... Well, that's the end of this arc. I might include them a little in the next one. Next chapter will focus on the African five. I'm sorry if this and the last two chapters were kind of boring but I promise the next one will be more interesting and exciting. Here's my plan: I'm gonna do the Africans, then the nations in the Americas, then Lithuania and Bulgaria. I'm planning it out. PLEASE REVIEW! Pretty please? You have no idea how much it means to me.**


	13. Never forget: Planting the seed

**Okay, I got a little discouraged at the lack of reviews (it makes a little depressed sometimes) but here's the first chapter of the African arc! But I have to warn you, its kinda dark. Hope you enjoy. Now, on with the show!**

Liberia was bored, really bored. Like head banging-migraine inducing-unbearably bored. The type of bored that makes you yawn like six times every minute. The teen with short dreadlocks made a "pfft" sound and rested his head on his hand, not looking amused in the slightest. He looked up at the sky, it was a sunny blue, there was hardly a cloud in sight, the sounds of cars beeping and moving felt like white noise, and it looked like an average day.

Appearances really can be deceiving.

He was currently on the rooftop, wanting some time and peace alone for a while, and he was to wait for Congo Republic to recover. Why did they name two nations Congo and put "Republic" in their names too? Didn't it occur to them how confusing it would be? Should he call him Congo-Brazzaville? West Congo? And what should he call good ol' DRC? Nah, he's good.

Liberia yawned and plopped himself down to the ground. Good God, he really is getting desperate.

While the others are getting high with pleasure on their sadism in their respective rooms, he's here on the roof, looking at the sky and internally monologuing. If he was Molossia, he would have snapped, said "fuck it!" and go wreck the whole place up. But he's not Molossia, Liberia's a lot more rational than that, he's not sure why he made that comparison.

Liberia groaned and covered his face. God, the only times when he ever felt so bored was whenever South Africa starts going on and on about his country's flora.

Yeah, that's right. Flowers. The nation that could be considered the de facto leader of their bloodthirsty quintet. The same nation that spent the entire Apartheid killing unsuspecting humans of all sides because they "pissed him off". The same nation that laughed while the two ethnic groups of his nation stained the streets with blood. The same nation that went giddy at the possibility of a civil war during the conflict's climax (back when he was a lot more insane). The same nation that was under the care of one of the fiercest empires of all time, loves flowers.

Yeah, because that's what sadistic warriors are into! Flora. South Africa can spend hours and hours talking about those sort of topics as if they were the most fun and interesting things ever to exist… They're not. It gets boring real fast. Like, right after the first sentence. Even after years of knowing him, Liberia still couldn't digest the fact. Although, Liberia supposed that there's a lot more to all of them than their love for causing suffering.

South Africa's an avid player of rugby (probably due to how aggressive it is) and always looked forward to a game. Morocco, Cameroon and Nigeria love having a friendly but aggressive game of soccer. Cameroon would even stop what he was doing to play soccer with the little kids, making the tiny humans light up in joy. It's cute, really cute. Oh, and the big guy even smiled looking all happy and having fun, a real smile. A positive emotion instead of the empty and stone expression that's normally on his face! That's just adorable.

Liberia grinned and laughed at the memory.

Liberia also liked playing too. But he often ends up awkwardly tip-toeing away when the friendly game of soccer turns into a friendly game of "beat the crap out of each other". It was a common occurrence in their hangouts, but there's never any ill intent. They rough each other up because they _like_ fighting, and they're all always willing to improve their strength and endurance, so it's welcome and no one ever held a grudge.

Unless you're South Africa and one of them wrecked his property, in which case he will make them pay. Literally!

Liberia sighed and looked up at the sky. It looked like it was noon or something. How long has he been up here monologuing? He hasn't really been keeping track.

He really wished that Congo (whatever) would heal faster so Liberia can entertain himself again. Aside from torture, there really isn't anything else to do here for the time being. He would take a nap on the couch but the glares he gets from the other Africans are annoying. But at least the screams from the rooms with the prisoners provided him some entertainment. He considered going to one of the others to join in or just watch, but then decided against it.

It's not the same.

Neither of the Congos have caved in yet, and it was really starting to get a little annoying. They're tough, he'll give them that. The method Liberia has been using was to slowly break Congo Republic while DR Congo watches in agony; it's simple but supposedly effective. But he's only getting mixed results. Congo Republic sure was having a really bad time, the screaming and injuries are proof of that, but DRC doesn't look like he's suffering.

How does he explain this in a simple way…? Nope, he's got nothing. DRC usually spent the sessions gritting his teeth and glaring at Liberia. He did react when Liberia ate a piece of flesh, but it looked more like shock than fear or horror. DRC wasn't really injured compared to his neighbor. Most of the physical torment has been directed at Brazzaville, while DR's more of a psychological form of torture. Maybe that's the reason? No. DRC didn't look happy, but when is he really? The guy's basically frozen solid and kind of dead inside from…

Oh, Liberia face palmed in shock, that explained it. DRC's one of the African nations that's been through the most shit in his past and still does in the present day. From growing up in Belgium's shitty care, if you can call any of that care, to all the multiple wars and conflicts he found himself in, to all the human rights abuses to all the corruption to being one of the poorest countries on the whole planet…

Yup, that explained it.

Of course! He should have known that breaking DRC wouldn't be easy. The man has already experienced this sort of thing and he's probably used to it. For all Liberia knew this could just another Tuesday for DRC. Watching someone get brutally tortured by a sadistic maniac.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is not that strong in terms of military strength, but he is in terms of will and mental strength.

This complicated things. Congo Republic is tough, but Liberia has no doubt he'll surrender eventually. DRC however, is another story. Considering DRC's hardened and enduring nature, it'll take much, much, MUCH, longer for him to give in. There's even a possibility that he's willing to be tortured every day for years before he could even consider giving up. That… just won't do.

Liberia rubbed his temples. As fun as torturing the others are, they need to integrate the remaining Africans as soon as possible so they could move on to more pressing matters. With any luck, it'll be over in a few days at most. But how do they get DRC to join them? If torture wasn't the answer, then maybe another form of coercion? Blackmail? A few bombers are stationed through the nation, the agony of his people could convince him, that's not a bad idea. And if that doesn't work than causing some disasters could do the trick.

Or maybe he could ask the other Africans for help in breaking him, a group effort could… Wait. Wait, wait a minute... An interesting idea popped in his mind and it dawned on him as he widened his dark brown eyes and a smile slowly made its way to his face. Of course, why didn't they think of this earlier? How come it didn't cross their minds through the years?

Congo... A nation whose heart was full of bitterness and anger. Who doesn't have much of an emotional attachment to the rest of the continent. And who was not happy about the "special relationship" he has with his former colonizer.

Liberia wondered... How would Congo react if he had a chance to get revenge for his childhood agony? For everything Belgium did to him? For all the atrocities?

If he was Congo, he'd jump and come running at the chance for justice. It would be like waking up on Christmas morning and see that you got dozens of presents under the tree. Congo would probably think it's too good to be true.

Yeah, that's an amazing idea, it could work! They'd get Congo in and a new member for their group! They've all been planning to get other nations to join the Order, right? They can start with DRC! The more the merrier!

Grinning excitedly, Liberia stood up and stretched his arms, then turned around to get back inside. He's got work to do.

/ / / / / /

Kenya stabbed the food in the plate that Cameroon gave her with her fork, huffing in anger and dejectedly bringing to her mouth, it probably looked a little petty but she's in low spirits right now. But she admitted, though never out loud and in front of Cameroon, that at least he gave them good food. At first, Kenya thought that Cameroon poisoned it or something for his own amusement as if the torture wasn't agonizing enough.

Speaking of Cameroon, Kenya glanced up and glared at said nation who was leaning against the opposite wall with his eyes closed, with an almost serene expression on his face. He looked so calm and quiet that one can almost forget that he was gleefully torturing Ethiopia just a while ago. Kenya guessed that he either sleeping or doing some sort of meditation.

Ethiopia also got some food, but he was so weakened by Cameroon that Kenya had to help feed him. Kenya felt herself clench her fists. Ethiopia looked worse for wear, getting a handful of his innards yanked out and his skin ripped open. It was impossible not to feel sorry for him. Right now, he seemed to have enough energy to eat, but he kept wincing in pain every time he moved.

Damn it, Cameroon.

Kenya felt her frown deepen when her eyes traveled to her friend Uganda, who was sitting not far from her and refused to make eye contact with anyone. Uganda… Uganda hasn't gotten any food during the last few days in this hellhole. Cameroon would always give them three meals a day, one for Kenya and one for Ethiopia, but Uganda always received nothing. For some reason, Cameroon refused to give him food.

She obviously wasn't okay with that, so she demanded why Uganda wasn't getting any food. Cameroon just looked at her coldly and told her it was none of her business. In response to this Kenya decided that if Uganda wasn't going to eat, then she wouldn't either. She pushed her plate away and looked at him defiantly.

Cameroon wasn't amused. This even made him angry.

He warned her that if she didn't eat, then he would force-feed her with an IV tube and watch as her blood came gushing down her nose and tears fall down her cheeks. Cameroon smiled psychotically as he said that, and Kenya noticed that he wanted her to defy him, so he could torture her like that.

Cameroon wanted to hurt them in any way he could.

Kenya felt fear freeze her blood, but she remained adamant and refused to eat until Uganda gets food. Just as Cameroon was about to throw her, Uganda intervened and begged her not to worry about him. Uganda kept insisting that he'll be fine, and he can go one day without food. Looking back and forth between her friend and Cameroon, Kenya reluctantly relented, and Cameroon let her go.

She dejectedly ate her food while Uganda hugged his stomach. Kenya felt miserable the whole time and wished she could throw up all over Cameroon.

But as each day passed, Uganda still didn't get any food and he was starving but he wouldn't admit it. Uganda just smiled and nervously waved it off, every time his stomach growled he kept insisting he was fine. Liar. It was obvious he was not okay. Kenya tried to secretly give him her food, but Cameroon discovered them pretty quick and beat her up as punishment.

So, Kenya had to watch Uganda starve each day.

She felt guilty that she was eating while Uganda was in agony with his increasingly empty stomach. Kenya supposed this was why Uganda wasn't looking at her. She stabbed another piece harshly and ate it again, snarling.

Kenya was surprised when Uganda suddenly turned around to look at her, he probably heard her moping. Kenya looked at him with despair, he looked tired and weak from the lack of food and it hurt her to see him like that, and Uganda looked at her wearily, looking sleepy and distant. Uganda gave, or tried, to give her a reassuring smile.

Kenya wondered if he was trying to convince her or himself.

/ / / / / /

Ghana doesn't remember a time in her life when she's been this scared. She liked to think of herself of not being afraid of anything or anyone. But right now, she scolded herself for being so cocky. Her heart was beating deafeningly against her chest, she could feel sweat on almost every part of her body, she was shaking uncontrollably, and her throat felt dry. Ghana wasn't scared. Oh, not at all.

She was terrified.

Ghana never thought that the cause of her feeling so terrified would be Nigeria, they argued and had a pretty sour relationship, but she was never scared of him, not even for a minute. Nigeria was just a moron to her, a rival. Nothing to fear.

Oh, how wrong she was. They weren't even equals. Ghana had no doubt that Nigeria was a lot stronger than her.

A briefcase being slammed shut was heard and Ghana jumped, she felt her heart stop when Nigeria turned around and grinned at her with a predatory gaze. Somalia passed out from both pain and exhaustion a few minutes ago and Chad was taken away, which meant _she_ was going to get the full brunt of what Nigeria has in store. Nigeria's been going easy on Ghana compared to Somalia and Chad, they were the ones who took a large amount of the torture, but not anymore.

Ghana's going to experience the same agony Somalia and Chad felt.

Nigeria remained where he was, he stared at her like a predator cornering its prey, a look of hunger and insanity in his eyes and venom at the twisted way his smile stretched across his face. The pure malice in his eyes was enough to make her numb. He had some sort of torture tool on one hand while the other hand served to support his cheek. That's when Ghana noticed Nigeria was trembling, but not in fear, in excitement.

Without warning, he laughed, and he moved. Nigeria took slow steps toward her; each step mocking her helplessness and painfully remind her that she's at his mercy. Ghana desperately wished she could get out of the bonds, so she could run the hell away from Nigeria where he won't find her.

As Nigeria got closer, Ghana noticed a few disturbing things. One: the tool he had looked dreadfully pointy and large. Two: Nigeria was sweating, yeah, _sweating_ , as he pulled at the collar of his shirt and he seemed to be breathing in and out rapidly through his mouth. Three: Nigeria cheeks were flushed for some reason, and he even looked a little giddy.

As much as she didn't want to know, Ghana wondered what could be going through Nigeria's mind right now.

Nigeria finally arrived, and he leaned forward, much too close for Ghana's comfort, with his sick smile. "You know, you actually look pretty when you're all terrified and shaking like a leaf."

That remark allowed much of the fear to be replaced by repulsion. "You're disgusting, you know that?" Ghana snapped, suddenly feeling her confidence returning.

"Oh, now it's gone~" Nigeria pouted, then his grin returned. "No matter, I'll see it again in just a few seconds."

Ghana gulped and closed her eyes.

/ / / / / /

Namibia was in pain. That's the easiest way to describe how she was feeling. Pain, pain, disgust, pain, suffering, pain, pain, pain, torment, anger, pain, pain, anguish. She could go on forever, if she wasn't on the floor writhing in pain. She let out a cry of torment and despair then sunk back to the ground, breathing heavily.

South Africa succeeded in giving the most pain she'd ever felt in years, much to her chagrin, and she hated how smug he looked as she laid bloodied on the floor. He made sure that she suffered every single minute. Thanks to her neighbor, she was now lying on the ground filled with injuries and drenched with her own blood.

In every language she knew, she cursed South Africa so much that even Romano would gawk. She screamed in anger and despair and buried her face on her hands to couldn't move, every attempt was rewarded with pain and more blood coming out. Namibia could only remain there until she healed enough to move properly.

Again, she cried.

Namibia felt a jab of pain on her shoulder and she reached out her hand to touch it. She gritted her teeth because that's where human teeth shaped marks etched onto her, where South Africa pinned her down and suddenly starting chewing on her shoulder, eating her. She laughed bitterly, at first, she thought he was going to rape her.

Well, it's less worse than being violated by someone she once considered to be like a brother… right?

South Africa left a few minutes ago, deciding it was enough for now, and again asked if she gave up. Namibia spat in his face. Now, she's alone in this goddamn room covered in blood and unable to get up or even move. Waiting until she recovered and until South Africa comes back.

"Talisa?"

Namibia's heart stopped when she heard a familiar voice, from someone she cared about, and she couldn't believe it. She was afraid of turning around in case she was just imagining it.

"Talisa! Just what did he do to you?!"

Another familiar voice appeared, Namibia dared turn around despite the pain, and when she did she saw Botswana and Angola at the door looking at her in shock. Probably because of how she looked. For the first time in the last few days, Namibia _smiled_.

Before she knew it she found herself being hugged by Botswana, who didn't seem to care that the blood will get on his clothes, and that silly detail was enough to warm her heart. Namibia weakly lifted her arms to return the hug and she broke down.

They weren't here to save her, she knew they couldn't, but she's glad someone's here to comfort her.

/ / / / / /

Lesotho whimpered as he looked around desperately for any nation, but he wasn't, he was all alone. He felt lonely in his room without anything to do or anyone to talk to and Swaziland was taking a nap. He felt bad for leaving him alone, and he was scared. He didn't want to be anywhere near South Africa.

The eleven-year-old gulped at the thought of his older brother figure or more like former older brother figure.

He was terrified of South Africa, everybody was, but he was the most afraid. Lesotho depended on South Africa. South Africa was the one Lesotho turned to for help, the nation he trusted the most. Trust that's now shattered in a million pieces and left him traumatized.

If something happened to South Africa, then Lesotho will suffer. If South Africa suddenly decided Lesotho wasn't worth his time, then he can easily cut off all ties and leave Lesotho to rot.

Because South Africa had a lot of influence in Lesotho, both in economy and politics. He might as well be owned by South Africa. Lesotho could collapse and die but South Africa would be able to move on with his life without a problem, and that scared him. He knew that South Africa didn't care that much about him, judging from how South Africa threatened to bomb him back during the African Union meeting.

Will South Africa one day decide to get rid of Lesotho because he's just a waste of time? Will he annex his tiny home? Does Lesotho have to do something to convince South Africa that he's not a waste of space? That it's better to let him live?

Oh, what's he saying? He's probably an ant in South Africa's eyes.

Lesotho held back a sob and sprinted, just wanting to find someone as soon as possible. The child nation kept looking around frantically and ran as fast as he could. He really should have stayed with Swaziland. He was too busy looking around that he bumped into someone. Lesotho was about to give an apology, but it got stuck when he saw who he crashed into.

South Africa.

Lesotho yelped at the appearance of the nation he feared and tripped himself, causing him to fall. Wincing, he shook in fear as he met South Africa's eyes. "C-Chris! I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

The rainbow nation blinked and looked at the cowering Lesotho curiously. "Lesotho? What are you doing running in the hallways?"

"I-I-I… I just… I…" Lesotho kept stammering and he started to feel sweat dripping from his forehead.

"Oh, what am I saying?" South Africa laughed, then crouched down to give Lesotho a smile that looked too friendly. "Are you okay, Lesotho? You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"

"N-No, I'm fine!" Lesotho said a little louder than he intended.

South Africa didn't look convinced. "Are you sure? Those types of falls can hurt, you know."

Lesotho did not like how _normal_ South Africa sounded, he sounded like the fake South Africa, the person that never existed. The one who was protective of Lesotho and gave him bright smiles that would assured him that everything is great. "I-I'm sure, Chris."

"If you say so, but don't be afraid of telling me if something's wrong. Now let's get you up." South Africa smiled and reached out a hand towards Lesotho, who backed away with fear, this seemed to confuse South Africa. "What's wrong? Why are you backing away?"

Lesotho had no idea what South Africa was doing but he did not want to be grabbed by him. Lesotho gulped and didn't answer the question.

South Africa tilted his head, looking like he really didn't know why Lesotho was being this way. "Why are you scared? I'm trying to help you get off the floor."

"Why?" Lesotho asked, miraculously not stuttering.

"Why?" South Africa chuckled, as if it were some sort of joke. "I've helped you all these years, haven't I? Isn't this expected of me?"

"But… but…" Lesotho trailed off when South Africa put a finger over his lips.

"Shush. Come on, it's not fun being on the floor like that, let's get you up." South Africa said softly. Before Lesotho could say anything, South Africa grabbed his hand and yanked him off the floor. Lesotho was surprised but South Africa only patted his head. "There you go. Feeling better?"

"Y-Yes, th-thank you."

"Anytime, Lesotho, anytime."

Now that he was on his feet, Lesotho this as a chance to leave and get as far away from South Africa as soon as possible. He didn't trust South Africa's sudden kind nature. Was South Africa trying to trick him? He had to get away.

But as Lesotho took a few steps back, South Africa without warning grabbed his arm, putting an end to his escape attempt. Lesotho shrieked and frantically tried to run away, but South Africa maintained a strong grip that started to hurt the more Lesotho struggled.

Lesotho wailed, and tears started to stream down his cheeks. "NO! Chris, let me go, please! Please don't hurt me! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

He wasn't sure what he was apologizing for, but he just didn't want South Africa to hurt him.

South Africa looked puzzled. "Sorry? Why? You didn't do anything wrong."

"I... I..." Lesotho didn't know what to say.

"Wow, you look like you saw a ghost." South Africa smiled in amusement. "Don't be such a scaredy-cat, Nkau. There's really no reason to be all scared like that, nothing bad is going to happen to you."

Lesotho looked up at him teary-eyed, confused. "R-Really? So, you're not mad?"

"Of course not! Don't be silly." South Africa snorted. "Why would I be mad at you?"

It looked so real. South Africa's kind smile and the caring tone in his voice. It all seemed so real and genuine. Just like the South Africa he knew. The South Africa that wasn't insane and didn't laugh at nations getting hurt. But it all felt wrong. He felt tempted to believe that what happened that day was all just a horrible nightmare. That South Africa was the nation he knew.

Lesotho desperately wanted to believe that, but it's not true, is it? South Africa was _faking_. The nation in front of him... he's not real.

"You know…" South Africa began, snapping Lesotho out of his thoughts, and clapped his hands. "I just realized that we haven't really talked since the African Union meeting."

"O-Oh, you're right." Lesotho said, uncertain where this conversation was going.

"Ja, sorry for that, I've been a little busy lately. But to make up it up you…" South Africa grinned excitedly and tightened the grip he still had on Lesotho's arm. "How about we catch up? Have a _nice_ little talk with just the two of us. Sound good?"

No, no it didn't. But it wasn't a request, Lesotho had no choice, and South Africa was starting to hurt his arm. Lesotho gulped and struggled to get the words out of his mouth. "I-I-I-I… I… it… it sounds... But…"

"Ja?"

"I-I can't!"

Lesotho felt the pain in his arm increase, he shrieked a little and he froze when he saw South Africa smile darkly. "And _why_ can't you? What poor and ridiculous excuse are you going to say that you foolishly think will convince me otherwise? More importantly…" South Africa leaned closely near Lesotho's face, a toothy grin that sent shivers down the boy's spine. "Since when did you think you had a _choice_?"

Lesotho whimpered in fear, which pleased South Africa, and desperately tried to find a good answer. "B-But I…"

"Let me repeat it to you again. _Why_ can't you? _Why?_ I'm just _dying_ to know." South Africa said cheerfully.

"I…"

"Well? Let's hear it."

"…I don't have a reason. I'll talk with you, I'm sorry." Lesotho said quietly, hanging his head low, afraid to meet South Africa's gaze.

He heard chuckling and a hand caress his head, he looked up to see South Africa back to his "normal" personality. "Aw, it's alright. But don't lie to me again, okay?"

"Okay…" Lesotho nodded.

"Perfek. Now, let's find a good place to sit down first." South Africa chirped, and dragged the unwilling Lesotho along. "We have a _lot_ to talk about."

/ / / / / /

Liberia took a deep breath as he stood in front of the door, and slowly blew out the air. The teen tapped his foot in irritation and he racked his brain to come up with the right way to convince DR Congo to join them. Ohhhhhhhhh, what to do? Was he overthinking this? Probably. But he can't screw this up. This can prove good for the Order in more ways than one.

But how to convince someone like Congo that the New World Order was where he truly belonged?

Congo wasn't stupid, he became quite shrewd through the tough years and knew how to navigate through the corruption in his country for his own survival, and he wasn't one to trust that easily which made things even more difficult in Liberia's case.

Bribery was out of the question, they were planning on fixing DRC anyway, and Liberia wanted Congo to see how great the offer is. He wanted Congo to see where he truly belonged, that the five of them could understand him. As Congo planned Belgium's demise, he would see how at home he felt with them, form the same bond they have.

But as much as he liked the idea, persuasion wasn't exactly Liberia's strong suit. The five of them all have their respective roles. South Africa's the leader, Nigeria's the agile one, Cameroon's the big strong guy (obviously), Morocco's the guy who does the talking, and Liberia's the sneaky one. This seemed like Morocco's specialty. But Morocco's busy, and Liberia wasn't sure interrupting was a good idea.

Who else could…. Oh. Oh, oh, oh! Of course! America! Liberia's older brother helped recruit a good amount of nations into their group. Hong Kong, North Korea, Molossia, Liberia himself, and several others. America was the one who rescued South Vietnam, and through that he convinced South Vietnam to join with the promise of getting his land back. When Lithuania came to work for him in the 20's, America saw his bitterness and offered him to join. America knew how to do this!

In fact, Liberia recalled a conversation he had with America about this, he asked his brother how he managed to convince them to trust him. America responded that he had to play his cards right and carefully too, first approach them and gain their trust, be very subtle about it, and when he noticed the that they were interested, he started to get to the point.

So, that's it then. He just had to act subtle, drop some hints, and get him interested in knowing more. Now that he thought about it, Congo doesn't know about the staining Europe in red thing, does he? No one does.

That gave him a few ideas, but first things first.

Liberia smirked and kicked the door open, waltzing into the room to see the two Congos startled by his arrival. Congo Republic gulped and put his guard up while DR Congo tensed and gave Liberia a slight glare. Okay, here goes. First step: shut Brazzaville up.

Liberia walked towards the Congos, and he grinned as he arrived next to Congo Republic. The teen grabbed his head tightly, earning a yelp from the man, and promptly headbutted him in Liberia's knee. The strong impact from the hit knocked him unconscious. Simple, easy and done.

Liberia's rather tame action made DRC visibly confused. "Why did you knock him out like that?"

Liberia simply shrugged. "Dunno. Just felt like it. Why do you ask?"

"Because it looked very out of character for you." DRC stated, narrowing his eyes. "You normally torture him until he passes out from pain or blood loss. Why the change?"

"Geez, didn't you hear me, Dikembe? I just felt like suddenly smashing his head against my knee, don't act like you know how my mind works." Liberia muttered, sounding annoyed, purposely using his human name to see his reaction.

DR Congo widened his eyes at the use of his human name and looked at him angrily. "Why do you think you can use human name? You have no right."

"Why?" Liberia asked absent-mindedly, playing with his curl.

"Wh-What do you mean why?! Are you trying to get on my nerves?" DR Congo snarled, the bonds restraining him from attacking the calm teen. "Nations only use human names with close ones, and last time I checked, we weren't even friends before this all started!"

"Yeah, we barely interacted, didn't we?"

"That's the poin… What are you playing at?"

"Nothing."

"I doubt it."

"If I was I wouldn't be telling you."

"If you were what?"

"Like I said, I'm not telling."

DR Congo sighed and rolled his eyes. "Then what are you going to do now with me? Are you going to make me feel the same pain he did?"

"Nah, not gonna. I already a bit of a number on you earlier anyway." Liberia waved it off, then became confused when he heard DR Congo chuckled bitterly.

"That? That was your attempt for torture? You must be joking. I've seen with my own eyes what you did to Brazzaville, that was torture but what you did to me… No, that was nothing." DR Congo spat, gritting his teeth. "Do you know what torture is to me? Because I've been going through torture for more than one hundred years."

Liberia inwardly smiled at the show of bitterness but on the outside, he kept his frown. "Yeah, yeah, we know. I was hoping for more of a… psychological torture, y'know?"

"You think this is the first time I've seen someone being tormented in front of my own eyes?"

"Oh right. You've probably seen this like a million times."

"I know that's usually an exaggeration, but I think that may be true." DR Congo remarked. "I had a feeling that was your intent, but unfortunately it's not working so well."

"Really?" Liberia asked, so he was right. "You don't feel anything when your neighbor suffers?"

"Well, I'm not happy obviously."

"You're never happy." Liberia reminded him, then crossed his arms and put on a thoughful expression "Hard to believe that sweet waffle-loving Belgium put you through so much crap back then, huh?"

DR Congo tensed a little at the mention of Belgium, and Liberia saw a glimpse of something in his eyes, it was very brief, but it was something dark, something _angry_. "Don't remind me, and don't change the subject. What I want to say is that your plan of torturing me until I can't take any more and sign that damn paper _won't work on me_."

"Think you could take it if I stop going easy on you?" Liberia tested.

"I'm sure I can." DR Congo hissed.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Oh, OK then." Liberia nodded, smiling, which confused the man. "That's cool."

"You're… you're confusing, you know that? I don't understand why you're talking to me instead of causing suffering, or why I bother talking to someone like you." DR Congo remarked, sighing and looking to the side, looking both confused and exasperated.

"What's wrong with talking with someone like me?" Liberia tilted his head.

"You're the enemy, why else?"

"Ah, true."

"Not to mention… you're all crazy. Psychotic, even." DR Congo said. "You want to place me, as well as the others, under your control. Turn the entire continent into your own personal playground and exploit us like we were before during the Scramble. You're like them, and that disgusts me."

Boy, if South Africa, Morocco, Nigeria or Cameroon were here they would NOT be flattered by _that_ comparison, that would be a great way to insult and get yourself brutally maimed. But anyway, Liberia saw an opening. "DR, how are you feeling?"

"What? What sort of question is that?"

"I don't mean what are your feelings, I mean how are you feeling in terms of health?"

"Health… What are you talking about?" DR Congo asked incredulously.

"As a nation who also experienced a civil war, two in fact, I know that during that period you feel awful. So tell me, how have you been feeling the last few days?" Liberia asked, smirking. "Do you feel… different?"

DR Congo looked at him puzzledly but then seemed to be in thought, he narrowed his eyes almost in concentration, probably trying to sense his people. DR Congo remained like that for almost half a minute then slowly began to look shocked, he widened his eyes in disbelief and denial, and opened his mouth to say something but he seemed to be too shocked to speak. The nation looked up at Liberia, for the first time at a loss for words.

"You… What did you do? I don't understand… the fighting…" DR Congo trailed off, his eyes looking lost. "The conflicts… The fighting… it's calming down? Its disappearing?! The headache and pain... it's gotten better. But how is this possible?"

"Congo…" Liberia leaned down with a Cheshire Cat grin. "Why do you think we're doing this?"

"What…"

"You think the reason we're doing all of this is because of greed and wealth, but you couldn't be more wrong. The last thing we want is to be like Europe." Liberia said. "Look at what Europe did during the Scramble for Africa and how it's still affecting everyone today, you should know that well, _very_ well. They made a mess. But we, the New World Order, are gonna fix that. But that's not the only reason we joined. I'm here because I was raised into it, but the others have a special reason. You want to know why they're here?"

DR Congo stared at him for a moment then nodded, genuinely curious.

"They've always been wild, they lived to cause pain and suffering in any shape or form, but they had to hide it. Can you imagine how England or France would have reacted if they knew how they _really_ were? They would have gone to extreme lengths to "civilize" them."

There was understanding in Congo's eyes, as well as something else, and this encouraged Liberia to continue.

"They're enraged at what Europe did to them, they're hungry for their blood. It's what they were promised years ago… revenge on their colonizers." Liberia explained excitedly. "They want to devour them like lions. Destroy them completely. They're going to make them suffer like the way Africa suffered, but ten times worse. We're going to return the favor."

"Why are you telling me all this?" DR Congo demanded.

"Because, I'm giving you a chance, something I know you craved for years. How would you like to get revenge for all agony Belgium caused in your life? To hurt Belgium badly, make her suffer just as much as she made you suffer. Finally give her what she deserves. Justice for all the atrocities in the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo."

Congo was silent, he looked down, looking shocked but seemed to be thinking about it. That was a good sign. If Congo truly didn't want to then he would have angrily refused. But Liberia didn't see refusal, anger or disgust on DR Congo, he saw _interest_. He was interested. Not fully convinced, not yet anyway, but interested and mulling it over. Liberia was confident that he did great.

"I see interest. You like the idea, don't you?" Liberia asked, knowing the answer.

"I'll admit it, the idea sounds very appealing, but…" DR Congo narrowed his eyes. "I don't really trust you."

"You don't trust me or are you not confident enough this will work?"

"A little bit of both."

"We have the advantage in more ways than one. There's a lot about us that you don't know, we all worked in secret. Weapons, technology, money, _magic_ … We all have it, better than all the other nations, remember that none of you truly know us."

"How are you going to deal with the other nations? You may have America with you, and as much as I'm impressed you still have his rivals, Russia and China to deal with."

"We already have a plan for those two. Russia's going to have to deal with some old rivals of his who are eager to torment him. China is going to have a handful of nations causing havoc too. A takeover from the inside to be precise. They won't be a problem."

"What about the G7? They're the main threat, aren't they?"

"Like I said, America's on our side. England's going to have a handful of problems from South Africa, Nigeria and some others. France is going to have trouble like that too, including a certain someone no one has seen in a while." Liberia winked, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Who would that be?" DR Congo asked.

"You'll see. I can't wait to see your face when you see _him_." Liberia giggled at DRC's perplexed face. "Anyway, America's going to take care of Canada. Our leaders have a plan for Germany and Italy. Japan's going to have some nations out for his head soon enough. We have it all planned out for everyone, no one is left out."

"I see." DR Congo said, looking deep in thought.

"You still have doubts, I understand, but please remember that I'm not threatening you or anything. This will be of your own free will. The choice will be up to you, but…" Liberia turned around, then looked back to smile mysteriously at DRC. "We're going to try convince you nonetheless."

After that, Liberia began to leave, but DRC called out to him. "Where are you going?"

Liberia smirked. "To get the others. Don't worry, you'll see me again in a few minutes."

 **Oh my, that's ominous. Hope you enjoyed this start. BTW, why do you think Cameroon isn't giving Uganda food? If it's torture by starvation, then Cameroon would have confirmed it, right? DR Congo will play a big part in this arc because if you read about the Congo Free State, well, it was horrifying.**

 **Reviews mean a lot to me so please review! I really want to know what you thought of this chapter.**


	14. Never forget: Helping it grow

**Thanks so much for the reviews! Okay, okay, okay... Sorry for the late update, I got a little busy and I kind of freaked out when FFN suddenly collapsed a few days ago but here's the new chapter. Now, on with the show!**

Liberia smirked as he walked through the hall towards the room where Nigeria was, unable to contain his joy of how successful his little talk with DR Congo went, and had to grab his left wrist to control himself. Calm down… Calm down… DR Congo still hasn't quite agreed to joining them yet, but Liberia knows that the nation wanted to. He was interested, he even admitted it!

DR Congo did want to see Belgium butchered, he wanted that for years, but he was reluctant.

He didn't trust them, though for good reason.

But Liberia and the others know just how to change his mind. DR Congo just needed a little push in the right direction, some reassurance that they can be trusted, that he belonged with them, and to make him realize just much they're alike.

Europeans feel so proud of themselves for educating a so-called backwards and savage continent, that they made them into "proper" nations. But they forget the legacy that they leave behind, how the years of conditioning and exploitation came back to haunt their former colonies. They left a huge mess behind. Blood, corruption, civil wars, poverty, ruin…

It was all so sad that it didn't give them joy, it made them angry. That same anger will help shatter Europe's hold on Africa.

Liberia perked up when he heard shrieking and he sprinted towards the door, hopefully Nigeria won't be too angry when he hears Liberia's plan. Liberia grabbed the handle and opened the door, and he saw just what he thought he'd see. He saw Nigeria snap his head toward him, and the other nation raised an eyebrow.

Nigeria was currently leaning forward; his unbuttoned green shirt and white undershirt were a little splattered with blood though Liberia doubted Nigeria minded, the nation had a long and thin knife covered in blood in one hand while the other was currently grabbing a wounded and bloodied Ghana by the hair. Light green eyes narrowed in slight annoyance and Nigeria tilted his head in confusion.

"Tehpoe?" Nigeria asked, yanking around a whimpering Ghana absentmindedly. "What are you doing here? Can't you see I'm a little busy here?"

Ghana made a sound that sounded like indignation, but Nigeria grabbed her throat to silence her, Liberia decided to cut to the chase. "Look… I know you're not happy that I'm interrupting your little date…"

Nigeria smirked and leaned close to Ghana's face. "Oh, don't joke around like that, you'll embarrass her~" he mocked, smile widening at the choking African woman. "Besides, I was thinking we should start things slow, it's better like that don't you think?"

"Are you really interested in having a relationship with her?" Liberia asked, slightly frowning in distaste. "I kind of thought you'd want to get back her for annoying you all these years."

"Maybe." Nigeria shrugged, looking thoughtful, then smiled strangely at Ghana. "I do like her in this state, so broken, so helpless, and drenched in blood and tears. So unlike her usual cocky and strong self, she's a lot less annoying like this. Seeing her squirm in my grasp, it's fun but I kind of miss her scowling at me."

"You and Ghana together…" Liberia snorted at the thought. "I'm pretty sure she'd rather be bitten by a dozen snakes, crushed by a stampede then eaten alive by lions."

"Yeah, that does sound like her." Nigeria chuckled, then twirled one of his dreadlocks. "Anyway, what brings you here? No offense, but it better be interesting or good."

"Trust me; you're going to love what I have to say." Liberia winked, smirking.

"Oh?" Nigeria tilted his head and released Ghana's throat, allowing her to gasp for breath. "And what would that be?"

Liberia went on to explain all the details of the plan, as well as DRC's reaction to the proposal and what Liberia the five of them could do to convince him. Nigeria looked a little surprised at the idea, but when Liberia finished explaining he had a dark smile on his face.

"DRC joining us… now that is an interesting idea, I can't believe we didn't think of that before." Nigeria grinned, then started to tremble as he started to laugh which soon evolved into cackles. "You really outdid yourself, Liberia."

"Oh stop, you're making me blush." Liberia smiled sheepishly.

"So, what do you need me to do?" Nigeria asked eagerly.

"I was hoping you could tell Cameroon about all this, you know how he is when someone interrupts his fun and I do NOT want to piss him off, he has a lot more patience with you than with me."

"Aw, are you scared? ~" Nigeria singsong and giggled as Liberia glared at him. "Oh, don't get mad, I was just joking. I'll gladly inform him of this… development."

Liberia's eyebrow twitched a bit more then he sighed. Just how are Cameroon and Nigeria friends, again?

/ / / / / /

Morocco always knew, he always knew, for years since he was nothing more than a tiny adorable personification of a settlement for the Phoenicians he always knew that his view of the world, life and everything in general weren't normal. He looked at his hands that were covered in blood, delicious and fresh blood, and proceeded to put his bloodied fingers in his mouth. He smiled at the taste.

Grey. That was a good word to describe Morocco's world. For the many centuries of his existence, his world was always colored a dull grey.

He was talking metaphorically of course; he's not color blind that would be just sad. But still, it might as well be all grey. The sky was grey, the Saharan desert was grey, the waters off his coast were grey. It was a difficult feeling and experience to describe.

He took pride in the amount of knowledge he possessed about a lot of things, several centuries ago he always journeyed to find out about more. Morocco didn't care what his humans or his leader thought, he explored, and he ended up knowing more about the African continent than anyone else. Morocco found it amusing that the children he met before would end up being his trusted companions.

He met a strong boy running through the savannah with lions with no fear, he met a devious looking boy with strong kingdoms wearing a smile that promised misery, and he met a boy looking at a warrior with adoration as the man slaughtered his enemies. A century or two later, he saw a boy washed up ashore to be picked up by America.

They grow up so fast, don't they?

But truly the most amusing thing he has ever come across was when he revealed his true self to his siblings, their faces made him want to double over in laughter, but he didn't because it would have ruined the moment.

Algeria looked furious, Tunisia was in a state of denial, Libya looked both angry and confused thought that was expected, Mauritania was hopelessly confused. Confusion, anger, betrayal, it was all over their faces. Those reactions were only natural after all Morocco deceived them, lied to them and betrayed them.

It brought a smile to his face.

While most of the Africans wisely submitted to them in fear of their wrath, Morocco felt disappointed to see his sister not touching the pen and glaring at him with deadly venom, Algeria being a stubborn woman refused. Admittedly that did upset him a little, which got worse when Tunisia then Egypt refused.

Algeria and Tunisia… His two troublesome siblings. Morocco felt pity for them, they should know that the longer they remain free, the deeper they dig their graves. Not that he was planning to kill them, no. He has no reason to, but they will have to deal with him, Nigeria and Cameroon.

His sister was dead set on defying him, no matter how much he tried to reason with her stubborn mind. Oh yes, he had been visiting his sister, twice actually, in her dreams. Morocco thought it would be fun to infuriate her a little. Taunt her, intimidate her, anger her, make her despair.

Algeria looked so confident as she kept a fiery glare that would have burned him alive, she sounded so brave from how she spat at him and insulted him. It actually made him excited, excited to shatter that courage into a million pieces. This was making him smile a wide toothy grin that frightened the two Sudans.

Oh yes, he was torturing these two, he forgot they were even here. Morocco took a deep breath and was about to continue with what he started, but the sound of the door opening stopped him. The Moroccan turned around and saw Liberia making his way toward him. Before Morocco could ask, Liberia leaned near his ear and whispered something very interesting to him.

Interesting, very, very, _very_ interesting.

/ / / / / /

Kenya lost count of how many hours she had spent glaring at Cameroon, she was sure it was a lot, but she didn't really care, she was pissed off at what Cameroon was doing to them. Kenya kept her chocolate brown eyes narrowed at said nation who was currently lying down on the floor, deathly still like a corpse and calmly asleep or just not caring that Kenya was angry.

She had no idea how he could sleep so comfortingly on the floor, and so quickly too. Cameroon just suddenly laid on the floor, close his eyes then just like that he effortlessly fell asleep. She also had to sleep on the floor the last few days since there weren't beds and it was very uncomfortable, it would take hours of turning around and hitting her head for her to get some sleep.

So, in addition to being frustrated, she was tired.

Cameroon looked so peaceful as Kenya watched his sleepy blank face, so calm, and oblivious. Completely unaware of what's currently happening.

Now that she thought about it, she could easily kill him like this, strangle him to death. It would keep him dead for at least an hour, enough time for her to sneak out to get Uganda some food and medicine or bandages for Ethiopia.

Kenya looked behind her where Uganda was currently on the ground hugging his stomach, a pained look on his face. She frowned then glanced at Ethiopia, who was resting with the wound on his abdomen starting to heal, but still winced every few minutes.

Looking at the two of them like this, it filled her with rage, and with that she made up her mind. Furious eyes on Cameroon's neck, Kenya quietly began to stand up from the floor, moving very slowly and carefully so Cameroon wouldn't wake up. She heard shuffling and she glanced back to see Uganda looking up at her tiredly.

Uganda saw her stand up and he looked at her worriedly. "Kenya… What…?" he murmured quietly.

Kenya put her index finger in front of her lips and narrowed her eyes, Uganda understood the message and shut up but then he mouthed "what are you doing?", and she saw that Ethiopia was now awake and looking at them confusedly through tired eyes. Kenya only glanced at Cameroon then back at Uganda and Ethiopia, put her finger in front of her lips and quietly crept towards the sleeping nation.

Kenya slowly crouched down so her hands could snuff out that bastard's life, but before she could even bring them down, Cameroon's eyes snapped open.

Startled, she tumbled to the floor, quickly scooting away from the lion whose sleep she just disturbed and felt a bit of panic as Cameroon's cold eyes traveled to her, clearly not looking happy. The tall nation blinked his dark amber orbs, regarding Kenya for a few seconds with an unreadable expression, then sat up, picked up his glasses and put them on.

Well, shit.

Cameroon continued to stare at her and Kenya had to wonder how much of his self restraint he was using to stop himself from brutally killling her here and now. The cold expression then turned into a furious glare, but just as he opened his mouth to say something the door swung open.

"Hey, big guy!" An overly cheerful voice greeted, and Kenya scowled when she saw it was a grinning Nigeria. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything too important!"

Cameroon sighed in exasperation, obviously annoyed at Nigeria's arrival and interruption. "Adigun…" Cameroon greeted coldly, not even bothering to look. "What do you want?"

Nigeria's grin turned into a sinister smirk, and Kenya felt baffled when he responded by speaking in some language that she didn't understand. If she had to guess it was a language of an African ethnic group, probably one of Nigeria's. Though she was at a loss at which one it could be. Yoruba? Hausa? Igbo? Kenya scowled. It's hard to guess when Nigeria has over 500 of them.

Whatever it was, Cameroon understood it, because he widened his eyes and stood up to walk towards his companion. Cameroon looked surprised and exclaimed something in the same language Nigeria spoke, or probably another one. Again, hard to guess when Cameroon has over 200 of them.

This went for about a minute, with Nigeria calmly telling Cameroon about someone or something or probably both and Cameroon asking about someone or something or probably both. Kenya felt both awkward and annoyed. Nigeria said something again then gestured towards the door, Cameroon said a short response and nodded, then Nigeria turned around to leave with Cameroon following.

Before Cameroon could go through the door, he glanced back to give them one last glare, then slammed the door shut. Leaving behind three confused nations yet again.

/ / / / / /

Lesotho wanted nothing more than to curl himself up in a ball right now, to hide from the nation next to him that was cheerfully going on and on about something or something else. He didn't know exactly what he was talking about, he was too scared to pay attention, the fear was fogging his senses. But Lesotho felt compelled to do so, out of fear of what South Africa might do if he found out that Lesotho wasn't listening.

He hated how cowardly he looked and sounded but he didn't want South Africa to hurt him.

Fear. He felt nothing but fear in South Africa's presence. Lesotho was sure that South Africa was enjoying seeing him shaking and whimpering.

It would probably make South Africa overjoyed to see him burst into tears, which he was very tempted to do.

Seeing South Africa so bright and happy as he talked and smiled cheerfully and benevolently at Lesotho filled him with despair. It reminded the child nation of what it was like not so long ago when South Africa would spend all day telling Lesotho exciting stories. Back when Lesotho and the others didn't know how he _really_ was. When Lesotho looked up to South Africa.

"Lesotho." A Dutch accented voice snapped Lesotho out of his thoughts, and he saw South Africa looking at him expectantly. "Have you been paying attention to what I've been saying?"

"Y-Yes, I am!" Lesotho said quickly, desperately hoping South Africa won't push it.

South Africa laughed cheerfully at Lesotho's frightened response and patted his head, much to the child's squirming. "Good, I'm glad you're listening, because I would have been _very_ offended if you've been ignoring me during the last few minutes."

The threatening undertone in the rainbow nation's happiness sent shivers down Lesotho's spine. "I-I have been listening, Chris! I-I would never ignore you, I swear!"

"Now, now, Nkau, you're still a kid, you shouldn't swear." South Africa said affectionately.

"I-I'm sorry! I won't do it again!" Lesotho apologized fearfully.

"Aw, don't worry about it, no need to panic." South Africa waved it off, then put on a thoughtful expression as he crossed his arms. "Now, where was I…"

Don't ask. Don't ask. Don't ask. Don't ask.

After a few seconds South Africa snapped his fingers and beamed. "Ah, that's right! I was telling you about the African Union meeting! Silly me for forgetting. Now, Lesotho, you of course remember that day clearly, no? It was just a few days ago, after all."

Lesotho nodded, trying to ignore his sweating. "Y-Yes, of course I do!"

"But what you don't know, is what happened behind the scenes." South Africa grinned, wrapping his arm around a nervous Lesotho, who tensed at the action. "Oh, Lesotho, you have no idea how excited the five of us were that day. We could hardly contain our bloodlust when our leaders announced that it's time, the two days we had to wait for the meeting felt like forever!"

South Africa went on and on about how ecstatic he was during that day, how they organized everything, and how he wanted to burst out laughing at their reactions. Lesotho felt a little queasy when he heard the part about Namibia, while South Africa smiled like it was all a joke.

"Luckily, most of the continent were smart and gave in to our wishes quickly for their safety. I'm really glad that you signed, Lesotho, I would have hated to go with my threat. Although… now that I think about it…" South Africa's kind demeanor vanished to be replaced by a dark smile. "It's not like you had a choice to begin with."

"C-Chris…" Lesotho tried to scoot away, but the other nation gripped his shoulder tightly.

"Ah-ah-ah…" South Africa wagged a finger, the malice in his eyes shining. "What did I tell you just now? Are you that eager to see me angry?"

Lesotho immediately panicked and shook his head frantically, on the verge on crying. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Don't! I don't want to make you angry! I won't run!"

The child nation's fear pleased South Africa and the nation chuckled darkly. "Now that is the sort of obedience I like to see. It's nice to see that you are completely aware of your situation and accepted it, I knew you were a smart child."

Lesotho sobbed and buried his face in his knees. He wanted to be as far away as possible from this place, or at least South Africa could go away!

"You know, you know very well of your position, and why you cannot do anything." South Africa said softly, grabbing the back of Lesotho's shirt so the child nation could face the smirking man. "You depend on me, you _need_ me. You can't afford to disobey or anger me, or else you and your people will suffer without my support."

He began to whimper, and he struggled to hold back his tears. "I know."

"You know another thing?" South Africa smiled viciously. "In the event that something does happen to me and I'm not here anymore… just how will that affect you?"

"I-I'll collapse." Lesotho sobbed.

"Presies, kleintjie. So, I trust that I can count on your loyalty?"

"Y-Yes, always."

"You'll follow whatever orders I give you without question?"

"Y-Yes."

South Africa gave a chilling carnivorous smile, very happy with the responses. "Excellent. Then you have nothing to fear, as long as you don't cause trouble no harm will come to you, I can promise you that."

"Th-Thank you." Lesotho said quietly.

"I know what you're thinking, it's probably been on your mind for a while now. Why does South Africa bother keeping me around? Why hasn't he annexed me? He could do it without breaking a sweat. What if one day he decides to get rid of me?" South Africa said mockingly. Then without warning, he pulled Lesotho into an embrace. "Well, it's because I like you, Nkau."

"Wh-What… You do?" Lesotho asked disbelievingly.

"Ja, I like you _very_ much." South Africa cooed, stroking Lesotho's back comfortingly, it felt _too_ comforting. "Besides, how can I possibly hurt someone as cute as you?"

The rainbow nation then proceeded to pinch Lesotho's cheeks, much to the child's discomfort. Lesotho winced and rubbed his cheeks, looking up at South Africa nervously. "So you won't destroy me? I won't be… annexed?"

"Nee. Continue being the cute obedient little boy you are, and you're safe." South Africa promised, though Lesotho didn't feel very safe at the thought of his future in the hands of South Africa.

"Chris." A new voice entered the conversation, and Lesotho gasped when he saw Morocco standing not so far from them, a mysterious smile on his face.

"Rahim." South Africa greeted. "What brings you here? Need a little help with your toys?"

"Oh, no, no need." Morocco chuckled, shaking his head. "South Sudan gave up an hour ago, but I didn't come here to tell you that. Liberia came a little while ago to inform me of some interesting news, a little idea he had which I'm sure will make things even more exciting"

"Oh?" South Africa stood up, walking over to Morocco with a smirk. "Do tell."

Morocco leaned over to whisper something in South Africa's ear. The spiky haired nation listened with interest and nodded occasionally, and when Morocco was finished he had a smirk spread across his face. South Africa put his hand on his chin and looked thoughtful.

"Well…" South Africa smiled at Lesotho. "It looks like our talk will have to be cut short. Don't worry, I'll be back soon!"

Lesotho only blinked in confusion as South Africa quickly walked away. Morocco gave him a smile and then did the same. Deciding not to question it, Lesotho stood up from the couch and ran off to return to his room. The important thing was that South Africa left.

/ / / / / /

The Democratic Republic of the Congo was not happy with his current situation, other than the captivity and being tied to a chair until he signs a damn piece of paper. This wasn't because of the current problem or his apparently improving conflicts, it's because he is being dragged through the hallways by none other than Liberia.

The teen really did inherit America's inhuman strength.

It wouldn't bother him that much if he wasn't being dragged by the hand like a child. Not only did it feel awkward, but it was by someone who was _younger_ than him, Liberia is a teenager and DRC is a young adult. DR Congo was glad there didn't seem to be anyone around at the moment to witness the odd sight.

As for why he was being towed by Liberia, the boy explained that they were going to a room to meet with the others, to talk about his possible recruitment into their ranks.

He wasn't lying when he said to Liberia he was interested. The possibility of getting justice for everything Belgium did to him… for all he has suffered… for all his people have suffered. The idea was very appealing.

To see Belgium writhe in agony and beg for mercy only to be rejected like so many of his people have been under her goddamn king… it was extremely tempting.

DRC would be lying if he said that the idea of revenge hadn't crossed his mind throughout the years, it was actually in the plan when he was fighting for independence. But his people needed him, they were in poverty, suffering and hurt, hurt thanks to _her_ , so he decided to help his people first. He would help his people who suffered at her hand first, then avenge them for everything they've been through later.

But eventually, as his people got into more problems, as his country sank into chaos, as his civil war raged his land. it was forgotten.

But he didn't forget what happened.

He _never_ forgot.

And he _never_ will.

But now, he had a chance, an offering that he wanted to take. However, it was offered by someone of a group of liars, nations who have lied for years. How he could he trust liars? How could he trust them after that whole incident at the African Union meeting? Liberia thinks that he and his friends can convince him.

Speaking of the Devil, Liberia stopped, and DRC nearly bumped into him. The teen turned around to give him a bright smile. "This is it, they're all waiting inside~"

DRC glanced up at the door in front of them, this was the door that led into the AU meeting room and frowned. "The African Union meeting room? Really?"

"We need somewhere private, so why not here?" Liberia shrugged, and let go of DRC's hand to walk towards the door.

DRC put his hands in the pockets of his military jacket, waiting, then looked up to see Liberia staring at him curiously. "What? What are you looking at?"

"You're not running." Liberia noted.

"What do you mean?" DRC asked, raising an eyebrow.

"When I let go of your hand, it was the perfect chance for someone to run away, yet you didn't. You don't want to." Liberia stated, a grin starting to form on his face.

"You think that you and the other four can change my mind about joining you, you think you can convince me." DR Congo said, a determined expression on his face. "I'm willing to listen to what you all have to say."

Liberia made an overjoyed sound that sounded like a squeal, which sounded very odd and wrong coming from a boy, causing DRC to cringe a little at both the strangeness and how loud it was. The teenage African nation took DR Congo by the hand again, much to his chagrin, and led him to the door. Liberia gave him one last grin before he kicked the door open and dragged the slightly anxious DRC in.

Upon entering the meeting room, DR Congo was immediately greeted by the sight of South Africa, Nigeria, Morocco and Cameroon near the table, obviously having been waiting for their arrival. He couldn't help but feel a little tense when realized he was going to be alone with the five of them, but he wanted to come, and the other four seemed delighted when they saw him. Morocco gave an enigmatic smile as he drank his tea, Nigeria immediately gave him a wide Cheshire grin, Cameroon's face remained blank, but the previous hostility seemed to have vanished, and South Africa smirked.

"Hello, Congo…" South Africa clapped his hands, a strange light gleaming in his eyes. "We've all been waiting for you, eagerly."

"I can see that, South Africa…" DRC deadpanned and then crossed his arms, he wished he had some weapon on his person, not to harm them but so he could feel safe.

"You're tense, nervous, anxious, you don't feel safe with us." Cameroon noted, slightly taking DRC aback, and frowned. "You shouldn't feel that way with us."

"Why? Why shouldn't I?" DRC spat, glaring. "I don't trust any of you, I have no reason to, so why should I let my guard down?"

"Because we have no intention hurting you, after all, you are just like us." He whirled around to see Nigeria behind him, tilting his head and smiling. "If anything, you should feel right at home with us."

"Just like you?" DRC repeated, confused at what could that mean. "How am I like just like you?"

"Nigeria's right." Morocco remarked, leaning his head on his hand. "You have more in common with us than you realized, Congo, we can understand you better than anyone else can."

South Africa walked towards him until he was only centimeters from DR Congo, he tensed a little, but became confused when South Africa put his hand on DRC's cheek and started caressing it, gently and lovingly. "Democratic Republic of the Congo… you've suffered so much haven't you? And you still do today."

"Wh-What are you…" DRC asked confusedly, but South Africa continued.

"Just how many conflicts have you suffered? How many humans have been left dead on the streets? How many of your corrupt politicians continue to ruin you? But who played a role in causing all this in attempt to keep their hold on you?"

DR Congo clenched his fists; those questions caused a combination of negative emotions to rise up in him. But more predominantly, anger.

"For most of your childhood, you've been broken, beaten and suppressed by the nation who is famous for her cheerfulness and kind sisterly love, Belgium." Cameroon spat, disgust evident in his tone. "Everyone loves to ignore the fact that she and her people did unspeakable things to you."

"Many would never believe that sweet waffle-loving Belgium treats you like you're a child, like you're still her slave." Nigeria said rather bitterly. "People know what England and France did to us but ask about what Belgium did and you'll get head scratching as a response."

DRC began to grit his teeth so hardly they might as well shatter, he wasn't angry because of the reminder, he was angry because it was _true_.

"Belgium really is overshowed by all her flashy neighbors, but it allowed her to fade into the background so no one could persecute her, to hide from her sins." Morocco mocked. "It wasn't until recently that she admitted that she was "morally responsible" for the assassination of one of your bosses, and she only did it because she was pressured to."

"Just like she only annexed you not out of kindness or guilt…" Liberia frowned in distaste. "She did it because of pressure, so she wouldn't look bad."

"Even then, things got hardly got better, didn't they?" South Africa said, grimacing. "Only a little. But your people continued to suffer while Belgium's people had the time of their lives. It reminds me of the Apartheid, they're both disgustingly similar, don't you think?"

DRC gasped when he felt someone lift his shirt and ran their hand through his chest, where many scars of all shapes and sizes were, proof of his past and present suffering during all of his hardships. The hardships that he and his people were put through.

"Tell me, are those scars from your civil wars... or from your days as the Congo Free State?" Cameroon whispered, and DRC shoved him away to cover himself, but this didn't deter Cameroon. "Or did Belgium give you these herself? In an attempt to "tame" you."

"Everything... all of them..." DR Congo murmured, clutching his shirt, gritting his teeth with a pained expression. "All of the murders, the torture, the diseases..." He trailed off as looked at his hands, now bleeding from how tight he was clenching them, he didn't notice that they were bleeding.

He didn't even feel the pain. He was so used to waking up every morning to severe pain in his chest and stomach that he hasn't felt actual pain in years. That's how broken he was.

"How much of your pain has Belgium contributed? How much did you bleed in her attempts to cling to your nation, to power?" Morocco asked.

"Even after all these years she still doesn't respect you as an equal." South Africa said. "Every time she sees you, she treats you like you're an ignorant student and she's the teacher who knows best."

DRC felt himself tremble in rage and once again clenched his hands despite their torn state, not feeling a single ounce of pain, as the memories surfaced. That's right... that bitch... she just loved to act as if he's still her colony.

Old habits die hard, after all.

She always thinks she knows what's best for him, with her disgusting smile, her disgusting bright green eyes, her disgusting cheerfulness, her disgusting plainness, her disgusting loving voice, her disgusting habit of walking into his affairs...

Everything about her disgusts him more than any of the horrific things that happen in his nation.

"How long have you been hurt by both humans and nations?" Liberia asked. "How long have you been in pain because of them?"

He then felt someone cup his face in their hands, and he saw Nigeria smiling lovingly at him, the nation leaned closer to DRC's face much to his discomfort. "Don't tell me you forgot about everyone and everything that happened during the Congo Free State. All the atrocities, all the corpses, the forced labor, the starvation... did it all slip out of your mind?"

DRC felt the world suddenly freeze as soon as Nigeria asked that question.

"But you didn't… did you?"

He suddenly felt himself getting tossed into a whirlpool of memories, he felt his headache return with a vengeance and as the world dissolved into nothingness he fell to his knees and clutched his head. He gritted his teeth as he tried to keep his head and not scream, but he found that he was starting to struggle to think straight. But then it all stopped, and when he opened his eyes he felt his heart stop.

He was a child again, a clueless and confused little boy, dressed in nothing but a tattered scrap of clothing around his waist. He was the Congo Free State again. DR Congo felt fear and confusion creep up at the situation and he looked around frantically to see where he was, begging to not let it be the…

No, he was in a village, he knew this place, he had been here before. It was pretty much just like any other village you'd find during this period, natives with simple lives, doing simple things, enjoying their peace. He _knew_ this place, but… then that means…

The child DRC heard yelling and the sounds of hundreds to thousands of footsteps marching growing louder with every second. That and the stench of fire meant only thing, one thing that made DRC's blood freeze and tremble in fear.

The Force Republique.

Belgium's king's monstrous private army.

He immediately went with his first instinct, _run_. DRC ran as fast as he could but then he stopped in his tracks when he came across a horrific sight. The private army were burning the village, burning it to the ground, because they were resisting the Belgian's king. He saw one of them break into one of the houses, the screams of both children and women were heard shortly after. He saw another soldier drag a wailing native woman to the back, to do what soldiers typically do when they sack cities.

But what traumatized him the most…. were the children.

There at least half a dozen of soldiers, who he's ashamed to acknowledge were once his people, cornering a small group of cowering children his age. Those children were so scared, they probably just saw their parents or older siblings get brutally killed, they probably have no idea what was going on, they didn't do anything wrong.

The soldiers took out a long sharp weapon and snatched the children by the wrists, the children huddled closer together and their terrified cries could be heard for miles, and then…

"NO!" DR Congo screamed, running towards them just as the soldiers brought down their weapons, but his voice was muted by all the chaos happening around him and he heard the sky-shattering screams of the children.

Next thing he knew, DRC was running away, tears streaming down his face and his feet getting cut and bruised by running so long barefoot. But he ignored the pain, and he needed to escape from the army, they were in here in the rainforest looking for him, they didn't know and probably didn't care he was their personification and a child, they just want to hunt him down.

All the adrenaline from his fear was one of the only things keeping him from getting tired, as well as the possibilities of what the Force Republique would do to him if they found him. They can't find him. He doesn't want to suffer more than he already did, he doesn't want to go through with it again.

He heard faint yelling in the background and he tried to get himself to go faster, but then he shrieked when he tripped on a rock and fell to the ground on his face, the impact scraping his face and knees. DRC whimpered from the pain and he cried when he touched his cheek, his knees and a bit of his lower leg were bleeding. The tears came down like a waterfall and he struggled to get back on his feet. He heard yelling again, this time a lot louder, and this helped him get up and move.

He felt that his cheek was burning, and his knees and legs stung with every step, but this was nothing compared to what the army might do. The voices kept getting louder, they heard him screaming and they were getting closer, he had to hide. That was the only thing that could save him now.

DRC looked around frantically and spotted a group of large plants, he briefly glanced behind him and hid there, making sure he was complete hidden. After a minute he heard footsteps, leaves rustling, and the angry barks of the soldiers. They seemed to be arguing with each other for losing him, then after a few minutes of yelling, they left, and DRC sighed in relief.

He noticed how exhausted he was from all the running and injuries, and his eyelids started to feel heavy. He was safe for now, so perhaps he can get some rest before moving on in the morning, he needs sleep for the next day, which will be just as difficult. He got himself comfortable, or at least as much as he could, he spent a minute staring at the sky full of magnificent stars and smiling, before finally drifting off to sleep.

He slept surprisingly well, despite his worries and stress, and he woke up getting blinded by the sun. DRC took a deep breath and let it out, it was time to move again, and tried to lift himself up only to remain on the ground. Baffled, he tried to use his arms… but something didn't feel right. Widening his eyes, he felt dread build up inside of him as he slowly went to look at his arms.

He didn't have his hands.

DRC screamed and the world around him shattered into a million pieces. He then relived many more of his colonial memories. He found himself witnessing several of workers who refused to continue get whipped by the accursed chicotte, he was taken to room filled with his people dying of smallpox, sleeping sickness, influenza, syphilis… He saw his people brutally killing each other… The last one stood out the most…

It was when he became Belgian Congo, his people were poor and devastated, he was looking at them worriedly when he saw none other then Belgium herself not far from him. There she was dressed in her pretty dress and pretty jewelry, not paying the people much mind, and then she saw him. Belgium gave him her cat like smile then left. Just like that, not caring that he and his people were dying.

She was hardly any better than her ass of a king. His people may not be mutilated or tortured or forced to work on hellish conditions, but they were far from living happily. But for some reason she interfered after his independence because she was "worried" about him. _Worried_.

That… bitch.

He felt all the rage building up from seeing all of his memories reach the limit and something inside of him broke as he returned to reality. His hands were drenched in blood by now, but he didn't care. He. Didn't. Care. As he fully returned, he felt his cheeks wet and he realized they were tears. He was crying.

At this point, DRC was broken, and he felt devastated from all his misery as he screamed in despair. He dropped to his knees and punched the ground again and again as the tears flooded his eyes and the ground cracked. He sobbed and wailed, but then he felt someone hug him from behind.

"Hey… it's okay." Liberia said softly, warmly, comfortingly. "You're not alone, you never were, and never will be."

"We know exactly how you feel, similar things happened to us." Nigeria said, circling around DRC. "We watched helplessly as our kingdoms were crushed, our villages burned, our women raped, our people forced into hellish labor, our ways suppressed… all for power and to "civilize" us."

"But no more." Cameroon cracked his knuckles. "We're going to make them pay and be the ones on top. We're going to be ones crushing them. They want savages? We'll give them savages."

"Now we can all try to forget the past, I can forgive some of my enemies and I know it sounds petty..." Morocco smiled, then snarled and crushed the teacup in his hand. "But I just hate seeing France live, don't you feel the same way about Belgium?"

"We want to help you… we want you to join us" Liberia said, whispered. "We'll help you get revenge on Belgium,"

"We'll make her pay for every worker tortured…" Nigeria swiped his knife.

"Every child mutilated…" Cameroon punched the wall.

"Every single atrocity and crime against you during your whole life." Morocco smirked.

South Africa walked in front of him and crouched down to his level, smiling. "If you want to get the revenge and justice you've been craving for years, if you want to give that bitch what she deserves, if you want to paint Europe with blood…" He reached out his hand in front of DRC. "Then take my hand!"

DRC felt the tears streaming down and all the negative emotions raging in his heart. He felt all the anger, the rage, the hate, the despair, the hunger for blood. He wanted to join them, their group was going to win anyway. Why not join to get justice? Why not seize the opportunity? How could he refuse?

DR Congo wiped the tears off his face and grabbed South Africa's hand.

 **Welp, well that's that! DRC went to the other side. You know, the funny thing is that I originally planned to include DRC but I guess I sort of forgot. But that won't do! Since this criticizes European colonialism, I can't ignore DRC. Have any of you read about the Congo Free State? It's horrifying! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to leave a review! They're really helpful for motivation!**


	15. Never Forget: And let it bloom

**Thanks to Eternal Nexus Warrior, NadiaJA627 and Carmen for reviewing. A little warning... this chapter is uh... bloody and a little disturbing, just what you'd expect from the African Five. So... yeah... Now, on with the show!**

In a city in a dry and sparsely populated desert territory, in Northern Africa, the people there went on in their everyday lives in their rather uneventful home. Not paying much mind to what was happening in the outside world. However, there was one person in particular who was thinking about that a lot in the last few days. That person was a woman currently walking on the streets with her hands behind her back and a frown on her face.

She looked just like most of the residents here, with tanned skin and brown eyes. Her clothes were just like the other women in the region. She was wearing a violet and magenta scarf rapped around her head with one loose strand of her black hair showing, a traditional black daara robe and black sandals for the weather.

She hasn't seen Morocco or any other nation in a while, so she had to wonder if he was too busy and forgot or maybe he didn't want to see her. She wasn't willing to wait for him to show up and tell her himself, she was done with waiting, done with dealing with Morocco. She just wanted him to give her nationhood and never come to her land again.

But as much as she wanted that, another thought, a worry, was slowly eating away her mind. Is Algeria alright? That thought had been haunting her since this started, the worry for a close friend and someone she considered to be a sister, a great sister. A sister she had lied to for years.

The woman bit her lip and looked away in guilt, inwardly cursing Morocco. That man was the reason she had been through a lot of trouble, the reason she had to lie to the people she cared about so that Morocco and his friends wouldn't harm her or her people.

She would remain silent, or they would silence her.

Now as much as she wanted to see Algeria again, to make sure she was alright and wasn't harmed by Morocco, she didn't know if she could face Algeria and tell her that she knew about Morocco's true nature and the New World Order. For years she was drowning in guilt for remaining silent, and she feared how Algeria would feel. Her friend was probably already furious with Morocco's lies.

As a prisoner/hostage/unwilling accomplice of the New World Order, she knew to an extent what they were capable of, she saw how the African five are, she saw how the other members are. They all range in their moral code and approach to situations.

In fact, she's sure the only reason she's still here standing and in one piece was because Prussia and Austria weren't cruel enough to destroy her for an accidental discovery, they gave her a deal and she took it for the sake of survival and her people.

The woman looked up where there were multiple poles with the flag of the Kingdom of Morocco flying high, and she narrowed her eyes.

For now, she should focus on getting Morocco's attention. And to do that, she needed to create a disturbance. It's time for her to finally get her independence.

/ / / / / /

DRC leaned against the wall, crossing his arms as he watched South Africa talk with someone on the phone, one of their leaders according to Liberia, one of DRC's new leaders. He made up his mind, he joined them, he'll torture Belgium and help them however he can. The five had told him about their plans, and he agreed to what they were supposed to do. He wondered how the other Africans will react to him joining the enemy. Should he feel guilty?

Because he doesn't.

After he grabbed South Africa's hand, after he agreed to join them, he felt… different. He felt refreshed, liberated… _free_. Like a large weight that's he's been carrying for years was lifted off his shoulders. He couldn't really explain it but it felt nice.

He really wished Nigeria hadn't made him relive all his colonial memories, he'd rather think about the days of the Congo Free State as little as possible, but DRC supposed he needed a reminder of what Belgium did to him. He could forgive Nigeria for that.

"So..." The sound if Liberia's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he saw the teen grinning at him. "How does it feel?"

"What?" DRC raised an eyebrow.

Liberia giggled, which again sounded both strange and wrong, and stood on his toes to lean uncomfortably close to DRC's face. "You know what I mean. How does it feel to have joined the winning team? Tell me."

"How does it feel..." DRC trailed off as he looked at his hands then looked up to smile at Liberia. "You're right, it does feel nice. But also... I feel... free in a strange way."

"Oh..." Liberia tilted his head. "Is that so?"

"Yes, it's... hard to explain but it's as if-"

"As if a long hard burden has been lifted off your shoulders?" Morocco chimed in, DRC widened his eyes as the man smiled knowingly. "Yes, it's a wonderful feeling isn't it?"

Before DRC could ask, South Africa said a quick goodbye and turned around to grin at the other five Africans. "They approve." And then spread his arms as he looked directly at DRC. "And so Congo on behalf of our leaders we welcome you into our ranks. I look forward to seeing what you can do."

The four Africans shared the same grin as South African and rejoiced at the news. DR Congo felt a smirk form on his face. He really is looking forward to creating carnage with them, test his newly developed bloodlust. Perhaps in the process he can also try out cannibalism, see for himself its appeal.

He always wondered why the Batetela people in his country found it so delicious back then.

DR Congo felt someone wrap their arms around his shoulders and saw Nigeria smiling strangely at him. "I wonder… Just how will you fit in our little group?"

DRC slightly frowned in distaste. "Is there any reason for the close contact, Nigeria?"

"Is there any reason why I can't?" Nigeria asked softly.

"Well, it's very uncomfortable for one." DRC muttered, and tried to get Nigeria to release him, which proved to be very difficult. "Very, _very_ uncomfortable. So, if you would kindly let me go…"

"I'll help you with that." Cameroon came over and easily pulled off Nigeria off of DRC by the collar of his shirt, with little to no effort. Nigeria looked disappointed as Cameroon gave him a stern look and muttered something under his breath then gave DRC an apologetic look. "Forgive him. He gets easily excited."

"Plus…" Liberia chimed in, looking exasperatedly at Nigeria. "It really hurts to hear and watch. Like, a lot."

"Does it happen a lot?" DRC asked as he watched Nigeria talk happily with an irritated Cameroon.

Liberia snorted, winking mischievously at DRC. "Too much for my patience. But if you think that's painful, then you should see how he and South Africa-"

A hand suddenly slapped against Liberia's mouth prevented him from continuing, and DRC felt amused as South Africa scowled at a muffled Liberia trying to get the former's hand off. South Africa sighed then smiled at DRC. "Anyway, I have another piece of news involving you from our leaders."

"What do you mean?" DRC asked.

"Well, it…" South Africa trailed off as he widened his eyes slightly at looked at Liberia unimpressively. "Biting my hand? Then also using it as a chance to feed yourself? Really, Liberia? _Really?_ Come on, I thought you grew past those types of childish actions. But you look like you're enjoying me, so if it'll keep you quiet…"

Liberia hummed happily and continued chewing while DRC raised an eyebrow at the odd sight, one that many people could consider messed up and disturbing but having seen many horrifying things himself, this was nothing. He remembered when Liberia ate parts Brazzaville's skin, and having seen and heard of the others' love for carnage, he assumed that the other four also partake in cannibalism.

But he didn't think they would also eat each other and gladly let them.

South Africa doesn't seem to mind at all, he didn't look in pain or anything, in fact he looked entertained at seeing Liberia enjoying eating him. It was strange. It was like when you feed a dog some special treats, and you smile at the sight of the dog happily gorging them down, you like that its enjoying what you gave. That was the only situation he could think of that feels similar.

DRC looked at an amused South Africa. "He's really eating your hand?"

"Ja, and the kleintjie seems to be loving it." South Africa remarked, smirking when Liberia made an indignant sound. "Now, now, just continue biting the hand that's feeding you. Heh, I should write that down."

"Do you do that with each other often? Do you feel pain?"

"We all have a high pain tolerance." Cameroon said, snapping his gloves. "Like you, we feel little to no pain if we get any sort of injury."

"As for the other thing… it's actually a rare occurrence." Morocco said as he smiled at South Africa and Liberia. "Usually we only cannibalize each other if we're tired and hungry and there's no one in the area we can use as rations. Other times it happens when we're training."

"But we never mean any harm." Nigeria grinned. "If one of us is starving and there's no other way, then we'll gladly give ourselves to him, so he can regain his energy."

Oh, that sounds nice of them, even comforting.

"Oh! I almost forgot what I needed to tell you! Silly me for getting distracted." South Africa smiled sheepishly, then darkly at DRC. "Our leaders have something magnificent planned for you, Congo, something you will love _very_ much."

"Really? What would that be?" DRC asked, wondering what his new leaders could have planned.

South Africa just laughed. "You'll see. I guarantee you'll return with a big smile on your face. Nigeria!"

"Hmm?" Nigeria hummed curiously.

"Can you take all of us to somewhere over a thousand miles from here? Do you think you have the energy for that?" South Africa asked.

Nigeria contemplated that, he crossed his arms and put on a thoughtful face, then smiled and nodded. "Yes, it'll leave me a little tired, but I'm sure I can get us there and back without passing out. Why? Are we going on a trip?"

"Ja, a fun little trip to Europe." South Africa removed his hand from Liberia's mouth, much to the latter's displeasure, now bloodied and went to wrap his arm around a confused DRC. "How about we go to visit your former colonizer?"

/ / / / / /

South Africa smirked as he saw the Royal Palace of Brussels through a picture frame formed with his fingers, trying to imagine the multiple things that Cameroon and Morocco are doing out back with the pathetic guards, Nigeria with the security system, and Liberia with spying on the inside. Next to him was an irritated DR Congo gritting his teeth and scowling at the fact that they're on Belgian soil, the capital no less!

When they arrived, DRC was infuriated when he realized where they were, the last thing he wanted was to breath the same air Belgium does. It took a bit of a while to calm him down and go along with the plan that they still haven't quite explained to him.

No wonder he was still seething.

It also didn't help that they were at the _royal_ palace, the words "Belgian" and "royalty" was more than enough to set DRC off, they just needed him to hold back his anger just a little bit more and it'll be all worth it.

He heard DRC growl again. "When exactly are you going to explain to me what we're doing in _this_ place. The place that _he_ helped built, the place where he walked around with his goddamn air of arrogance and sat in his damn throne?! Where he laughed at me and mocked me!"

"By "he" do you mean Leopold II?" South Africa asked innocently, intentionally provoking him.

"Of course it's Leopold II! Who else?!" DRC screamed in rage, clenching his fists tightly as he seethed. "How could you bring me here?! Don't you know how I feel?"

"Ja, I do. I feel the same way when I have to go to London." South Africa frowned at the thought.

"Then why would you do this to me?!" DRC cried out in despair, clutching his head. "This place… I hate this place. Whenever she would bring me here in front of her king, the man-whore would sneer at me! Look at me with contempt and ownership as he bragged on to the other European fools about how a model my land was back then! About how _great_ he treated me!"

"I know what happened." South Africa lowered his hands and turned to face the angry Congolese man. "Calm down, I promise that-"

"He insulted me, said I was a savage, that I should be grateful and that I have no choice in anything!" DRC went on as if South Africa hadn't spoken. "Then after that Belgium would pick me up and dress me up like a doll with "proper" clothing! Telling me how I can't speak my languages, that I can only speak in French, Dutch or English! She was suffocating me!"

"Dikembe…" South Africa began, starting to feel worried.

"And the bible! Don't you dare get me started with the bible!"

"Dikembe…"

"I could go on all day telling you how-"

"CONGO!" South Africa shouted, which made DRC go silent but still shook in anger, and that's when South Africa noticed the man crying. Frowning, he rested his hand on DRC's shoulder then tilted his chin up. "Hey… Do you seriously think I don't know how you feel? That England didn't do the same thing with me and Nigeria? Or France with Cameroon and Morocco?"

"I…" DRC closed his eyes, letting some tears fall, which South Africa wiped away with his finger.

South Africa cupped DRC's face in his hand. "I hated it, I hated it all, the patronizing and arrogance, I hated it with every fiber of my being. You have my deepest sympathies. Believe when I say we wouldn't have brought you here if we didn't have a good reason."

"It better be a good one." DR Congo muttered.

"It is." South Africa assured, then heard a buzzing noise coming from the pocket of his jacket, he took it out and smirked when saw the message from Nigeria.

 _Disabled security cameras. Liberia's with me. Morocco and Cameroon took out all guards ;)_

"Well…" South Africa smiled ferociously, then took DRC by the hands, much to the latter's visible uncomfortable expression. "It looks like the others are done with their tasks, let's meet up with them, shall we?"

There was a strong lack of people today walking by the palace, further facilitating their entrance inside instead of going through the trouble of eliminating witnesses and risk attracting attention, but he couldn't help but feel disappointed that he won't feel the thrill of a challenge. South Africa quickly climbed up the wall and helped DRC up too, they both jumped down and made their way further inside.

On the way South Africa smirked when he passed by the corpses of some humans splattered on the ground, their blood on the walls and bodies heavily maimed with evident signs of cannibalism. It looks they worked up quite the appetite today, he touched his stomach, he was feeling a little hungry too. South Africa was tempted to dive in for a quick meal, but it could wait.

He glanced back and saw DRC staring at the bodies with indifference, but South Africa saw a small smirk form, it looked like he was starting to embrace his sadism. It will only get stronger after today, very much.

Eventually they reached the back where the other four were waiting for them. Nigeria was engrossed with dismantling a security camera while Liberia watched, while Morocco and Cameroon were biting off pieces of what looked like a heart. They all looked up to see their arrival.

"All set?" South Africa asked Nigeria.

"Yeah, all ready." Nigeria nodded.

"Then I can finally tell you why we brought you here, Dikembe" South Africa said to DRC, who frowned and crossed his arms, but South Africa smiled despite that. "Tell me, do you know who's currently inside this impractically big palace?"

DRC raised an eyebrow, briefly glancing at the building, then back to South Africa. "Is the parliament having another meeting in there?"

"Yeah, they are, and it's boring as hell." Liberia grimaced, sticking his tongue out at the building. "They're having a meeting about something or someone or probably both. You know, politics."

"And they're all still together in one place, right?" South Africa asked, grinning as he wondered how long it would take for DRC to get it.

"Yup, they're not leaving for a long time." Liberia nodded, then winked at a confused DRC. "Or probably never ever will."

"And the significance of all that is..." DRC looked at them expectantly, looking visibly annoyed.

"When I was in there, I saw that _everyone_ was there, and I do mean everyone. That place is littered with politicians. The Chamber of Representatives, the Senate..." Liberia began to smirk. "The prime minister."

DRC still didn't seem to understand it, and South Africa couldn't help but chuckle a little at his cluelessness. It was almost cute. DRC was probably still too angry to catch the hints they gave him.

Nigeria seemed to have the same opinion as he laughed and wrapped his arms around South Africa, who smirked and held his hand. "Do you think that those are enough hints, Chris? Should we wait to see how long it'll take..." He leaned close to South Africa's ear, and whispered loud enough for DRC. "Or should we also mention that the entire royal family is there too?"

DRC widened his eyes, and glanced at the building again, while South Africa whispered back in a playful tone. "Oh, I'm not sure, Adigun~ He'll surely faint from all the excitement he'll get."

Nigeria giggled and blushed lightly. "But we did sort of gave it away, didn't we?"

"Hmm, I suppose we did. Whoops." South Africa shrugged, smiling sheepishly.

Liberia scoffed at the display and looked at DRC with an exasperated expression. "You see, this is exactly what I meant when I said that- MMPH!"

Cameroon quickly clasped his hand over Liberia's mouth, the teen screamed and thrashed around as the man looked at him tiredly. "Mon cher ami, don't dig your own grave."

"Enough. You… you're telling me… that just about everyone in the Belgian government and monarchy is right in there." DRC said incredulously, pointing towards the building, then slowly began to widen his eyes as realization sank in. "Then… if you brought me here… does that mean that…"

"I told you that we wouldn't have brought you here without a good reason, didn't I?" South Africa smiled ferally, tilting his head. "It was our leaders' idea, and a genius one like always."

"Let me give you a fun little riddle, see if you have the right answer." Morocco grinned, holding up his index finger. "There's a big wonderful palace that little girls dream of having, inside there's government officials and monarchs that won't be leaving, an oblivious certain female nation off doing something, and an angry Congolese man outside seething. What happens next?"

After that, DRC finally realized exactly why he was brought here, and he felt a sudden thirst as he muttered the next words. "A bloodbath."

"Correct!" Morocco clapped happily.

"Of course… It all makes sense." DRC chuckled, smiling bitterly at the building as he clenched his fists. "No wonder you brought me here of all places, and on day a when _they're_ all here in one place, completely defenseless. All their heads just for a new member? Giving me a chance to give Belgium a massive amount of pain immediately after I join? Your leaders are too kind."

"They figured you would have felt a sudden surge of bloodlust." Cameroon remarked, a slight smirk on his face. "They said to think of it as a sign of camaraderie."

"I'm feel honored." DRC covered his mouth, which South Africa saw was to hide his wide grin.

Liberia said something that came out muffled, then slapped Cameroon's hand away to speak to DRC. "Blah! You totally should! They're giving you Belgium's people for you to torture them as you please, a massacre on the first day! Not only do you give Belgium the chest and stomach pain of a lifetime, but by eliminating them you'll plunge the country into chaos with no one to lead them!"

"She'll feel every single bit of pain as I wring their necks…" DRC muttered, looking at his hands. "And you're sure that nobody will ever notice out presence here?"

"Morocco and Cameroon dispatched everyone who could ruin the plan, Nigeria disabled all the security, and Liberia locked the doors. No one will live to tell the tale." South Africa reassured, then walked over to DRC. "I think the question that should be asked is if you want a gun or a panga? Your pick."

"Can I take both?" DRC asked, frowning slightly as he grabbed his wrist. "At least to give the king's children a quick death, as painless as possible. I have no interest in torturing children that did nothing to deserve my wrath."

South Africa nodded, glad that DRC follows the same rule as them, children never deserve agony. "Of course, we completely understand."

"Hey!" Nigeria exclaimed, waving around a machete. "Catch!"

Nigeria threw the machete towards DRC, and he easily caught it in his hand, he stared at it for a few seconds before he felt someone poke on his shoulder. Liberia grinned at him as he handed him the gun, and DRC took a deep breath as he looked up at the building.

"What are you planning?" Liberia asked.

DRC only turned around and glanced back to smirk at them. "You'll see."

And with that he left, leaving five intrigued and excited Africans as he quickly walked up the stairs, went in front of the main door, and kicked the door open. As he vanished from view, South Africa could have sworn he heard a gun go off a few seconds later. He chuckled, he's looking forward for when it's all over.

South Africa smiled fondly, but then he heard a grunt and he turned around to see Morocco gritting his teeth in pain and clutching his lower abdomen. The rainbow nation widened his eyes as he immediately felt worry for the man. The other three quickly went to Morocco's side.

"Rahim! What's wrong?" Nigeria demanded worriedly.

"There's… there's something going on in…" Morocco rasped out before he widened his eyes and he became furious. "It's _her_."

/ / / / / /

As Belgium walked around her countryside happily with her lips curled up like a cat's mouth, she hummed a song she loved to herself, wondering if Netherlands would be up to visit for some waffles, he's stuck working a lot at his house recently but surely a batch of her world-famous (real) waffles will-

She stopped as she suddenly felt something against her skull and she screamed as she felt a massive pain in her chest, it felt like someone stabbed her. She gasped and clutched area in her breast where the pain came from only to feel something soak her hand. Belgium shook as her eyes slowly went to her hand, she saw that it was covered in blood, she looked down and realized that her breast was bleeding.

She screamed again as she felt an excruciating pain in her shoulder and then she slapped her hand over her left eye when she felt it sting like someone poked it with a needle. Belgium belt her knees buckle and she collapsed to the ground in agony, a new wave pain coming every few seconds.

Belgium gasped in horror when she realized what could be happening right now.

Is her Royal Family or Parliament being killed off one by one?

/ / / / / /

DRC felt a grin on his face so wide he was surprised it hadn't split his face, but it was probably because he hasn't really smiled in years until now, where he was brutally killing off all the people in _her_ precious palace. A place full of luxury and elegance now stained with the unrecognizable carcasses of Belgium's people. In his opinion, it looked a _lot_ better this way.

He has killed and tortured them in ways so cruel and painful, and their screams were music to his ears, he enjoyed seeing them writhe in agony, because he knew that their personification was likely in the same position. He also tried out cannibalism, and he smirked.

"I can see why they're so fond of this practice." He said to no one in particular.

DRC then blew out a puff of air as he carelessly threw the maimed corpse of the king over the throne, leaving it slumped and his face with his eyes open wide and forever frozen in an expression of fear, well, what's left of his face anyway. The African aloofly walked away, licking the blood of his lips, and went off to search for another victim.

He's sure that he already killed off most of the Representatives, half of the Senate and more than half of the Royal Family, so perhaps he should try to search for the children. Hopefully they're off doing some tedious activity and didn't hear any of the screaming or the gunshots, though it's unlikely.

But he guessed it didn't really matter, they can't leave anyway.

/ / / / / /

Morocco, for the first time in a while, felt fury as he and Nigeria landed in Laayoune, he was too focused on the source of his anger that he didn't bother to say anything to Nigeria and quickly stormed off in search for the thorn in his side. Oh, he should have known he would be hearing from her sooner or later. This was the day she was waiting for.

He spotted her house easily and he went to the door to pound on it multiples times, ignoring the cracks he was creating, and just as he was considering shouting for her to come out, the door opened, and he felt a gun click against his forehead.

Morocco sneered at the glaring woman in front of him. "Western Sahara, I felt that little disturbance you made, or should I start calling you Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic?"

Western Sahara just narrowed her eyes and pushed the muzzle further. "Whatever you like, except Southern Provinces, in which case I will drive a thousand bullets through your skull."

Morocco scoffed and stared his former territory down, who stared angrily at him in return, the two were having a standoff. Waiting to see who broke the ice first, or at least make a crack in it, and he couldn't help but grin despite all the anger he was feeling. It still gave him a thrill.

"So, you went and declared your independence, did you want me here to celebrate with you?" Morocco asked cheerfully, which made the woman roll her eyes.

"No, I want you as far away from here as possible, far, far, away." Western Sahara growled.

"A little difficult considering we're neighbors, my dear sister."

"I. Am. Not. Your. Sister. Do you want me to squeeze the trigger and give you a lot more pain than what you've felt back there, Rahim?" Western Sahara whispered angrily, putting her finger on the trigger to show her point, but Morocco kept smiling. "I want what you and your leaders promised me years ago. My _freedom_."

Morocco snorted and leaned his cheek on his hand. "Alright then, you can have it, you're free to do what you want from now on."

Western Sahara looked taken aback by how easy it was, and Morocco had to smirk at that, the woman glared at him suspiciously. "Really? Just like that? You're really going to let me go after all this time under you?"

"A promise is a promise, no?" Morocco asked innocently. "Were you expecting me to put more of a fight? Well, no, you completed your end of the bargain, and there's no need to keep you silent so that's that."

"Good." Western Sahara said, and she reluctantly removed the gun, but she still pointed it at him. "But you're going to answer my questions."

"And just what would you want to know?" Morocco asked curiously, but he had a feeling he knew what she wanted to know.

"Where's… Algeria?" Western Sahara demanded quietly and slowly, staring at him coldly.

Morocco inwardly frowned at the question, because it could cause trouble if Western Sahara discovers what happened to Algeria, and he knew the bond between his sister and Sahara. Should Western Sahara discover that Algeria managed to escape, she will definitely go to join her and make sure she is alright, as well as work together against him.

That is something he cannot allow.

So, the most effective way he could handle this is if he told Western Sahara the truth… but not the whole truth.

"Oh, don't worry about my sister, she's well and unharmed, angry, but unharmed." Morocco said smoothly, casually waving his hand, and he smiled slyly. "Were you worried I would harm her when I reveal my true self, Safiyya?"

"Don't act so insulted." Western Sahara whispered harshly, then sighed and looked away. "But still, I'm glad that you still have some resemblance of a heart inside of you, if what you said is true."

"You don't need to worry for her, she can't move around much like the others, but I haven't harmed her." Morocco kept reassuring her, using only bits of the truth and technical truths so she wouldn't get any ideas. "By the way, how do you plan on revealing to her that you knew all along about me and the Order, but kept your mouth shut? I imagine she's tired of being lied to."

This immediately set her off, and Western Sahara pointed the gun at his head again, he smiled as he saw her shaking angrily. "You made me! You forced me to remain silent while I watched you and your cronies play everyone like a fiddle! Not only did you make me go silent, you made me _lie!_ I lied so you wouldn't harm me because of my foolishness! I lied to everyone for years! I even lied to Algeria!"

"So… you basically did everything _we_ did." Morocco said nonchalantly.

Western Sahara snarled at him and lowered the gun, turning around to leave. "I don't have to stand here and listen to you. Leave. Now."

"Alright, fine by me…" Morocco smiled gently. "But remember that-"

Western Sahara promptly spat in his face then slammed the door shut. Morocco sighed at her behavior then left to find Nigeria, who he rudely left behind, but he glanced at Western Sahara's house one more time. He chuckled and walked away.

/ / / / / /

DR Congo couldn't help but smile despite how uncomfortable the situation was. Here he was, having nearly finished his killing spree, and now he was watching a little girl draw some pretty little birds. He killed off the eldest daughter and the two sons, leaving only the youngest one, a little girl of only nine, as the only human alive in the palace. He watched as the girl finished coloring some wings, and went to grab another colored pencil, she briefly glanced back to smile at him and he smiled back.

Oh, look at her, so adorable and innocent. So talented at drawing too, she's very creative, and he heard her play the violin for her father once, it was touching. The little girl had no idea that her new "friend" had killed her parents and her siblings. She didn't even know about the carnage that occurred.

So cutely and unbelievably unaware. So much that he couldn't bring himself to kill her.

He frowned slightly, he killed the girl's siblings so much without a single bit of hesitation, but despite all that he did today, he couldn't bring himself to snuff out the girl's light. But, DRC supposed, he doesn't _have_ to kill everyone.

/ / / / / /

Belgium ran as fast she could through Brussels, ignoring the bleeding on her chest and stomach, ignoring the pain. When she was in pain, she not only felt that, but she heard screaming, screams filled with horror and agony. She has to find out what's going on. But when she arrived at the Palace of Brussels, she saw the corpses of some police and guards on the ground, and they were killed brutally.

She forced herself to take her eyes off them, and sprinted towards the main door, but when she burst in she immediately wished she hadn't. Belgium covered her mouth in horror at what she saw, she felt sick to her stomach the more she stared. It… was horrible.

Lying in front of her were hands, bloody hands, broken hands, an enormous pile of severed hands for everyone to see with their own eyes upon arrival. Belgium collapsed on her knees, and she covered her nose to block the stench of blood and death. It was disgusting. But another thing caught her attention, she looked at the wall and widened her eyes. Written in blood were two words.

NEVER FORGET

/ / / / / /

DRC watched, hidden from behind a wall, with an angry expression as Belgium ran desperately towards the main door. He noticed the blood dripping from her, even unintentionally leaving a trail of it, and he was pleased to see she did feel what happened. But now another thing occupied his thoughts. Belgium was here. Here. In the same place as him.

Gripping his machete, he was about to take a step forward when he felt someone rest their hand on his shoulder. DRC widened his eyes and glanced back angrily only for his anger to turn into shock when he saw who it was.

Prussia gave him a sad look. "Nein, not now, you can continue your vengeance another day soon. I think we all created enough attention for today."

DRC gritted his teeth. "Why?! She's right there! I can end her right now!"

"Nein, we must let the horrors of the incident engrave themselves into her mind, and she can't be erased from the map just yet, Dikembe." Prussia stated, narrowing his eyes.

"But…" DRC muttered, clenching his fist.

"Besides, I can tell that you're tired. A lot happened to you today." Prussia noted, and he took a moment to glance at Nigeria and Norway, the latter holding the hand of the princess DRC spared from his rampage. "You're exhausted, both physically and emotionally, it's not good if you stress yourself too much. I know your mind is strong, but even strong-willed people need rest."

"What will you do with her? More importantly, how will we answer if she asks what happened to her family?" DRC asked, eyes on the girl looking at the men before her curiously, she saw him looking at her and he gave her a reassuring smile.

"I know some kind-hearted people who would be more than happy to adopt a girl who just lost her family." Prussia said, smiling fondly at the girl. "As for telling her, we'll work our way around that, but the fact that _you_ killed them must stay hidden."

"That's fine with me." DRC said in relief.

"Good. Now, please rest, you need it. Nigeria's too tired to take you and the others back to Africa, so you can sleep for a few hours."

/ / / / / /

Kenya flicked a small dust bunny she found on the door, sighing in irritation, as there wasn't really anything else to do except but to wait for Cameroon to come back. But she's rather spend the next two centuries playing with dust bunnies than spend another day with him. The others could be faring better. While Ethiopia was getting better, Uganda was getting worse.

Eventually she heard the door open, and she became nervous, because Cameroon was probably going to make her pay for trying to kill him. Kenya, as well as Uganda and Ethiopia, looked up but it wasn't Cameroon who came in, it was someone else. She blinked a few times to see if she was seeing right.

She was, DR Congo was walking towards them, with his usual cold expression that seemed to be permanently stuck on his face. But what was he doing here?

"Dikembe?" Uganda asked in shock, his tired eyes regaining his energy from the surprise. "What are you doing here?"

DRC turned to look at him, he remained staring at Uganda for a few seconds before a smirk appeared on his face. "You look a lot better when you're exhausted and solely starving to death, the look of pain fits you."

"Wh-what?"

"At first, I wasn't that eager to babysit you while Cameroon is away, but that changed when I heard _who_ else was also here." DRC looked at Uganda, in an almost predatory way, it was something Kenya has never seen before with him. "But it's a shame Rwanda isn't here, it would make things even better."

"Congo…" Ethiopia said nervously. "Just what are you talking about? What is going on?"

"Isn't it obvious?" DRC raised an eyebrow.

Kenya felt only bafflement at DRC's behavior, he wasn't acting like his usual self, and he seemed to be acting friendly when talking about Cameroon. Why would…. Oh…. No… Could one of themselves really have left to join the enemy?! That can't be!

"No… no, no, no…." Uganda repeated in denial, shaking his head as he looked at DRC in horror.

"No… don't tell me that you…" Ethiopia muttered in disbelief, just in much as shock as Kenya and Uganda was. "You… you really…"

"That's right. I did." DRC snarled coldly at him. "It's exactly what you all think it is. I decided to join them out of my own free will."

"You… traitor. You fucking traitor." Kenya snarled, she really wanted to beat him up.

"But… But why?!" Uganda demanded, sounding angry for the first time in a while. "Why would you want to join people like them, Dikembe?! What could they have said or said they would five you if you joined them?"

"Let me be honest with the three of you, the only reason why I didn't sign the contract and tried to escape with you along with the others was because I thought that the five of them were doing it because of greed and power. I didn't want to be put on a leash again, but I was wrong."

"What do you mean you were wrong?! They're psychopaths who laugh when one of us cry!" Kenya shouted at the man, banging her fists against the ground, glaring at him. "They're insane! How could you have been wrong?!"

"You don't know their main goal, Kenya, none of you do." DRC stated, staring at with indifference. "They don't want power, they want blood, and not just any blood, European blood. They want revenge, and I was invited join with the promise of having Belgium's head on a pike."

"They want revenge for the Scramble?" Ethiopia asked, shocked by this new information. "You all want to torment your former colonizers for what they did? England, France, Belgium…? You're all going to make a massive slaughter! I can't believe you!"

"Oh, don't pretend that none of you haven't wished for something like this." DRC scoffed, crossing his arms. "Enough of this pointless chatter. Let's begin, shall we?"

As soon as he finished saying that he dashed towards Uganda, who yelped as he was grabbed by the throat, there was a dark glint in DRC's eyes. There was a sadistic glow that Kenya could have swore that wasn't there before, even if he wasn't part of the group in the beginning, so it was obviously new.

Did the promise of revenge really could have instilled that in him? Kenya didn't ponder on that very long, because she heard Uganda scream.

/ / / / / /

Nigeria couldn't contain his glee as he walked towards room where a certain someone was sleeping. He was hoping this would happen, and he rejoiced in the fact that it took less waiting than he expected. He was bummed the others somehow escaped, but he cheered up when Haiti told him what they _did_ manage to accomplish, and he dragged the others (sans an upset Liberia after drawing straws) to see.

The African opened the door and he grinned when he saw Mauritius bound to a chair, looking dazed and not noticing his presence. Nigeria walked towards him and leaned down close to the island's face, waiting for him to see he's here.

After almost a minute, the light in Mauritius's eyes returned and the island nearly screamed when he saw Nigeria. The man giggled. "Hello~"

 **And with that I wrap up the African arc, sorry if I messed up at the end, I just wanted to make the time setting clear. Western Sahara is introduced! This won't be the last time you'll be seeing her. Next chapter we see the Americas! PLEASE REVIEW! They're motivating and I really want your opinion of this chapter.**


	16. Juicio Final

**Hi, I'm so sorry for the late update. I'm very sorry. At first, I got a bit of writer's block, but then shortly after that I got sick. REALLY sick. Believe me, I tried to write anyway but it didn't turn out so well. But I'm feeling better now and the chapter is up and ready. Now, on with the show!**

In a small room secluded from the rest of the building. there was eerie silence, so quiet that the only sound heard was the creaking mattress, it was too quiet. But the nation residing here wouldn't have it any other way. He liked the peace he had here, and he also needed it for his plan.

Lying on the bed deathly still like a corpse, unmoving and with his eyes shut, was a young man with olive skin and straight silky black hair. His face was focused, and he was determined to investigate on what Ecuador told him earlier. This will get complicated later when he goes to visit Honduras and Belize.

Guatemala can already hear Belize's enraged cries.

Even though she's a brat, he had no intention of harming her, the same goes for Honduras. Despite his rather detached nature, he doesn't wish any sort of harm upon of those two or any of the other Central Americans. None of them has done anything to deserve death and he didn't hate them. However, he will not forgive them if they try to interfere with the Order's plans. He'll immediately ignore past attachments and rip out their hearts right under the might of the sun.

But… Being the brat that she is, Belize won't take any of this well.

He wouldn't be surprised if she decided to go against him.

But maybe a friendly warning from him will work. Regardless, he knows what he's going to do after they're all done with Spain.

/ / / / / /

Brazil was now starting to feel annoyed.

It wasn't because they still haven't received the call to go on with the plan, though he was starting to get a little impatient, it was because of Romano who for some reason was still intent on staying with Spain. This wasn't part of the plan, they were told to avoid collateral damage, so burying the Italian was a big no-no.

Seriously, why is he still here? You'd think he would be with his brother, so they would stay together and prepared. Wouldn't it be smarter if the brothers stayed together so they would be safe and united at the same time? Brothers united against the enemy and all that?

Then again, they're the Italy brothers, and the northern brother is famous for clinging onto Germany and the southern brother is famous for hating the fact that his brother clung to Germany. Since things are tense right now, it's painfully obvious that Italy would run wailing like a baby to his big wall of meat. Brazil felt his stomach growl and he flushed in embarrassment, maybe that wasn't the best expression to use right now.

Romano has the subtlety of… oh, what is he saying? He's ridiculously easy to read, like a children's book in Brazil's opinion. It's obvious he went all the way to Spain to both make sure his former caretaker was alright and to find a "safe" place to reside for the time being. What a foolish idea. Romano and his brother are halves of the same nation, at times like these they _must_ be united.

There's also the theory that Italy cheerfully asked Romano if he would like to train with Germany, and Romano decided that being chased by Spain was a lot better than breathing the same air as the "potato bastard".

Yup, now that he thought about it it's definitely that.

Brazil cracked an amused smile before he heard a buzz from his pocket, and he widened his eyes. He quickly took it out and saw it was message from his leaders, and not just that, it was _news_. The most surprising news he'd heard in a while. Well, this made his job a lot easier, and it gave him a fantastic idea.

Staring intently at Romano, Brazil plastered a bright smile on his face and walked over to him.

/ / / / / /

America couldn't help the smile of amusement that slowly started to spread across his face at the sight he was seeing on the screen of his phone. He mentally sighed and resisted the urge to do it out loud as excited dark brown eyes stared at him expectantly. Sometimes he wonders if he shouldn't have allowed the other Africans influence his younger brother so much. America didn't mind the cannibalism so much, but…

Live via Skype, Liberia grinned widely at his brother as the teen hung upside down from what America hoped wasn't the chain of a chandelier and looked like he was taking absolute joy in what he was doing. Whatever it was. Liberia hasn't quite explained it yet, instead deciding to remain beam at him.

He loved Liberia, the nation he personally created and raised himself, but sometimes the inevitable African cruel streak made him slap his own forehead. America didn't always approve of the Africans' ruthless methods and love for violence, but Liberia adored them, and America thought it would be nice for Liberia to form a bond with the other four Africans.

They hit it off, but in also resulted in Liberia developing a similar sadistic personality and their deviously playful nature.

America raised an amused eyebrow while Liberia looked like he was about to squeal in delight and decided to finally get some answers. "Do I want to know why your upside down?"

"Well… the backstory is interesting, guaranteed to grab you and never let go." Liberia said innocently, winking then leaning closer to the camera to whisper. "As part of a massive epic event, I slipped into a certain place in a certain nation to spy on certain people. So that a certain person can stomp in and do something amazing!"

That only served to raise even more questions, America sighed but kept his smile. "Usually a story is more interesting when you add details, Tehpoe."

"Oh, right, right. Sorry." Liberia grinned sheepishly, giggling then clearing his throat. "Here's the full version, Alfred…"

Liberia explained everything that's been happening at Africa, how the other four were doing and one very interesting idea Liberia came up with. America felt impressed with how Liberia managed to convince DRC to join them, very smart.

It'll be slightly awkward when America sees DRC again, but it's very likely that the only object of the African's hatred is Belgium. America was sure that the African five know exactly how to unleash someone's bloodthirsty side, and given what DRC has gone through all these years…

Yes, they just got a very devoted member for their cause.

"So, what do you think?" Liberia asked eagerly, obviously wanting to hear America's approval. "I used some tips you once told me, and now I have a new friend. A new member for the Order. I did great, right? Right?"

America smiled kindly at him. "I don't even need to answer that. You've outdone yourself, and I'm very impressed with what you've accomplished. Well done, Tehpoe."

Liberia blushed and put his hands on his cheeks as he mumbled giddily. "Oh, stop it, Al, you're making me turn all red…"

As Liberia gushed incoherently, America heard the door of his room open and he turned around to see a young woman with slightly wavy dark brown hair opening the door, he immediately recognized her as Colombia. The South American nation entered the room with worry in her brown eyes.

"Alfred! There's…" Colombia trailed off when she saw Liberia still babbling in the screen. "Is that Liberia? What's he up to?"

"Hello, Colombia. Liberia's…" America smiled at the African. "He's excited. What's wrong? Did… something happen?"

Colombia stopped staring confusedly at Liberia and nodded frantically. "Si, Argentina said he just received the call from the leaders, we're allowed to carry out the plan!"

America widened his eyes. "What? Really?"

"Si! Ecuador, Puerto Rico and DR are waiting for the two of us. The others are prepared, now we need you." Colombia explained, a serious expression on her face.

"You heard Colombia, go help them set it off!" Liberia exclaimed cheerfully, giving America a thumbs up. "You help them with their justice and then maybe after that we can… Uh-oh."

"What's wrong?" America asked, immediately feeling concern at the sudden loss of happiness.

"Someone just spotted me. Break a leg! I know you will! Bye~"

And with that Liberia ended the call just as a shout was heard.

/ / / / / /

Romano cursed a million times under his breath as he shoved the annoying humans standing his way aside, so he could get to a plane as soon as fucking possible. How could his stupid brother think that he would just roll over like a fucking dog and accept this! No, it's the potato bastard! Ohhh, that damn potato bastard! Romano should have known that bastard would take advantage of his absence!

Well, that potato bastard's gonna get a piece of his fucking mind!

He couldn't believe what Brazil told him at first but when that grinning bastard showed him that photo of Veneziano and the potato bastard all lovey-dovey with each other, Romano just snapped. If he wasn't so pissed he would have punched that carnaval bastard's fucking face off.

That potato bastard thinks he could just swoop in and romance the fuck out of his stupid brother?! Ha! Think again!

What mattered right now was finding the fastest next plane to his brother's before more gross stuff happens.

/ / / / / /

Spain sighed in dismay at the fact that Romano wasn't here, who seemed to have vanished for a couple of hours without even cursing him as he said goodbye and crossed his arms with a sad look. Portugal said that he didn't know anything about it, while Brazil claimed that Romano stomped out of the house mumbling angrily about "stupid fratello".

This would mean that his Romano was worried for his brother and couldn't help the protective older brother instinct. Oh, Spain knew he would give in sooner or later. Romano had a big heart no matter how much he would have denied it, he thought with a delighted smile.

Well, there's no point in denying. If Romano wants to go support his brother, that's completely fine with him.

His happy thoughts were interrupted when he heard banging, he flinched and whirled around to see where it was coming from. He quickly realized it was coming from the door, the banging kept echoing loudly in his home, it sounded frantic, almost desperate, and this detail was enough for him to snap out of his thoughts and dashed down the stairs.

Who coming could to his home? And knock like their lives depended on it?

The banging never ceased for a minute, in fact it got louder and rowdier, and Spain felt himself getting more tense with every second that passed. He called for Portugal and Brazil, then continued to rush towards the entrance, he spotted his axe sitting in a corner and his instincts told him to take it just in case. But just as his hand twitched, he nearly flinched again when he heard the banging, and he forgot about it.

As he neared the door, Portugal and Brazil arrived with both having worried and confused expressions on their faces.

"Toni, what's going on? Who's at the door banging like a madman?" Portugal demanded.

"No se, but I'm going to find out." Spain responded, then turned towards the door, sprinting towards it.

The banging went on and on until Spain grabbed the doorknob and swung the door open, and the sight that greeted him sent him into a state of horrified shock. He could feel the color drain from his face, his eyes go wide, and ire slowly starting to pour into his heart. He said, more like shouted, the first thing that came into his mind.

"DIOS MIO!"

He couldn't believe his eyes. Right in front of him, after days of no contact, after a horrific incident, were five of his former colonies. Cuba, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Guatemala. All in very, _very_ bad shape. Shaken, too, looking traumatized.

Cuba was breathing in and out slowly, sweating dripping from his forehead and slightly winced every three seconds. The usual fire in the man was gone and he looked pale. Jamaica was grimacing in pain as he clutched his right arm and his t-shirt was ripped in the center to reveal a wound near his heart. A rasping Dominican Republic used Jamaica as support because of the wounds on his legs. The fourth one, which hurt Spain the most, was a shaking Puerto Rico with several cuts.

"Es… España…" Cuba rasped out, then wincing for a second, then breathed again. "I never thought I'd be this happy to see you again… We…"

"WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!" Spain shouted, clenching his fists to the point they turned white. "And where have you been? Who hurt you?"

"What happened? I thought you all knew." Jamaica said tiredly, hand going to his shoulder. "We were… tcch."

"Carlos… no… all of you… what happened? Those injuries look painful, shouldn't you get it treated?" Spain exclaimed in horror, staring at the wounds.

"Antonio? What is going on out there? Who's at…?" Portugal trailed off as he stood next to Spain, and he had a similar reaction as he paled. "What the?! Caribbean nations? And what the hell happened to all of you?! How did you even-"

Puerto Rico winced as he hugged his abdomen, whimpering in pain, and Cuba looked at his former colonizer in panic. "Questions later, Manuel's wound is starting to get more infected, go get him help NOW!"

This helped Spain's big brother instinct kick him and he wasted no time in letting them in and helping set DR on the sofa. Brazil also looked horrified at the sight of the Caribbean islands, and began to demand answers, but Portugal calmed him down and convinced him to help them first. The other Caribbean collapsed on the chairs and the sofas, probably finally getting rest.

But this was not the case for Puerto Rico, because as soon as he laid down he began crying and hugging his stomach, tears streaming down his face.

Spain rushed over to him and saw that the wound on Puerto Rico's stomach was a bright, beefy red, the foul smell coming from it disgusted Spain, and it filled him with rage at whoever dared to do this to one of his former colonies. Puerto Rico looked up at him desperately and his shaking hand shot up to grab Spain's arms.

"España… please… it hurts so much… he…" Puerto Rico's words dissolved into cries and he went back to hugging his stomach. "It hurts! Ayudame!"

"Manuel!" DR exclaimed in alarm.

"Santa Madre de Dios… Quién se atrevió a hacer esto?" Spain muttered to himself, then gritted his teeth and his face became a furious glare. "Please… tell me, who did this to the four of you?"

"Was it the same person who hurt your other neighbors?" Portugal inquired.

Jamaica scoffed, and he scowled. "Oh, you wouldn't believe us if we have told you, y'know. I know because we can hardly believe it ourselves."

Spain shook his head, his face remaining determined. "I don't care. This person… or people…. Whoever they are, they hurt you terribly. I want to know who did this, I'll make them pay for every ounce of pain they made you feel. So… who… did… this?"

The temperature in the room dropped significantly as Spain said that sentence, and Portugal couldn't suppress a shiver, this meant the Spaniard was starting to go into conquistador mode. This always meant things were about to get messy.

The Caribbean nations shared an uncertain look, but Jamaica sighed. "Alright, man. But don't say we didn't warn ya."

As the four Caribbean islands began to tell their story to Spain and Portugal, neither of them noticed that Brazil was slowly backing away with a smirk on his face, if they did then they would have known something was off. Brazil turned around to leave the room, but not before he glanced behind to give one more smirk, then he vanished.

/ / / / / /

As Brazil walked up the stairs, he kept glancing back to make sure neither of the Europeans were following him, and once he was sure he was in clear a grin spread across his face and he dashed off towards the left without a second to lose. He didn't _want_ to waste any time.

Now they could all play.

While Cuba, Jamaica, DR and Puerto Rico play victim to ensnare Spain and Portugal's attention, Brazil would sneak off to let the others waiting impatiently outside in. After everyone enters, they'll trap the two of them, also giving them the scare of a lifetime, he'll get the camera all ready and finally have the _talk_ with Portugal he's been looking forward to for a long while now.

So far, everything's going exactly the way they wanted it to be. None of them desire failure after all.

Brazil went towards a window and smirked as he opened it up.

/ / / / / /

"Th-That… that can't be. That's insane." Portugal stammered as the islands' finished their story. "How could that be possible?"

"We don't know." DR said and bit his lip as he shrugged. "But it's true, whether we like it or not."

Spain sat frozen in shock, unable to believe what he just heard. No… it couldn't be true, could it? That didn't sound like them at all… but… the proof was right in front of him traumatized and inflicted with various wounds by the nations they all thought they could trust.

They… they did all that? To their own neighbors and family? Everything right under their noses.

How could he have been blind to see it?

"But…. Why? Honduras… Nicaragua… El Salvador… Guatemala… Belize… Costa Rica… Why?" Spain muttered quietly, then snapped his head up in fury. "Why?! WHY?! What motivation could they have that justifies all this?!"

The four islands winced and couldn't seem to bring themselves to look at Spain, already dealing with enough grief as it is.

"So, you all managed to escape, at least. Though the rest of your neighbors weren't so lucky…" Portugal said, looking at his brother sadly, then at the islands curiously. "But why come all the way here to Spain?"

"What did you expect us to do? Stay where they could easily catch us? Look at us!" DR exclaimed, gesturing towards his legs. "We barely got away without getting are throats torn out!"

"We wanted to go someplace where we could be safe." Cuba looked at Spain somberly. "This was the first and best place that came to our minds."

Spain said nothing, his only response was silence, he was feeling a storm of emotions and he didn't know what to say or think regarding this.

"Oh, and there's one more thing you should know about all this." Jamaica said.

"What would that be?" Spain asked quietly.

Puerto Rico wiped the tears off his face and he smirked as he sat straight up, without any sign of pain. "We lied."

"What?!" Portugal exclaimed, before getting tackled to the ground.

Spain snapped his head towards his brother and saw that the culprit was none other than Brazil with an insane smile, a light in his eyes that matched his smile. It was a gleam that wasn't there before but, yet it looked like it was there from the very beginning.

"Xavier! What are you…" Portugal demanded, but was shushed when Brazil pressed a finger against his lips.

"Ah, save the cries for after the show." Brazil cooed, smiling ferociously. "What are you feeling right now? Betrayal? Though kind of rhetorical. Angry? Denial? Sadness? And it all happened in a span of just a few seconds too. Don't worry, there's _more_."

As if on cue the doors loudly swung open and bursting into the room were many of Spain's former colonies in the Americas. Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, Chile and more. Spain stared at them in disbelief. Each and every one of them, like Brazil, had a very different look. It was enough to send shivers down his spine, and he was sure the temperature dropped significantly the moment they entered. Menacing, threatening, _dangerous_.

And all of that was being directed at _him_.

Spain was so still from the shock, that he didn't notice the Caribbeans move and he felt someone put their arm around his hand, trapping him in a painful headlock. He grunted, and he noticed that it was Cuba.

"It's the Final Judgement, España." Cuba said in a mocking tone, sneering. "But not the one you would hammer it into our minds, no, this is end for _you_."

Portugal continued to struggle against Brazil, but the younger was much stronger apparently and didn't seem fazed in the slightest. Some of the South Americans, like Colombia and Ecuador, went to stand in front of the doors while Jamaica and Puerto Rico went towards the windows. They blocked off all possible routes for escape. This was bad.

As he watched his former colonies stare menacingly at him, realized that the Caribebans have tricked him, and saw his brother writhe under his own former colony, Spain could only stare at all of them with a blanched face and utter out one word.

"Why?" Spain asked, filled with despair and disbelief.

That seemed to be a big mistake on his part, as the question seemed to make them _furious_. Spain grunted in pain as Cuba increased his grip, the latter growling.

"Why…? Why? WHY? You have got to be joking, Spain." Peru snarled. "Surely, you haven't forgotten about the past, with _us_."

Spain flinched at the harsh tone, and then knew what they were talking about.

"You made a big mistake coming to _our_ lands, then trying to obliterate them to remake them into your own pathetic image." Brazil exclaimed, grinning as he started to sink his nails in Portugal's shoulders, earning some screams from the European. "And if you have treated them like actual people… then maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't hate you so much to do what they're about to do."

"You killed our family in cold blood." Argentina said darkly, stomping over to Spain. "You killed their people and our people for the sake of your greed. Then, you tried to mold us into the perfect, civilized, obedient children."

"You did horrifying acts before our eyes, things that we'll never forget." Venezuela muttered, angry tears falling from her eyes. "Did you really think that after that we would accept you as our "papa" or "big brother"?"

"Inca." Peru and Bolivia said.

"Aztec." Mexico said.

"Maya." Guatemala said.

"Mapuche." Chile said.

"Taino." The Caribbeans said.

"And many more… dead. Thanks… to… you." Argentina growled each word slowly, but then he suddenly smirked. "But no more drowning in nightmares. We've been wanting to return the favor for a long time, and now that it's time, we can deliver justice."

Spain swallowed nervously as Argentina brandished a knife, with the others following his example, but then he gritted his teeth and got his act together. Spain shoved his hand against Cuba's face, using his shoulder and placing his arm in front of his body. Then by placing his leg behind Cuba's, he trips him and shoves him towards Jamaica before kicking Argentina.

The others immediately went to restrain him again. Spain punched, kicked and shoved them away as they tried to slash at him. He dashed towards the door that led to the room where his axe was, but it was guarded by Bolivia, who swiftly took out pistol and shot him in the leg.

Spain cried out in pain as he tried to not collapse, because the moment he does it's the end for him, but he did anyway when he felt a sharp pain in his heart.

"Oh! Hermano set off the bombs!" Mexico clapped her hands in delight. "Perfect timing too!"

Before Spain could even exclaim, someone punched him in the stomach and his energy drained and drained as the fight dragged on. He knew it. The look in their eyes. They were going to destroy him, obliterate him into nothing.

"Wait, before you finish him off, let me get my video camera ready! Ecuador, if you don't mind…" Brazil smirked at said nation, who nodded and went over to restrain Portugal while the former took out a video camera.

"You're going to record this?!" Portugal shouted in horror.

Brazil shrugged at his former colonizer, smiling with a slight blush on his cheeks. "I kind of promised Chris I'd record it and show it to him later. He's going to love it! Plus, we'll be able to relive this moment whenever we want~"

"What does South Africa have to do with of this?"

"A lot, Portugal. A LOT." Brazil chuckled, then held the camera up so Spain was in clear view on the screen. "Okay, now you can continue."

Spain grunted when someone stomped his face, then he felt pinned down by his arms and legs. His fear came true. This was the end.

"You massacred our peoples, treated us like trinkets instead of children, you tried to destroy us in more ways than one. We've been through so much… We've lost so much… but enough." Mexico snapped, grabbing Spain's throat. "Tu final ya llego. Ahora vas a sufrir nuestra ira."

What happened next was an onslaught of pain. As he screamed and shut his eyes, he could feel them plunging their knives, raking their nails to cut his open his skin and carve the flesh inside. He felt everything. Not just the pain, he felt all their anger and hatred for him as they teared him apart. As well the delight they were feeling at seeing him writhe and wail.

It went on and on for what felt like years, and he lost most of his awareness of the world around him except for the pain. He could hear Portugal screaming in horror and calling out his name in desperation. He could hear Brazil laugh horribly at it all.

Then it stopped, they stopped, but only for something else to take its place. He felt something, most likely a knife, plunge into his chest right where his heart was. As he felt them digging his heart out, Spain realized.

He… he didn't put much of a fight, didn't he?

No… he didn't.

Was it because the fact that his former colonies played a cruel trick on him and were now maiming him? Did that reality break his spirit? Or was it because he knew he was doomed the moment they appeared?

Either way… he accepted it… in a strange way…

At least… Romano wasn't here to see this. He hopes he never does find him. With that… he supposed he could accept death… despite it all.

/ / / / / /

Portugal couldn't move, he couldn't even breathe, he watched in horror as Spain's scream was cut off and he went limp. He could feel tears form in his eyes, and he gasped, as the terrible reality laid maimed in front of him. They killed him. His brother was… dead. Dead for all time. No return.

He watched Spain be destroyed by his own former colonies… while Portugal's own former colony stood in front of him laughing and recording it like it was some grand spectacle. He could tell Brazil was enjoying everything transpiring, from Spain being tortured to Portugal screaming in horror.

Seeing this… his brother dying in a cruel manner… his own ex-colony betraying him… in such a short span of time… it… broke him.

To make matters worse, even though Spain was gone, they still didn't seem to be satisfied with that. Some continued scraping and tearing him apart, others took to ripping out some organs, and some decided to tear Spain's heart to bloody chunks.

He felt Ecuador release him, the latter going up to join in, but Portugal couldn't bring himself to move. He was completely paralyzed in fear and horror. He couldn't believe this happened, that they did all this, to their former caretaker no less. Truly, of all the things he has witnessed in his life and experiences, it may be the worst thing he has ever seen.

Portugal shook as he sat up, breathing heavily and a hand going up to his forehead, not even noticing the tears the started to fall. Even though many of them weren't paying attention to him, there were still some Americans and South Americans guarding the exits, he couldn't escape even if he tried.

Besides if they did _that_ to Spain, then that meant Brazil…

Speak of the Devil, Brazil lowered the camera and stared at the gory mess in front of him with astonishment. "Meu Deus… that was… even better than I thought it would be! Oh, Chris is going to love this~"

Portugal could only stare appalled at the younger nation. The betrayal of someone he raised, watching him laugh at something as horrifying was this, and relish in his suffering, hurt him more than any wound he has ever suffered. Brazil stayed these past few days with him… just for this.

"But what do _you_ think, irmão?" Brazil cooed mockingly, turning around to smirk at Portugal. "I wanted to make sure every single second of this is forever engraved into your mind. Judging from your face, I can tell it was a success."

"You…" Portugal whispered, looking at him in misery.

"Betrayal, gore, death, anger, despair… all of that can break a spirit with little to no effort when combined."

"Now what?"

"Hmm?"

"Now what are going to do? Are you going to kill me as well?" Portugal asked in despair, looking at Brazil with anguish.

Brazil blinked in surprise at the question before relaxing into a smile. "Oh… don't worry. I'm going to kill you or torture you."

"Wh… What?" Portugal stuttered, taken aback by the unexpected mercy, and he noticed that the others were all looking at him now.

" _You_ are going to be coming with us! Your opinion doesn't matter of it doesn't matter, as you have no choice." Brazil grinned, as he put his camera away. "But you do have a choice on how much you bleed if you try to resist or harm any of us."

Portugal stared at him in disbelief. That didn't really help with his confusion.

"Sim. Believe or not, I actually do _care_ about you. I like you, I actually liked you when you were raising me. I was… happy." Brazil explained in an almost distracted and confused tone, crossing his arms then frowning. "Even if I hated what you did to me, to _them_. What you did was unforgiveable."

Portugal felt very confused by those claims. If Brazil did care about him, then why help do all this? And Brazil said he did something to him… could he mean…

"Oh, don't tell me you have no idea what I'm talking about." Brazil scoffed, visibly disappointed. "I always love my people, I love them with all my heart, few things can top that love. Do you remember how I felt when you whipped and barked at them? Do you know how much you broke my heart?"

At first, he didn't know what he was referring to, but then some memories surfaced and it all slowly became clear. Back then, when he ruled over Brazil, he had plenty of slaves in the house where the then child personification resided. Portugal thought, much to his shame, that having many slaves to do all the work and help Brazil with everything would make his colony happy. Portugal was pleased, but Brazil wasn't.

Whenever he strolled the town with little Brazil and showed him the slaves working, he was too busy taking pride in his work to notice Brazil wasn't smiling, the boy never did smile whenever he saw them. When Portugal had to leave to attend business in the outside he would have a female slave take care of Brazil, she was probably the closest thing to a maternal figure he had.

But one memory that stood out, was one time when Portugal returned to find a dirty and bruised Brazil doing the same work the slaves were doing, he was helping them in hopes that if he worked fast enough the slaves would be able to rest. But alas, that was not how Portugal saw it.

Portugal immediately assumed that the slaves were making his precious colony do all the work for them, and in a blind rage he forcefully dragged a wailing and begging Brazil away and ordered for all the slaves to be punished harshly. Portugal thought Brazil was crying because he was hurt, but no, Brazil was crying for _them_.

Brazil was a mulatto, and as a child he didn't understand the concept of racism, he always had a compassionate heart.

Had.

"So now you remember how you treated them. How you ignored my cries and pleads because you were unable to comprehend the fact that I _cared_ for them." Brazil said bitterly, smiling despite the tears falling from his eyes, and shrugged off a comforting hand from Argentina.

"I'm… I'm sorry I made you go through that, Xavier." Portugal said quietly, staring to cry. "But that-"

"But that's not the only thing I hated about what you did." Brazil cut him off, and he glared at Portugal with venom and bared his teeth in a snarl. "You… killed… my fathers."

"F-Fathers? You don't mean-"

"YES! Exactly who you're thinking! Tupi and Tapuia! You and your gold hunters killed them!" Brazil wailed, pointing a shaking finger at Portugal then let out a feral scream that sounded inhuman, and some of the South Americans had to cover their ears. "You brought your diseases to them in your little quest to "civilize" them! I watched thousands DIE! Then you enslaved those who survived you!"

Portugal flinched at the reminder, and felt guilt and shame rise as he bit his lip, but before he could even put a word in Brazil continued his rant.

"They tried. They tried so hard to protect me from the claws of your people. They tried! But I guess they were too "primitive" to succeed, huh?" Brazil mocked and cried, grabbing his own hair and pulling it. "Não… they couldn't be anything without the salvation of the Lord! They needed to read! They needed to wear fancy clothes to truly be human. AM I RIGHT?!"

"Xavier, I-" Portugal pleaded, but it fell on deaf ears.

"You assimilated them to the point where they were just a part of you and me and couldn't exist anymore. The raids, the diseases, it was all too much for them in the end." Brazil's voice turned quiet, and he lowered his hands from his head. "While they were slowly dying day by day I stayed with them, but eventually you took me away, and I never saw them again."

"Xavier! I really hate myself for making you go through so much agony, but you can't be serious!" Portugal exclaimed, upset. "The Tupi… they were cannibals!"

He really shouldn't have said that sentence, because Brazil lunged at him and yanked his hair to slam him down to the floor. "THEY WERE MY FAMILY! I didn't care what they practiced! Did you honestly think you were doing something good? Maybe to you, but for me it wasn't!"

"It was! It's not right for people to eat other people no matter the reason for it!" Portugal screamed.

"Well, guess what? I'm a cannibal." Brazil proclaimed with a wide smile, too wide. "You didn't know this, but whenever the Tupinamba captured groups of your people, I would eat their corpses with the other natives. The sweet innocent child you thought you could save had a big appetite. And let me tell you that your people tasted delicious."

Portugal's breath hitched, and he both disgust and more horror at the information. He remembered the faces of the colonists he traveled with, how several were captured and never seen again, and the disturbing possibility that Brazil devoured them.

In fact, whenever he came back to Brazil, he was baffled when some of the rich inhabitants started to go missing. Men and women… Did Brazil…?

"Enough of this, I think I ranted enough and you've been though enough for the day." Brazil sighed, and he looked at Portugal coldly. "Are you going to come willingly? None of us want to hurt you, but we will do it without a second thought if we need to."

Portugal didn't respond, he just chuckled dryly as his face stained with tears. Brazil smiled.

"I'll take that as a yes, then. Good." Brazil grabbed Portugal's arm and hoisted the other up. "We'll even take you to Africa, if it'll cheer you up a bit."

Portugal snapped his head at Brazil in shock. "Wait. What? Are you saying that…"

"Sim. We're the ones responsible for all these series of unfortunate events." Brazil smirked, then leaned close to a frozen Portugal's ear. "Don't worry, there's _more_. Just be glad you're in one piece and not bleeding."

Portugal didn't say anything, what resolve he had crumbled with everything that Brazil told him. There was no way out of this. He couldn't escape not matter how much he tried, he's overwhelmingly outnumbered and outmatched. He'll just go with wherever they want to take him.

At least he can see his former charges in Africa. He can make sure they'll alright.

He may be alive, but doesn't think he'll ever recover from what happened today.

 **Well... that's that I guess. This... this may be the most tragic chapter yet. But still, I hoped you liked it. I know some of you were looking forward to this chapter, so be sure to let me know what you thought. Next chapter we visit Lithuania and Bulgaria, as well as some others. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	17. Memories and Red Snow

**Thanks to EternalNexusWarrior, Cassandra, Feliciano-Vargas-loves-pasta and guest for reviewing. Here's chapter 17, hope you like it! Now, on with the show!**

 _"Wonderful work again, just as I expected, my good friend." That man would always say when he came, his smile showing off his pure but carnivorous set of teeth and tone full of appreciation for Bulgaria's work._

 _Bulgaria frowned in annoyance and looked away from him and back to his roses, grabbing a basket full of them and walking away. "Then there is no need for you to remain here. Just leave me alone."_

 _There was that damn laughter again, and Bulgaria came to a stop when he felt **him** wrap **his** arms around Bulgaria's shoulders from behind. "Oh, no need to be so cold to me, my precious friend." **He** whispered gently, close to Bulgaria's ear, and for some reason he couldn't bring himself to move. "The thought of you despising me is simply unbearable."_

It was a beautiful thing, really, no words could describe it.

 _Bulgaria tightened his grip on the basket as heard the accursed playfulness in **his** tone. "Do not think I actually believe that lie. You care nothing for the thoughts of others. Just… go." He said bluntly and he pushing off **his** arms. "Let me get back to work."_

 _But that man wasn't deterred in the slightest, as he stood in front of Bulgaria and smirked chillingly as he gently grabbed the European's chin. "Ha, true, I do not care for the others in any sort of way, but then why do you think I love visiting you so much?" That man leaned close to Bulgaria's face. "It is because I care for you, much, MUCH more than you believe."_

He was so oblivious back then, so dreadfully unaware and bitter, he didn't realize. But still, he always looks back at every memory of **him** with love.

 _Bulgaria stood frozen in disbelief, until he snapped out of it and rolled his eyes. "If that is true, which is not, then why am I so special to you? Tell me, how am I different from the others?"_

 _That man's smirk morphed into a much kinder and benevolent smile, confusing then startling Bulgaria when **he** caressed his cheek. "I am sure you will one day see why. And when that day arrives I am sure it will cure that bitterness of yours for good."_

 _He could only stare at him in confusion, while the other looked at him amusedly and opened his mouth again…_

Bulgaria's eyes snapped open and he gasped as he was suddenly wrenched away from the dream world and back to the real one, but he relaxed as he regained his sense of reality. He blinked drowsily, and his green eyes traveled tiredly to the ground, and he realized that he was sleeping face down. His gaze going up to analyze more of his surroundings, he realized he was still in the van, in the trunk to be exact. That's right, he went to take a little nap.

Now that that's cleared up, the dream… it happened again.

He slowly curled up in a fetal position as he stared blankly at nothing. How odd. How odd that he's been having these recurring dreams in the past few days. It's normal for him to dream of his love, almost every night he has a dream involving **him** in some way, but Bulgaria doesn't remember the last time he ever had a… flashback dream?

It was such a strange occurrence, not a bad one, just strange. He would dream of the past with his beloved, in the months and years leading up to when he fell in love. Just what could cause Bulgaria to witness these past events again? What is the psychological factor in this? To look back and he how much he's changed since then?

Maybe or maybe not, that answer rather displeased him, since Bulgaria liked the fact that he knew how his mind worked. Hence why he spent all those years studying psychology with fellow member Switzerland, for a certain project they were working on…

Whatever it is, it did provide him with some nice memories to reminisce. Every memory with **him** is a precious memory, after all. But, he frowned slightly, it's possible that he might see _that_ memory again. Bulgaria still has some mixed feelings about that night, it wasn't exactly pleasant, but he wasn't bitter. He would never be bitter for-

Hey, where could Lithuania be?

His green eyes regaining their bright gleam, he sat up and yawned as he stretched his arms. Bulgaria smiled and began to look around curiously, wondering where his best friend could be out brooding. Happily humming, he stood up and walked towards the window, using a gloved hand to wipe away the condensation. Bulgaria's eyes sparkled when he spotted Lithuania out, brooding.

Or at least he thinks he is because Lithuania wasn't facing him, but Bulgaria doesn't need to see it to know that Lithy's not in a good mood.

Not that Bulgaria blamed him, this mission was both what Lithuania was waiting and dreading for years. On the plus side: Lithuania will finally settle the score with Belarus for all the abuse at her hands and complete phase of the "torture then annihilate Russia" plan. On the con side: Lithuania will have to reveal to his fellow Baltics his deceit. So… there's a good chance Lithuania will come out both satisfied AND hurt.

That just won't do. Lithuania is Bulgaria's best friend, despite their different personalities and Lithuania's irritation at Bulgaria's antics, they're a team. _That man_ may be the owner of Bulgaria's mind and soul, but he has other people close to his heart. Lithuania has been damaged a lot through the years, but Bulgaria and the others are always there to put him back together.

Lithuania… his friend really does need happiness, which was why Bulgaria kept insisting that he find love and achieve the same happiness Bulgaria himself got with his beloved. But, Lithuania kept insisting that the Order comes first, which was the mindset of everyone in the organization but isn't healing part of the Cause too?

Prussia and Austria… two other nations that Bulgaria holds close to his heart, they always watch over them. Helping everyone out when they need it, they're always there to help pick up the pieces for their subordinates. It's a special talent they have, a bit hard to explain. But it's what helped win over the vicious Africans. Prussia and Austria also worried for Lithuania.

Those two just want the best for everyone. Why can't Lithuania be happy? Bulgaria desperately wanted him to be free from his ghosts. Lithuania deserves to be happy.

With his goal set, Bulgaria opened the doors of the trunk and stepped out into the snow, taking a moment to take a deep breath before walking towards his friend who was staring aloofly at a large house in the distance. The place where three you-know-who's were currently residing.

Bulgaria smiled as he got closer to his friend, the sound of the snow crunching as he stepped on it alerted Lithuania to his presence, and said nation turned around to face him. "Dimitri, did you have a nice nap? Do you have all your energy?"

Bulgaria nodded happily. "Da, I did have a good rest, Toris. Oh! And you'll never guess what happened in the dream I had!"

"Let me guess… did it have something to do with %$&$#?" Lithuania asked dryly, but a slight smile was present on his face.

"Da, it did! He was right there with me!" Bulgaria beamed, and clapped his hands together. "I've actually been having recurring flashback dreams in the last few days. This one was in the 16th century, I was in the rose fields-"

"Before you can begin to tell me what succession of images and ideas your mind brought…" Lithuania looked at Bulgaria with a distasteful frown. "It… doesn't end with you and him doing anything disturbing, right?"

"He, it didn't, don't worry. Not all my dreams end like that, you know." Bulgaria scratched the back of his head, blushing. "Just what do you think happens in my dreams?"

"I'm not answering that." Lithuania said flatly, obviously having no desire to know. "Anyway, back to more important matters, we need to prepare."

Bulgaria blinked at that statement, tilting his head curiously, and he decided to get down to business. "Really? Because I think you're procrastinating."

The sudden seriousness in Bulgaria's tone took Lithuania aback. "Wh-What?"

Bulgaria stared at him for a few seconds then sighed as he gave him a look of disapproval. "Oh, come on Toris, you're stalling, and you know it. We've been here outside more than we needed to, and frankly, I don't know why we're still waiting." He clutched his head with a puzzled expression. "In fact, what _are_ we waiting for?"

For almost a split second, there was a bit of hesitation in Lithuania's eyes, then he opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out and he looked away. "This isn't as easy as it sounds, Dimitri. One slight mistake can result in everything unraveling and Russia tracing it back to us."

"…How exactly?" Bulgaria inquired. "One's going to be killed, by you no less, and the other two are coming with us. No one will tell the tale, and didn't we already discuss how we're going to erase any evidence of us being there?"

"Taip, we did but-"

"Toris…" Bulgaria cut him off, staring at him blankly. "Please, just stop that… It's only logical that you feel this way considering the situation. There's nothing wrong with the fact that you're nervous and worried."

"There is, Dimitri!" Lithuania snapped, and Bulgaria flinched. "I _hate_ that I feel this way. I've worked for years to get rid of the fear I had! Nothing and no one is going to scar me ever again! No one is ever going to make go through that kind of pain. But…" His angry expression turned into a remorseful one. "I don't want to hurt them."

"I know. But you can't hide forever, Toris. Truth can run but not hide after all." Bulgaria stated, recalling the Western Sahara incident a few decades ago.

"You think I don't know that?" Lithuania said miserably, covering his eyes with his hand as he gritted his teeth.

"Toris… you're my best friend, and as your best friend I hate seeing you like this, but in the end, this is your choice." Bulgaria smiled sadly, looking at the house. "You have two choices. One: Do as we planned and carry out the revenge and reveal everything to them. Or Two: Do the same thing, except you don't reveal anything and continue with the lie as happily and as long as you can until the inevitable happens.

"No." Lithuania said immediately, scowling. "You're right, this is all pointless. We should get this over done with already."

"Quickly back on his feet… now that's Toris Laurinatis." Bulgaria muttered with a smile on his face. "Don't be hard on yourself, it's not good for you! But anyway, should I get the briefcase?"

"Yes, we don't want to remain too long in this country, our time given is limited and wasting it won't end well for us." Lithuania nodded, patting his scabbard, smiling.

"Yay! I'll get it right away!" Bulgaria clapped excitedly, turning around to march off, but he looked back at Lithuania and smiled softly. He threw his arms around Lithuania in an embrace, startling the latter while the former beamed.

"D-Dimitri?" Lithuania stuttered, and even though Bulgaria couldn't see his face, he was sure his friend was blushing.

"Toris... I want you to remember that _he_ may be my beloved, but you're my best friend, and that means you also hold a special place in my heart." Bulgaria said softly, closing his eyes. "In fact, everyone cares about you, we all want you to be happy."

Bulgaria felt Lithuania finally relax as he said those things. "...Sorry."

"It's alright, I wasn't mad at you, I don't think I can." Bulgaria reassured him. "But Toris..."

"Hmm?"

"Can you promise me... that after all this is over... you'll try to find your happiness."

"...Of course, I promise. Believe me, I want to find my peace just as much as you do."

/ / / / / /

Lithuania pushed some branches away from his face, allowing him to have full and close view of the house in front of him, and he narrowed his eyes. This is it. It was now or ever, and he was determined to do what he wanted and _needed_ to do. He waited nearly a century for this day, and he knew the consequences this could create, they all did. Gripping his sword, he felt his urge to kill getting stronger.

It's time to shatter the lie.

He turned around, and he met with a beaming Bulgaria. "Do you have what you need?"

Bulgaria nodded cheerfully and took out a syringe, grinning at it. "Da~ I'm ready~"

"Good. Then let's go." Lithuania nodded solemnly, turning around, but not before glancing at him one more time. "Don't hurt them in the process or frighten them with… being yourself."

"Don't worry, they won't even notice!" Bulgaria waved dismissively, still smiling like an idiot.

/ / / / / /

Prussia and Austria stared at the massive world map laid out in front of them over the table with pensive expressions, crossing their arms, they were thinking about all the events unfolding right now, and what would be the correct action to take now. The announcement of DRC's desire to join them was a pleasant surprise, and they were more than happy to welcome another nation to their ranks, but…

This also changed their plans for today. They already told South Africa the idea they had for DRC, and the African gleefully agreed, but now they had to make a few changes to the plan.

The gift they gave DRC, the gift that is Belgium's suffering, while also a test to see DRC's resolve, it was also a risk. They knew the Africans would take the precautions necessary to ensure that this incident wouldn't escalate, it will still soon gather attention nonetheless. This will become an international incident soon enough.

Attention was something they didn't need right now, their other plans for today will already get massive attention as it is, so they needed to be careful.

Some changes were in order.

"So, it's agreed then? We cancel most of the remaining plans for today?" Prussia asked, solemn red eyes traveling to his friend.

"Ja, if we want to keep ourselves out of suspicion, we must make changes." Austria agreed, covering his mouth with his hand, and he stared at the country of France. "Although, the runaways must be brought back. Vash, Haiti and the others stationed there will remain."

Prussia nodded, then glanced at Morocco's former territory. "I hope we didn't make a mistake letting her live." He muttered quietly, then narrowed his eyes. "Very well, let's spread the news."

/ / / / / /

Bulgaria easily entered Russia's house without sounding a single alarm, no one noticed, and it was too easy. Now, he was stealthily sneaking around, his trusty stick in hand as he tried to find a good hiding spot to stay for the time being. Bulgaria grinned as he searched, hide-and-then-seek was always a fun game to play, even though it was kind of one-sided, he giggled. He then slapped a hand over his mouth and blushed in embarrassment.

Oops! He has to be careful not to make any sound, they'll find him if he does, and then the game will be over! Not to mention he's going to get it from Lithy if he messes up. But no need to worry, Bulgaria is determined to make sure this mission is a success!

Operation: Turn Lithuania's Frown Upside Down is a go!

Bulgaria's eyes sparkled when he spotted a perfect spot and he quickly tip-toed towards that particular area then hid away in the shadows behind the pieces of furniture. Yeah, this will work! It's a perfect spot!

Now, to wait.

He sat and made himself comfortable (as comfortable he could in a place like this), waiting for one of the Baltics to pass by for him to pounce and knock out. One of them will come, they have to, sooner or later. Any minute now Estonia or Latvia or maybe even both will walk into this room and into his grasp.

Soon or later.

…Aaaaany minute now.

How much did Lithuania said he had to wait again? Bulgaria dejectedly leaned against the wall (even though it's barely been three minutes). Maybe he can do something else in the meantime, like… What can he do while waiting here? Poke himself with his stick? No, that's not much fun. Carve a picture of his beloved into his arm? Well, he could if… Wait, that's it!

Bulgaria grinned in delight. He can get lost in his thoughts of his lover! In fact, he has been feeling a little drowsy in the past few minutes. A quick nap wouldn't hurt, right? He closed his eyes. But he really needed to get that checked, he hopes he wasn't getting narcolepsy or something… No, that's silly… Maybe it's something… else…

Hopefully… this won't be a… problem in the future… and… he'll have nice dreams…

And just like that he fell asleep, a smile spread across his face.

/ / / / / /

Lithuania kept looking around with a cold expression for his target as he skulked around the hallway, and he was gradually starting to lose his patience. But fortunately, as if the universe decided to give him a break, he heard a familiar snarl.

"Where is he?!" A furious voice demanded, and Lithuania had to grimace, Belarus. "Where is Vanya? He said he would be here! Where is he hiding?!"

"I-I-I have no idea, Miss Belarus." A cowering voice responded, Latvia. "B-But how are your surprised at this point? You know he would stall as much as possible to avoid you."

Lithuania had to smile sadly and slap his forehead as he soon heard Latvia yelp after that sentence. Oh, Latvia, you really need to learn to be more careful with what you say, and read the atmosphere for your own good. But that won't really matter after today. Latvia won't have to be scared again.

"Lithuania better not be stealing my brother away from me! Vanya should know better than to waste his time with that annoying mouse!" Belarus hissed, and it took all of Lithuania's self-restraint to not storm in there right now and rip out her heart.

Oh, foolish and angry Belarus, one important thing you should know about mice…. Is that they bite when cornered.

/ / / / / /

The third listened on to the plan Switzerland and an unusually silent Haiti were narrating to them, the plan to recapture the runaways when the night comes. When the night comes, they will run and catch them in a mousetrap, painful and effective. But then suddenly third sneezed yet again, this time in Saudi Arabia's coffee. The other four nations present flinched, and as the third wiped his nose Saudi groaned.

"Oh, was that really necessary?!" Saudi Arabia demanded as he pushed his cup away with an exasperated expression.

"Sorry, I can't help it…" The third smiled sheepishly, and Iran rolled his eyes while the others looked on with amusement, even Haiti finally cracking a smile, then the man smirked. "I sense someone thinking about me~ This time in a good way."

Iran snorted at that statement and raised an amuse eyebrow. "Please, just how would you know that?"

The third just smirked and leaned back on his chair. "Oh, trust me, I know."

"Just like you know you're going to get me another cup of coffee?" Saudi Arabia remarked dryly. "To replace the one that has your germs swimming around?"

The third laughed and got up from his chair to do just that, giving Saudi a grin and walking away. As he passed through the crowds of Paris, he smirked as his thoughts went to someone dear to him, someone who he was sure was having sweet dreams of him. To be fair, he has also been thinking a lot about him as well.

Last he heard, Bulgaria is with Lithuania were on a mission in Russia, a kill-and-extract one. Ah, the dynamic duo of Lithuania and Bulgaria. Even though he preferred to have Bulgaria by his side, the duo's misadventures were very amusing, and they're adorable together. It gets even more fun when &%&$#/ himself gets involved with their antics, much to Lithuania's exasperation.

Oh, he just can't wait to see Bulgaria again.

/ / / / / /

 _Bulgaria bared his teeth in a furious snarl as he stomped through the mountain landscape, frantically looking around in a desperate search for the person who did this him, who had the nerve to reduce him to this. **He** is here somewhere, he knew it. **He** himself told Bulgaria he liked to frequent here, that bastard. And Bulgaria was going to find him whether **he** likes it or not! _

_That man did this to him, he fractured his mind! Bulgaria could not forget about how that man cruelly left him in that state, no matter how much he tried to move on, he couldn't! Despite everything, Bulgaria couldn't stop thinking about him. Even after everything!_

 _Bulgaria did everything that man asked him to do to prove himself, **everything** , and he did it without much hesitation. But it looked like that wasn't enough to prove Bulgaria's sincerity, and that nearly drove him to bang his head against a wall and scream like a madman. It left Bulgaria broken. _

_As he found no sign of that man, Bulgaria could feel himself nearing closer to the brink, and in despair he pulled his hair and let out a deafening wail that could be heard everywhere in Europe. He punched a wall of rock next to him, ignorant of the pain, and he slowly fell to his knees to sob._

 _"I think screaming, self-harm and crying will hardly change his mind, no?" A disapproving voice lightly scolded Bulgaria, and he snapped his head to see a man known to be rather reclusive and preferring to be referred to as "Saudi", who was looking at Bulgaria unimpressively. "My, you are quite the stubborn one, too much for your own good."_

 _Bulgaria didn't respond to those remarks, instead staring at the man coldly before standing up and hissing out one single question. "Where… is he?"_

 _Saudi's expression didn't change, but he did crack a smile. "No greetings this time? I would feel offended, but I just feel sorry for your current state. Not in a mocking way, I will have you know."_

 _"I said… where is he?" Bulgaria asked again, this time with more venom._

 _"You do realize the opportunity he gave you, do you not?" Saudi went on nonchalantly as if Bulgaria hadn't spoken, ignoring the European's seething. "You do not know what is lying under wraps, little poor desperate man, despite how much **he** revealed you are still clueless. This is your chance, go home, discard your feelings for him, go on with your life and avoid getting involved in something that may be too much for you."_

 _"WHERE IS HE?!" Bulgaria screamed in rage._

 _"So… you make the same choice me and two others did. Not necessarily a bad thing, but the fact that you can be involved remains to be seen." Saudi noted with a thoughtful expression, as if reliving a certain memory, then narrowing his eyes at Bulgaria. "Know that it is not me you should prove yourself to, but **him**. If you really do get in, then I will welcome you with open arms."_

 _Before Bulgaria could even try to scream or grab Saudi's throat, a familiar merry voice was heard. "Saudi~ The food is ready, come in with us and eat~" Bulgaria felt his breath get caught in his throat, because he knew who it was, and coming from behind the rocks was none other than the man responsible for Bulgaria's madness. "Hurry, or else Amir will- Oh."_

 _The man stopped in his tracks the moment he saw Bulgaria, visibly surprised to see him. Bulgaria swallowed and looked at the man desperately, quietly begging him to accept him, but he felt himself crack yet again when that man groaned. The source of Bulgaria's emotional agony frowned in distaste and looked at Saudi for an explanation._

 _"It appears that your actions have repercussions, my friend, he will not listen to reason I'm afraid." Saudi sighed then smiled at the two personifications. "Now I will be inside if I am needed, please try to resolve this. If you excuse me…"_

 _And with that, Saudi turned around and walked away, that man scoffed and began to leave as well. "Well, I am going in with you. I do not want to deal with this."_

 _That sentence snapped Bulgaria's self-restraint and he swiftly moved to stand in front of him, seething. "No."_

 _"Oh?" The man looked at him in mock surprise, smirking. "Oh, you little pest."_

 _"You are not leaving me like this. YOU ARE NOT LEAVING ME!" Bulgaria shouted in anger and desperation, which did nothing to faze the man._

 _"You are probably the most annoying being I have ever met, and I met a lot of disgusting people." That man remarked, clutching his head. "I never should have told you where I like to go."_

 _"I proved myself… again and AGAIN! I did everything you asked of me. Every test, every demand, every trial…" Bulgaria cried, but he refused to show tears, and he looked at him in despair. "I love you. I truly love you. Have I not proved it? I love you. I will say as many times as you want me to. You know that I love you. Why can't you accept it?! I-"_

 _"Ah, stop. You really think it is that simple? You understand nothing." That man said calmly and coldly as ice, but then suddenly grinned. "I have a dream, a dream I long to become a reality, where a new world order is established, and we actually do what is right. But you… Dimitri… are not one of the nations in that dream."_

 _Bulgaria shook his head, refusing to give up, and he grabbed the man's hand. "Let me in. Include me in this grand plan. I promise I will never ever hurt you. I promise! Please!"_

 _"Really? You promise?" The man sneered, clearly not believing that, then turned around. "Listen to me, this is not something you want to be involved with, this is not meant for you. For your own good… Go… away…"_

 _And then the man left, passing by a frozen Bulgaria, leaving him once again._

Bulgaria gasped as he woke up, quickly sitting up straight and breathing heavily, in shock of the memory he re-experienced just now. He wiped off some sweat off his forehead and stared into space as he tried to calm himself down. Calm down… it was nightmare… he's fine… he's alright. That was a long time ago… he's not that miserable nation anymore.

It was just as he feared, he figured he would see that memory sooner or later, but he hoped it wouldn't be during a mission. That was not a pleasant experience for him, the memory he means, it was a night he'd rather forget.

There wasn't really any point in dwelling on it. Everything ended in a happily ever after for everyone, no? Bulgaria wasn't bitter about it, his lover tends to dwell on it a lot more than him, and he apologizes every time it's brought up…

The sound of footsteps snapped him out of his thoughts and he peeked to see a shaking person walking by, fearfully muttering about "Miss Belarus" or something along those lines, and Bulgaria felt a smile form on his face. Latvia. Good timing. And Bulgaria decided to make his move.

Bulgaria quietly came out and followed after Latvia slowly, a smirk finding its way onto his face as he pulled a syringe out of his pocket filled with a clear liquid. He uncapped the needle and stepped close enough and quickly jabbed the needle into his neck. Bulgaria quickly covered Latvia's mouth so he wouldn't make a sound.

Latvia made a panicked sound that was muffled by Bulgaria's hand and turned to look at him with wide eyes. Fear shone brightly as he saw Bulgaria's smile before his expression became one of black tiredness, soon enough Latvia's legs weakened and he fell down with a "thump."

Bulgaria laughed.

/ / / / / /

Belarus huffed as she stormed through the hallways, full of indignation and anger at the sheer nerve Latvia had to say something like that, but the fact that she made the boy run off with his tail between his legs made her feel a little better. A little. How dare he! Russia would never do that! Russia has decided to assemble them all here so they could be protected in his mighty arms (and so Belarus could maim anyone who tries to hurt her brother).

They should be grateful big brother is so considerate of them, going out of his way to protect them. Cowering away from him and screaming, fools they are.

Although she isn't too mad that Ukraine is being delayed by her boss, she can't blame her for that, but she hopes that she'll arrive soon. Maybe today or right now if possible, so when Russia arrives-

She stopped when she turned around and her eyes widen slightly at the sudden sight of Lithuania standing in front of her, trying not to show much surprise. When did he get here? Belarus wasn't told of his arrival! Well, no matter, Lithuania must answer for his late arrival, she narrows her eyes. "Lithuania, you are late. Big brother specifically said to meet here yesterday, he won't be happy with you."

Belarus smirked internally as she waited for the usual burst of apologies, stuttering and pathetic attempts of flattery from him, but she felt confusion and mild irritation when Lithuania didn't react. The fool just kept standing there staring at her blankly, an expression she hasn't ever seen on him. It was almost…

She snarled and quickly got rid of that ridiculous thought. "Did you hear what I said? Would you stop swooning for once and act like a man?"

She again waited for the usual response, but instead she received something she never would have expected, _laughter_. Lithuania suddenly burst out laughing, not nervous laughter, he was cackling. It was something she never heard him do, not ever. Belarus took an uneasy step back. It was… unnerving.

As he laughed and laughed, Belarus wanted to demand an answer but she was too busy being paralyzed, she doesn't know why she couldn't move. But she was feeling a numbing emotion, an emotion that was causing her throat to go dry, her body to sweat and her hands to shake. For some reason, a part of her mind was screaming at her to take out her knives.

It was this she realized that she was feeling fear, _fear_. Lithuania was _scaring_ her.

Before she could even do something, Lithuania stopped laughing while wiping off some tears from how hard he laughed, then he smirked. "Oh, you… you actually thought I cared about someone like you? For someone as callous and selfish as you? I think I acted too well. Oh, and another thing…" He swiftly brandished a sword in front of his cold eyes.

Belarus gasped and took a few more steps back, before her back hit a wall, and she frantically tried to search for knives while keeping her eyes on Lithuania, who was becoming more terrifying by the second.

"I never cared about you, I never did, I hate you. But the person I truly, deeply despise from the bottom of my heart…" Lithuania gripped the handle of his sword tightly. "…Is Russia. I hate him. I want absolutely nothing to do with him. I want to kill him. But first…" He smirked widened and he walked towards her. "I'm going to kill _you_."

/ / / / / /

Bulgaria hummed happily as he wandered around in search of Lithuania, since he finished incapacitating Estonia and dragged him next to Latvia, all ready to take away, to let him know that needed to go. The leading duo of the Order sent out an order to return to their homes as soon as possible for today, figuring they created enough chaos for today. Another good day. Point, New World Order!

Now, where could Lithy be? Bulgaria heard a bit of a ruckus not too long ago, meaning Lithuania's commenced his part of the mission. So in order to find him, he needed to follow the smell of blood. But it's not as easy as it sounds.

Bulgaria went in hallway filled with doors and went into the first one he could find. The first one on the left? Nope. The one on the right? Nothing. The third guest room? No, sir. The supply closet? No sign of Lithy. The bathroom? No-no. the fifth guest room on the right? No one there. The one with Lithuania standing before the bloodied carcass of Belarus? Nah. The pipe and pickaxe closet? Nobody's there. The… wait.

Bulgaria froze and did a double take, then swiftly went towards that door and opened it too see that yes, Lithuania was in there. Oopsy-daisy. He walked into the room and stared in awe at how much of a mess the room became. Knives imbedded into walls, a few slashes from a sword here and there, blood splattered on the floor and on the wall… looks like Lithuania had a great time.

Speaking of Lithuania, said nation was breathing heavily as he stared at Belarus, his clothes stained with blood and looked thankfully unharmed. The sword he had in one hand was drenched in blood while the other hand was holding a red round mush that was dripping blood to the floor. Bulgaria knew what it was.

As for the other personification present, Belarus was lying on the floor, in horrible condition. Horrible, _horrible_ condition. She was lying, dead, on the floor in a splattered pool of her own blood, her abdomen and legs had been slashed several times, her eyes were glassy and wide in in permanent shock. But what kind of stood out the most was the open wound in the area where her heart was supposed to be.

The deed is done. Too bad they won't be here to see Russia's reaction.

Bulgaria blinked at the corpse, before turning his head towards Lithuania with a smile. "Wow… Are you going to do you-know-what with Belarus's heart?

Lithuania glanced at him with emotionless eyes, then at the heart in his hand with a grimace. "Well, I guess have to, don't I? I really hope this won't have digestive consequences."

"Interesting factoid: Actually, it's a common misconception that human beings can't eat raw meat, but still there are some risks." Bulgaria pointed out cheerfully, holding up his index finger, not noticing that Lithuania groaned. "Most problems, from parasites to chemical rot, become dangerous the longer the flesh has been-"

Lithuania ignored Bulgaria's "interesting factoids" and took a bite out of the heart, chewing the raw flesh then swallowing it, and made a disgusted expression as soon as he did. He gagged and coughed a little as he scowled. "Ugh. What do the Africans find so appealing about this?"

Bulgaria smiled and gave his friend a comforting pat on the back. "Aw, don't worry, you know you don't have to eat all of it. Besides, Prussia and Austria gave the order to fall back for today, and the two Baltics are peacefully unconscious in the living room."

Lithuania slightly widened his eyes at the mention of their leaders, then nodded. "Then we better not stay here for long. Let's go, we have to prepare for tomorrow."

As Lithuania started walking out, Bulgaria followed next to him with a curious expression. "Why? What are we going to do tomorrow?"

"Take a wild guess."

 **And so Belarus is dead, sorry for readers who are fans of her. In this chapter we see more clues of the mystery nation... I'm pretty sure I gave it away in this chapter. Like I said a few chapters ago, if you know then don't spoil it. The next chapter will be a unique one, since it's going to be one where some things that happened behind the scenes and what happened after some parts. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	18. Everything is not what it seems

**A big thanks to those who reviewed. Like I said before, this will be a filler chapter, but I guarantee you it's full of interesting information. Now, on with the show!**

Somewhere, maybe now, maybe in the future, in the middle of all the action and chaos happening, the third, the one who is unknown, observed it all happening. Pondering and watching, he sat in his leather chair, in deep thought as he stared at the fireplace lighting up the dark room. He was alone in this cozy little hearth room of his, it was a bit of a habit to come here once in a while and think about the state of things.

Now more than ever, considering things are unraveling. Everything was set, now all they have to do was wait.

Eventually, the third heard some footsteps, and looked away from the fire towards where the sound came from, and he smiled. "Oh, hey there, I was wondering when you'd come to find me. Did ya have a nice trip?" The response he received made the man smirk. "Wanna get straight to the point, huh? Eh, fine, fine. But hear me out first."

The third placed his feet on the table and leaned back comfortably into his chair. "I bet you're wondering about a lot of things about all this, all the mystery and unanswered questions, the unexplained, the thrill of it all… of course you'd want answers but as you have learned throughout this event…" He smirked wolfishly and formed his hand into a claw. "…the truth bites."

Laughing at the others' expression, he then calmed himself down and turned unexpectedly serious. "But let's get serious, shall we? I know you've been waiting an explanation for why and how someone like me has been part of this, let alone allowed. Without getting rid much of the mystery, I'll spell out my motive for you, though I'm warning ya, it's one of those cryptic but uninteresting speeches."

"But before I begin, how about I explain some things to you? Show you? Aw, don't give me that face! It'll be an interesting experience for your curious little mind. You know… reconnect the blank points or at least some of them… You in? C'mon, aren't you just a teensy-weensy bit curious?" The man asked, then grinned. "That's a nice answer. Now, on with the show!"

/ / / / / /

Pain had become Malaysia's world in the last few days.

He wasn't sure exactly when he started to be in a constant state of agony or even WHY he was like this. It was… three… four… maybe two or five days, weeks, seconds, days, years, millennia, centuries, decades, milliseconds, lustrums, nanoseconds, quadrennium, biennium, microseconds, OR MAYBE EVEN ALL OF THEM. But he's pretty sure it was a few days ago… Right? Of course it was, but was it really? No… yes, it was.

It did all start a few days ago, he was having a normal day and happy and healthy, he was cheerfully going to go cook when out of nowhere there was a strange ringing in his ears. Shortly after that, he felt a pang of excruciating pain in his skull. It was a pain he had never felt before.

After about a minute of torment and screaming, he stopped only because he felt his breath caught in his throat, finding himself barely able to breathe. He choked and coughed, but even that didn't last because he started shaking uncontrollably.

It was there he realized he was having a seizure, but it didn't make sense, he hasn't been through anything that could cause him that. He wasn't under immense stress and he doesn't have epilepsy, also he doesn't lack of oxygen cause seizures that violent. He spasmed and convulsed so much that it caused him pain. There were sudden instances when some part of his body would contort horribly, and a sickening crack could be heard.

Needless to say, he screamed.

But none of that was important right now, it wasn't, he had to focus on his number one priority… he had it to find it, he needed it, he desperately wanted it, lusted for it even. But where in Malacca's name is it?! He's been missing it for years! He needed to take back what was his! Where? Where? Where? Where? WHERE?

Malaysia paled and hysterically shook his head in a desperate attempt to get rid of the confusing thoughts he's been getting lately. For some reason, he would suddenly contradict himself or go into a strange mantra until he snaps back into reality. It was starting to scare him. His own mind was scaring him.

Today after having a strange dream, a nightmare, he woke up face down on the floor of his living room covered with bruises, pounding in his head, bent wrists, semi-stiff legs and blood coming out of his scalp. Judging from his bloodied hands with a few short hairs and the sore spot on the back of his head, he was horrified to discover he probably tried to rip off his own scalp. He doesn't remember doing that, but he doesn't remember falling asleep, it was all a blur.

"I nak gila..." Malaysia murmured to himself, staring up at the ceiling with empty eyes, before his eyes trailed to the several dark bruises on his arms. When his hand started to twitch, he swiftly grabbed his wrist with his other hand only to wince, he remembered that it got fractured earlier.

He used his good hand to his blood-stained messy black hair and he used his still sore finger to rub away an ounce of the pain. Malaysia has been stuck in his own house since it began, he would have tried to go to someone who could help, but every time the thought crossed his mind, or he moved to go out the ringing would return. He doesn't want to experience that again.

Everything hurt… this would all stop if he finds it. But find what?! Why does he keep thinking that? What is it?

"WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?!" Malaysia screamed.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone knock on the door, shooting up faster than a bamboo sprout, Malaysia groaned from the whiplash and stared at the door tiredly. He still couldn't feel his legs very much, but he tried standing up anyway. To little avail.

Just as he was about to muster up a cry, he heard clicking from the other side of the door and it swung open, Malaysia widened his eyes when he saw who it was that suddenly came into his home and got the door open. Shocked dark hazel eyes met cheerful golden dark brown ones.

"Hello, kaibigan ko!" Philippines greeted his injured and gaping neighbor with a wide grin, not seeming to notice the state Malaysia was in, and with a happy go lucky look about him he strolled towards Malaysia. "Sorry to pop in on short notice, but… huh?"

Philippines blinked a few times in surprise and it looked like he finally noticed how Malaysia was, and he stared at him worriedly, Malaysia couldn't help but think that was a bit of an underreaction for something like this. But then Philippines apparently did a double take and looked horrified. Along with a bit of…. Guilt?

But he didn't dwell on that, there was someone, a nation who could somehow help him find… no…. help him with whatever's wrong

Malaysia reached out a hand desperately towards the startled Philippines. "Felipe... I... help... it hurts... it all hurts..."

Philippines cursed under his breath and ran over towards his neighbor, he rested his hand on Malaysia's bleeding head, the latter flinched in pain and Philippines quickly retracted his hand away. "It's worse than we thought... you're in pain... pucha."

"I've been like this for a few days now." Malaysia rasped out, grabbing Philippines hand despite his sore fingers, needing some sort of anchor to reality. "I don't know why I'm like this. ThereI just don't know! I just…"

"How… how could you be this hurt… I didn't think you'd…" Philippines muttered, though it seemed it was more to himself, he looked at Malaysia with a panicked expression. "Your bruises… Did you hurt yourself? Or did you…"

"I… Don't… Know…" Malaysia whispered slowly.

"I…" Philippines began before biting his lip, he tried again. "Abdul… have tried to get yourself some help?"

"Ya, but it's no use! If I even think about it gets worse!" Malaysia screamed in Philippines's face, the latter flinched and on cue the ringing began pounding on his eardrums again. Malaysia screamed and clutched his head as he tried to not think about it. "See? It's back! If I try to leave it comes and gives a hell of a headache! If I even think about leaving or contacting another nation, it comes!"

Philippines became alarmed at Malaysia's screaming and swiftly grabbed his shoulders while tears started to prick his eyes. "Abdul, calm down! You'll only make it worse if you panic and put stress on your mind! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'M SORRY!"

Malaysia only heard the first part of what Philippines said, but the ringing was starting to vanish from his head, and his suffering was alleviated if only slightly. Malaysia cried out in anguish and collapsed back to the floor, and he yelped when he felt pain in his injuries sting from the impact. Unable to endure more of the agony, he sobbed and let his head hit the floor with a thud. He heard Philippines say something, but Malaysia couldn't make it out, he could only stare at him with blank eyes.

This…. This is torture… Why is this happening to him? There's nothing happening in his country that could affect him like this… So…

It's because you haven't found it yet.

He feels there's something missing, a piece of the puzzle that vanished years ago, it's the key to stopping his suffering.

You knew. But you went on with it anyway, but no more, it's time.

Not just for his battered and broken body and slipping sanity, but for everything.

The cure for your pain will liberate you. It will restore all your hope, respect and civility and wither intolerance, insecurity and hypocrisy! Embrace it! Free yourself!

Economy… Strikes… Oppression… Religious Bigotry… Political Division… Hedonistic hypocritic sons of…

You need it. You let them take it from you but now there is no need to be ignorant. Find it. Take it back.

He needed to find it, end this once and for all.

It will set you free.

With a goal set on his mind and his priorities straight, he snapped his head towards Philippines who widened his eyes slightly at the sudden recovery. Malaysia narrowed his gaze on Philippines and snarled. "Felipe… Where is it?"

"Hmm?" Philippines raised an eyebrow, tilting his head in confusion at the question. "What do you mean? Where's what?"

"Don't… play… dumb with me. Tell me how I can find it." Malaysia growled angrily, Philippines was slightly taken aback by this and looked both thoughtful and confused, then looked at his neighbor uncertainly. Malaysia felt more irritated and he gritted his teeth. "Well? How do I find it?"

"Uh… before I answer that…" Philippines began, frowning in worry. "Can you first tell me who or what "it" is? Just to be sure."

"You… don't… know? How can you NOT know?! You obviously do!" Malaysia shouted irately, slamming fist to the ground, hardly registering the pain while he thought about how he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He then began screaming in blind anger and rage for a reason unknown even to him. "TELL ME! How do I find it?! Don't you dare lie to me, Felipe! I'll never forgive you if you try to trick me!"

"I-I-I…" Philippines could only stammer in shock at being barraged by these questions.

"Tell me, damn it!"

"I..."

"Felipe!"

"..."

"PLEASE! Just tell me! It hurts so much!" Malaysia wailed as the feral screaming was replaced with broken cries, tears streaming down his face, he looked at Philippines desperately as if he was the only one could save him. "I'm going through so much pain every day, I can't take any more of this! My mind is falling apart!"

"No, it's not!" Philippines shouted back.

"How would you know?!" Malaysia roared in rage.

"Because you're going to be fine! We'll make sure you won't feel any more pain!"

"Wh-What are you…" Malaysia trailed off as his hand started to tremble violently, he gasped as his body became rigid and he found himself unable to breath anymore, it was happening again. He started to choke, and Philippines kept crying out his name in alarm. The world started to spin to become nothing but a blur, the noise became white noise, and Malaysia's eyelids started to become heavy.

Once dark spots started to appear in his vision, he knew he was going to black out.

"…I'm sorry you have to go through this." Malaysia barely Philippines say. Sorry? What does he…

The image of a remorseful Philippines was the last thing Malaysia saw before he fell into darkness.

/ / / / /

The third smirked at the expressions and reactions they made at that all the while he tapped his fingers on his chair. So far, the show has been entertaining, even more than he anticipated, but this wasn't just about entertaining himself. No, this was supposed to show them. To reconnect the blank points, gain a better understanding of everything happening in the world. That, what he just showed, what just the beginning.

"So!" The third clapped his hands, gaining the attention of his audience, and grinned. "What did ya think? Huh? Huh? Did ya like what you found? C'mon, I want the full review!"

Despite the glares he received, the man beamed, and when one of them demanded the meaning of that the man only snorted. "I'm not telling! If I do it'll ruin the fun of figuring out for yourself! And I'd get thinking if I were you, it might save you from something terrible. From what anguish "it" will bring."

The man ignored the continuing shouts and casually crossed his arms, suddenly becoming serious. "While we wait for the next one to play, let me tell you something, I think it's important if you wish to understand me." He turned to stare at the fire, and he frowned. "Tell me, have you ever thought about the future? What will happen to the world that we love if we along with humans continue on our current path? Well, I have."

The man formed his hand into a fist and banged it against the chair, startling those present, and he grimaced. "Don't you see?! You fools have set yourselves upon a path to inevitable destruction! But we, the Order, are going to get you off that path, even if we have to drag you away kicking and screaming."

A beep sounded through the room and the man perked up at the sound. "Oh! Here comes the next one, pay attention! I'm sure this one will get Goopy's full attention, if ya know what I mean…"

/ / / / /

France did not see anything that happened on that night. At all. He felt great regret that this group managed to catch them in a trap, in his own land no less! They were supposed to be safe here in his house, he swore himself he would protect them, but he severely underestimated this New World Order and now he's paying the price. He was going to watch his former colonies get dragged away.

Was this part of France's punishment for his past? Seeing the nations who did not despise him suffer? Watching Haiti laugh as watched his former colonizer fall into despair? France would have accepted whatever punishment, if his former colonies weren't on the line.

But once again, something unexpected happened, probably the most surprising thing that happened that night. As he could nothing but watch as his former charges anguished over their current predicament, with panic as well over Seychelles' sudden disappearance. That especially caused France to nearly get a heart attack. He desperately hoped the little island didn't go and endanger herself.

In the midst of it all and completely out of nowhere, a light, a blinding and massive light, swallowed his surroundings then left him blind. He heard the others exclaim before everything went white and silence remained.

It was… odd. Not painful, just… odd.

After what he presumes to be several minutes, the light faded, and his vision returned, with everything like it was. France was still in the same place and in the same spot. He lowered his arms and he looked around in shock, confused about what on earth just happened, breathing heavily. He rubbed his eyes. What… What was that? What happened? Why did it happen?

But he put that thought away as another worry came. His little brothers and sisters. Are the others alright?

France felt panic rise and snapped his head towards the direction where they were, and he widened his eyes at what he saw in front of him, feeling his panic being replaced with confusion. In the distance, where five of his loved ones were supposed to be, Monaco and Mauritius were there covering their eyes, with Algeria and Tunisia nowhere to be seen. They… just vanished? How…

As France saw Monaco drop to her knees as she continued shielding her eyes, his brotherly instincts took over and he ran towards the girl, forgetting the reason why he remained there. "Lucille! Are you alright?! Please tell me you are not hurt!" He shouted over to her.

Monaco lowered her hands from her face then widened her eyes in horror. "Francis, no!"

He remembered Switzerland's threat, and he stopped in his tracks, expecting to hear a gunshot and a jolt of pain in one of his vital organs, but nothing happened. France stood still, with a visibly shaken Monaco in front of him holding her breath, for almost a minute and still nothing happened.

France looked back at his tower, where he should be hiding, and stared at it in the tense silence of the night. Switzerland's not doing anything. Could it be that light affected him somehow? France shook his head, it doesn't matter right now, he shouldn't look at a gift horse in the mouth. "It seems our trapper is distracted right, mon petite, so we shouldn't worry right now." France kneeled down and put a hand on Monaco's shoulder. "What I'm worried about now is you, are you alright?"

"Oui... I think so. I was... just surprised." Monaco smiled uneasily at her older brother, who then helped her up the floor, and she kept a tight grip on his hand. He supposed she felt relieved he was safe and was rather shaken. He didn't blame her. She then shook her head. "Non, I should be asking you that."

"Ah, no need to worry for me, mon petite. Switzerland didn't hurt me." France waved his hand dismissively then directed his gaze at Mauritius who seemed to be recovering his sight, "And you, Kelvin? Are you alright?"

Mauritius stooped rubbing his eyes the blinked as he stared at France uncertainly. "Y-Yeah, I'm okay, just… a little blind right now."

"Good." France sighed in relief, at least his former colonies that didn't disappear are safe, wait-

"W-Wait, where are Algerie and Tunisie? Where did they go?!" Monaco shouted in alarm as she stared in horror at the spots where the stern Algeria and the considerate Tunisia once stood a few minutes ago, and France felt alarm rise once again.

First his little ones in the Caribbean, then his former colonies in Africa getting suffocated by his much less forgiving ex-colonies, four of the Africans that don't want his head on a pike showing up with news of an organization apparently bent on overthrowing the world, his bitter former colony in the Caribbean breaking into his home (France still doesn't know how Haiti and his friends managed to enter undetected), five of his adoptive siblings falling into a trap with one almost getting shot while another vanished into thin air, then two of the remaining disappearing because of some magic light.

Honestly, France doesn't want to see any more harm happen to the personifications that managed to forgive him for his sins. Also, the vanishing into thin air problem is becoming more recurring; wherever they are he hoped they're someplace safe.

France had a feeling that Egypt was responsible for that strange light and if it is then that should mean that they're alright… hopefully. Ah, don't be so pessimistic, France! Be more positive, of course they're alright! Egypt has done this feat before when they escaped from the clutches of Cameroon and Nigeria, no? There really isn't any need to fear!

But… if it is Egypt's work, then why wasn't Mauritius taken with them? For that matter why wasn't Monaco and France himself included? It's seems rather unnecessary. Did Egypt make some sort of mistake in his magic spell process, however that worked, that caused him to not take them with him?

"First Egypt, then Michelle, now Algeria and Tunisia pull a disappearing act?! Where are they?!" Mauritius demanded, looking around frantically for any sign of his friends, before looking at France desperately. "Why-"

Mauritius trailed off as he stared at something above France, and before the European could turn around to see something bright flew past him and plunged into Mauritius's forehead. France widened his eyes in horror while Monaco shrieked as he noticed that the object was a needle. Haiti.

Mauritius could only remain standing where he was with glassy eyes wide with shock, the life already left from his body, and he started to fall backwards.

"KELVIN!" France exclaimed as he immediately bolted towards him, only for a bullet to fly past him, and he turned around to see a sneering Switzerland aiming his rifle right at him. France stopped in his tracks as Switzerland looked at him with annoyance.

"Now, what did I tell you earlier? Don't tell me you thought that you were safe!" Switzerland scolded, then glanced at a frightened Monaco and a lifeless Mauritius on the floor, and he frowned. "So, the siblings vanished as well? How odd, I wonder why Egypt didn't bother to bring you with him. Would have prevented you from being in this situation."

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Switzerland." Another voice said cheerfully, and France felt a chill run down his spine as he _knew_ that voice, it filled him with both dread and anger. Suddenly a puff of purple smoke suddenly exploded in front of him, France covered his mouth before he looked up and saw a grinning Haiti standing in front of Mauritius. "One runaway is better than none, no?"

"Hennrick!" France exclaimed in anger.

"Ja, at least we have one victory today." Switzerland sighed, and then gestured towards the Eiffel Tower. "Just grab the island so we can go. After getting our victory snatched away so cruelly I'm eager to pry open his mind."

"Non! You have done enough damage for today!" France snarled as he tried to stop Haiti, Mauritius won't get taken away on his watch, but Haiti was swift in pressing a needle against France's throat."

"No, you… will not be doing anything, _frère_. You… will watch." Haiti stated, almost ordering France, as he sneered contemptibly at him. "It hurts, doesn't it? Being all helpless and unable to do anything to save yourself and those around you… Tell me…" He leaned close to France's face. "Just how much does it hurt?"

France gritted his teeth as Haiti's needle pierced him slightly. "Trust me, Hennrick… you cannot imagine the pain I felt when I discovered you, Rahim and Roshaun were involved in all of this. What they did…"

"Is that so?" Haiti asked amusedly, and he snorted. "Then I can't wait until you find out who else wants your head."

"What? Who?" France asked. Who else in the organization would want him dead? Dominican Republic is a good guess, he still holds a grudge from when France invaded, but Spain seems like the one he should be angry at. Austria? Prussia? America?

"Only time will tell~" Haiti sang, then burst out laughing, much to France's displeasure. "Oh, it feels nice being able to talk to you without any need to pretend, liberating even. And I would stab this needle in your eye… But if I do that, the others will never forgive me for that. No, we plan on tormenting you _together_."

"You seem so confident. But are you sure it will happen?" Monaco noted out loud, both nations turned to face her, and she looked slightly nervous from the attention. "Your plan tonight has been foiled as you can clearly see."

Normally France would applaud Monaco for her shrewd logic, but right now, in the presence of the two nations who are not afraid of slaughter, he mentally scolded Monaco for potentially angering these nations. He didn't want to lose another person he cares about.

But surprisingly the only reactions were a frown from Haiti and Switzerland scoffing. "We prefer to think of it as a minor setback. But fräulein, you forget that while the runaways have escaped, they left someone behind. Remember, you know nothing."

Monaco didn't respond, and she bit her lip. Haiti chuckled a little and turned his attention away from France to walk towards Monaco, the Frenchman panicked as to why Haiti would want from her. Haiti stood in front of Monaco, who France could tell was trying her best to not look anxious, and smiled at her, though his intentions aren't clear. Monaco tensed and began to take a careful step back, only for Haiti to suddenly snatch her throat, much to France's horror.

"Lucille! Hennrick, let her go this-" France began to shout only to receive an furious glare.

"Shut up, you bastardl! I said you will not be doing anything!" Haiti snapped, snarling at his former caretaker, then smiling back at a struggling Monaco. "That goes for you as well, sœur. I can't even figure out why you put up with that bastard, but it doesn't matter. You're a nice girl, I heard they're _considering_ letting you live, but don't take advantage of that."

And with that Haiti released his hold on Monaco, letting her cough and gasp for breath, and France quickly went to her side. He held her in a protective embrace as he glared at Haiti, who only glanced coldly at him once before going to Mauritius.

"Hennrick..." France gritted his teeth. "Do you really hate me that much that you'll even hurt those that did nothing to you?"

"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer. But if you must know..." Haiti looked back at them with a frown. "I'd rather people not get in the way of our feud, but I don't like forcing my hand. Monaco is a nice girl, too good for you, and you care for her. Too bad you didn't give the same kindness to many of your colonies."

"That's..."

"Please... Don't bother, France."

Haiti kneeled down and swiftly pulled the bloody needle from Mauritius, putting it away then glancing at Switzerland who nodded.

Haiti carefully picked up Mauritius as Switzerland walked towards him, all the while France watched helplessly. From the bottom of his heart he cursed the fact that there is nothing he can do to save his former colony, not without possibly endangering Monaco, and he held her close. It hurt. It caused him deep pain, and he glared at Haiti. But despite his anger, he only blamed himself.

Haiti carried a dead Mauritius by the arm, and he seemed prepared to leave, but not before giving France one last smirk. "Au revoir~" And as soon as Haiti finished saying that another puff of purple smoke exploded, enveloping the area, and by the time it cleared up Haiti, Switzerland and Mauritius were gone.

France remained staring at the place where they were, unable to take his gaze off, full of grief. Monaco bit her lip again, and looked up at France nervously. "Big Brother France…"

He looked up at the Eiffel Tower, and he narrowed his eyes before softening his gaze at Monaco. "Lucille, we need to go. We don't know if there are more of them here, it isn't safe. As much as it pains me to admit it, mon petite…" He grabbed her hand and gave her a serious expression. "We both won and lost tonight."

/ / / / /

"Wow…" The third gaped in awe as the static appeared, and he turned at his audience to gape. "Seriously, WOW, that was something, huh? Geez, some friend Goopy is, leaving behind poor little tortoise boy. Riiiiiight into our hands, but it give us a victory. In fact, that was one of several victories we had that day! Spain and Belarus's demise, Philippines getting his buddy on track, DRC joining the club. It was a fantastic day for us!"

As he cackled, he once again was met with piercing glares, and gestured them to calm down. "Aw, don't give that look, it wasn't our fault Mauritius got captured! Blame Gupta and his magic… whatever the hell that was. Who knows…" He leaned close and snickered. "Maybe Egypt was getting rid of the competition for the heart of his lady friend. What?! It's possible!"

He relaxed into his chair, sighing, then he suddenly frowned. "Seriously, you all really need to pay more attention to the world, it would have saved you all the trouble you've gone through in this war. This all would have been avoided you just _paid attention_." He stared at the fire again. "But you all ignored everything, us and the world. You inconsiderate fools have ignored how the world is slowly crumbling into nothing."

He banged the arm of his chair with his fist in anger. "Increasing wars and famine, diseases of unknown origin, increasingly frequent natural disasters. Don't you find it odd? A bit coincidental? Has anyone even noticed? Has anyone even bothered to? Did you really expect us to simply sit and wait for it all to end?"

The beep sounded again, but the third didn't comment on it, only staring angrily at his visitors as he waited for an answer to his questions. Of course, he didn't get any, so he scoffed and looked away disappointedly. "Perhaps a look into the past can give you a better clue at how oblivious you all are."

/ / / / / /

Lithuania couldn't believe this. He couldn't believe what he just heard. What he just read on the newspaper. He desperately hoped this was some attention hungry journalist's poor attempt for a promotion, but the evidence he kept finding crushed that hope. So, the only reliable source he can get the answer out of was none other than the nation he was currently staying with, America.

America had just recently revealed his true self to Lithuania, and to say he was shocked was an understatement, but he supposed a child couldn't be the one running the world. America revealed the truth because he saw potential in Lithuania, he saw someone how could join the organization he was working for. America offered him the chance to make sure Russia will pay for what he did.

He offered Lithuania the chance to never be stepped on again, to be the fierce warrior he once was years ago. It all sounded too good to be true. But that, along with being able to make his own decisions without having a boss, to stop being the pathetic scaredy-cat he was today, to live in a much better world…

Why would he refuse?

So now he was officially a member of the New World Order, now involved in something massive and amazing, and it felt nice. He was still learning the ropes of the organization, he still had to practice his façade a little and he hasn't (truly) met all the members yet. But America was more than happy to help him out, and Lithuania felt a lot of gratitude for the young nation.

Speaking of the other members, Lithuania's jaw nearly dropped to the ground when he found out who else was also involved. Most of the Americas, the Nordics, the supposedly ever neutral Switzerland, and Austria and Prussia were the ones behind it all. Lithuania had to frown when he found out about Prussia, but the real Prussia (whose actual personality made Lithuania gape like an idiot) was much more pleasant than the fake one and was eager to make amends.

In summary, he liked this organization, it felt nice and he recently began a strange… friendship with another member, Bulgaria. At least that's what Bulgaria declared they were, because Lithuania was too dumbfounded by Bulgaria's real personality to say much, but he was a lot less annoying than Poland so Lithuania was alright with that. He liked having someone as cheerful as Bulgaria as a friend.

Anyway, back to his current issue, he spotted America calmly sitting on the bench near the house and Lithuania quickly walked towards him. Just as America turned to look at him, Lithuania shoved a newspaper in his face. "What is this?"

America reached out a hand and slowly pushed the newspaper out of his face to look at Lithuania confusedly. "What do you mean?"

"What do I… How can you not know?! It's all over the papers! Everyone is panicking!" Lithuania exclaimed exasperatedly, then showed him the newspaper and pointed towards the headline. "The stock market crashed a few days ago! Your economy is taking a dive for the worst! Everyone is going into a depression!"

"Don't worry, Toris, I've heard." America said nonchalantly, staring up at the sky, as if this wasn't something to be worried about. "Everyone will have an economic recession, devastating effects on countries in every continent. Pretty grand, huh?"

Lithuania couldn't believe what he was hearing and seeing, America thinks that all of this is grand? "How… Why aren't you worried about this? Don't you know the effects it'll have on everyone? We're all going to suffer, and by we, I'm referring to the Order!"

"Huh?" America blinked, before a look of realization came over his face, and he slapped his own forehead. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, damn. Sorry, I just assumed you knew."

"Assumed I knew what?" Lithuania asked.

"This is Austria and Prussia's work, part of the plan, they planned for this to happen." America said cryptically, which didn't help much with Lithuania's confusion. "All of this, this stock crash, the effects on everyone, it's how they're punishing themselves and the world."

"What?! You're saying that they planned for this to happen?!" Lithuania said in disbelief. "But… what do you mean punishment?"

America adjusted his glasses, then stared aloofly at Lithuania. "Punishment to the humans, punishment to the nations, punishment for Prussia and Austria themselves, for causing the first ever World War. Self-imposed punishment for them, karma for everyone else."

Lithuania could only stare in awe at what he just heard, but it still filled him with worry. The depression… it won't be a pleasant experience for their two leaders, he understood how terrible the war was but those two…

"But… what about us? Won't this still affect our economies?" Lithuania asked, glancing at the headline on the papers, and he wondered just how much power this group has.

"Tell me, Toris. If this will really affect us, then have you felt anything that indicates that?" America asked, cold blue eyes traveling to Lithuania. Lithuania widened his eyes and realized that America was right, he didn't feel any cold or anything that comes as a result of a recession, fascinating. "There you have it. You shouldn't worry so much, everything's planned out, and we're all playing our parts. So just sit back and enjoy the so-called peace while I play the figurehead."

"Figurehead… so you're not…"

"That's right, that's my role, the figurehead. Many of the things I do are things I was ordered to do by our two leaders, the same goes for everyone else. I'll pretend that I'm the big power here while in reality the true powers are the people who started it all. Prussia and Austria are the true world superpowers. Not. Me. I'll give you some time to digest all that information."

America stood up from the bench, gave Lithuania a small smile, then turned around and walked away leaving a stunned European. Lithuania really did need time to take in all this, he was still a new member, and he didn't know everything yet. But still… Lithuania smiled. He made the right choice joining them.

/ / / / /

"Oooh, plot twist!" The third gasped in mock surprise, cupping his face then grinning. "That's right! _We_ were behind the great depression! Insane, isn't it? But don't worry there's _more_. Just sit back, relax, and continue enjoying the show."

/ / / / /

America doesn't why he came back here. He really didn't. He thought he'd be glad to be out of this mess of a country, but he wasn't, as soon as he left the feeling had been bothering him for the past few years. He found that he couldn't abandon him. He doesn't want to. But why? He snorted, it looked like _he_ grew on him, enough for him to feel guilty. But why come back now? It's far too late to do anything.

Still, America was determined to try, for _his_ sake.

America had been lucky he and his soldiers could still come here, albeit for the sake of the final evacuation of the citizens, but it still proved to be the perfect chance for him to sneak here. What's more, _she_ can't sense his presence, so he doesn't have to worry about her coming.

As he expected the whole place was a mess, a horrible mess, it made America frown. At least the war is over, and with time no traces of these ruins will be noticeable as they rebuild. America wasn't proud of his role here, but he wasn't ashamed of it either, he shook his head. Enough. He didn't come here to wander in his thoughts, he came here to find his friend.

He heard someone exclaim in surprise, and America looked up to see a soldier ready to shoot him, but he only scoffed and quickly shot the man without a second thought. America continued on his path, not paying the human any mind, and after many minutes of walking he finally found them. America quickly hid behind a wall and carefully hid himself, so he could watch. But after a few minutes, he wished he hadn't.

The two of them were there. Vietnam. North and South. But the sight before him filled him with grief and anger, the former being an emotion he hasn't felt in a while. North Vietnam was standing, with her hands drenched in blood, and sobbing as she stood before a bloodied and limp South Vietnam who looked… dead. America frowned (in reality, the frown he hasn't been aware he was wearing deepened). North looked horrified and kept shaking her head frantically as she kept repeating this wasn't supposed to happen" and "I didn't mean to, I swear!" endlessly.

America didn't get why South had to die, apparently something about preventing post-war resentment according to China, and he scoffed. Really? Because when Confederacy died, it still took a few years for America to get rid of the South's bitterness even with that ability the Order had. Then again, he doesn't know what North was thinking. Maybe she did this to put her brother out of his misery. But again, who knows?

A while passed and North eventually had to stop clinging onto her other half to meet up with her soldiers, which meant that America could now come out. He walked towards South Vietnam and stared at him. This… even though it was in the plan it still felt… wrong. America didn't want it to end like this. America didn't want South Vietnam to die like this. That's why he came here, America wanted to save him.

America leaned down to get a closer look and he got an idea. There's still hope for his friend, he can be saved from death, but he's going to ask a few individuals for that to happen. He carefully and easily carried South Vietnam on his back, giving a small smile to his dying friend, then walked away.

/ / / / /

"…And so that's how this story ends, my friends." The third smirked, which was again change from his previous serious behavior during the flashback. "With the "death" of one nation and his mission to "come back to life". South Vietnam will get his land back, not for capitalism or revenge, but to _live_. So, my friends, I hope you liked what I showed you."

The third clapped his hands and the lights turned back on, revealing Egypt and Hungary glaring at him with a staff and rifle respectively. Hungary gritted her teeth, trying to hold back her tears, and she aimed her rifle at him. "Is that all you have to say, you bastard?"

The third leaned back on his chair, and grinned. "I should the one asking you that. I expected more commentary."

"Enough of your "shows", we came here for one reason." Egypt narrowed his eyes and pointed his staff at him. "And that is to put an end to you once and for all."

 **That's that! I hope you liked it! This chapter provided more mystery, I hope you can solve them with the clues I gave you. Next chapter we're back with Egypt and the others! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	19. The next step: News

**Hi! I'm very, very sorry for the late update (again). Some problems came up in my life so I had to take a small break, but things are pretty good now. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Now, on with the show!**

 **BTW I feel like I should credit LKeiko on deviantart for the Central American OCs, you should check them, they're really good.**

Egypt didn't know what to say… he didn't know… how can this be? He asked himself repeatedly as he stared in shock at a desperate Seychelles looking teary-eyed at him, not moving a muscle, not uttering out a single word, and the island nation seemed to be waiting for him to say something. From the way she shook with anguish with her eyes… she wanted, no, no needed him to give an explanation as to what happened.

And why Mauritius isn't with them.

It was baffling. Algeria is here with them, it's safe to assume that Tunisia is also here, and Seychelles was right front of him before his very eyes. But for some reason, for some horrid reason possibly existing to torment him, Mauritius wasn't included in the unexpected escape. Why? It was surprising enough that Egypt unconsciously managed to save them from near capture, but the island not being here…

How?! Egypt didn't understand! He's saved the four of them as well as himself from the near fatal encounter with Nigeria and Cameroon, how come this time he only brought most of his fellow Africans? Did it have something to do with not being conscious of his actions? Why and how did he manage to do that anyway? Another point worth noting is that France and Monaco were also present, and they were allies, but they're also nowhere to be found, with their fates also unknown. Did they not count somehow?

Oh gods… three of their friends are likely to be still where they are, at the Eiffel Tower, along with a total of four members of the New World Order, who are more than likely to be furious at the fact that Egypt and the others escaped once again after coming so close to dragging them back to Africa.

He felt himself pale at these thoughts and possibilities. France is likely to be subjected to gruesome torture at the hands of a vengeful Haiti, while he isn't sure what the Order would do to Monaco, he's sure it won't be something good, and Mauritius mentioned that Nigeria was apparently "interested" in him. The implications of Mauritius's explanation meant that…

Egypt felt someone squeeze his hand, and he looked up to see Seychelles biting her lip, eyes still watery. "Egypt… Gupta… Why isn't he here? Where is he? Where's Kelvin? Why isn't Kelvin here with us?" She asked repeatedly, her voice becoming more distraught with each question, and she wiped her tears away with her arm only for even more to fall. "What happened to him?!"

It pained Egypt to see her like this, he doesn't want her to cry, but it broke his heart that he was responsible for this. He may have saved his friends again from danger, but he abandoned one of them, even if it wasn't intentional, even if maybe it wasn't his fault. Egypt has failed them. In failing to rescue a friend, especially one who was targeted by a cheerful cannibal, he has failed them.

"Why?! I don't understand Gupta, where is he?! Non…" Suddenly the color drained from Seychelles' face, and she shook her head frantically, grabbing her hair. "S'il vous plait, don't tell me that he's still THERE?! Non… non… we left him at their mercy!"

"No!" Egypt took the island girl's hand again, getting her attention, and he looked away mournfully. "I abandoned him, I took all of you and left him due to a foolish mistake, I-"

"You don't understand, Egypt!" Seychelles exclaimed, cutting him off, and she gripped his hand tightly with both of her hands as she despaired. "On that night… when we found Big Brother France… remember when I said Switzerland talked to us? He told us… he told us what they were going to do to Kelvin! H-He said that Nigeria and the others… they wanted to make Kelvin into someone just like them!"

"…What?" Egypt asked in disbelief. That confirmed his theory of what they wanted from Mauritius, but how? Mauritius is a kind and pacifist nation, the exact opposite of the Africa five, and he would never join them. Unless of course… they plan to brainwash him.

"Kelvin would never become someone like them! He'd never love causing pain. He hates fighting. There's no way they can actually do that… right?" Seychelles asked uncertainly.

He didn't respond. Instead he slowly sat back up then he wrapped his arms around her, and while hiding his tears he uttered out a single word. "Sorry."

Seychelles said nothing and returned the embrace, they both silently agreed to remain like this, to comfort each other. Egypt liked this, it has been a long while since he'd been in the embrace of another, it was comforting, heartening. He hated seeing Seychelles liked this, he hated himself for unintentionally causing this. Mauritius should be here, celebrating another miraculous escape with them. But perhaps there's still hope, he realized as he held her tight, he can-

His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of yelling from another room, the two nations broke the embrace to look towards the doors, and Egypt had to sweat drop. Seychelles looked nervous as well, and she cringed a little. Egypt raised an eyebrow. Is that Algeria he's hearing shout angrily? And the other voice giving snarky responses… Belize? That's right, he forgot they were in her house. What could that be about?

Eventually the door opened to reveal someone Egypt truly did not expect, probably the nations Algeria mentioned, and he nearly gaped. He couldn't believe his eyes. A rather anxious Bahamas entered the room, smiling uneasily while a shorter girl hid behind her, when the girl peeked her head out she revealed herself to be another ghost, Saint Lucia. Egypt looked at Seychelles for answers, who smiled sheepishly at him, and he looked back at them again.

"You… You two are alive?" Egypt muttered in disbelief. It may sound impolite, since these two have probably heard it enough times already, but it was the only thing he could say.

Bahamas tensed a little at the question then gave a forced smile. "Looks like it. But it's… just us two, everyone else is..."

"Oh." Egypt said grimly, regretting reminding them of what happened. "Forgive me. I'm sorry for-"

"Don't worry about it, please." Bahamas cut him off, looking away dejectedly, but then sighed and gave a sad smile. "I'm… I'm glad you woke up, I don't think Belize can wait much longer, as you can… tell. But Algeria's not happy with her constantly trying to barge into your room for answers."

"Is… that what that was about?" Egypt asked.

"Belize wasn't exactly happy with us teleporting into her house yesterday." Seychelles laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head. "She demanded an explanation, but since you were there… dying, we got her to agree to wait until you woke up to explain what was going on. Algeria's not that happy with her behavior, although it's understandable..."

"I hear voices! That means he's awake and alive!"

"You're joking, he must be exhausted after last night, don't drive him mad with all your questions!"

"Oh no, Sally, you said that you'll finally explain why you just poofed into my living room when he wakes up! Well, he's up! Time for answers!

"Sally?! Why you… At least give him some minutes to recover, you brat!"

Egypt once again, along with the three other nations in the room, sweat dropped at the sounds of the two female nations arguing. Then a curious young woman with long unruly hair peeked her head behind the door and beamed. "Egipto's up~ and he looks fine to me."

"Ha!"

"Ugh! Fine! But at least put that- Wait!"

He heard the sounds of rapid footsteps getting closer along with Algeria yelling, and something told Egypt that he better prepare himself, considering it's Belize. With her brazenness and fearless nature... Not to mention when they explain the New World Order to her. She'll definitely have a poor reaction to that. Especially Guatemala, the two were already not on very good terms with each other, and he can imagine that Honduras won't react well too.

Egypt remembered his own reaction when he discovered that man was a part of it, and he frowned, although it's understandable...

The steps sounded near, and when they stopped Honduras and the two Caribbean islands were shoved aside to reveal a strange sight. Belize stomped into the room with her thick England-like eyebrows furrowed into an annoyed expression and a sword raised high. Yes, a sword. She still carries that pirate sword around apparently. It wouldn't bother him so much if she wasn't pointing it at him.

"TU!" Belize exclaimed, waving her sword with a swish sound, and Egypt couldn't help but feel nervous as she stomped towards him. Seychelles tried to say something to the girl, likely to try in vain to calm her down, but was shushed with a hand against her face. "Mister I-poof-into-people's-living-room's-whenever-I-want! Who do you think you are, casi matándome así?! You better have a pretty good explanation for all this!"

Egypt just blinked at the sword, while more nations entered the room, one who is a frustrated Algeria and an anxious Tunisia trying to calm her down. Algeria saw Belize and she gritted her teeth as she rushed towards her. "Is the sword really necessary?! He's not going to hurt you or anything."

Belize scoffed and stuck her tongue out at Algeria. "I'm not gonna hurt the brujo or anything. I'm just emphasizing that I want the full truth and no sugar-coating or little white lies."

Did… Belize just call him a warlock?

Now it was Algeria's turn to scoff, and she crossed her arms as she looked away with a bitter expression. "Oh, I doubt you'll believe what happened to us, and you won't like it either."

"Si, si, those two told me the exact same thing." Belize waved it off with her sword, then narrowed her eyes again at Egypt. "Listen, brujo, a few days ago I found these two all scared and traumatized after their area went AWOL. Now, not long after your continent did the exact same thing, your friends here suddenly pop into my living with your carcass staining my carpet. I think I had enough of being kept in the dark."

"You say that now…" Egypt muttered grimly. "…But know that you're not going to like it. I doubt you'll even believe us."

Belize frowned at that remark, and she crossed her arms with a raised eyebrow. "Try me."

/ / / / /

Mauritius paled and desperately tried to back away, before remembering that he was stuck on a chair, as Nigeria laughed hysterically at the island nation's reaction. He continued struggling in his bonds, even if it hurt, and kept his eyes shut. No, no, no, no. He was not in a dark room all alone with Nigeria. Animalistic, cannibalistic and ballistic Nigeria. He just couldn't! Please let this be another nightmare!

But even as he kept his eyes shut, Nigeria's hyena-like laughter and cackles rang in his ears, and he had to accept the facts. He's at Nigeria's mercy now, if the guy even knows the definition of that word, and that's not good. Mauritius then felt something odd on his left shoulder and he realized that's where insane in the membrane bit him when he and the others were escaping. A reminder of the African five's bloodlust.

Mauritius frowned as Nigeria continued cackling with no signs of getting tired. Was this psychopath really that happy to have him trapped and bound in… wherever this place is? There's no way of knowing and his memory is fuzzy. He remembered getting impaled by a needle in his head, with France looking at him in horror and Monaco screaming being the last things he saw and heard before his "death". Wait… What happened to them?

As the realization sank in and he widened his eyes, Nigeria's cackling finally died down and he wiped the tears from his eyes to grin at Mauritius. "Oh… Sorry about that. Ha… I get way too excited sometimes. I just… I'm just so happy so you're here." He gestured his hands at Mauritius, then grinned wider. "Here. Tied up and bound, with no chance of running way, all alone with no one to save you this time."

"Where… Where is here?" Mauritius asked carefully, feeling nervous under Nigeria's gaze, then glared at him. "Where's Francis and the others? Where's Michelle?!"

"Well…" Nigeria leaned down with a mysterious smile then ran his hand through Mauritius's hair, making the island uncomfortable, and pushed Mauritius's head close to whisper in his ear. "We are in Switzerland, right in our home, right in our territory. When Haiti told me of your capture I just couldn't resist coming here!"

"S-Switzerland?"

"In my house to be exact." Speak of the devil, an amused Switzerland was sitting behind the previous unoccupied desk, appearing to be taking notes in a folder. "It's about time you woke up, you took a frustrating amount of time to revive, and that's only from a needle to the head. Not to mention the fact that it took you five minutes to notice Nigeria was in the room."

"Since when did you get here?!" Mauritius demanded, resisting the urge to wince at Nigeria's grip.

Switzerland raised an unimpressed brow at him. "I've been here for over an hour. I only went upstairs for a pen, in case you're wondering why you didn't see me when you woke up."

"That's… wait, you didn't answer my other question." Mauritius scowled at Nigeria. "What happened to the others?! What did you do?!"

"We didn't do anything. France and Monaco are fine… for now at least. Blame Egypt, he's the one who left you behind." Nigeria shrugged, then cooed sickeningly. "Poor thing. How could Egypt leave behind a bright little light like you? And right into our hands no less!"

Mauritius tensed at the notion. So, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Seychelles did get away… but he didn't get brought along with them. Why? Did Egypt make a mistake? There's no way he's going to believe that Egypt willingly left him behind after he saved him and the others last time.

Mauritius narrowed his eyes. "How would you know why? Besides, they got away from you, and that's what matters."

"Is that so?" Nigeria tilted his head.

Mauritius nodded, clenching his fists. "That's right. They're okay and you failed again. I know Egypt and the others will keep Michelle safe, so if they're fine then I'm fine."

Nigeria seemed amused by this. "Oh, isn't that just nice of you? Just nice… But you might want to hold on to that thought. In case you've forgotten, you're with me, and if I were you…" He grabbed Mauritius's chin leaned dangerously close to his face with a sick grin. "…I'd be worried about myself. But I digress… let's talk, shall we?"

"T-Talk?" Mauritius asked confusedly. "What do you mean talk?"

"I mean socialize, mix and mingle, interact, converse, fraternize, entertain… what else would I mean?" Nigeria shrugged, and his smile became a much kinder one as he clapped his hands. "Let's get to know each other. You really don't know who I am, so since you're here, we should get to know each other better. Come on, don't you want to get inside the mind of someone like me?"

Is this guy serious? Mauritius scowled. "No way, I'm not going to talk to you and I do NOT want to know what's in that head of yours. You're insane, you love seeing the people around you crash and burn, you're bloodthirsty, cruel, and-and all of that makes me sick!" He shouted at him, and Nigeria had to widen his eyes slightly at the outburst.

"Really? I make you sick? And you really don't need to state the obvious…" Nigeria muttered.

"Why should I want to know you? Love, compassion, friendship… you don't know any of that!" Mauritius cried out, seething, not noticing that Nigeria froze at that last sentence. "You think it's meaningless! You nearly hurt Michelle, and you want to capture her to hurt her! She doesn't even know how to fight! I'll-"

"How… dare you…"

"Wh-What?"

Nigeria grabbed the collar of Mauritius's shirt, the island grunted at the pain in his wrists, and he snarled. "Alright, now that is just insulting, degrading even. How dare you accuse me of not knowing those things? You don't know anything about me, hence why I wanted to talk, so don't run your mouth like that." He narrowed his eye angrily. "I suffered for years when I was a child as I watched everything and everyone burn around me! I love South Africa, Cameroon, Morocco and Liberia! I love them with every fibre of my being! I adore my leaders! Although..."

Mauritius blinked, stunned by the declaration, and was confused by the sudden silence. "Although…?"

"Although I really shouldn't blame you. I really do seem one-dimensional, don't I?" Nigeria laughed, in a 180° of his personality a few seconds ago, and smirked. "Anyway, since you don't want to talk with me, it's time to get down to business. Switzerland, Switzerland!"

"Hmm, ja?" Switzerland looked up from his notes, raising an eyebrow.

"What are you going to do to him? Can I be a part of it?" Nigeria asked eagerly, his eyes sparkling, like a child begging their parents to buy them a toy.

"Nein. I'm afraid your "fun" will have to wait." Switzerland responded with a rather annoyed tone, saying the word "fun" with clear distaste, and he sighed. "We still don't know the extent of his mental strength. If I let you do as you wish with him, you'll break him, and you don't want to do that to a potential recruit, do you?"

Nigeria snorted. "Oh, don't worry so much. I'm not going to break him. I'm not dumb."

"I believe I should. Besides, haven't you had plenty of your "fun" with the prisoners?"

Mauritius widened his eyes at the mention of prisoners as the two nations talked, Africa... The five of them are torturing the nations trapped there? Wait... Mauritius remembered the day of the African Union meeting. There about ten or eleven nations that refused to surrender... Oh no...

"Anyway, enough of this chitchat, at this point it's just padding." Switzerland met Mauritius's eyes, the island started to feel a load of dread get pooled into his stomach, and he began to walk away towards the back shrouded in darkness. But not before looking back at them. "Nigeria, bring him to the table. It's time to do some tests."

"Okie-dokie~" Before Mauritius could even ask what those tests are, Nigeria went to undo his bonds, much to his confusion. Nigeria quickly got them off and immediately grabbed Mauritius firmly so he wouldn't escape. He felt Nigeria dig his nails into his shoulders. "I know you won't break. I know because I saw it in your eyes, that same suppressed spark DRC had."

"What are you... Agh!" Mauritius was dragged easily by Nigeria towards a long steel table where Switzerland stood waiting for them.

Mauritius yelped when Nigeria scooped him up bridal style and laid him on the table then along with Switzerland they fastened straps on his body. Mauritius eventually was also bound by the head and was forced to look up to discover that there was a large bucket above him with a small hole in it. Water was slowly dripping out of the hole, and he watched anxiously as a drop fell then landed on his forehead barely audibly.

This... isn't this a torture...

"Chinese water torture." Switzerland said proudly, looking up at the bucket with a smirk. "Able to drive the greatest of spies to tears. It's supposed to gradually drive the nervous victim insane. The cold water would be usually slowly dripped onto the forehead because of its sensitivity. A good way to test your will, no?"

"More like a boring way." Nigeria groaned in distaste. "Don't get me wrong, I like psychological torture as much as Morocco, although I'm more of a physical torture kind of person, but this… it's just boring. The only thing you do is wait and watch as your victim slowly loses their sanity thanks to little drops of water. Kind of a letdown if you ask me."

Switzerland groaned as he slapped his own forehead. "It's proven very effective."

"It's like watching grass grow." Nigeria muttered.

Another drop fell onto Mauritius's forehead, and he flinched.

"Well, if this is going to bore you so much then you can go upstairs with your friends while I view his progress." Switzerland gestured towards the staircase and went to his desk for a notebook, commencing to take notes. "You can play with him when I finish evaluating his strength of mind, then you can do what's necessary. I only hope your thoughts about this one aren't wrong."

"Oh, have a little more faith in me~" Nigeria sang, chuckling, then cheerfully waved goodbye at Mauritius as he began to leave. "I'll see you later. I'll be rooting for you upstairs, bye~"

And with that Nigeria left with his laughter left echoing the room as another drop fell on Mauritius, causing him to briefly shut his eyes, and he noticed Switzerland continuing taking notes, glancing up to look at him once in a while before going back to writing down how Mauritius is doing. The island looked up at the bucket again, and swallowed as he anxiously watched the next drop come out agonizingly slowly.

It fell on his forehead again, right where Haiti killed him with his needle, and it fell down his head. He closed his eyes. Okay… Okay… calm down, don't panic. You'll just make it worse if you're nervous. He can do this. It's just drops of water. Nothing harmful, nothing dangerous, so calm down. Nothing's going to…

Drip! Another one fell on his forehead, and he frowned. This is going to be a long while.

/ / / / /

"So… let me see if have this right." Belize said carefully, notably trying her best not to look shocked, while Honduras stood next to her with a blanched expression and the two Caribbean girls sat on the chairs looking as pale as a ghost or in Bahamas's case, biting her nails. Belize took a deep breath and waved her sword around. "The people behind all this mess… Caribbean, Africa… is a group of nations calling themselves the New World Order? And they've all been lying to us for years? They… played us like a fiddle?"

"As much as it pains me to admit, yes." Egypt responded, frowning at their reactions.

"But you… with your hocus-pocus tricks, escaped with Algeria, Tunisia, Seychelles and Mauritius, who's not here for some reason, then after ending up in France and somehow getting found out, you accidentally abracadabra yourself and the others to here, my home, my living room?"

"In a nutshell… yes."

"And this New World Order… they have some sort of plan to either kill us or conquer us?"

"Apparently so."

"…Huh." Belize said, raising a bushy eyebrow before plopping on the bed with a thoughtful expression. "…That is pretty insane, brujo."

Egypt's eyebrow twitched when she called him a warlock again while Seychelles looked down dejectedly. "So… you don't believe us?"

"Eh? No, no, no, it's not that, Seychelles." Belize waved dismissively, and crossed her arms. "After having Bahamas and Saint Lucia for a few days here, I… already got a feeling something big was happening, since there was no way those five cabrones could do this and hope to get away with it. But I… didn't expect it to be this big, y'know? So… I think I can believe you."

"That's nice to hear, I guess…" Algeria muttered, before looking at the other three female nations. "How about you three? Do you believe us?"

Bahamas nodded quickly. "Of course I do! After what happened that day… after what we saw… I think I can speak for Lucy and me…" She glanced at the girl next to her, who nodded slowly, and she smiled sadly. "That I can definitely believe there's a big organization behind this."

"I…" Honduras bit her lip, running her fingers through her think hair anxiously. "I believe them."

Algeria sighed in relief, but didn't smile. "Well, that's very good, but there's the matter of who's in the organization we need to explain to you."

"Right." Egypt narrowed his eyes, wringing his hands together, this was the part he was dreading. "Aside from the nations we mentioned, there many more involved in this conspiracy, several of which will upset you greatly. The nations in this group all have their own reasons for joining, from revenge to philosophy, all united. But, there's someone you know very well in there…"

Belize and Honduras looked at each other nervously, and the former scowled. "Who's this "someone"? A neighbor?"

"Well, we have two papers each containing the list of members of the Order thanks to Seychelles and Mauritius, but I'm not quite sure where we left them…"

"Umm…" Seychelles raised her hand, uncomfortable from the attention on her, and smiled. "…I actually brought mine and Kelvin's with me back when we went after you in France."

"Y-You did?" Egypt asked incredulously.

"Mm-hmm!" Seychelles nodded and quickly stood up from her chair to rush out of the run, then about half a minute later she returned with the papers mentioned, smiling sheepishly while her hands trembled as she held them. "I… really don't feel safe going out without these. So, I thought why not bring them along? Here, you can read Kelvin's."

Egypt smiled at the island girl while Belize scowled at the paper and lightly snatched it out of her hands to read the contents of it. Honduras, Bahamas and Saint Lucia all went to her to read it with her, and it didn't take long for them to widen their eyes in horror and for the color to drain from their faces. Here it goes, again.

"Santa Madre de Dios…" Honduras covered her mouth in shock, shaking. "Brazil, Norcorea, Switzerland and even America?! How can this…"

"So many nations together…" Saint Lucia muttered as she clutched her head, shutting her eyes as she shook her head. "Strong nations too…"

"Haiti was right…" Bahamas said to apparently no one.

"W-W-Wait… Que?! What the hell is this? Tell me you're not seeing this, Sophia! Because I have to be hallucinating or something, because this… this!" Belize exclaimed angrily as she nearly buried her face in the paper, she was seething, she was furious. "You have got to be kidding me! That stuck-up know-it-all's there too?"

Honduras at first seemed confused at Belize's outburst, before she read the paper again and she paled. "Guate…?"

"UGH! I can't believe it! That bastard lied to us too?!" Belize screamed in rage, and Egypt had to widen his eyes at the fact that he himself said something almost identical to what she said, but he perfectly understood her feelings. "That flamboyant, self-centered, patronizing, two-faced bastard LIED?! Oh, I-"

Belize began crumpling the paper in her hands as she seethed, much to the horror of the runaways who knew what happens if the papers are damaged in any way. "NO!"

/ / / / /

Mauritius was just trying to keep his breathing calm when he suddenly felt an excruciating pain inside in his stomach. It was horrible, like his organs were getting crushed into a pulp, and he screamed in agony as he turned and tried to struggle violently against his restraints to hug his stomach, but he couldn't, it only added more pain.

Switzerland flinched at the sound of screaming coming out of the blue and he snapped his head up to see Mauritius's abdomen bleeding internally, he narrowed his eyes. "What in the world…"

/ / / / /

"You little brat!" Algeria shouted furiously at Belize, and she stomped towards her to snatch the paper from her hands. "Are you trying to make Mauritius have an even worse time than he's having now?! You probably crushed his organs!"

Belize took a few steps back in alarm and looked away in shame. "I-I-I completely forgot that…"

"Oh no…" Seychelles buried her face in her hands, likely about to cry. "Poor Kelvin…"

"Listen, I'm sorry, I was just pissed that old-"

"Enough. What's done is done. Let's just pray that he'll heal from it soon." Algeria waved her dismissively, covering her eyes with her hands in stress, and turned around only for her expression to turn confused. "Wait, where did Ubon go?"

"I'm… right here." Tunisia responded just as he entered through the door, several newspapers in his hands, and he looked pale.

"Brother?" Algeria asked, noticing her brother's expression. "What's wrong?"

"Belize…" Tunisia said as he looked up to see said nation. "Have you been reading what's in your newspapers lately? As in… from yesterday and the day before?"

"No, not really." Belize shrugged as she twirled one of her pigtails. "There's been a problem with communications lately, so there's not much news to go around, besides I don't really read them."

"Well…" Tunisia frowned, and he showed one of the newspapers for everyone to see. "I think you all want might want to see what's-"

He was interrupted by the sound of loud knocking from the door, and the whole room froze, everyone got tense. Everyone looked at Belize for answers on who could it be, but the girl just made an "I don't know!" gesture. This sounded suspicious, Egypt thought, it wouldn't be implausible to assume there's an enemy outside. Six out of the eight nations here are escapees, but Egypt was surprised that they got discovered so quickly.

They couldn't have found them after just a few hours… right?

But the possible severity of the situation didn't stop Honduras from cheerfully standing up and smile at them. "Ah, don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing. I'll get it~"

"But wait. What if it's…" Egypt trailed off as Honduras happily walked out of the room.

/ / / / /

Honduras hummed as she marched towards the front door, while at the same time trying not to let her thoughts about the news darken her optimism, although it still stung her heart that many of her friends have been pretending this whole time. It still hurt that a lot of her trust had been broken. It still broke her heart that Guatemala is a part of it. Frankly, all of it is rather devastating…

She stopped and looked down at her shoes miserably. How? She didn't understand… How didn't she notice something like this? She should have known… She knew Guatemala since they were babies, they were even "engaged" once back before Spain arrived and Maya was…

She knew that Guatemala was bitter, but she had no idea that-

Honduras shook her head and lightly slapped herself to snap herself out of it. No, no, no, no, bad Honduras! Don't sink into that hole of misery and pain! She may be heartbroken, but so are the others! They've actually been betrayed in person!

When both she and Belize met up with Bahamas, Saint Lucia and the four Africans, it didn't take long for her to notice that there's a worrying lack of optimists. Egypt's looks like to be the leader of the group which can generate a lot of pressure, Algeria's tough and stern like Nicaragua, Tunisia's calm but not exactly an optimist, and Seychelles is a worrywart. No one's there to keep everyone's spirits up.

Maybe Mauritius was the optimist? It makes sense. But it makes him not being here more damaging for the Africans.

Honduras decided to continue walking and soon she arrived at the door, swallowing. She slowly reached her hand towards the doorknob, and when she opened the door she was greeted by a familiar yet dreadful sight. She widened her eyes.

"Hola, Honduras." Guatemala greeted without the adoring and happy voice Honduras is so used to seeing whenever he sees her, and his lips were curled up in a slight smirk. "I was hoping you would still be here. What's the matter? You look like you saw a ghost."

"G-GUATE?!"

/ / / / /

"G-GUATE?!"

Everyone jumped at Honduras's voice crying out in shock, and Belize stood up in alarm. "What?! Are you kidding me?! That bastard's here?!" She exclaimed before realizing her mistake and covering her mouth.

"How could they have discovered us that fast?!" Tunisia demanded.

"Shush! Don't know, doesn't matter. What does matter right now is that all of you need to hide. NOW. He may be a jerk, but he's not an idiot, so hide. Hide!" Belize whispered frantically, gesturing wildly, then scowled at them. "Well? HIDE?"

/ / / / /

Belize couldn't believe these last few days.

It was crazy, but that would be a HUGE understatement now that she thought about it, that there's been a worldwide conspiracy under her, no, _their_ noses probably ever since Belize was just teeny-tiny. But that wasn't even the tip of the insanity iceberg. Nations can be killed without doing the whole invasion thing, Prussia and Austria are the leaders of this whole thing, some of the Africans just happened to be _insane_ , magic is real…

But still, England's getting no apologies from her.

It was all so huge, a lot to take in, but what REALLY made her furious was the fact that Guatemala had the nerve to do this too! It also baffled her that this escaped her somehow. Guatemala did use to babysit back then, granted he didn't do a very good job at it, he said he didn't like how much of a brat she became (which she's not!). He even liked to "conveniently" forget that she exists…

Anyway, that's not important, what is important is this "New World Order" has some big plan for every single personification in existence. They wiped off most of the Caribbean off the map, this also pissed off Belize, she's a Caribbean too! But either they don't consider her one, or sooner or later Guatemala or someone's going to do something to Belize. Something bad, her gut feeling tells her.

So, bring it on! Let her at this New World Order! Let's see how they take her on with her trusty sword! They can keep their big, strong or resourceful countries! North Korea, Iran, Switzerland, America… So, what if they have the world superpower with them? That's fine! Sure, he may be her biggest trading partner, but there's plenty of other nations out there! Like China!

Although she kind of threw that option away when she decided to stick by her good old pal Taiwan's side… Oh, those clever bastards.

But back to the present, Guatemala's here, here in her land and house. The six escapees hiding in her house wasted no time in scrambling for a hiding spot, and now they're hopefully hidden away, she just hoped that the so-called "real" Guatemala doesn't have super hearing or something. Guatemala showing up was one thing but… Belize didn't detect anyone other than the six hitchhikers.

She didn't sense any nation entering her land in the last few hours… Egypt mentioned that Haiti and about four other nations managed to do the same thing in France. Belize didn't really believe that at first but…

But like she said before, bring it on!

With her head held high, her trusty sword safely hidden in her person, and an irritating smirk, she confidently waltzed into the room where Honduras was twiddling her thumbs and biting her lip while Guatemala surprisingly wasn't all over his "cutey sister" and instead was unnervingly scrutinizing her with an unreadable expression. His attention was then transferred to Belize as she strutted next to Honduras.

Well, here goes nothing.

"Well, well, look who decided to abandon the creepy spying!" Belize scoffed as she put her hand behind her head, making sure to show her confidence, and raised an amused eyebrow. "Just what brings you all the way here to my humble abode? What, you here to confirm that your nightmares are real?"

"Bel…" Honduras warned her.

Not exactly the best of her wittiness but it did get a bit of a reaction from Guatemala as he stared unimpressively at her. "I don't have nightmares."

"Ha! Duh, you don't have them, because I am here! You really-" Belize was interrupted by a hand slapped against her mouth by a beaming Honduras, and she struggled against the older nation's grip, but then she got the message. _Let me handle this._

Honduras cleared her throat and charmingly smiled at her neighbor, making Belize realize Honduras is about to pull her own abilities in manipulation off her sleeve. "Oh, you know she doesn't really mean that, Guate! Bel, don't be mean, family visitors should be treated con amor y caridad!"

"Mff? Mfmffmmff! (Visitor? I didn't even know he was in my land!)." Belize said with her voice muffled, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes.

"That's the spirit, Bel!" Honduras cheered with her fist in the air, much to Belize's frustration. "Keep that up and-"

"Who told you?" Guatemala cut her off rudely, causing Honduras to flinch.

"Q-Que?"

"I said, who told you?" Guatemala repeated again, this time with more venom, and his lips formed into a sneer. "Because it couldn't have been those two stowaways hiding in this house, they don't know anything regarding other nations other than the Caribbean five nor have they come into contact with anyone that can give them this sort of information, so it begs the question… Who… Told… You…?"

Uh-oh… looks like Guatemala's a lot smarter than they thought. Wait a minute, he knows about Bahamas and Saint Lucia? He's been spying on them?!

Honduras flinched at the new harshness in Guatemala's tone, but even so she put a brave face and went up to him to cup his face. "Guate… what's wrong? Did something happen back in your house? Please, tell me. You can tell me anything."

"Anything?" Guatemala asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Por supuesto!" Honduras smiled gently.

Guatemala chuckled and grabbed her wrists tightly to lower them down, causing Honduras to wince and gape at him. "You know, Sophia, just because you're a woman of many layers, it doesn't make you a master at lying. At least, not enough to convince me."

"Hey!" Belize exclaimed as she glared up at Guatemala while Honduras rubbed her wrists. "What's the big idea, you creep?!"

"Oh, don't you start, Belize. You know very well you didn't sense me when I entered your country, if that were the only thing then you'd immediately demand an explanation upon seeing me. But, no, you lied." Guatemala stated, then smirked to himself. "I guess it's only fair but compared to me and the others your attempts are just laughable, but enough! Back to my question…"

Belize gritted her teeth and scowled at him defiantly. "Okay, fine, we figured out you have something to do with all the shit happening in the world right now."

"And by figured out, you mean someone told you, no?" Guatemala insisted, narrowing his eyes.

"But we did figure it out… who would have told us?" Honduras insisted, looking at her adoptive brother pleadingly.

"That's exactly why I'm asking you. I repeat, and I'm warning you that I don't have a lot patience to spare right now, who told you?"

Honduras and Belize glanced at each other, they were both thinking the same thing, this is the type of situation where they can only keep digging their own graves. _There's no way out_. If they can't lie to Guatemala, then it's only a matter of time before he snaps and decides to find Bahamas and Saint Lucia for answers, and if they find them they find the other group of stowaways.

This in not good. Neither of them can go to warn the others, and Belize herself isn't sure if attacking Guatemala is a smart choice. Not because she thinks that he might be stronger, but if they do that, then this "New World Order" might take it as a declaration of war.

Belize gritted her teeth so hard that they might as well break, and her amber eyes briefly went towards the window, where she saw a blue colored bird perched on a branch. It seemed to meet her eyes, then after two seconds, it flew up. Belize couldn't help but feel something was odd about that…

Belize shook her head. Who cares about some bird? She stomped her foot. "Listen, know-it-all, stop grinding us for information! No one, I repeat, no one, again, NO ONE spilled about you and your cronies! So, here's an idea that might help: LEAVE."

Guatemala snorted at that statement, then much to her horror, he turned his attention towards the stairs. "If you have nothing to say, then maybe those two do. I'm sure I'll have better luck with them. I'd rather not coerce you all, but you forced my hand, now you deal with the consequences."

Belize growled. Oh, that is it! She had enough of letting Guatemala act like he can do what he want. To hell with diplomacy! She's no letting him do anything to Bahamas and Saint Lucia! She unsheathed her sword and readied herself. "NO! _You_ forced my hand, and now _you_ deal with the consequences!"

 **And so begins the new arc! I want this arc to also have apperances of other characters but I'll get to them in the chapter or so. Please review!**


	20. The next step: Actions around the world

**Thanks to those who reviewed. A** **nd to the guest reviewer who keeps writing reviews, I understand you were trying to give advice. But critic or not, it's close to bullying with how you told me that you hope I die a painful death. If you aren't satisfied with the story, then stop reading it and stop leaving reviews. You not only upset me, but two other writers as well. Now, on with the show!**

With a scream of rage, Belize charged towards Guatemala with her sword raised high with the intention of turning that holier-than-thou look into a grimace of pain, as well as to keep him away from all the stowaways hiding in her house. This scrawny bastard wants to do whatever the hell he wants in her home? Ha! Well, like he learned through the years, she's both an annoying and stubborn brat.

The others may be stowaways, but she's more than happy to give them help and security, especially after what she found out from the four Africans. The only way he's even going to set foot in the room they're hiding in is if he walks over her (hopefully temporarily) dead body!

Let Guatemala try! Just try! Let that bastard TRY to get past her! Guatemala's not that much a fighter, at least not since his civil war, and his military's pretty meh. Even though considering the pretending factor and Egypt's descriptions of Haiti's strength… Oh, whatever! She'll just kick his ass!

She brought down her sword for a nasty swipe across his stomach, but Guatemala's hand swiftly went up to grab her wrist just as she did, and she widened her eyes as Guatemala stared at her unimpressively. Belize slightly winced when he suddenly tightened his grip on her wrist, and she gritted her teeth.

Belize then began to kick him, maybe where it hurts, but Guatemala barely budged. He lifted her arm and Belize began to feel herself getting raised up in the air. Not wanting to get her back broken, Belize growled and promptly headbutted Guatemala, which made him hiss and let her go as he rubbed his forehead. Unfortunately, Belize was affected as well, and she rubbed her forehead as she glared at Guatemala.

Okay, so maybe Guatemala is tougher than she thought.

As Guatemala looked up to glare back at her, Belize switched hands with her sword and formed her right hand into a fist to punch him right in the gut, but it didn't seem to hurt him that much.

"You know…" Guatemala began as Belize snapped her head up angrily. "I didn't come here to start a fight or anything, Vanessa, I actually came to talk. But I still have my priorities and loyalties, and your suspicious behavior and sudden knowledge of the Order gives me more than enough reasons to find out what have you been up to."

"Your point, pendejo?" Belize snapped and before she could do anything Guatemala shoved his hand on her face. God, she hated it when he does that.

"My _point_ is that you're really not doing yourself or those hiding here any good." Guatemala narrowed his eyes, while Belize tried to remove the hand glued onto her face. "You may find this hard to believe, but I don't want to hurt you, Belize, and the same goes for Honduras. Despite how you turned out, I never despised you."

Belize felt her ire and irritation rise at that statement, and she slapped Guatemala's hand off her face to scowl. "Didn't stop from ignoring me all these years, did it? What? I didn't fit the criteria for your vendetta against Spain?"

Guatemala raised an eyebrow at that accusation, then slowly began to smirk before he burst out laughing, and Belize had to flinch from how _wrong_ that laugh sounded. It was… empty, or to be more specific, the creepiest thing Belize has ever heard. She's heard Guatemala laugh at her mockingly once, but this… this was _wrong_.

Also, why she did feel like he was making fun of heard for something?

"Oh, don't worry, that's got nothing to do with it. But if you're wondering why I'm so adamant in claiming you as my territory…" Guatemala trailed off as he stared at the ceiling. "I wanted to spare you from the-"

Belize was having none of that.

She scoffed and tried to swipe him again, but Guatemala stopped her by literally grabbing the blade, seemingly not in pain from the nasty cut that resulted from that and ignoring the fact that his hand was getting drenched in blood.

Guatemala sighed. "I'd prefer that we don't fight."

"Really? Because I'd prefer that you get the hell out of my country."

Guatemala glared at her and pushed her back while letting go of the blade. "Okay, so we're doing this."

/ / / / /

DR Congo breathed heavily as he leaned against the wall of the empty room he was in, taking a moment to stare at the dried blood on his hands before closing his eyes and leaning his head back, going back to breathing slowly and carefully. He was glad that there were spare rooms where he could reside in the meantime, so he could rest, calm himself down.

When he went to Liberia to ask if he could rest for a while, the younger nation just smiled and nodded, he said that he didn't even need to ask. And so, Liberia directed him to a room where he could rest.

He was still dealing from all the emotions from yesterday. It was… overwhelming. Not in a bad way. But now DRC could see that Prussia was right, he _did_ need rest, and he should have taken more rest. A lot of things happened yesterday, it may have been a great day for him, but it still tired him. The anger, despair, anguish, confusion, rage, determination, realization, bloodlust, excitement, enjoyment, pleasure… he felt it all.

Also, he possibly he got a little carried away with Uganda, he probably hurt him a lot more than needed but he just couldn't help himself. DRC smiled. Uganda still had to pay for what he did during the Congo wars. But, DRC won't hurt him that much from now on. Cameroon told him what he had planned to do with Uganda before he left with the others, and DRC liked the idea. So, when Uganda recovers, he'll carry it out.

Another thing has also been on his mind for the past few hours was Brazzaville. Republic of Congo, his neighbor and one of the few nations that DRC considered a friend. They had their disagreements here and there, but DRC held no resent towards him, and ROC felt the same as well.

DRC went to his room, _their_ room, an hour ago, to confront him. Brazzaville was obviously surprised to him, given he was knocked out by Liberia then woke up to find Kinshasa gone. DRC revealed his new allegiance, and needless to say Brazzaville didn't take it well. But DRC was quick to remind him of his situation, and told him to decide, or DRC would do his best to persuade him.

DRC didn't want to hurt him, but Brazzaville will leave him no choice if he resists.

Much to his surprise, Brazzaville didn't put up a fight and gave up; he said that he knew what was going on in DRC's mind. There was nothing he can do to convince him, and didn't want to cause more anguish for both of them. DRC thanked him.

It certainly went better than he thought it would. Now, since that worry was gone, DRC can rest easier. Belgium can wait, DRC can wait until the time was right. In the meantime, he could find ways to torment her.

/ / / / /

South Vietnam nearly stumbled several times on his way out of Malaysia's cabin room, he had to support himself on the wall with his arm and use his other hand to grab his head to prevent himself from getting dizzier, and he winced slightly when he touched his neck. He wouldn't be surprised if he saw himself in the mirror later with red lines around his throat.

Malaysia's condition _really_ wasn't getting any better, at least it wasn't getting worse, but the nation was far from sane. For the past half hour, Malaysia had been angrily demanding to know where "it" is, broke his own hand while he punched the wall, and nearly strangled South Vietnam to death. South Vietnam would have easily pushed him off, but he didn't want to hurt Malaysia or make Philippines upset.

Then again, maybe having a "dead" nation go check on a mentally and emotionally unstable nation wasn't the best idea.

However, South Vietnam figured something like that would happen and brought some sedative drugs to calm Malaysia down enough to make him peacefully go to sleep, and the latter went out like a light. Now that that was over he can tell Philippines how _well_ it went.

Speak of the Devil, when South Vietnam went over to the next cabin he found a nervous Philippines on one of the seats, clearly having been waiting for him to return. Taking a deep breath, South Vietnam went to sit down on one of the seats on the opposite side.

"So…?" Philippines began nervously as he twiddled his thumbs. "How… How is he?"

"Well, this time he didn't try to tear apart his own throat." South Vietnam crossed his arms, glancing at the door to the other cabin as he grabbed at his collar. "Instead, he tried to tear apart _my_ throat. In other words, not getting better but not getting worse. I sedated him, he's back asleep in his bed."

Philippines widened his eyes slightly in worry then looked down dejectedly. "Pucha."

South Vietnam felt grief for his friend, but he continued. "Another thing, while I was in there I saw that Malaysia was obsessed about needing to find "it", he even attacked me when I told him I knew nothing about it, he thought I was lying. It looks like it's the only thing on his mind, judging from how he wasn't surprised to see me… well, _alive_."

"Did he recognize you?" Philippines asked.

"I'm not sure. The first thing he did when he saw me was angrily demand where "it" is. He didn't refer to me with neither of my names."

"Did you try to reason with him?" Philippines asked, narrowing his eyes.

South Vietnam raised an eyebrow at that question. "Felipe, I don't want to hurt him as much you do, but yes, I tried. But you can guess how well it worked. I don't think we can reason with him, at least for now until Switzerland or Mongolia or someone find a way to suppress the side effects."

Philippines didn't respond to that, he stayed quiet, remaining staring at the ground with an unreadable expression. South Vietnam bit his lip and looked away in guilt. It was sad, Philippines's situation, he meant. South Vietnam may have been the last nation to join the New World Order, but even he knew how Philippines had to deal with Malaysia-

"He blamed me, you know." Philippines said quietly, just loud enough for South Vietnam to hear.

"What?" South Vietnam asked.

"Back when I came for him, when I found him bleeding, _broken_ …" Philippines shook, and he held his arms sullenly. "Suddenly, completely out of nowhere, he started to accuse me of knowing something about it. When… When I said that I didn't know what he was talking about, he got angry, he said he would never forgive me if I lied to him."

"Felipe…" South Vietnam began, going to Philippines's side to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. "That doesn't mean he blamed you. I know I wasn't there, but I know that it wasn't your fault this happened."

"No, it is." Philippines shook his head. "I let this happen…"

"No, you didn't, like everyone else said, it wasn't your fault. Malaysia will be fine, we just have to wait. In the meantime, I hate to say this but there's nothing we can do."

"Oh, _yes_ there is." Philippines said with a sudden dark tone, and he snarled. "Malaysia will be back to normal, I'll personally make sure of it, I swear it. We should at East Timor now, right? Drop me off near her house. I'm going to continue my mission."

South Vietnam blinked at his dark expression, but he nodded. "Right. You have a mission, I respect that, I have things I need to settle as well. But Felipe, please, don't be rough on East Timor, she's just a child. Don't traumatize her, at least not too much. The same goes for Indonesia."

"I'll do what's necessary for Malaysia, if they fight then I will have to be rough on them, bruises or unconscious, it'll be their fault for resisting." Philippines waved it off and stood up to walk in the direction towards Malaysia's room. "Besides, I thought you didn't care what happens to the others."

"Not really true. Also, East Timor is a little girl! And Indonesia's a nice girl. Please, don't be like South Africa and threaten to nuke East Timor if Indonesia doesn't come peacefully."

Philippines ignored South Vietnam sighed and followed him to the room. He understood, he really did. He completely understands Philippines's ruthless resolve to fix Malaysia. South Vietnam was determined to get his land back, to depose his sister, to become _Vietnam_ , to _live_ again, no matter what. Even if he has to burn, gun down, strangle, massacre...

Still, he'd rather avoid harming nations like East Timor or Taiwan if possible.

South Vietnam entered the room and found Philippines sitting on the bed with Malaysia sleeping peacefully next to him. Philippines stared at the unconscious nation with a remorseful expression and laid down with him, wrapping his arms around him in an embrace.

As touching this scene was, Philippines still didn't reassure him, he frowned.

"Hey, Felipe, don't ignore me…" South Vietnam trailed off when he saw that Philippines had dozed off while embracing Malaysia. So much for being determined. But South Vietnam couldn't help but soften his gaze when he saw a small smile on Philippines's face, along with Malaysia relaxing as Philippines held him close. Despite the circumstances, those two…

It was… nice. It was a heartwarming sight, despite it all. It meant there was hope. South Vietnam smiled sadly to himself. It also reminded South Vietnam of _him_ back then, before the war between him and North, of good old days. Before South Vietnam "died". Now, he's on a mission of revenge and take back what's his, while _he_ lived on thinking he was gone forever. Unaware of what South Vietnam will do.

 _He's_ not here, South Vietnam lamented, _he_ doesn't know.

He wished _he_ could join them. South Vietnam was told they were going to keep him alive, no doubt for his sake, but what good will it do? South Vietnam had to watch him grieve his "death" from afar, and now he's going to reveal he's not gone in a situation like this?

No, South Vietnam got the privilege and luck to be saved at the last minute, to be granted another chance. Wishing for more would just be pushing it.

Well, there's no point in complaining about it now, right? South Vietnam has to go back to piloting the plane to East Timor. If he can't get that sort of happiness, he can at least get it for Philippines.

/ / / / /

Mauritius winced again when another drop fell, landing with yet another "plock" and rolling down his forehead, trying desperately to stay calm. It was getting really annoying, really getting on his nerves. Sometimes a drop falls after two seconds, then five seconds, then three seconds, then six seconds, then two seconds again, then three seconds. There's no way of knowing when the next one falls.

It made him frantic, nervous, annoyed. How much time has it been? Ten minutes? Fifteen minutes? An hour? He honestly has no idea how much time has passed. The only one who could tell him was the nation taking notes of him as if he were some experiment-

Oh, he left. When did that happen? He should have heard him leave.

He's starting to lose his senses. Drip, it fell on his forehead. His forehead's starting to feel a little numb from all these- Drip, it fell on his forehead. The restraints are very uncomfortable, painful even if he moves too much, and he can barely move. Drip, it fell on his forehead. How long are they planning to keep him here like this? Drip, it fell on his forehead. They really wouldn't let him go insane like this without Nigeria- Drip, it fell on his forehead.

Think of Seychelles, he told himself. Drip, it fell on his forehead. She's fine, she's okay, she's with the others, _safe_. Drip, it fell on his forehead. She's definitely out there somewhere, worried sick about him, crying… Drip, it fell on his forehead. No, don't cry. The others are there for her. They can take care of her. She's fine, that's what matters. Drip, it fell on his forehead. The fact that she's safe was enough for him.

Drip… Drip, drip… Drip…. Drip…. Drip, drip, drip… Drip.

/ / / / /

Honduras could only remain where she stood, frozen, unable to bring herself to move, as she watched Belize and Guatemala fight, not silly squabble fight or Belize pranking Guatemala fight, a real deadly fight. Belize attacked Guatemala with anger Honduras hasn't seen in years while Guatemala didn't hesitate to punch her or roughly push her to the wall, no remorse or anything.

Meanwhile, all Honduras could do was watch.

She hated this. She shouldn't just stand here doing nothing! But she doesn't she could bring herself to fight Guatemala. _But he's hurting Belize! He's the enemy!_ The tough and hardened part of her screamed. _But it's still Guate… he's still a brother to us. He did so much for us too…_ The kinder, in denial part of her said quietly.

 _Belize is in danger! Maybe Guatemala will listen to us! We have to do something! But…_

But does it really matter? Guatemala lied, and he didn't exactly seem kind when he talked to her a few minutes ago. Was somehow talking him out of it an option? No, if he spent this much time drowning in hatred and anger…

Honduras heard a clang and she found Belize's sword close to her feet.

"Are you planning on joining the fight anytime soon, Sophia?" Guatemala asked mockingly, and Honduras looked up to see him sneering at her while he held an angrily shrieking Belize by her throat against the wall, much to her horror. "Don't misunderstand. I don't want to hurt you, but I think it's surprising that you haven't jumped to Belize's aid yet."

"Guate…" Honduras murmured sadly.

"Or could it be… you're still in denial?" Guatemala guessed, raising an amused eyebrow. "You don't want hurt me, do you? Lo sabía…"

Honduras flinched at that remark and swallowed as she looked at him defiantly. "Guatemala let her go, you're killing her!"

Guatemala scoffed, and his sneer turned into a scowl. "And why should I? You're not going to do anything to me or help Belize. As a matter of fact, I'm disappointed. You're the type of person who will detach yourself to get the job done, but when someone close to you hurts another loved one, you can't even bring yourself to move."

"That's…!" Honduras tried to argue, but she bit her lip. No, that's… but still…

"But like I said, I don't want hurt either of you, so I'll repeat myself one last time." Guatemala took a deep breath and glared at her. "How do you know about the New World Order? Who told you?"

While Honduras only blinked, Belize snarled. "Chupa un perro, puto!"

"Quiet."

Guatemala squeezed Belize's throat tighter, and Honduras's heart broke as she heard the girl begin to choke. No… no, no, no. Don't… Honduras shuffled her feet and she felt her shoe step on something. Belize's sword… Honduras looked up again and saw Guatemala having a less than easier time keeping Belize in place, then back to the sword again. She closed her eyes and bit her lip.

Sorry, Guatemala. But you brought this on yourself.

Honduras won't let him hurt Belize and the others and anyone else.

Honduras quickly picked up the sword and just as Guatemala turned around to face her, she sliced him across his torso. Guatemala screamed and let go of Belize, letting the girl gasp for air, as he held his bleeding shoulder and stomach. Honduras stared at him in guilt; she looked at the sword with his blood briefly, then looked away. Guate… he's going to be really angry now…

But, much to her confusion and surprise, she heard Guatemala starting to laugh. Even as he bled, he shakily stood up without much problem from his injury and snapped his head up with a mad grin. He didn't look happy, he looked overjoyed.

"Ah… hahahaha…. hahahahah! I knew it! Now, there's the spirit and will of yours I like so much about. Lo sabía! Lo sabía que lo ibas a hacer!" Guatemala exclaimed in glee between laughter, not paying any mind to his wounds.

"You… you're happy I did that?" Honduras asked in disbelief.

"I can't believe what seeing and hearing!" Belize snarled as she got on her feet and walked next to Honduras, looking at Guatemala in disgust. "I knew you were a jerk, I also discovered today you were a pendejo, but I didn't expect you to be crazy!"

"Crazy… call it whatever you want." Guatemala shrugged, and narrowed his eyes. "Now, where were we?"

/ / / / /

"How many times do you need me to tell you, Saudi?" Iran whined as Saudi Arabia rolled his eyes while carrying him, but the two men were grinning nonetheless. "I'm fine. I can see just fine. Egypt didn't blind me that much. You don't need to drag me all the way to your house for treatment."

Saudi Arabia snorted at that then carefully set Iran down on the bed. "Yes, your vision is so great that you nearly got ran over by a car three times, stepped on my foot twice and walked into a wall. Yes, I'd say you're making a great recovery."

Now it was Iran's turn to snort. "You do know I'm blind, not deaf, right?"

"Oh, I know."

"You bastard…"

"Joking aside, let's be serious. How is your vision doing now?" Saudi Arabia asked, sitting next to him. "I noticed you're getting less disoriented."

"Well…" Iran narrowed his eyes, looking at his hand. "It's not exactly 20/20, definitely not there, but I'd say my vision's getting better by the hour. I can't believe Egypt somehow managed to pull out a trick from his sleeve, unconscious no less."

Saudi Arabia smiled sympathetically. "No need to blame yourself. It caught us all by surprise. We'll take more precautions next time, it won't happen again to us or anyone else for that matter. In the meantime, rest my friend. We're not needed right now."

Iran smiled and opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly two arms wrapped around their shoulders and pulled them close to a familiar face. "Karim's right, Amir! No use moping around. So, let's make the most of our free time until the next battle comes!"

"Gah! You… How on earth are you in my house?!" Saudi Arabia exclaimed in surprise.

"We really shouldn't be surprised at this point…" Iran muttered as the third cackled.

/ / / / /

Mongolia smiled with his eyes closed in bliss as he crossed-legged in meditation. The action happening near him has been going on for a while, about half an hour at most, and he decided that he wanted to show Tibet an example of how serious he is about this. The commotion died down a minute ago, so it should be over, and Mongolia didn't need to see for himself who won the battle.

In front of him by a couple of feet, a bloodied and injured Tibet hung upside down from a rope around his feet, with a snarling and fortunately less injured Hong Kong holding a knife against his throat.

"I hope you're impressed with Leon, old friend. He did well under my tutelage, so that should have a good enough warning for you." Mongolia said proudly to the man, who was breathing heavily, and Hong Kong blushed. "Don't worry, he won't kill you. I don't want you to die, I do care about you, and you're needed."

"What… What are…" Tibet rasped out.

"What are we going to do? You're a wise man, Tibet. I'm sure you can figure out why."

/ / / / /

Portugal nervously played with the buttons of his shirt while he shifted uncomfortably on the seat of the airplane he was currently being held in. After his brother's… death many of the South Americans and Caribbean nations left, leaving only Brazil, Argentina and Peru to take him to their destination. In fact, Brazil was taking a nap on a seat not far from him, he looked peaceful. Oh, how appearances can be deceiving.

Brazil was delighted at his former colonizer's obedience and spent a good portion of the trip having mainly one-sided conversations with him about how and what everyone else was doing right now. Portugal found out more about the group that Brazil worked for, and it made him feel worse, much to Brazil's joy.

Portugal still didn't understand Brazil's reasons for keeping him alive.

Brazil made his disdain and hatred for Portugal's actions clear, but for some reason he didn't want to kill Portugal, he still cared for him. Portugal almost wished he didn't.

Portugal stared at Brazil's sleeping form miserably. It occurred to him that he could strangle him to death here and there, but what would that accomplish? Peru and Argentina are likely to be angry if that happened and he doesn't he can fight them. Besides…

He doesn't think he can bring himself to do it. Despite everything, he can't, he just can't.

"Even though you betrayed me, tortured me and helped kill my brother…" Portugal said out loud, beginning to shed tears. "…I can't bring myself to hurt you, much less hate you. Why can't I bring myself to despise you for what you did?"

"Oh, irmão, you have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that." Portugal flinched and much to his horror he saw a now wide-awake Brazil grinning at him. "I mean it. It's nice to see we're on the same page."

"Meu Deus! W-Were you only pretending to be asleep this entire time?" Portugal exclaimed, feeling the need to back away from his insane ex-colony.

Brazil laughed at his surprise. "Ah, no, I'm a just a light sleeper. But back on topic, now you understand how I feel, you're in the same situation as me now. So, you should feel the same confusion and frustration, right?"

"Why does this make you happy?"

"Because you're getting closer and closer to understanding me."

"…"

"You just wait and see, Portugal. Who knows? Maybe this experience will help us bond, you'll learn and everything will slowly and pleasantly become clear to you. I for one _just can't wait_."

/ / / / /

Western Sahara turned around the page of the book she was reading, tucking her black hair behind her ear as she tried to relax in her newfound freedom and peace, and she sighed. Oh, why must her paranoia keep her from rejoicing? She supposed it was a result of past experience as well as the day of her discovering the grand conspiracy hiding in the world. Despite her desire to be at peace, there was fear, fear that it's not over.

But it has to be. It has to. She couldn't have been through all that for nothing. She was promised her freedom if she did whatever work they asked her to do and kept her mouth shut. Not that anyone (except for maybe Algeria) would believe her if she said anything anyway.

Morocco did keep his end of the bargain, shortly after Western Sahara slammed the door in his face, she noticed his presence in her land leaving. He let her go. He left her land. She was… free.

She couldn't believe it.

Western Sahara thought it was too good to be true, that it was a cruel dream playing with her hopes, that something will happen to bring it crashing down. But no, nothing happened, he actually left. Morocco left her land, hopefully never to return. She almost expected him to play a trick at the last minute, but no.

Again, a result from experience. Morocco's a snake. Not just from his deceit to her and the world. No, he was just like a snake. He was the personification of a snake in her opinion. Sneaky and seductive, luring you into a false sense of security with his gracefulness and politeness. But when you least expect it, SNAP. He'll attack you in a blink of an eye, bite you with his venom and leave you to die a painful death.

Morocco would consider it a compliment if she called him a snake. She would know, because Morocco loves snakes, how fitting.

She frowned as she set the book down, then her eyes landed on a photo in a frame, an old good memory. It was a photo of she and Algeria together, smiling and laughing, without a care in the world. Western Sahara smiled. That was her favorite photo. Algeria's not one to smile a lot, but she looks beautiful in it, and she's not wearing her hijab. Algeria let her long wavy dark brown hair free that day.

Algeria's wearing her hijab each time more and more often. To the point where she even wears it when it was just the two of them. With Algeria becoming more and more religious… Western Sahara wasn't saying it was necessarily a bad thing but still, nostalgia.

Despite how much Western Sahara wanted to see her right now, she was scared, she feared telling Algeria the truth. How can she tell her the truth? Damn you, Morocco. Western Sahara felt ashamed of herself, but she had no choice, they had her trapped. Could there have been another way for her? A better way?

No, there wasn't.

The sound of banging against her door rudely snapped her out of her thoughts. Western Sahara gasped and slightly tensed with it vanished. She stood up from her couch and walked towards the door, in the process grabbing her headscarf and wrapping it around her head. Her paranoia started to creep up her spine again, but she tried to ignore it, and took a deep breath before opening the door.

There was no one there.

Western Sahara looked around confusedly. There was no one there except for the people walking by in their everyday business, and none of them seemed to be the one responsible. She narrowed her eyes. Was this some sort of juvenile prank? It didn't look like it. Suddenly, she heard something move and looked at the ground for the source. She widened her eyes at what she found.

A box. A cardboard box to be exact. Lying on the ground before her. How strange, she was expecting nothing of the sort to arrive.

Western Sahara slowly leaned down and she spotted a small note taped to the box. She picked up the box then began to read the note, and she immediately felt fury when she read who was responsible for this.

 _Happy Independence Day my dear sister. I have been thinking and I think it's depressing that you've been rather oblivious to the events outside, so to fix that problem I will send gifts from time to time. And before you try to attempt to demolish my gift, let me remind you something. I may not be welcome in your land but that doesn't mean I can't send a friend._

...What?

Just as she asked herself that question, the box suddenly opened and out of it a black cobra came out to viciously hiss at her, and she nearly shrieked as she dropped the box in alarm. This action angered the snake, and it opened it mouth to show off his fangs as it hissed. Western Sahara then narrowed her eyes when she realized she recognized that snake. That accursed snake. She knew who it was and what it meant.

It was Abarshane. Morocco's beloved pet Egyptian Cobra.

Each of the African Five love their animals but they all have their own animals as their pets. In Morocco's case, a seven-foot long immortal cobra as black as his own heart, and Morocco adores his precious pet. And Allah, does that snake (Abarshane) take after his master. Abarshane's dangerous. Morocco trained him to be. His venom is deadly, and he can strike at you in the blink of an eye.

Western Sahara hated Abarshane. Morocco would often send that hissing demon to spy on her, keep her in line. That accursed reptile loved to taunt and threaten her. Yes, Morocco just loved to entertain his beloved pet. Morocco loved Abarshane, a little _too_ much in her opinion. But she doesn't like to give it much thought.

Another thing concerning Abarshane was the fact that Morocco would often send the slithering bastard for errands. And Morocco may have promised to stay away from her land, he didn't promise to…

A loophole. That bastard.

Western Sahara glared at the cobra before her, snarling. "Why are you here, you damn reptile? You nor anyone that has anything to do with your thrice-damned master is welcome here!"

Abarshane flicked its forked tongue in the air, hissing at the insult towards its master, clearly angered.

"Stop lying there hissing at me. Go! Shoo, shoo! Go slither back to your master!" Western Sahara spat.

The black cobra didn't hiss this time, instead it slithered out of the box, dragging its lengthy body with it and Western Sahara could have sworn the snake was smirking. Once Abarshane got its body out of the box, it looked at her again and pointed its tail toward the box. Western Sahara raised an eyebrow, then went to take a look at the inside of the box, and she saw that the cobra wasn't the only thing that came.

There was a small package, about the size of her hand and in the shape of a square, wrapped with a red ribbon. Western Sahara reached out her hand and grabbed it to examine it, but the only result was confusion and irritation.

"What is this?" Western Sahara asked the cobra.

Abarshane hissed and turned its head toward the door to Western Sahara's house. But, Western Sahara had no interest in knowing what "gift" Morocco sent her. The cobra especially was more than enough to send warning bells.

"No. I want nothing from Morocco. He did enough. Go slither back into your box and leave."

This response displeased Abarshane, and Western Sahara saw it turn its attention to a group of people chatting together nearby, then it smirked as it slowly began to slither towards their direction. Western Sahara looked on in horror, and in panic she relented.

"No, stop! I'll see what he has for me!"

The snake stopped and returned to its original place, pleased with the response. Western Sahara glared at it with disdain as it slithered into her house, and then she sighed as she looked at the package again. Even when free, she's still coerced to do their bidding.

/ / / / /

Belize was starting to get really annoyed with Guatemala, more than she ever did before. Even in a two-on-one battle, Guatemala's still a tough guy to beat, but she's still got a lot of energy to use. It's still far from over, and Belize was determined to win and kick his ass. Guatemala may be tough, but he's not having an easy time with him either. So, a victory's still possible.

Honduras was giving all her effort as well, despite not having any weapon, she's still tough as nails as ever. She tried to keep Guatemala in place for Belize to strike, it only half-worked but still, points for effort.

They're getting close to winning; Belize could feel it in her gut.

"You made a big mistake thinking you could just come here and threaten us like this!" Belize said cockily, smirking at the panting Guatemala. "Admit it! You're losing and we're winning!"

Guatemala only looked at her disapprovingly, wiping the blood from his mouth. "I told you before that's not the real reason I came here… but it's clear I'm getting nowhere with the two of you. You must care for these whistleblowers a lot."

"Eh, despite being a brujo, Egypt's given us-" Belize covered her mouth in horror when she realized her mistake too late.

Honduras looked at her in shock, while Guatemala raised an eyebrow, interested. "Did I hear you right? Did I hear you say "Egypt"?"

"I… si, I did." Belize tried not to stutter, while at the same mentally banging herself an imaginary wall, playing it confident. "So what? Is it a big deal or something?"

"So what? Tell me, what does Egypt have to do with this?" Guatemala asked, more like ordered.

"A lot, Guatemala." A new but familiar voice responded, and Belize dreadfully turned her head around to see a pissed-off Egypt, which would creep her out if she wasn't furious with him for leaving the bedroom.

"So… this is where you ended up now. I should have guessed." Guatemala laughed dryly, giving an amused smile. "Is it safe to assume most of the others are here with you?"

Egypt narrowed his eyes at the man, before seemingly moving his gaze to Belize. "Why are you still standing there?"

At first Belize thought he was talking to her, but then she heard shouting and she whirled around to see Honduras tackling Guatemala almost to the wall. Oh, the brujo was helping them out with a distraction! Still doesn't excuse not listening to her but first things first. Honduras struggled to keep Guatemala to the ground, and Belize again mentally berated herself and went to help her out.

Belize tried to keep his legs still, but Guatemala's thrashing around like a maniac, and it proved easier said than done. Honduras looked to be trying to keep him still by the shoulders and drag him around for a bit.

Belize was knocked off when Guatemala's right arm broke free and uppercut her to the ground. She grunted in pain and held her head to keep herself from getting dizzy. Oh, that hurt. Belize shakily lifted herself up and turned around, quickly going back to help Honduras.

Whatever Honduras's plan was, it worked, because Honduras finally managed to grab Guatemala's head and slam it _hard_ against the wall, twice. Guatemala stopped yelling and he went limp on the ground. Honduras sighed in relief. The two female nations breathed heavily at the fact that it was over. They won.

Ouch. He deserved it, but ouch.

"Great job, Sophia!" Belize cheered as she gave the tired woman a thumbs up. "Gave the jerk what he deserved."

"Yeah… I guess…" Honduras said nonchalantly as she stared at Guatemala in guilt.

Belize deflated a little at Honduras's lack of happiness, but she understood why, and she gave her a comforting pat on the back. "Hey… there's no point in feeling bad. He started it, and besides, it was the right thing to do."

Honduras smiled sadly. "I guess you're right… I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. It's over, we did it, and the stowaways upstairs are safe. They owe you big time."

"I agree. On behalf of me and my companions, I thank you." Egypt smiled at Honduras, and she scratched the back of her head as she smiled, then frowned when he looked at Guatemala. "Although, we should make sure he's unable to escape before he awakes."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure there's some…" Belize did a double take and scowled. "Hey, wait a minute! I thought I told you to hide!"

"True. But a little bird told me that you two were having difficulty handling Guatemala, so I thought I could appear to catch him off guard." Egypt responded calmly.

"That still doesn't-"

"Bel? Egypt?" Honduras asked, interrupting the two from having an argument, and they turned to see Honduras staring at an object next to Guatemala. "Look at this. I think it's Guate's."

Belize saw Honduras pick up a small envelope from the ground and inspect it, she could see that there was a disc inside it, she frowned. "What's that supposed to be?"

"It's a CD."

"I can see _that_ , Sophia, but what's in it?

Belize heard laughing and turned to see Guatemala weakly lift his head up towards them with a sick grin.

"Satisfaction." And with that he passed out.

 **Thank you very much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review!**


	21. The next step: Satisfaction

**Thanks to those who reviewed. Before we begin, I want to announce two things. First: I decided that this arc will be four chapters instead of the usual three. Second: I tweaked a part of chapter sixteen where Romano runs off. Instead of Spain being the reason, it's Germany and Italy. You'll see next chapter. Now, on with the show!**

Egypt stared at the unconscious body of Guatemala being tied up by Algeria and Tunisia with a blank expression, while on the inside he dealt with all the emotions going about. He was still stressed about the Mauritius issue, but other things attributed to that stress and worry such as the fact that they now had an enemy nation with them, incapacitated, but still. Also, the CD that Guatemala brought…

It felt nice that they finally had a real victory, no last-minute escapes, a real victory. But, there are still more pressing matters to attend to.

 _Satisfaction_ … Now, what could that possibly mean? What could it contain? Moreover, why did Guatemala bring it here with him to Belize in the first place? For what purpose? What gain? Was it the real reason he came here?

The only way to find out would be to ask Guatemala when he wakes up, but Egypt doubted anything useful could come out of the nation, willingly at least. He frowned, and Egypt was sure he spoke for everyone here that they weren't willing to try out torture.

Egypt took a deep breath then exhaled and glanced around at everyone. Seychelles was standing not far from him, playing with her hair out of anxiety and looking at the ground. Bahamas and Saint Lucia decided to stay as far away as possible from Guatemala and looked uncomfortable even being in the same room as him, though understandable why. And the two nations that just saved them from Guatemala several minutes ago were scrutinizing (Belize) and staring curiously (Honduras) at the CD.

Belize was squinting her eyes at the object, eyeing it suspiciously and Honduras was just blinking and staring at it like a curious child. Those two were thankfully not that harmed during their fight against Guatemala, just a few bruises and scrapes that should heal in about an hour given their healing, their clothes rumpled and their hair a little messy, but fine for the most part.

Belize has been "inspecting" the CD for a while now, she looked like she was searching for any proof, no matter how small, of it being as malevolent as Guatemala, which seemed odd considering it was just a CD and nothing more.

Egypt felt someone poke his shoulder and he turned to face a worried Seychelles.

"What are you thinking about, Gupta?" Seychelles asked curiously.

Egypt smiled uneasily at the girl. "Right now? I am thinking about how we could handle this situation with Guatemala and the disc he brought. I'm hoping to form some sort of plan that could benefit us in this new development."

"Oh. That's good then, but…" Seychelles glanced at Guatemala nervously then back at Egypt. "How long are we going to keep him like this?"

"Well…" Egypt frowned, glancing at Guatemala as well. "Hopefully as long as possible. We finally have one member defeated, it counts as a victory for us, and he could have some useful information to help us in the coming war."

"But… won't the rest of the Order come looking for him?"

A good point, Egypt noted. They might, no, will send other members if they notice that Guatemala vanished. He nodded. "Chances are they will, but I think it'll be a while before they notice his absence. I'm sure we can come up with a solution for that."

"You really think so?"

"I'm sure, Michelle."

Seychelles bit her lip for a few seconds then nodded hesitantly, not looking very convinced. This caused sadness in Egypt. He knew she was still grieving from Mauritius's absence, but he was worried that it caused her trust in him to break, he wondered if she blamed him for it happening. But, Egypt wouldn't blame her, he would almost say he deserved it.

Egypt looked down dismally. Even though he didn't mean for Mauritius to be left behind, it still stung, it still gave him sorrow and guilt. His mother taught him the abilities and secrets of magic, he made sure to keep them engraved in his memory long after her death, and to master them. But, he couldn't even save their entire group from danger.

Thanks to his mistake, Seychelles lost the nation that helped her cope with the grim situation.

Mauritius was quite the optimistic nation, a good boy, a pacifist. During their entire endeavor Mauritius was very protective of Seychelles and she would cling unto him for comfort and reassurance. He helped the frightened island girl with her worries and was determined to protect her from danger. A heartwarming duo. Seychelles needed Mauritius, it broke Egypt's heart when she broke down in front of him.

When their current problem is resolved, Egypt was going to find Mauritius, they're going to save him, make no mistake of it.

"I made up my mind!" Belize announced loudly, snapping Egypt out of his depressing thoughts along with everyone else, and the teen held the CD up high for everyone to see. "Now, despite this reeking of suspicion and Guatemala's own stench, I decided that I'm gonna play it!"

"Are you sure about that?" Algeria asked skeptically as she finished helping with tying up Guatemala. "You don't know what it contains."

"It's a CD, not a bomb." Belize snorted, then she turned around. "I'm not stupid, I know there's a chance I'll see something nasty, but I'm not waiting for that jerk to wake up. That said, you wanna watch it with me? If you don't, then you can wait upstairs."

"I'll watch it with you, Bel!" Honduras chirped, with notably less enthusiasm than usual.

"So do I. I have my concerns, but I guess there's only one way to find out" Algeria nodded, then looked at her brother. "Tunisia?"

"Something tells me we're going to regret this..." Tunisia began but then nodded hesitantly. "But I'll watch it."

"I want to as well." Egypt said and glanced at Seychelles with a worried frown. "Michelle, this might not be pleasant, do you...?"

"I-I think I want to. I... I think I'll be okay." Seychelles said hesitantly, not sure of her own words."

"You know you don't have to…"

"Gupta... If something happens I'll close my eyes."

"But… alright. Feel free to tell if you change your mind." Egypt sighed and looked at the two Caribbean nations. "And you two? Are you going to stay here to watch? You don't have to if you don't want to."

"Hmm? Oh…" Bahamas made an uncertain expression as she wringed her hands, but then nodded, albeit reluctantly. "Okay. It's okay. I'm curious too, I'll watch it with you, you don't need to worry. How about you, Luce?"

"I wanna see it…" Saint Lucia muttered.

"Then it's settled!" Belize went towards her television. "Someone help me turn it on while I put this in!"

/ / / / /

Western Sahara kept her gaze in a firm glare at the serpent that decided to make himself at her home just when she thought it could finally be a peaceful place. The regal and smug looking cobra has laid its body on one of her cushions, occasionally flicking its tongue, appearing to be _so comfortable_. So comfortable in the place it was not welcome in. As if her house was in fact his playhouse and Western Sahara was just living in it.

Morocco always loved spoiling his precious pet, giving it a life of luxury and millions of rodents for food. Western Sahara was confident that Abarshane was doing this on purpose just to spite and annoy her. Knowing Morocco…

Accursed filthy reptile. Both Morocco and Abarshane.

Western Sahara scoffed at the sight and her gaze traveled down to the package in her hands. She really doesn't want to know what the "gift" that Morocco gave her is, but she also doesn't want Abarshane to harm anyone and the sooner she opens this, the sooner she'll get this over with and Abarshane can leave.

She removed the ribbon, tore off the wrapping paper, unfolded the bubble wrap and the gift was… a CD? She raised an eyebrow. What? There was an envelope taped to it, she snatched it off and she saw writing on the outside.

 _Please open when you finish watching my gift._

"What is that bastard planning…?" Western Sahara asked herself as well as the cobra next to her.

Speaking of which, she saw that Abarshane had already woken up and was staring at her. Abarshane gestured its head towards Western Sahara's television in front of them, she glanced at it then glared at the cobra.

"What's in that disc? What is going on in your demented master's head?" Western Sahara demanded.

Abarshane just hissed and gestured again towards the television. Western Sahara sighed in defeat and looked at the disc.

"Alright. Let's see what your master wants to show me."

/ / / / /

South Africa yawned and stretched his arms out of the sheer boredom he was feeling right now. How dull. They left his country just to sit around and do nothing while they wait? He was hoping for it to be entertaining. Well, hopefully it'll be worth the boredom, but still. It'd be nice to see how the recruit was doing downstairs, but Switzerland wanted them as far away from Mauritius as possible for the time being.

Something about the torture working better in an isolated environment and how he didn't want to risk any of the Africans tampering with his progress. Well, it's nice to see how much Switzerland trusts them, South Africa internally scoffed.

Well, South Africa sighed in defeat, fine. Switzerland was the expert, after all. He'll wait patiently. He rubbed his eyes and sighed as he smiled at his friends. He couldn't exactly speak for the entire group, though.

He felt someone squeeze his hand and the African smirked when looked up to see a frowning Nigeria next to him. Nigeria met his gaze and smiled apologetically. South Africa squeezed his hand, letting his know it was alright, and went back to looking at the other two nations. Morocco was sitting at the dining table, leaning his hand on his head, expression serene. Cameroon was standing in front of the window, staring at the outside intently like a vulture.

The big guy's been doing that for a while now.

Deciding they all needed a break from basically doing nothing, South Africa clapped his hands together, gaining the others' attention, and grinned. "So… when does Switzerland plan to stop the water torture?"

"He said "to wait until he starts crying", in other words, when he starts to break." Nigeria responded disappointedly, twirling one of his locks out of boredom. "So, when we hear screaming, the first test is over."

"But wasn't the room built to be soundproof?" Morocco asked confusedly.

Oh, South Africa forgot about that, and it looked like Switzerland did too. Oops.

"So it is." South Africa agreed, grinning widely in amusement, chuckling. "Does anyone want to go check on the recruit? Make sure he isn't falling into too many pieces?"

Nigeria perked up at the idea and opened his mouth, but Morocco beat him to it. "I'll go. I think I have a much better chance of not succumbing to temptation and do something we're not supposed to do yet, no? Apologies, Nigeria, but I think it's for the best, don't you think?"

Nigeria huffed out in annoyance and plopped back into the sofa, causing the other Africans to chuckle a bit, even Cameroon cracked a smile. South Africa smirked and ruffled Nigeria's hair to cheer him up, then he remembered something regarding Morocco. South Africa remembered seeing Morocco speak to his cobra, Abarshane, not long before they left. Something about Western Sahara…

"Hey, Rahim." South Africa called out.

"Hmm, yes?" Morocco responded.

"What was that plan you were talking with Abarshane about Western Sahara? What were you planning? Something devious?" South Africa grinned, which grew when Morocco smirked, and Nigeria looked on curiously. Cameroon's cold gaze traveled to them, clearly interested. Anything that Morocco has planned for Western Sahara was interesting, especially now that the deal was now over.

Morocco chuckled at the questions, and again smiled calmly, but the sinister gleam in his eyes was as clear as day. "Well, I have been thinking… it's such a shame that my poor sister doesn't know much of what's going in the world recently, no? She doesn't have the slightest idea of what events transpired yesterday, does she? No, she doesn't."

"Completely oblivious… it is pretty sad. But how do you plan to _remedy_ that problem?" Nigeria grinned excitedly, already liking what he's hearing.

"Yes, just how do you plan on doing that?" Cameroon finally broke his silence, and South Africa saw a smirk on his face. "Her information is limited, besides, what if she doesn't care?"

"That is precisely why I sent my beloved Abarshane to her, I'm sure he can… _convince_ her that it's worth her while, he's a clever one." Morocco answered cheerfully, lifting his index finger. "She should know better than to hurt him too."

"It'll be quite a shock for her, though." Nigeria snorted.

"I know it will be."

"Good plan and all, Rahim, but I think what we all really want to know is what exactly are you planning on showing her." South Africa leaned forward, eager for the answer, clasping his hands together. "Which event? Which tragedy? What are you going to show that will drive her to tears and the deepest depths of guilt?"

Morocco remained silent for a few seconds, not saying a word but not changing his expression, before he burst out laughing.

/ / / / /

"…Alright! Everybody take your seats; the disc is in and the TV's on! We're gonna see just what Guatemala brought for me." Belize announced loudly for everyone to hear, although most everyone was already sitting down, and she snatched the remote before plopping down into a chair next to Honduras. "It's gonna play in five…"

Algeria and Tunisia tensed up, trying their best not to be anxious.

"…four…"

Honduras bit her lip and wringed her hands together, hoping it won't be the worst.

"…three…"

Bahamas and Saint Lucia looked on nervously, both wondering if they were going to regret this.

"…two…"

Egypt looked next to him and saw Seychelles staring at the screen, she gripped his hand tightly, he held her hand as well.

"…one!"

The screen flared to life, and the first thing Egypt noticed was that the camera seemed to be moving a lot, so a video recording? The camera went up and everyone reacted in shock at who they saw in view of the camera. Egypt widened his eyes. Not only in surprise of who they saw, but also because of the other nations with him and the position the nation was in. He suddenly had a idea of how it was going to end.

The others weren't faring any better. They obviously also weren't expecting this, but then again, none of them knew what to expect. But now? Egypt thinks they should have known Guatemala wouldn't have brought something nice with him.

Guatemala… what he said… did he…

"…España?" Honduras asked quietly in disbelief.

It was none other than Spain, on the ground surrounded by many nations from the Americas, pinned down. The Americas, members of the New World Order, looked downright menacing and notably angry. Spain was obviously trying his best to struggle, but he was outnumbered and outmatched.

 _Okay, now you can continue._ Wait, that voice...

"Hey, isn't that Brazil..." Belize asked but she trailed off when all of a sudden Mexico grabbed Spain's throat.

Egypt started to get nervous. He felt Seychelles painfully squeeze his hand tighter, but he let her, this... Oh no... what are the South Americans doing? Don't tell him that they... Egypt widened his eyes in horror and swiftly covered Seychelles's eyes just as Honduras gasped and Saint Lucia shrieked.

/ / / / /

"No…" Western Sahara muttered in disbelief, shaking her head in denial. This… no… they… Spain? She covered her ears and shut her eyes as she continued shaking her, more frantic with every second she hears Spain scream. "THIS CAN'T BE!"

She couldn't believe this. She knew what this meant, but she couldn't believe it, and she couldn't bear to look. Those vengeful nations in the Americas did it? This early in the war too? Before it even officially began…

Western Sahara knew that Spain will be killed. Back when she was first coerced into being an accomplice for the Order, back when she was Spanish Sahara, Morocco told her, with that damn smile of his, that Spain will die. He thought it would be nice to warn her, so she wouldn't get that much attached, but she knew the real reason…

She would watch Spain cheerfully go around as the years go by, haunted by the fact that his, as well as many other nations, days were numbered.

Spain… her former colonizer, a nation she tends to refuse to acknowledge as a "hermano", and who left her at Morocco's mercy. Not that she really liked her time under Spain's rule, but, she couldn't say that she hated him. Despite how the happy idiot always tried to worm his way out of choosing a side in her conflict with Morocco, she felt no hatred, bitter yes, but no anger or hatred for him.

Morocco once tried to get her to officially join the New World Order with the promise of Spain's head, but Western Sahara refused, she had no intention of joining or seeking revenge.

Spain… oh, he wasn't at fault for leaving, neither Morocco. It was Western Sahara's fault. It was thanks to her stupidity and curiosity that she landed herself in that situation. After she discovered Morocco's true nature, he began to make territorial claims in her land, manipulating Mauritania into helping him out and with the help of his cronies getting international pressure. All just to keep her in line.

Oh, he tried, Spain tried, he tried to cling onto the last holdings of his dying empire. He didn't stand a chance.

Western Sahara knew what Morocco was planning while all the chaos was happening, she tried encouraging Spain to stay, but that turned out to be difficult with her people's desire for independence. They didn't know… they didn't know. She wanted to free as well. Well, she got her wish. Spain left. But then Morocco arrived.

She didn't hate Spain. She wished no harm on him. Was this Morocco's way of playing with her feelings? Was this his game? His way of continuing to torture her? Try to make her feel disgust at herself for not feeling grief for a nation's brutal demise? To cause her to berate herself for mourning a nation she wasn't that fond of? To give her another reward for her stupidity?

Well, she did feel grief, she did want to berate herself for sobbing, she did think she deserved this.

While Western Sahara screamed in anger and despair and broke down sobbing, Abarshane hissed amusedly at the sight and quietly slithered away.

/ / / / /

Despite her hopeful attitude, Bahamas wondered if she and Saint Lucia did the right thing.

She remembered that day clearly, even though she hates thinking about it, she remembered leaving Barbados to die, she remembered Haiti mocking them as Bahamas and Saint Lucia ran away without looking back, she remembered them saying that it mercy. That she, Barbados and Saint Lucia won't be in the living world to see the hell that'll come soon.

As she kept her watery eyes shut, covered a shaking Saint Lucia's eyes, and resisted to massive urge to cry at the sounds of Spain screaming in pain and agony, she wondered if they should have accepted death.

Bahamas didn't watch, she refused to, but she can still hear them. She wondered if Cuba, Jamaica or DR were there, smiling and laughing at it all, finding the entire horror show hilarious or even taking part in torturing Spain. She wondered if Barbados suffered a lot when he was killed. Did Jamaica or Haiti give him a painful death for helping her and Saint Lucia escape? Did they did it just to torment them later?

"TURN IT OFF!" Egypt shouted, probably at Belize.

"I'M WORKING ON IT!" Belize shouted back.

Bahamas kept her eyes closed the entire time, trying to block out the noise and screaming, trying to ignore it all. Eventually after more shouting, the screaming stopped, cut off. No screaming, no sounds of knives cutting into flesh, nothing. But still, Bahamas couldn't bring herself to open her eyes.

"Okay… okay… it's over. Everyone can… open their eyes now." Belize announced without the usual energy in her voice.

Reluctantly, Bahamas did over her eyes, and the screen was black again. She took a deep breath and sighed in relief, as well as slowly removing her hands from Saint Lucia's face, who rubbed her eyes and looked up at her with confusion. Bahamas bit her lip and looked away.

No one knew what to say. Everyone looked pale. Everyone was in shock. What could they say?

Bahamas heard laughing, and she turned her head to see, much to her dismay, Guatemala smiling sickeningly at them. It sounded weak, probably from getting a concussion, but she could clearly hear the mocking and victorious tone in it. It didn't sound right.

"YOU!" Belize exclaimed in anger.

Guatemala smirked lazily. "I told you… before, didn't I…? That… was satisfaction. We… finally got it… after… so long… Oh… and I'm… fine, by the… way. A little… dizzy, mild… head…ache, and… feeling… nauseous… but other… than that… I'm… fine. Just… Just a… a… minor…. concussion."

A minor concussion? Honduras shoved his head through the wall! Not to mention his speech sounds kind of slurred.

"What have you done, Guate?" Honduras demanded, shaking, both hurt and angry. "What did you do?"

"Me…? No… The Africans… should have… told you… it wasn't just me." Guatemala said absent mindedly, staring into space, then grinned. "South… North… we… did it. America… helped… make it… easier… for… us. Haiti… prepared… his… neighbors… All of us…"

"Stop slurring, you old jerk! What happened to Spain? Don't tell me you…" Belize trailed off but then shook her head and scowled at her old caretaker. "…You… really…?"

"SI! Isn't it obvious?! Or all of you just in denial?!" Guatemala burst out cackling. Bahamas wondered if it was the brain trauma or if he really is like that. Her blood froze when Guatemala suddenly laid his eyes on her. "Look at those two! They're all that's left of a map that we wiped off in just a day! If you can believe that their neighbors are dead, then why can't you believe that happy-go-lucky Spain left this world! Surely you've saw the news!"

Bahamas flinched along with Saint Lucia, and Belize scoffed. "News? What news, you crazy old…"

"He means what happened in Spain yesterday. There were bombs, many people died, no one knows who did it or how they did it…" Tunisia muttered, gaining everyone's attention, and he scratched his neck with a downcast expression. "It's… what I was going to tell you earlier."

"At… least… this one… was… smart… enough to… check… the… news. You… know, in… your… situation, it… might… be a… good… idea… to be… in the know." Guatemala sneered mockingly.

"Were you also behind the massacre of Belgium's parliament?" Tunisia asked angrily, and this fact surprised everyone. "Was that also part of your grand plan for the world?"

"Miss Belgium's parliament were massacred?" Seychelles asked in shock.

"Eyewah, along with the Royal Family. The youngest princess has been reported missing though…" Tunisia said that last part confusedly, but then went back to glaring at Guatemala. "Which of your group was responsible for that?"

"Well… it wasn't…. me… or… any… nation… in the… Americas, I'll… have you… know. We… aren't… interested… in… targeting… Belgium." Guatemala slurred. "That's all… I'll… say."

"No, it won't, you bastard! I don't care if you have a concussion or your skull's cracked! You still have a lot of answers we want!" Belize stomped her foot in anger. "Why did you even bring… that here in the first place?!"

Guatemala shrugged. "I… wanted to… warn you. If… you… try to… interfere… that… could be… you."

Guatemala burst out laughing again, and Belize has had enough of him. The teen nation growled and grabbed Guatemala's head, the nation kept laughing even as she did, then with a scream of rage she slammed him against the floor. Twice. Belize glared at him with disgust and promptly stomped on the back of his head, seething. Belize spat at him and raised her foot to bring it down on his head again…

But a hand on her shoulder stopped her. Honduras looked at her with a pained expression and shook her head. Belize's expression softened, and she looked at Guatemala angrily again, before she nodded and lowered her foot away from him.

"Puto…" Belize muttered, crossing her arms.

Bahamas not one to use foul language, much less approve of them, but this time she completely agreed with Belize.

/ / / / /

East Timor nearly tripped for what seemed the fifth time on the way, but Philippines forcefully pulled her back by the hand roughly, it even hurt a bit, but it doesn't look like Philippines cared. Her beloved white hat nearly fell off, but she used her free hand to put it back properly. She looked up at Philippines with an apologetic smile, but he didn't even look at her, he just kept his eyes at the road.

The child nation looked down with a hurt expression. She doesn't really understand what's wrong. Why was he being so mean? He's always so nice…

Did something happen?

Philippines just came to her house, grabbed her hand, said they needed to go somewhere, and dragged her away. She tried asking him, but he either ignored her or just didn't want to tell her.

East Timor trusts Philippines, he's one of her best friends! But… she couldn't help but feel a little nervous and scared. It's not like Philippines to be like this. But should she be worried? He wouldn't do anything bad or anything… right? Philippines would never… Oh, she nearly fell again! This time she got a lot of sand in her sandals.

"U-Umm… Felipe?" East Timor asked nervously, hoping this time he won't ignore her.

"Hmm?" Philippines said absent mindedly.

"I… I got a lot of sand in my shoes. Can we please stop?" East Timor pleaded.

"No."

"Oh… okay." East Timor said dejectedly, wincing when Philippines gripped her hand tighter. "F-Felipe?"

" _What?_ " Philippines growled, annoyed at her.

East Timor flinched at his harsh tone and she grabbed her dress anxiously. "Where are we going? You… didn't tell me. Is it somewhere nice? Are we going to have fun?"

That question made Philippines grin, but something about it looked wrong. "Oh, right. I forgot to tell you where we're going to go. Sorry, my bad. But to answer your question, how do you feel about taking a little trip to Indonesia's house?"

/ / / / /

Singapore gave a short sigh as she opened the door to her house, quickly setting her bag down in a chair and planning on going to the stairs for a shower. It's rather late, but business had to be done, and she finished and arrived at her house punctual as usual. Now, time to rest until she returns to work in the morning, and she needs to get good rest to do work properly.

No time to waste. She can't afford to be drowsy tomorrow.

She brought her ponytail in front of her shoulder and walked through her living room where Macau was currently sitting on her sofa pouring tea into a cup then…

Wait, Macau?!

Singapore stopped in her tracks and turned around to see that yes, Macau was in her house sitting on her sofa, and she widened her eyes. She shrieked as Macau looked up and smiled gently at her, waving in greeting.

"Oh, hello, Singapore. Punctual as usual, I see." Macau noted calmly, not noticing how she nearly gave Singapore a heart attack.

"M-M-Macau?! What are you doing here?!" Singapore demanded, at the same time wondering why she didn't sense him in her land. "More importantly, how on earth did you get in my house?"

Macau drank some tea, holding up his index finger to tell her to wait, and Singapore scowled. He finished with a happy sigh and looked at her again. "You know, it's a good thing your crime rate is extremely low. Because in my opinion, your security is pitiful."

"Wh-What?"

"Anyway, now that I finally have an audience, I can tell you something that I've been wanting to get off my chest for a while." Macau relaxed back into the sofa, much to Singapore's frustration, and she opened her mouth to demand answers, but Macau cut her off before she could even begin. "I was an unusual child, you know. Very unusual."

"Excuse me?" Singapore asked, baffled, but Macau ignored her.

"As you all know, I adore gambling, I am fascinated with it. From the earliest days of my existence…" Macau looked up at the ceiling and grinned. "…I always saw life as a game. Our lives as nations is a game, one of survival and luck, one we constantly must win. Those who fail to learn the rules and lose will fade, but those who adapt to the order of the world and work their way around it to their advantage will rise."

Just where was Macau going with this nonsense?

"War is obviously also part of the game. Each war is a gamble, in fact, not just a challenge. One side bets their men, money and land to get even more of it, while the other side is forced to bet their own resources to keep theirs or snatch their opponent's land. With dreadful consequences for the losing side."

"What are you-"

"Just like in poker or any other gambling, luck and other factors affect who will be the victor, not just in skill. England lost to America because of his own hubris. Japan got bombed because he kept betting what he had until he lost everything. Turkey let his own empire die because he knew that the era of empires was ending. You probably see my point."

"No, I don't, and I would appreciate-"

"But despite my love for gambling, my fondness for the thrill of the game, and my understanding of the Earth, I actually _hate_ the workings and current order of the world." Macau frowned, and he suddenly whipped out a poker card out of thin air. "Even though there's no chess without pawns, why must we abide by these rules? Why must we constantly be in a battle for survival and success? Why can't there be new rules for the game? Better rules."

"Macau, don't make me repeat my-"

"A new world order, a better game, that is what I wish for." Macau smiled widely, spreading his arms, and he laughed. "Ah, but one would normally scoff or laugh at such an idea, no? That's what I thought centuries ago. I more or less resigned myself to the current order, albeit grudgingly, and tried to have what limited fun I can with my status as an autonomous territory and a colony. But, one day, I made a discovery."

"Macau!"

"I was still a child at the time, it was when I was Portugal's colony, when one day some European countries came for business. Being the curious child I was, I went and spied on them during their talk, and I noticed something odd. I noticed that one of them was lying, _pretending_. It baffled me, so naturally, I had to get to the bottom of it. So, when the talks finished, I sneaked to his room and without hesitation I asked, "Why are you hiding behind a mask?""

"Wha-"

"You should have seen his face. He wasn't expecting a young boy to find him out just like that." Macau chuckled at the memory and sighed. "But he wasn't angry, he was impressed with my intellect. We ended up seeing each other often, we would play games and gamble where I further impressed him with my expertise, not to brag. It was fun, it was nice having an interesting friend like him."

"Who-"

"Then after we bonded we reached the topic of the order of the world. We exchanged our thoughts, opinions, distastes and wishes of it. I found that we were quite alike. He was angry at the way of the world as well. Imagine my surprise…" Macau smirked and threw the card at Singapore, who ducked then widened her eyes when she heard a crack, and she saw the card imbedded in the wall. "When I found he was one of the leaders of a group intent on changing the world."

"H-How did you-"

"Much to my delight, he invited me to join them, my intellect will serve them well and I will see a new world order come to being." Macau threw his head back, laughing in joy. "I accepted. How could I not?! A group of nations putting all their land, resources, humans, hard work and entire existence on the line to make this dream come true! The ultimate bet!"

Singapore could only look at Macau incredulously, unable to understand why he was acting this, and it didn't look like he was going to listen to her.

"This is a gamble I will do whatever it takes to win! Whether it be luck, resources or intellect, I will personally make sure this organization succeeds in its goals! Only fools and cowards bend to the cards. Our fates are shaped through action. And only through the New World Order's actions can the game be changed." Macau declared proudly, smirking, then finally turning his attention back to Singapore. "Ah… I cannot thank you enough for listening, Singapore. I feel a lot better now! Now then, come. We mustn't keep the others waiting.

No. Singapore had no intention of going anywhere with the currently mentally unbalanced Macau. She scowled and opened her mouth to protest, but just as she did a card flew by her, just missing her, and went into the wall. Singapore paled and looked back at an amused Macau.

"I definitely don't recommend resistance…" Macau said cheerfully. "If you want to leave without scars."

/ / / / /

Mauritius breathed heavily and winced every time he moved in his restraints. His forehead's numb, his wrists are bloodied, his palms are wet, and HE CAN STILL HEAR THE DRIPPING! How long has it been?! Forty minutes?! An hour?! He has no idea. He really, really, really doesn't know. He just wanted to get out of here! Stop the water! Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop, make it stop, make it stop, make it stop, make it stop, MAKE IT STOP, MAKE IT STOP, MAKE IT STOP!

He's slipping. He tried. He tried. But he's slipping away! He can't take any more! Someone get him out of the restraints! Even Nigeria's okay! Where's Switzerland?! Wasn't this enough for him to test?! WHERE'S SWITZERLAND?!

Out of all the frustration, pain and despair he was feeling, he screamed.

/ / / / /

Switzerland narrowed his eyes as he looked around a small town of his, an expression full of distaste and annoyance, and he kept his fingers tight on his pistol. No, he wasn't at the town, no, not at all. The reason he was displeased was because of a disturbance that decided to enter his land, who thought they could hide from him, or more like the nation who sent them thought they could.

Spies. There were French spies in his land. Not far from his house too.

France was truly an idiot.

Did that pervert seriously believe he could send spies into his or any other Order nation's land and get away with it? That fool, he basically told his spies to kill themselves. But perhaps... The loss of Mauritius caused a lapse in his judgement and he's become desperate to find him.

Either way, it still wasn't smart.

So now Switzerland must dispatch these intruders and maybe then send a warning to France. Now, it _would_ be easier and save him time if he sent one of the Africans to do it, that way he could still check on Mauritius. But the problem was that the Africans aren't very... _subtle_. Switzerland doesn't want there to be a commotion about someone finding a cannibalized corpse in a peaceful, quiet town.

Switzerland stopped walking when he caught a nasty odor, he grimaced, more like a stench. He then noticed a splatter of blood on a wall and he frowned. Oh, did one of those bloodthirsty… He went in front of a corner and he widened his eyes slightly at what he found. A corpse. A woman. Slumped against the blood splattered wall with her long hair covering her face. He went over to her and noticed a hole in her chest.

The heart was ripped out, huh. He tensed when he heard footsteps, and something being dragged along the floor and swiftly turned around with a snarl. Just like he thought, one of the Africans were behind this, Cameroon. The African was staring at him with his usual emotionless face, his clothes were stained with blood and he was dragging the gored corpse of a man, another spy. But, Switzerland was less than pleased.

"I thought I made it clear that I didn't want you and your companions causing a bloodbath." Switzerland snarled with his arms crossed, then making a "tsk" sound as he sighed. "Also, didn't I tell you that I would take care of it?"

"You did. But I didn't listen. I saw an opportunity to spill French blood. I saw nothing stopping me. The others didn't stop me. I had Nigeria take me here. So, here I am." Cameroon responded coldly and simply, dropping the body, and frowning. "I thought you would be more grateful that I eliminated them for you."

"You do realize that means I came all this way here for nothing, right?" Switzerland raised an annoyed eyebrow.

"Oh… that's right." Cameroon said with what must be the most apathetic voice Switzerland has ever heard. "But that doesn't matter. You and I have something important we need to discuss."

"What could be so important that you let me take a trip here for nothing so the two of us could talk unbothered?"

"Your priorities."

Switzerland was taken aback by this and he scowled. "Excuse me?"

Cameroon narrowed his eyes and walked up to Switzerland, making their difference in height more noticeable, but Switzerland honestly couldn't care less. "I am referring to how much you value the Order's goals over… _mediocre things_. You are one of the veteran members of this organization, you are extremely loyal, you follow orders without question…. but one must wonder if there's anything that might shake that loyalty."

Switzerland felt fury in his veins and his hands clenched tightly into fists as he struggled to keep his composure from what this nation had the nerve to say. "Are… you… questioning… my loyalty?!"

"I am not questioning it. In fact, I admire that aspect of you, mon ami." Cameroon raised his hands up in surrender to calm him down, but his expression remained the same.

"Your friend who you are currently accusing of disloyalty." Switzerland muttered.

"However, I am just as loyal, I do not tolerate anything that can ruin our plans, and I see a threat." He expression turned into one of distaste. "A threat to your loyalty."

"And what would _that_ be?"

"You know who I'm referring to."

"I really don't."

"But you do." Cameroon sneered, adjusting his glasses, then crossing his arms. "You should know. I am talking about your puppy eyed little sister with the annoyingly high-pitched voice that just adores her precious big brother."

Switzerland was angered at the thinly-veiled insult at his little sister, but he was far angrier that Cameroon thought that she was a threat to the Order. "What about Liechtenstein? She can't do anything to any of us. She relies on me for everything. She can't nor will want to do any harm."

"Perhaps, but that's because she doesn't know about you, about the Order." Cameroon bared his teeth in a snarl. "But you know as well as I do that one day she will find out the truth. And when she does, she will feel betrayed, devasted. She won't bring herself to look at you. And how will that affect you?"

"First, that's none of your concern-"

"IT IS!" Cameroon roared, seething in rage. "Everyone else may have refused to bring it up because of how sensitive the topic is to you, but I care far more about being reassured of your loyalty! If, when she finds out, she'll beg on her knees drenched in tears for you to leave the Order. Will you consider it? Also, what if she decides to stand in our way?"

"She WON'T!" Switzerland shouted.

"And why is that?!" Cameroon shouted back.

"Because I won't let her!" Switzerland snarled, having enough of Cameroon's accusations, and snapped. "I'll stall for as long as I can! And if she does find out, it won't affect anything, because I'll make sure she can't afford to interfere! I won't hurt her, but there will be consequences for disobedience, and I'll do it until she understands! Anyone who stands in our way will SUFFER! Don't we ALL know that?!"

Switzerland breathed heavily after that rant, feeling a little ashamed of himself for losing his temper, but Cameroon smiled. "I was hoping you would say something like that. Very well, I apologize for doubting you."

"Ja…" Switzerland frowned. "You better not question my loyalty again."

"Don't worry, I won't."

"Good. And since you're here, you can help me clean up the mess you made here, and by can, I mean you _will_."

 **Thanks for reading! On Macau's page in the hetalia wiki I found that he tries to be philosophical, so it inspired me to do that little monologue of his. Please review!**


	22. The next step: Decision

**Thanks to Eternal Nexus Warrior and NadiaJA627 for reviewing. Alright! This is the last chapter of this arc! A decision will be reached that will set the course for the next arc! Now, on with the show!**

Mauritius screamed angrily and as loud as he could as he thrashed around in his restraints, or at least tried to, he couldn't move, and it only hurt his wrists and ankles more, but it only made him angrier. He couldn't take any more. He couldn't move. He couldn't look away. THE DRIPPING GOES ON AND ON. He's had enough. He tried. He tried. He tried. He tried. But he just couldn't take more of that dripping!

"I'M SORRY!" Mauritius shouted at the top of his lungs. He's sorry for not being strong enough to endure this. He's sorry for dragging Seychelles into more trouble. He's sorry for not listening to Madagascar. HE'S SORRY!

The restraints won't budge, they only got dirty with his blood, and Mauritius felt his frustration grow by the minute. He's can feel himself slipping and it made him panic, which in turn helped him slip faster. He's making it worse…

He hated this. He hated the African Five for making him go through this. He hated that they're so cruel and demented. He…

"My, aren't you losing your temper?" A cheerful voice noted, but Mauritius could hear the malice hidden in it, and he paled as he heard chuckling. "And you were such a cheerful one… but I guess that's the effect of the water torture."

Mauritius couldn't turn his head, but he knew who was there. "Morocco?"

There was that chuckling again, Mauritius heard footsteps and then he saw Morocco come into view with his fake cheerful smile, and Mauritius started to get more anxious. Morocco doesn't look like he's as psychotic as Nigeria, but Mauritius only saw him once, and that really didn't make him any less dangerous. Besides, Mauritius couldn't really do anything to fight right now, so he's still at their mercy.

Morocco just kept smiling at him, which was starting to get to get a little creepy, but then he glanced up at the bucket (Mauritius could have sworn he saw his smile widen) and leaned down close to Mauritius. "This may seem redundant, but how are you faring in your test right now, recruit? We've all been cheering you on upstairs this past hour."

Mauritius glared at the man hovering over him. "Get. Me. Out!"

"Oh?" Morocco said surprised as he looked up at the bucket again. "You broke? My, you've lasted quite an impressive amount of time. People in a controlled and safe environment last about the same time as you. I applaud you."

"Get me out!"

"I'm being sincere, normally people in your position would-

"I don't... care! The water! It doesn't stop! Make it stop! Make it stop!" Mauritius demanded angrily, thrashing around in his restraints again, but then he stopped when he felt a hand caress his cheek.

"Poor thing... You're in so much pain... So much suffering..." Morocco lamented with a sad smile, but it looked more like pity than sadness, and Mauritius tensed at his touch. "Don't harm yourself. It won't make anyone happy. I will end your suffering, so calm yourself, please."

Morocco gave him a grin then lowered himself then after a few seconds he stood up, lifted his djellaba and he began to climb onto the table, much to Mauritius's horror. Morocco gave him a sly smile and then began to crawl on _top_ of Mauritius. To say he was freaking out was an understatement, this reminded him too much of when Nigeria pinned him to the ground, and he did _not_ want to have his skin chewed off again.

The scar was just starting to disappear, he was not going to get another one.

"H-Hey, what are you-" Mauritius tried to ask, but in a situation of déjà vu, Morocco pushed an index finger against Mauritius's lips, shushing him.

"Shhh, you sweet… kind… fleshy… _pure_ pretty island." Morocco whispered softly, smiling brightly, but appearing to be struggling to be holding back another emotion from the way he said the words slowly. The man smiled slyly again and then looked up at the bucket. "I will end your torment, isn't that just nice of me?"

Morocco kneeled up and first blocked the hole with his hand, and Mauritius felt a bit of relief that the dripping stopped, but he was afraid that the water will drip through Morocco's hands or that the man might suddenly remove his hand from the hole just as Mauritius started to relax in a cruel trick and resume the torture. That seemed like something Morocco and any of the other Africans would do.

But no, much to Mauritius's surprise, no drops fell, and Morocco kept his hand firmly against the hole, preventing any water from leaking. Morocco glanced down at him and winked before using his other arm to grab the bucket. Mauritius widened his eyes in shock. Morocco was removing it!

Mauritius would sigh in relief and even smile at the fact that he won't be going through that torture anymore if it weren't for the nation who was also one of the people responsible for causing this whole mess. Still, it was over, no more drops falling on his forehead with the annoying "plock" every few seconds, and Mauritius glad about that. But there's still the restraints…

He was cruelly snapped out of his thoughts when he felt freezing cold water poured onto his face for a couple of seconds and he yelped in both surprise and alarm at the feeling of getting that damn water on him again, this time in a bigger amount. Mauritius shut his eyes when it entered there and coughed when he felt the water go into his mouth and he couldn't spit it out because of his current position.

Mauritius had to swallow the icy water, which caused his throat to freeze, it was painful. He heard laughter and he opened his eyes to see Morocco covering his mouth as he cackled in glee as he held the bucket over him with his other hand, nearly doubling over in laughter at the little joke. Mauritius glared up at the man with fury.

"O-O-O-Oh my…. That… that was…" Morocco wiped away some tears before bursting out into screeching laughter again while Mauritius wished he could strangle him and kept glaring, then Morocco finally calmed himself down, but still smiling wide. "My apologies, I just couldn't help myself, I just… you're so adorable!"

Mauritius's expression didn't change, he really wasn't in the mood, and this prank only made him angrier. "T'es un salaud."

"Oh, don't be such a grouch, little pure recruit. That was a cruel joke, I know, and again, I apologize." Morocco grinned sheepishly while setting the bucket down, but Mauritius just kept glaring at him, and Morocco laughed nervously. "Yes, that still doesn't make things right, I understand… Don't worry, I will make it up to you! I will grant you temporary relief by removing your restraints."

"Really?" Mauritius asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, really. Now, stay still."

Morocco quickly went to remove the restraints one by one, Mauritius would be glad if Morocco wasn't doing all of this while _still_ on top of him, it was very uncomfortable, way too uncomfortable and he had to wonder if Morocco was doing it on purpose. Still, Mauritius was overjoyed to be able to move again, even though his arms and legs were kinda asleep, and his wrists… he frowned as he looked at them, they were bruised and bloodied.

"Oh dear, you really hurt yourself, did you?" Morocco asked him gently, and he lied down on Mauritius, much to the latter's dismay, a mischievous smile on his face as he slowly reached for the island's wrists. Mauritius tried to hide them, but Morocco suddenly grabbed them. "Don't worry, I will help you feel good."

Morocco kissed the bleeding wounds then to Mauritius's horror he began to lick them. In alarm, Mauritius tried to wrench his hands out of Morocco's grip, but the nation was strong. Thankfully, he didn't take long to finish, and Mauritius grimaced in disgust.

"There. All better." Morocco proclaimed proudly, as if he did a good job, then he reached his arm down to the floor to grab something. Morocco brought up a bottle filled with a red liquid, maybe wine, but there was no label. He opened the bottle and used his other hand to force Mauritius to sit up, then pressing the bottle close to his lips. "Drink. It will help you, recruit."

Mauritius shook his head, not trusting Morocco, and not eager to drink that, although…

"Oh, don't tell me you're not thirsty from all these hours without sustenance. Drink, I _insist_." Morocco chuckled, insisting more forcefully, and pressing it closer. "It's refreshing."

Mauritius gulped and shook his head, refusing to open his mouth. Morocco sighed in disappointment, and unexpectedly, he swiftly bit Mauritius on the shoulder, forcefully and fiercely. The island tried to hold it in, but he couldn't, and he screamed in pain. Morocco seized the chance to put the mouth of the bottle into Mauritius's own, forcing him to drink it.

It tasted… to be honest, it didn't taste bad, but it wasn't good either. It had a weird taste, and it left his throat with that taste too. It was… what was the word for it?

After forcing Mauritius to drink about half of the bottle, Morocco finally let him go, and the island gasped for breath while the other smiled. "I apologize, but you left me no choice but to force you to drink it. Not so bad was it?"

"Tasted weird." Mauritius muttered as he touched his throat in slight displeasure.

Morocco laughed a bit. "Yes, it always does at first, but then you get used to it and before you know it, you love it. Trust me, I know."

"Wait, wha-"

Morocco shushed him again with his finger and drank what was left of the bottle rather quickly. He sighed happily and threw the bottle away, then he pulled Mauritius closer by the collar of his shirt with a mysterious smirk until they were only a few inches apart.

Before Mauritius could even try to scoot away, Morocco pulled him into a kiss, and his eyes went wide.

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something important? I _hope_ not." A familiar pissed off German-accented voice said. Morocco pulled away from Mauritius, allowing the nation to wipe his mouth in disgust, and the man smiled at Switzerland.

"Don't worry, I was just finishing." Morocco waved it off with a relaxed smile, which turned into a smirk when he glanced at Mauritius and slid off the table. "Well, gentlemen, I'll be taking my leave. I'll leave you to your work, Switzerland."

"Danke." Switzerland said flatly, tapping his foot impatiently until Morocco left the room, then he turned his attention to Mauritius. "I see he released you. Well, don't get too comfortable, you are going to answer some questions and we'll go into the next test."

"Great." Mauritius muttered, more tests, just fantastic.

"Consider yourself lucky I came just in time." Switzerland said to him as he went for a pen and clipboard. "Morocco can be quite… _provocative_."

"…Huh?"

"Quite a snake as well, _that_ I can agree with Western Sahara." Switzerland said offhandedly, clicking his pen, and clearing his throat. "Alright, first question…"

As Mauritius answered Switzerland's test questions, he remembered what the word was, metallic! Yeah, now that he thought about it, that drink did taste very metallic….

/ / / / /

Vietnam had no idea how she got roped into this, not a clue, and it irked her that she couldn't do anything as South Korea pushed along the muddy and grassy fields of Laos, getting some incredibly confused looks from some rice fields workers as well, and she wasn't even walking! South Korea was pushing her so fast with such strength that she doesn't have time to move, and they were moving for about an hour straight now!

It all started when she was preparing to meet with Laos for business, when she got a call from a desperate South Korea, he sounded lost and upset, and it pained Vietnam to hear South Korea without his hyper personality, even though he can be very annoying at times. South Korea still had his brother's recent activities on his mind, it was probably all he could think about.

South Korea called her to enlist her help in getting North Korea to talk to him, since Vietnam was one of the very few individuals who can approach and speak to him at an almost friendly level, and North Korea sometimes did approach her too. South Korea asked, no, begged her to talk him, to reason with him. Vietnam was reluctant, since she doesn't think North will talk to her, and she had that business with Laos.

But apparently that second thing didn't prove to be a problem for South, since he became joyful again and somehow took that as "she'll do it after she's finished", then asked which airport she was going to go, and abruptly hanged up with a "da-ze!" after telling him. She wondered if she shouldn't have done that, but Vietnam decided to forget it for the time being and headed to Laos, where she found South Korea waiting for her when she arrived.

South Korea quickly and happily told her he was going to help her finish faster, so they could go find North, and before Vietnam could even protest South Korea towed her away.

So here they are now. Going to Laos's house… **_only they were going the wrong way!_** Vietnam tried to tell him, but apparently impatience made South Korea deaf. However, Vietnam wanted to end this semi-wild goose chase before they end up in Thailand and drag him into this mess as well.

"Yong Soo? We are… Yong Soo!" Vietnam tried to call out to him, but the either the sounds of being dragged drowned her out or he ignored her again, but either way she had enough, she narrowed her eyes. "IM YONG SOO, STOP THIS INSTANT!"

"Huh?" South Korea abruptly stopped, causing Vietnam to sigh in relief, and the young man looked at her confusedly. "What's wrong, da-ze?"

"...Do you even know where we're going?"

"Of course, Viet! We're here to go visit Laos, silly!" South Korea threw his arms up in glee, while Vietnam slapped her forehead.

"No, I mean do you know where Laos's house is?"

"I do, da-ze! After all, Laos's house originated in me~"

Vietnam's eye twitched and she hid her hand behind her back to summon her paddle. "No... no, it didn't. Also, we're going the wrong way. The road to his house was RIGHT. Not. Left. You've been dragging me down the wrong way for an HOUR. Now I'm going to be late thanks to you."

"Oh..." South Korea said, looking downcast at the ground, sounding hurt and guilty. "...I forgot."

"And how many times have been to his house?"

"Not... a lot?"

"Exactly. Honestly, couldn't you just wait one day!" Vietnam snapped, making South Korea flinch.

"I'm sorry, da-ze... I didn't mean to..." South Korea couldn't meet her eyes, but Vietnam could see that he was shaking. "I was being selfish, Lien, da-ze... I wanted you to help me now... But I ruined... your day. It's my fault, tardiness originated in South Korea after all."

Vietnam's scowl softened at his quiet voice, and looked away in guilt for snapping, it wasn't right. North and South Korea, what a complicated situation, but that would be an understatement. Despite it all, those two long for reunification, but both have a different idea of it. North wanted his rules to be South's rules, while South just wanted to be with him.

It was tragic. It really was.

South always hoped for a good solution for both of them, always did and always will, but North made things difficult. Vietnam also wished for them to reunite, she hoped that their unification will be a lot happier than hers ever was, with no death and tragedy.

She bit her lip. Hopefully, one won't need to fade for it to happen. Hopefully, they won't need to kill each other. Yes, it would be a lot better that way, Vietnam wished she chose another option. She killed her brother... her other half, then took his land for herself as the sole, true Vietnam.

He shouldn't be gone, she thought, he should be here, with her. But now she had to live with herself forever with the guilt.

Whenever she walked on his land she felt like she was desecrating it by touching its soil, that she didn't deserve to be there, it wasn't her land! But no, after several talks with her leaders, after remembering how much she sacrificed for this, she had to accept this. This was her land. She was Vietnam, not North, Vietnam.

He has passed, she was here.

It wasn't fair. Why did he make things difficult for her? Why couldn't he just join her peacefully? He wouldn't have made her kill him if he did! He wanted to be his own nation, but she just wanted to be with him, that's all she ever wanted. WHY COULDN'T HE RESPECT HER DECISION?

Sometimes... Sometimes... she would see his ghost, he would visit. Every time he did, he was angry, he was furious at her no matter how much she begged for his forgiveness. He even... He tried to kill her more than once, and when he did she would always wake up perfectly fine. But it felt too real. He felt too real...

What was she doing? Vietnam berated herself as she buried her face in her hands. You're supposed to comfort South Korea, but here you are, drowning in self-pity and denial, and making it all about you! This isn't about you, Vietnam! Can't you do anything right?

Vietnam started to tremble as she shook her head, more frantically by the second, and clutched it tightly in a desperate attempt to get rid of those thoughts. But she could already imagine him in her mind, smirking at her despair.

 _"Trying to bury me in the deepest parts of your mind, Lien? Well, you're going need a lot more than that to erase me."_

 _"I should have known, drowning in self-pity as always, don't you ever get tired of that?"_

 _"Try to forget me, I dare you! You know you can't!"_

 _"If you're going to lie there drowning in your guilt then how about you let me kill you?"_

 _"You disgust me, you know that? Trying to bury the past, walk on my land..."_

 _"_ Lien!" Vietnam gasped as she was thrown back to reality and she looked up to see a worried South Korea. "Are you okay, da-ze? I didn't mean to...

"No! I mean… I'm… fine." Vietnam tried to give him a reassuring smile, but it came out as an awkward one, and even the normally gullible South Korea wasn't convinced. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. Listen, why don't you push me back to the airport and we can go to Laos's house? I promise I'll help you as soon as I'm finished.

"Thank you, Lien. But you don't look-"

"Please!" Vietnam begged, desperate for him to drop it. "We're only wasting time."

South Korea still looked hesitant but thankfully after a few seconds he nodded. "Okay, if you say so, but don't be afraid to talk to me~ After all, pep talks originated in me~"

Vietnam cracked a small smile. "Of course, it did."

/ / / / /

As South Korea once again dragged Vietnam away, North Korea looked on ominously from behind the trees, he considered making his presence known but if he did, then that would make him too suspicious. He may be the "fall guy" in the event that they'll need one but keeping themselves hidden was key in making their plans a success, unnecessary risks weren't welcome.

He saw that Vietnam seemed to have had a brief fit, gotten too deep in her thoughts of South Vietnam no doubt, and it made him smirk in amusement. North Vietnam… if only she knew, if only she knew the ugly truth. But it will all be clear in time…

"Oh, you have no idea who's waiting to see you again, Lien." North Korea scoffed, then he heard rustling, and he glanced back to laugh at his prisoner. "That reminds me…"

A slashed Laos swallowed nervously as he shakily tried to lift himself up but collapsed back to the ground.

"That same someone wants to talk to you."

/ / / / /

Indonesia liked being underwater. It was calm, quiet, peaceful. All the noise and ruckus happening would be muted the moment she jumped in. It was her own little world to move around in and she loved it. She could stay there for a while, as well as go quite far, one of the perks of being an archipelago nation. At times, she felt the need to swim and go escape to her world when things got too stressful for her.

It was nice and fun. Even thought it was late, a brief swim always helped.

Indonesia smiled to herself then swam up to the surface, spreading her arms when she splashed out, and took a deep breath. Dark brown orbs blinked in surprise when she heard her phone ring in her bag. Huh, who could be calling her at this time of day?

She swam towards the steps and got out of the pool. She squeezed the water out of her wet long black hair then grabbed a towel on her way to her bag to wrap herself around with and grabbed her phone. Indonesia was pleasantly surprised when saw the number. Philippines?

"Selamat pagi, Felipe. Why-"

"Umm, It's me, Kirana." The timid voice of East Timor corrected.

"I… What?" Indonesia asked with a baffled expression, now that didn't make any sense, she could have sworn Philippines was calling her. Still, she smiled apologetically, even though East Timor couldn't see her. "I'm sorry, Tina. I thought you were Philippines, probably a-"

"Actually, this is Piri's phone! He's letting me use it for two minutes to talk to you!" Indonesia felt slightly annoyed that she got interrupted again, but she was confused, and she could scold East Timor later. "Guess what, Kira? We're going to go visit you today!"

"Really? Oh, how nice. It would be fantastic to have you two for a visit, but Tina… shouldn't you still be in bed? It's late." Indonesia told her worriedly, besides, wasn't Australia supposed to come over to her house in several hours to babysit her? "And what about Jett? Does he know?"

"Hmmmmm… no, didn't tell him. But I have Felipe with me!" East Timor cheerfully tried to reassure her just as Indonesia paled. "It was his idea! He came to my house, took me away, and said we were going to your house."

"Well, since Felipe is with you I guess I can… wait." Indonesia's smile vanished, and she raised an eyebrow at a certain part of what East Timor said. "Did… Did you say… he came to your house and took you away?"

"Yeah, he… Felipe? What's wrong?" East Timor's voice turned worried, almost scared. "But… But it hasn't been two minutes! Can't I talk to Kirana a bit longer? Please? I… But… But why? I… I'm sorry! What did I do?"

"Tina?" Indonesia called her out, becoming concerned.

"I'm sorry, Kira. Felipe says we have to go." East Timor said in an upset tone, but then she became a bit happy again. "But don't worry! We'll see you soon!"

"Wait! Why-" Indonesia didn't manage to finish the question, because East Timor ended the call, and the archipelago nation was left confused beyond belief.

What happened over there?

/ / / / /

"Now what do we do?" Seychelles asked miserably as she looked at the floor, who spoke for the entire group as they sat pondering.

What now? That seemed to be the main issue on the table now, not what to do with Guatemala or what they discovered happened in Europe, what do they do next? No one was sure of the answer. But they had to come up with something! They all sat either deep in thought or in anxiety and worry. Something had to be done. The African group couldn't just keep residing in Belize while chaos happened.

What to do? How to act? How do they get away without raising any alarms? Would it be smart? Was it too risky? Should everyone be involved?

For Egypt, there was one concern that has been eating away at him since he woke up, one that he had to find out, no matter what. Even if the chances are slim, he had to try, and he had to make sure they're alright as well. It may sound selfish and foolish but…

"I want to return to France." Egypt stated bluntly.

The others looked at him in shock or as if he was insane, which was he expected, and how Algeria reacted as she glared at him fiercely. "Are you insane, Gupta? Why on earth would you want to go back there? Knowing how well it went for us before we escaped by the gums of our teeth!"

"I want to see that France and Monaco are well and unharmed." Egypt explained calmly, leaning his head on his hand, not meeting Algeria's furious gaze. "Also, I wish to see if there's a chance that Mauritius is there as well."

Seychelles widened her brown eyes while Algeria's expression softened at the mention of Mauritius before it hardened again. "You want to risk your safety to desperately see if he wasn't taken?"

"And to search for France and Monaco, I told you. Aren't you worried about them?"

"I… of course I am! But we're on the Order's list! Targets! We've already lost one nation there!"

"And you want to lose more?"

"La! Which is precisely why I am trying to advise you against it!"

"I know the risks very well, Algeria. I was there as well, I want to know what happened to them." Egypt glowered at her, then took a deep breath, and looked at the whole group. "And may I remind you that France is the only major power that knows about the threat we are up against. He is our only hope for spreading the news to the other powers."

"So, we can even the field, eliminating their element of surprise, of course…" Tunisia smiled at the idea while his sister glared at him for agreeing. "Since we're not in France anymore, communications should work now, and Francis should still be trying organize a meeting. It's… still a risk going there, though."

"Like I said before, Tunisia, I know. If things go well, this will work not only for our advantage, but for every non-Order nation. Isn't it worth the risk?"

"If… If. I… suppose you have a point there." Algeria muttered then scowled again. "I don't like it. But I do wish for things to become easier for us and rob that group of their power."

"It'd… be nice to see if Kelvin's okay…" Seychelles said hopefully, wringing her hands. "Even though it's not likely…"

"Yes, so I suggest I take all of us to-" Egypt began but was interrupted when Belize stood up with a frown.

"Let me stop you right there, brujo." Belize said, holding her hand in front of her face, then put her hands on her hips. "Sorry, but me and Sophia aren't coming."

"What? Why?" Seychelles cried out.

"No offense but uh... you're all kind of forgetting something, something pretty important."

"What do you mean?" Egypt asked, confused by the statement.

Belize narrowed her eyes and pointed at the window. "What about the rest of Central America? You know, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador... who have no idea of what's going on? Are we supposed to just leave 'em there like that? They have the right to know what's happening."

"It definitely wouldn't be wise to leave the few unaware of the situation in a continent with many members." Tunisia pointed out, agreeing with Belize.

Belize grinned and gestured towards Tunisia. "See? He gets it."

"I agree with Bel, too." Honduras nodded, a serious expression on her face. "I'm worried about Angel and the others. Also, what if the Order decides to go after them? They've went after Africa and Caribbean, and I don't want that to happen to them. I think we should get to them before they do."

"Thank you, Honduras. Besides, we'll make the group bigger if they come!"

"Not that you don't a point, but how are you going to manage to do all of that?" Algeria raised an eyebrow, not entirely convinced.

"Huh?"

"If you're going by car, it's going to take at least a day or two or maybe even three. Also, Guatemala knew the two Caribbean girls were in your house, who's to say they won't discover your mission and come after you?"

"I can take you to each of their houses." Egypt offered. "It shouldn't take long that way."

"Si... That sounds... very nice." Belize grimaced, and Egypt rolled his eyes at the sarcasm in her voice. "But didn't you say you were going to go to France or something?"

"I can wait. With me, I can get you out of danger."

"I really don't think we should count on you every time we end up in a dreadful situation." Tunisia stated, crossing his arms. "We can't keep relying on you forever, Gupta. Besides, if we go your way then we won't be able to explore the area we're in. We should see what's been happening in this part of the continent for the past few days."

"We? You plan on coming with them too, Malik?" Egypt asked.

"Yeah, really? You wanna come with?" Belize looked at him confusedly.

"Of course." Tunisia nodded, giving a small smile. "If you and Honduras do run into trouble, I suggest it would be best if you have some more nations with you, me and Salah will help. What do you say, Khalida? You did say it might be possible we'll have encounter someone."

"What? Me?" Algeria blinked as she pointed at herself, then gave an uncertain expression. "Alright, I guess I'll go with you, it's not a bad idea. The more the merrier I guess…"

"And what about us?!" Saint Lucia demanded, sounding almost upset, and she pointed shakily at the unconscious Guatemala. "Are you just going to leave the three of us alone with him?! Please tell me you're not going to leave him here with us!"

"Good point…" Egypt stared at Guatemala coldly. "Does anyone have any ideas?"

"Don't you have some sort of special prison or cell to keep him in for the time being, Belize?" Tunisia asked.

"Maybe, but I don't feel comfortable leaving him in driving distance from Seychelles, Bahamas and Saint Lucia." Belize admitted, scratching her head, the grinned as she snapped her fingers. "How about the brujo uses his black magic to trap the jerk in a flaming prison?"

"First, it doesn't work that way. Second, I know no such spell either way." Egypt rebutted irately, narrowing his eyes at her, groaning.

"Well, how does it work then?!" Belize snapped.

"I normally detest these sort of methods, but can't we get some sort of drug to keep him asleep for a few days until we regroup?" Algeria suggested with a grimace, then sighed. "Tranquilizers?"

"But where do we keep him?" Egypt pointed out.

"Why don't you somehow use him to get Mauritius? You know, like a bargaining... what was it called? Chip?" Saint Lucia suggested absent mindedly, twirling a lock of her curly hair, unaware that the entire room turned to look at her in disbelief. "You and those guys will trade!"

"Saint Lucia…" Egypt called her out flatly.

"Hmm?" Said nation looked up curiously.

"That… that's a very good plan."

"It is?" Saint Lucia raised an eyebrow. "It just popped up in my head and I didn't really mean-"

Bahamas wrapped her arms around her surviving neighbor in a tight hug in glee. "Oh, Lucy. You're a genius!"

Saint Lucia choked a little at the hug then scoffed. "Of… Of course I am! You're welcome, by the way."

"Mister Gupta!" Seychelles said to Egypt, and the latter smiled at seeing a hopeful expression on her face at seeing a chance for Mauritius. "Do… Do you really think this will work? Will we get Kelvin back? I'll… see him again?"

"I have a feeling that it will, Michelle." Egypt nodded, being sincere, and he felt glad when he saw her sigh in relief.

"Oh… but wait." Seychelles looked at him again but with a worried expression. "If you're going to Big Brother France, and Algeria, Tunisia, Honduras and Belize are leaving to go around Central America, then does that mean that me, Bahamas and Saint Lucia will be all alone?"

"Don't worry. You won't be alone. You'll have each other, and…" Egypt smiled mysteriously. "You'll have Anubis."

"Who's Anu-YAHHH!" Poor Seychelles didn't have time to finish her question because a dog like creature tackled her, knocking her and the chair she was sitting on to the floor, and drowning her in kisses.

Egypt gaped in horror and panicked as he quickly went to try to pull Anubis off Seychelles. "No, wait, Anubis! What are you doing? What has gotten into you all of a sudden?"

Meanwhile the rest of the room had varying reactions, mostly amusement or surprise. Algeria cracked a smirk at the amusing sight while Tunisia tried to suppress his laughter. Bahamas looked at the creature curiously while Saint Lucia stared at it with an unreadable expression. The most over-the-top, however, would be Belize screaming and jumping into Honduras's arms while she slashed her sword around.

"El brujo tiene un espíritu familiar!" Belize shrieked, hugging a puzzled Honduras for dear life.

"Bel, I think you're overreacting." Honduras giggled at a trembling Belize.

"No, I'm not!"

"Where was Anubis when we were in France, Egypt?" Algeria asked confusedly, remembering that this was the first time she saw Anubis since this started.

Egypt stared up at the ceiling in thought while he tried to pull of Anubis. "I sent Anubis to patrol the area while we were in France, he was pretty far at the time, but I guess it also didn't cross my mind to call him."

"Oh, Oh! I've seen that dog around Egypt before, Lucy! Isn't he adorable?" Bahamas shook a staring Saint Lucia's shoulders excitedly. "What do you think, Luce?"

Saint Lucia stared up at her neighbor, a smile forming. "Do you think Anubis likes pink?"

As both burst girls burst out laughing, they didn't see that Guatemala was starting to stir. Guatemala groaned a bit and soon enough his eyes snapped open, having regained consciousness.

/ / / / /

 _It's been decided, a plan has been formed, hopefully one that will end in a victory for us. Belize, Honduras, Tunisia and Algeria will go together to see the situation in Central America._

"Does the brujo _have_ to poof us to Sophia's house?" Belize whined, crossing her arms and puffing her cheeks.

Algeria looked at her with an annoyed expression as she helped with packing supplies. "It'll save us thirteen hours of travel via car and we won't have to go through Guatemala and risk raising an alarm just to reach Honduras. Or do you want to go to Guatemala?"

"Alright, alright! Just saying!" Belize raised her hands up in surrender.

"Oh~ Don't get grumpy, Bel~" Honduras sang as she ruffled Belize's hair, much to the latter's chagrin, and beamed. "Come on, isn't this better? Besides, we're going to go an adventure~ It'll be fun! Aren't adventures always fun?"

Belize's lip twitched and then she raised her sword up high. "Maybe, but this is not your run-of-the-mill bright and light-hearted adventure, Soph! This is real danger, here. This is an adventure that will be filled with action, tragedy, blood, death, betrayal and mystery!"

Honduras clapped her hands in excitement. "Ooh! Like Pirates of the Caribbean?"

Belize blinked a little before gasping. "Dios, you're right!"

"They do know it's not going to be like Pirates of the Caribbean, right?" Algeria asked her brother cautiously, sweat dropping at the two girls speaking animatedly, then sighed. "Please tell me they know, Malik."

"I think they do, but it's nice to see people in high-spirits, don't you think?" Tunisia shrugged, smiling.

"I guess so…" Algeria cracked a smile at the two suddenly talking about something silly.

/ / / / /

 _Seychelles, Bahamas and Saint Lucia may not be fighters, but I trust Anubis will protect them in case of a crisis. I, on the other hand..._

Egypt watched as Bahamas and Saint Lucia quickly took a liking to Anubis, and his little friend seemed to like them and the attention he was receiving as well, it was a nice sight. Although he was still confused about Anubis's behavior towards Seychelles. Anubis didn't mean any harm, but still, how strange. Anubis seemed to have taken an immediate liking to Seychelles, and the island girl had no hard feelings.

"You're… you're really leaving." He heard Seychelles say from behind him, and Egypt turned around to see her holding her arms sullenly, she then looked up at him with her big brown eyes. "Do you have to leave?"

Egypt gave her an apologetic look. "I feel that I do. I promise I will come back as soon as I can."

Seychelles bit her and looked away again. "Can… Can I come with you? Please?"

"For your sake, I'd rather not, you will be a lot safer here." Egypt shook his head and rested his hands on Seychelles's shoulders. "Please trust me, I can't stand to see you in such low spirits."

"I'm sorry." Seychelles murmured.

"Don't be. It's my fault you're like this." Egypt gave a sad smile.

Seychelles looked up at him in surprise and shook her head frantically. "Wh-What? No, no, non, Mister Gupta! I don't blame you! You didn't know what went wrong and I know you didn't mean to leave Kelvin behind! No one blames you! In fact, I feel that I'm making you feel worse, I'm sorry."

"No, it's reasonable that you reacted that way, let's-"

"If the two of you are done being all over each other…" Guatemala muttered with annoyance, bound by the wrists and legs, rolling his eyes. "…just do what you're going to do to me. Unless this is supposed to be meant to torture me, in which case I applaud you, it's very painful to hear and watch."

Seychelles blushed a little and Egypt narrowed his eyes at their prisoner. "If you insist… Are you that eager to be locked away?"

Guatemala shrugged, an apathetic expression on his face. "Oh, I'm not worried about that. I just want this over and done with."

"How confident of you…" Egypt muttered as he went over to Guatemala and forced him up, though Guatemala did cooperate. "Now, then, let's go."

Egypt dragged Guatemala to the center of the room, where he held his staff ready and his hold on Guatemala tight, he was ready to leave. Egypt was sure that France could find a secure place to keep this man locked away until necessary and hopefully long enough before the Order becomes suspicious and sends nation to look for Guatemala.

As he was about to leave, the girls and Anubis came to wish him luck and say goodbye for now. Anubis went to him and Egypt smiled at his old friend, petting his head. "Guard them well, Anubis."

"Goodbye. Be careful out there, Egypt!" Bahamas waved with a smile.

"We'll take good care of Anubis, we promise!" Saint Lucia piped up, winking.

"Gupta… Come back soon." Seychelles gave him a small smile. "We'll be waiting for you."

Egypt nodded, and he gave her one last smile. "I know. I will."

And with that a light enveloped the room and when it cleared up both men were gone.

 **Whew! Hope you guys liked it. It actually took a while for me to decide what Egypt's group should do next, there were several plans but they had their pros and cons, but I went with this one. There were some characters I couldn't show this arc but they will show up in the next one! I'm considering making the next chapter another flashback chapter but I'm not sure... Please review!**


	23. Everything falls into place

**Thanks to Eternal Nexus Warrior, NadiaJA627 and an anon for reviewing. Sorry for being late, the power went out, and as a result a good chunk of the chapter was lost so I had to start AGAIN. But I finished. Now, on with the show!**

The third only grinned wide in glee at Egypt's declaration, he felt nothing but enjoyment of the Arab's hatred of him, his piercing glare, how he was brilliantly controlling his anger at the third for all the things he did in the war, how he grew from the dire situations in it, how determined he was to destroy him… Oh, it was too much! Plus, it looked like all that juicy stuff he showed him riled him up even more!

Oh, Egypt, little, ignorant, Egypt… that wasn't even the tip of the revelations iceberg. Huh, what would that look like? Eh, he could come up with silly ideas later. Right now, he has an audience to entertain and educate!

And let's not forget about our dear Hungary! Who's not doing much better in the anger department, in fact she's doing worse compared to Egypt, but being calm's never been Hungary's strong point. She's a free spirit. Crazy, expressive, imaginative…

True, she was and still is a pain in the neck, testing his seemingly endless patience. A brat, especially when she still thought she was a boy, a HUGE brat.

Still, like he said, the third was patient, he has been patient with the entire world for many centuries and he knew very well how much she is loved by one of his leaders. Boy, was that a huge mess of broken hearts… you know, along with the other HUGE mess of dozens of other broken hearts. Heh, drama… never failed to entertain him.

Now the only thing he hoped was that neither of them ask how it's possible that he got all that stuff if he wasn't there and there was no camera recording. If they do, the third will have to launch into a long, boring, convoluted, overcomplicated, nonsensical explanation of HOW they did it and WHY they would want to record all that (why not?). Let's just say it involved magic and breaking some laws of time and space.

Anyway, enough inner monologue, the show must go on!

The third burst out into raucous cackles, which needless to say made the two "heroes" even more pissed off, and he struggled to breath over how hard how he was laughing. "Hah, put an end to… me? As in, totally destroy me? Murder me? Butcher, slaughter, annihilate, execute, kill, terminate-

"Are you done?" Egypt asked flatly, clearly annoyed by the needless list.

"…Eliminate, defeat and finish me off? Now I'm done." The man grinned mischievously, snickering, then clapped his hands. "Well, I apologize, but the showdown will have to wait. There's still so much I want to show you!"

"Wh-Wh-What? You mean you want us more of that?" Hungary exclaimed in anger, and she gritted her teeth. "NO! You did enough, either stand up and fight us like a true man or-"

"Oh, trust me, Lizzy." The third said darkly as his grin turned feral, almost tight, like he was gritting his teeth, and he grabbed his wrist, struggling to hold his anger in. "You have no idea how I've been looking forward this, to finally do battle with you and of course Goopy too!" He laughed a bit before dragging his nails across his arm, not even registering the pain. "So don't test me, and just enjoy the show will you?"

Hungary widened her eyes at that and bit her lip before shaking her head. "If that's true… If you want to kill me that much… then why do this? What will you gain from doing this?"

The third snorted at the question and leaned back into his chair. "Aw, don't tell me you've forgotten already? I told you before, Elizaveta… I want to enlighten you by revealing the mysteries of the group I belong to. You said you were curious… didn't you?"

"Yes, but that-"

"You lost me at "but"! Now shut up and watch, will ya?!" The third cut her off, bursting put cackling once again as a siren sounded through the room, causing Egypt and Hungary to look around in alarm as the room began to go dark while the third laughed on.

/ / / / /

Senegal flicked his lighter on, staring at the little flame barely dully for what he thought was a minute or two, then flicked it off as he frowned. He stirred in his bed to the side and stared at the wall, then flicked his lighter on again, for about the twentieth time this night. He sighed and ran his hand through his messy dark brown hair. He couldn't help it. He just couldn't go to sleep, no matter how much he wanted to.

He's been doing this for about an hour, it could have been a lot longer than that for all he knew, it's not like there were any clocks here, and he did NOT want to go ask. Senegal couldn't sleep, he was dead tired, but he couldn't sleep. So, he could only play with his precious lighter. He wished he could light something up to take his mind off stress, but Mali would never let him hear the end of it.

Mali kept telling him not to do it so much, since Senegal didn't bring liquid to refill and one of them might take it away, but still… Senegal looked behind him where Mali was sleeping on the bed next to him, with only her back and long dark hair visible as she slept soundly. Senegal smiled.

At least she was sleeping well, despite everything.

Throughout the entire thing, Senegal felt angry. He found it harder and harder to be his usual cheerful self as more time passed, he felt himself slip away the longer he remained here, the longer he heard the others scream in agony. Even though it's understandable, but it wasn't just that...

It _frustrated_ him that he was under someone's foot again, it _embarrassed_ him that he caved him in so quickly, it _infuriated_ him that most of the others did the same thing. They were scared, of course, but Senegal wasn't, no one will intimidate him. Maybe… Oh! Senegal grinned. Maybe he should light this place up! It'll be fun!

Senegal widened his eyes and horror and swiftly shook his head. No! What was… What was he thinking? Burn everyone alive just for laughs? That's insane! That's something one of those five bastards would say… What was wrong with him?

That was the thing that bothered him. Every now and then, at random times, he'd suddenly get these disturbing thoughts like he did just now. He'd get headaches as well. And for some reason he felt that something was missing… Senegal didn't understand why. Mali doesn't know, he didn't want to worry her more than-

A weird cry snapped him out of his thoughts, he flinched and turned around to see what it was, and he widened his eyes when he saw none other than a _meerkat_ on his bed staring at him. A meerkat. On his bed. In the middle of the night. Senegal flicked his lighter off while keeping his eyes on the animal. It jumped and snatched Senegal's lighter from him with its mouth, running off with it.

Something in him snapped as he watched the little beast run off his with his lighter, and he got off his bed to run after it.

Senegal immediately found the meerkat, with his lighter, in the distance looking at him, almost waiting for him, and ran off again, with his lighter. He gave chase, but it was fast, way too fast, he could barely keep up with him and keep it in his sights. But Senegal wasn't giving up anytime soon.

There was no way that little rodent was going to get away with stealing his precious lighter!

Senegal saw the meerkat disappear as it went around a corner, he followed the same direction, only to bump into someone. He grunted and took a few quick steps back as he rubbed his forehead and he paled when he saw _who_ he bumped into. South Africa, who smirked when he saw him.

"Oh my… what are you doing up running around this late at night, Senegal?" South Africa asked cheerfully, leaning his head on his hand, then glanced at the ground. Senegal looked at where South Africa looked, and saw a silver knife on the floor, a skinner, he heard South Africa clear up his throat and the man smiled amicably. "You seem stressed, is something wrong, Abdou?"

"That's…" Senegal trailed off when he realized that South Africa called him by his human name, and he narrowed his eyes. "Wait, why did you-"

A loud squeal interrupted him, and Senegal scowled when he saw the meerkat appear behind South Africa, who beamed when he saw it and let it run up to his shoulder. "Ah… There you are, Izzy. I was wondering where you went off to this time."

Oh, that's right. South Africa had a meerkat as a pet, it must have slipped his mind, but there's still the other matter. "You! Your little rongeur is a thief! Tell that beast to give my lighter back or I swear I'll skin it alive!"

Senegal regretted saying that as soon as he said it and he slapped his hand over his mouth.

"Hmm?" South Africa raised an eyebrow and looked at the animal, then chuckled when he noticed the lighter in its mouth. "Oh, Izzy, my tricky little friend… You stole Senegal's precious lighter? Now, that is not nice, give it to me at once."

Izzy complied, and South Africa smiled as he took the lighter from its mouth while Senegal looked on in shock. "You… You're really going to give it back?"

"Of course! Izzy does this all the time, I'm sorry that he caused you trouble, it won't happen again." South Africa shrugged happily, and he tossed him the lighter which Senegal swiftly caught.

Senegal frowned at South Africa's friendly attitude towards him. How come he's being so friendly with him? He flinched when the latter snapped his fingers.

"Oh, one more thing!" South Africa walked over to Senegal, swiping the knife off the ground on his way, and the latter took a few nervous steps back but the former quickly caught his wrist and gently placed the knife in Senegal's hands. "Here, I insist. A little gift for your troubles. It's a _special_ little knife. Who knows? Maybe you'll need it one day."

Senegal inspected the knife, running his hand through the metal, staring at it in wonder before he did a double take. "Special? Wait, what do you mean I'll…"

But South Africa was gone along with Izzy, completely vanished without a trace, as if they were never there. Senegal sweat dropped, how did he do that? He sighed, it doesn't matter right now. He got his lighter back, so mission accomplished, hopefully he didn't wake Mali up.

As for the knife… he stared at it skeptically. South Africa gave it as a "gift", but after what happened, Senegal wasn't going to trust South Africa anytime soon. Also, why give something like this to someone like him? A prisoner. Doesn't South Africa know that it could be used against him?

Senegal had no intention of being the center of whatever insane plan South Africa and the others came up with, but… Senegal frowned and walked back to his room, his hand gripping the knife.

When Senegal climbed onto his bed, he finally began to get tired, his eyelids began to feel heavy and he felt himself drifting off to sleep but not before he glanced at the knife lying on the nightstand then everything went dark.

 _The first thing Senegal realized was that he was in water, he was floating in the water on his back, he was in what looked like a river from what he could tell. He felt tired, he couldn't really move much, his eyelids still felt heavy and he felt sleepy. But didn't he just go to sleep? Why was he here? How did he get here? Senegal drowsily stared up at the sky._

 _The sun was up and burning bright, Senegal couldn't spot a single cloud, it should be boiling. But Senegal didn't feel a thing._

 _It was quiet, almost eerily silent, too quiet. Senegal couldn't hear anything, no breeze, no animals, no humans, the only thing he could hear was the water. It felt peaceful. It was... nice. He liked being like this. Lying in the water with no one to bother him, just and quiet... he liked it._

 _Senegal couldn't really move, he was drowsy but still, he has energy, he should be able to move his body. He wasn't sure how he was staying completely afloat, too._

 _Senegal slowly and absent mindedly lifted his hand, he turned his head slightly to look then widened his eyes in shock, he couldn't believe it. His hand was covered in blood. But if he's seeing right... then that must mean... No... Please don't let it be... That means that the river..._

 _Suddenly finding himself able to move again, he splashed around in alarm as he tried to regain his balance, but then he really wished he hadn't. Senegal looked all around him then at his own body. He was drenched in blood, he looked at his bloody hands then at the river, he let his hands fall to his sides as he stared with an unreadable expression at what was before him._

 _The river was blood. He was floating in blood._

 _Then another thing caught his attention, a scent, but it wasn't the blood. Senegal sniffed and gasped, he smelled smoke! Something was burning! Senegal turned around, and there he saw it._

 _It was village nearby, very visible from where he stood, and it was being engulfed in flames. It was being burned to the ground, being reduced to nothing but ashes, to nothing. The scent of smoke was strong. Even from here he could smell the charcoal like scent of burning flesh, the sulfur, the gases... So poisonous to human beings, so repulsive to everyone, it caused fear and panic._

 _It was such an intoxicating scent._

 _Senegal's face twisted into a grin then he brought up his hand to his mouth and he took in the liquid with his mouth, happily lapping up the blood. He shuddered in delight as he did and sighed happily as he swallowed down the blood. Beginning to tremble, his grin widened and scooped up more blood with his hands, he nuzzled it and inhaled it deeply._

 _He burst into gleeful laughter. Ah! It was almost too much! It was so good. It felt so amazing._

 _Senegal let himself fall to the river of blood, he began to laugh a bit as he floated, then more, and more, and more, and more, and more, and more, and more, and more, and more, and more, and more, and MORE, and MORE, and MORE, and MORE, and MORE, and MORE, and MORE, and MORE!_

 _Little by the little... he set himself free._

Senegal gasped and sat up immediately after he woke, sweating and panting, horrified by what he saw. He buried his face in his hands. What... was that? He removed his hands from his face to wipe off the sweat. He paled, what he did just see? Why would he ever do...

His eye caught the sight of the knife South Africa gave him still lying on the night stand, Senegal's breath evened, and his face turned into an expressionless one. Senegal stared at the knife before him, not saying a word, not changing his expression, not even for a single second. The knife glistened in the dark.

Senegal's hand twitched.

He continued to stare at the knife then his gaze went to a still sleeping Mali, now staring at her with the same expression, and he did so for the rest of the night, his eyes never leaving her.

/ / / / /

"Welllllllll…" The third snickered mischievously, rubbing his hands in a cartoonish villain-like way, and grinned wide. "I'm sure that won't amount to anything, am I right? I don't know about you, but I just love cliffhangers! Leaves me dying to know what happens next! But that's my opinion... What's yours?"

Hungary paled at what she just witnessed as she covered her mouth in shock. "How could you do that to…"

"Oh, come now, Lizzie." The third mocked her, scoffing. "Are you still surprised at this point? I wasn't there, Liz, but I know that you saw some nasty stuff, and **_did some nasty stuff_** as well. I'm pissed, you're pissed, we're all pissed off. That's how it is. By the way, how goes your trauma, it's not everyday you see something as gruesome as that even for people like us! It's truly bad luck you've had the misfortune of seeing Bel-"

"You stop right there." Egypt cut him off angrily while resting a comforting hand on a shaken Hungary's shoulder, who held her arms sullenly.

The man didn't smile for once and shrugged. "Hey, I'm being sincere. It really wasn't our plan to have Hungary see that, you should have heard about the big bosses' reaction when they fount out, we didn't want her to see that. Hell, we preferred to have no one see that."

"Well, I did!" Hungary snapped, looking close to tearing up, and she trembled in both sadness and anger. "I saw what DRC did! What he did… What I saw… What do you have to say for yourself?"

The third smiled as the siren sounded again. "Karma's a bitch."

/ / / / /

Prussia carefully kneeled on the branch he was currently perched on, keeping a narrowed and focused gaze on the little (physically speaking) nation of Russia who was nervously walking to the tree where Prussia hid, and he tightened the hold on his sword. Just as he planned, the boy was walking to his demise, another future thorn in his side dispatched, _finally_. The boy was admirably lucky and fast, but not this time.

Gilbird flew and perched himself on Prussia's shoulder, he smiled and put an index finger against his lips, telling his dear friend to be silent.

But then he heard it, a slight creak, a sound coming from next to him. Prussia looked to his left, where much to surprise, the Golden Horde himself was also hiding on top of a branch, the Mongol was staring at him. Prussia glared at him, sent him a silent warning, but the Golden Horde smiled.

Well, Prussia expected him or someone else to be out hunting too, but the Mongol better not do anything foolish. He might cause the boy to escape, yet again.

Having Russia in his sights, Prussia jumped from the branch and roared in rage as he prepared to plunge his sword in Russia's heart to end his miserable life, but the boy saw him, screamed and ran away for his life which resulted in Prussia's sword plunging into the ground instead. Some arrows then flew in front of Russia, just missing him, and blocked his path.

The Golden Horde jumped down and walked to Prussia, who was crouching down as he began to pull the sword out, and he reached out his hand to him while nodding his head towards a frozen in panic Russia. Prussia scowled, he was not one to trust easily, the Golden Horde didn't fit in the category.

Still, if it helped get rid of Russia more quickly, he supposed it would hurt… hopefully.

Prussia began to also reach out, albeit reluctantly, his hand and he grabbed the Mongol's. A temporary alliance has been made. The Golden Horde grinned in delight and pulled Prussia up, then ran off, gesturing Prussia to follow. He did, and the two gave chase, with Gilbird following too.

Russia heard the loud crunching in the snow and fearfully turned around, and much to his horror he saw Prussia and the Golden Horde running after him, he screamed and ran off again. But the two personifications were more than happy to chase him. Prussia growled and ran as he could.

"You look rather furious, my friend. Nothing like your usual delightful self." The Golden Horde commented to him, Prussia turned to his right and he saw the Mongol smiling mischievously. "Are you that obsessed with obtaining the child's lands?"

Prussia scowled at the nation and shook his head, earning a look of curiosity from the Mongol, but he should have expected that. But right now, he was in one of his very rare moments of snapping and frustration, so he was not in the mood to go along with the façade, despite how foolish it may sound

"I do not want _land_ , Horde." Prussia growled out, narrowing his eyes, and bared his teeth. "I want his _death_."

And with that he dashed off to Russia, leaving a confused yet intrigued Golden Horde, and he gripped his sword again. Russia cannot escape his fate! Either let himself accept the inevitable or delay it at the cost of centuries of strife, chaos, blood and avarice!

But then another alteration in his plan happened, because both Denmark and Sweden jumped in front of Russia, obviously also intent on targeting Russia. Denmark gazed at Sweden taciturnly and nodded at him.

"Get him." Denmark ordered simply, and Sweden charged.

Russia looked at both sides frantically, he realized he was trapped, and closed his eyes as he shook. "I do not want to play! General, help me, please!"

Immediately as he screamed that last part, a blizzard suddenly enveloped the area and the four nations stopped, knowing what this meant. Prussia raised an eyebrow. How can that be? The General cannot do anything to him and the others here! They all looked at the sky where General came flying from above and scooped Russia from the ground then disappeared, leaving four angered nations.

Seeing the spirit of winter carry Russia away caused Prussia to have a very rare fit of anger. He roared with the all strength in his lungs at the sky for as long he could, cursing the very being of winter as well as Russia, he then gasped for breath and started to feel ashamed of himself. He shouldn't lose his temper. He must always remain aloof.

He looked back down and nearly widened his eyes, Golden Horde, Denmark and Sweden were all staring at him. They looked confused if anything, rather than shocked at his behavior, they saw. Shit. How will he explain his change of character?

Prussia regained his composure then scoffed, hopefully it'll convince them it was just frustration, and turned around to leave. "W-Well... Now that the brat got away again, there is no reason for me to be here, auf wiedersehen."

He began to walk away, but just as he felt relief...

"What are you hiding, Teutonic Knights?" Sweden asked, no, demanded coldly and Prussia knew he made a mistake.

"Indeed." The Golden Horde agreed, Prussia didn't have to turn around to know that the former had a sly smile. "He wanted Russia's head, he told me, instead of the land. Now, why would you want that? It is much more entertaining have him alive to play with, no?"

"Do you want him erased to prevent him from rebelling?" Denmark wondered, sounding genuinely curious. "Would work, but General will hardly be pleased."

"Russia is a threat. At least, he will be." Prussia explained bluntly, clenching his fists. He didn't know why, but he felt compelled to tell them more, so he began to talk more than he should, much to his dismay. "He may be a coward now, but one day he will bring you, me, and the world great suffering. He must be destroyed."

"Him? Russia? A threat?" The Golden Horde asked incredulously. "Now that is a foolish thought, he may be vast, but he has nothing. Even nature rejects him. It is the General you should be concerned about."

"True. The General may be mighty, he may bury armies alive under the snow, but he cannot protect Russia forever."

"You know how to destroy the General? Foolish, he is the winter, winter is a part of nature, thus winter cannot be destroyed." Sweden snarled in irritation.

Prussia shook his head and finally turned to face the others. "I know not how to destroy the General, but I know there is a way, there must be. I will search for it."

"Why so serious, Teutonic Knights?" Denmark asked with his usual cold tone, but he was obviously mocking him, and even sneered. "Why suddenly so serious?"

Prussia sighed. It appeared there was no escape. He shouldn't have been so reckless, they are all smarter than they appear, but strangely enough, he was alright with it. He was looking for allies, wasn't he? These three may not exactly have his trust, but he doesn't know how they would react to his goals. He didn't feel dread, he felt hope.

Clearing up his throat, he began to explain.

/ / / / /

"…And that's all, folks! Although they never really went through the "destroy Russia" thing back then, since they kind of accepted that they couldn't do any damage for now, at least Prussia found himself some friends. Finally learned to socialize. I'm really excited for the next part. Wanna know why? Cause I know Goopy's gonna love this one…" The third grinned wide at Egypt. "If you know what I mean…"

Egypt scowled at the third. "What are you talking about, you fool?"

"Monaco stars in this one."

"…!"

/ / / / /

Monaco stared gloomily at the cloudy sky through the window of her bedroom, she pressed a hand against the glass then bit her lip and looked away. She was doing her bad habit of gazing at the sky while worrying, worrying more than she needed to, but in this case, she believed it was justified. There was a large danger hiding among them, there were nations that knew, but they were either dead or imprisoned.

She shook her head, giving herself a light flick on the forehead. Or on the run, as is the case of Seychelles and the other four… well… three to be exact.

Monaco crossed her arms and sighed, Mauritius was captured, right before her and France too. He was taken to whatever to face whatever horrors that awaited him, she couldn't imagine what could be happening to him right now, but her imagination conjured up some not-so-pleasant scenarios. Poor boy, he was a good youngster. France…

France was taking it harder than she was, but what startled her was how angry he was on their way back to the house, he was furious. This anger was, needless to say, of course directed at the organization, but most of all, Haiti. Big Brother France seemed to have went from grieving Haiti's betrayal to cursing his very name. Monaco understood his feelings, but it felt unnatural, not right, to see France so… _angry_.

He didn't snap at her or anything, Big Brother France would never do that to her, but she will admit that it unnerved her somewhat.

France was starting to fear more for her safety, he insisted on him accompanying her wherever she went outdoors, even telling her not to leave without him. Monaco would be lying through her teeth if she said she was annoyed by this behavior, if anything, she felt safer when with France. Monaco doesn't think she has the courage to go outside without him.

Right now, France was trying to contact other nations for a meeting, the G7 to be exact (with the obvious exclusion of America, instead inviting Russia and China). Fortunately, communications seemed to be back up, she even had a brief conversation with Andorra. It was a relief for Monaco, but she had doubts of the meetings without the proof and witnesses, both vanished together and were nowhere to be seen.

If they wanted to convince the other nations of the truth before it was too late, then they need solid proof, words will not be enough.

Monaco hoped that Egypt will come here sooner or later, he along with Algeria, Tunisia and Seychelles could-

She gasped when she heard a familiar ring, she adjusted her glasses and turned behind her to see the phone from Haiti in her nightstand, the one &%/$&# and Switzerland used to communicate with her and the others. Monaco swallowed, another Order member calling? What could they want?

More importantly, she should answer?

The smart thing to do would be to NOT answer, leave it be, judging from how the last one resulted in a trap, which resulted in everyone's current situation. Yes, that would be the smart thing to do, despite her curiosity ramming in her skull. Remember, the smart thing, the right choice.

Monaco stared at the small device with a frustrated expression and forced herself to turn away. She waited for the ringing to die down, crossing her arms and tapping her foot, feeling anxiety pull at her insides. She glanced at it. There won't be any consequences for not responding… will there?

Was it smarter to respond than to risk the consequences of not?

It was too late to decided, because the ringing stopped, and Monaco closed her eyes and sighed. Well, no point in dwelling on it now. She should probably dispose of that thing, she turned around, what good could…

There was a teddy bear on her bed. Monaco blinked and raised an eyebrow. There was… a stuffed animal, which she had no recollection of owning or having it brought, on her bed lying against the pillows. How… What? It was old, vintage, it looked rather worn out from many years, the "fur" looked old, and it had black buttons for eyes (one of which was missing).

It was still… adorable, but was it there for a while?

Because if her memory was right, it wasn't there a minute ago, it appeared out of nowhere.

Monaco began to feel more anxious by the minute, she even had to restrain herself from biting her fingernails, and she nervously adjusted her glasses. She decided to walk over to her bed, to the little stuffed toy, to inspect it closer, albeit with slow nervous steps. She noticed a few things: One) The bear seemed to lack some stuffing, it had an odd posture, again probably due to its long age. Two) It looked… off without its eye. And…

Monaco widened her eyes. Were those… needles?

Just as she noticed that, a purple smoke suddenly exploded in her face, sending her a few steps back as she coughed. As the smoke cleared up, it revealed a Cheshire Cat-grinning Haiti laying on the bed with one hand supporting his head while his other arm hugged the teddy bear. Haiti chuckled at the horrified Monaco.

"On, you really shouldn't have done that, sœur~" Haiti sing-sang.

At seeing this horrific sight, panic, realizing that there was nothing she could do anything to stop him, she did the thing, the logical thing, anyone would do in this situation in hopes of someone will come to their rescue.

Monaco screamed.

/ / / / /

"Well, we both know what happened after that, don't we Goopy? Wink, wink." The third "subtly" winked at Egypt, smirking at the other's less-than-pleased expression. "Aw, turn that frown upside down, Goopy~ Don't make me come over and poke your cheek~"

"If you even try I will poke your eye with my staff." Egypt snarled.

"Ouch, feelings. But don't ya worry, you'll get even more feelings when I'm done with this one! Let's see the continuation of last's one last, shall we?"

/ / / / /

America stared at the unmoving form of South Vietnam laid on the bed with a deep frown from his chair next to the bed. South Vietnam was in critical condition when he found him, he really was _dying_ , and the merge hasn't even been done yet. South lost, no way to reverse that now, but he's not gone. America immediately gave South medical attention with help of the nurses he brought along, however it only slowed down the process.

South Vietnam was still dying, no medical help could help with that.

So, America called in a few of his fellow members to help him save South Vietnam, everyone he knew who have experience in the fields necessary, people who could call in certain favors. America himself helped with his limited knowledge of voodoo. But he couldn't have done it without their help.

Right now, South Vietnam was in a coma of sorts, most of his body was wrapped in bandages, some of which of were bleeding out. He's been like this for about nearly a year, the merge will be in a month or two, and America wasn't sure if it'll affect South's recovery.

America snorted. It's funny… he never thought he'd feel worry for someone not in the Order, sure there were some nations that grew on him, but none of them unintentionally won him over like South Vietnam. America genuinely considered him a friend, he cared for him, he was worried for his safety.

South Vietnam will live, America will make sure of that, he swears it.

 _And what makes you think he'll be happy to see you, Alfred? He won't. That man's sanity has died long before his nation did. He's not worth the effort, leave him, put him out of his misery. Kill him, or so help me, I will do it for you to save you from pain._

America grimaced at Mexico's words echoing in his mind, he groaned. Mexico was always such an optimist. Well, he didn't care, he knew the consequences, he's not an idiot. South Vietnam may be… unstable when he wakes up, but America was prepared, if any-

He snapped his attention towards South Vietnam when he heard groaning, and America was shocked to see him stirring, he was waking up. America felt joy but still remained cautious.

South Vietnam groaned a bit more then his eyes slowly opened, and he gazed sleepily at the Western nation. "A… America? Is that… really you?"

America gave him a small smile and nodded. "Yeah… it's me."

South Vietnam stared at him tiredly, not having much of a reaction to that confirmation, but he was obviously still tired. He kept inhaling and exhaling with his mouth, and his eyes looked dull, definitely exhaustion. America embarrassingly gave him a nervous smile as he scratched the back of his head, not quite sure what to say next. America stood up from his chair to come closer to the half-dead nation.

God, how was he going to explain this?

"I-" America barely began when South Vietnam lunged at him, wrapping his hands around his throat to strangle him, the Asian screamed in a near feral rage while America got over his shock and tried to reason with him. "Chinh!"

"How dare you… HOW DARE YOU?!" South Vietnam kept screaming at him, anger and madness in his eyes, his mind was in poor shape. "You have the nerve to come back to me after I lost?! You think you could just return after you broke my heart and left me to my doom?!"

"YOU'RE ALIVE!"

"SHE KILLED ME!"

"SHE TRIED BUT SHE FAILED!"

"SHE WON! She took away everything, everything that was mine is hers now, I'm nothing!"

Seeing South Vietnam couldn't be reasoned with right now, America had to resort to the other option, force. America easily wrenched South's hands away from his neck and held them in a tight grip. South Vietnam continued screaming and screeching, and resorted to trying to scratch America's arms, but it all amounted to nothing.

America looked away guiltily. "Sorry."

And he punched South Vietnam unconscious.

With that began South Vietnam's official stay in America's house as a guest, instead of just being a near corpse, and at first it was exhausting. No matter how many times America tried to knock some sense into South Vietnam (literally and metaphorically), the latter was always unstable, but thankfully America remembered the New World Order spends 30% of their budget for mood reducer drugs and tranquilizers.

Don't ask.

With the drug's help South Vietnam gradually began to become saner, but he was still far from willing to talk to America, at least he wasn't trying to strangle him. South also began to recover psychically too, America removed some of the bandages, and South Vietnam could move a lot better without suffering from pain although he still must remain in bed for the time being.

In time, South Vietnam finally began to speak more, even asking a few questions. America tried to answer as best as he could without revealing too much.

South Vietnam didn't really ask about his sister, or about the state of the war, America thought it was probably for the best he doesn't know until later. Until one day, while South was asleep, America left some newspapers on the nightstand when he decided it was finally time.

When morning arrived, America was resting on the couch while reading a book, he nearly flinched when he heard paper being torn and in concern he immediately rushed to South Vietnam's room. On the way he kept hearing the same sound of paper being torn again and again, and he frowned as he reached the door.

He'd better be prepared to handle one of South Vietnam's episodes of insanity.

America opened the door and the sight greeting him was a silently seething South Vietnam sitting up on the bed with bits, pieces and shreds of newspapers all around him. South Vietnam looked like he was trying his best not to go into a fit of blood-crazed rage and his hands were trembling in anger, he snapped his head up towards America, and his expression softened somewhat.

"Oh, good morning, Alfred." South Vietnam with eerie calmness, but the fury was all too visible in his eyes, and he tugged at the bandage on one of his wrists. "I think my hands and arms are starting to feel better."

"Yeah, I can tell…" America commented dryly, then glanced at the shreds. "I take it you didn't take the news of the merging of you and North's lands so well."

"My land…" South Vietnam scoffed, and glared at the papers in disgust. "You mean _her_ land. The land she killed me for… Lien was always so… so… self-righteous."

"Is that so?" America asked absent mindedly while staring at the shreds and wondering how much time it'll take to clean it all up.

"It's not fair…"

"Hmm?"

"I SAID IT'S NOT FAIR!" South Vietnam yelled angrily. "How could she?! We're brother and sister! Lien may be the warrior of the two of us, she may have adopted me… but because of that, she thinks she's always _right_. She thinks she knows what's best for me… But still! We were together! We fought side by side! I accepted her as my sister! I let her change my name! When we split I… still loved her… but she didn't love me! She was so blind by her desperation to have me that she killed me, so she wouldn't have anymore trouble. I heard her. Did you hear what she said when she killed me?"

America, who had remained silent in the whole rant and listening with full attention, nodded. "I remembered her repeating "I didn't mean to!" "you made me!" "I'm sorry!" and the like."

"You see?!" South Vietnam exclaimed, and groaned in anger. "Excuses, always with the excuses, Lien wouldn't admit anything even if she got stabbed in the breasts a hundred times! Just like China! She's too much like China if you ask me! I realized in the war, when you and I were together, that Lien that doesn't care about what I think, only in "what's best for the two of us". She thought I was just a naïve little lamb… so lost and a puppet for the capitalist West… DOES SHE THINK I'M AN IDIOT?!"

America just stood there and let South Vietnam vent his anger to his heart's content. He was expecting anger, but not a complete rant about everything South hated about North. Still, it interested him to hear it.

"And now we're here, and she won. And now what happens to me? What happens to my people?!" South Vietnam demanded, tears starting to stream down his cheeks. "Lien's as strict as they come, she'll make them suffer! She'll send them off to reeducation camps where they'll be starved, tortured and be infected with diseases all the while being forced to perform harsh labor. No… NO! I'll make her go through hell… She hasn't won! I'm here! I'll torment her for everything…"

America wordlessly kept listening to South Vietnam rant. Huh, he really was a lot angrier than he thought. South really felt tremendous anger for his sister. As he listened, he suddenly got an idea, one that South Vietnam will like. But first, South Vietnam needed something to help him get through this.

America smirked, turned around and left while South Vietnam kept ranting, apparently not noticing his leave, and went for a pint of chocolate ice cream. It always helped cheer him up when in times where the pressures of being the figurehead were too much.

He returned to South's room, who was now tearing the bigger shreds into smaller shreds, and he sat in his usual chair. America handed him the open pint with a spoon, and South Vietnam noticeably perked up a little at the sight and took it eagerly. Well, here goes.

"Chinh, you're angry at your sister, you hate that you're not a nation anymore." America leaned closer with a mysterious smile. "What if I told you there was a way to get your land back? Even be the only Vietnam if you want."

South Vietnam scoffed and threw the shreds away, scowling as he dug the spoon into the pint. "Now, _that's_ a silly thought."

"Not if you had help, more help than you ever had in the war." America smirked.

South Vietnam only raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you talking about?"

America took a deep breath. "I'm not… the nation you knew me as… this hero-obsessed idiot, he doesn't exist, never did. Surely, you've noticed I've been acting differently in the past months. But I'm not the only one, there are dozens of other nations that have been pretending all this time."

"That can't be." South Vietnam paled.

"It is. And we've been planning to overthrow the world for centuries in the biggest war in history. One that will make World War II seem like a children's playground. You're more than welcome to join us."

South Vietnam stared at him in shock and mulled it over. "Will I really be the only Vietnam?"

"If that's what you want." America nodded. "You can even grab some of your neighbors if you want, but there's one small catch."

"Being…?"

"You have to remain in hiding for about a few decades, until we make ourselves known to the world, until the time is right. It'll be safer for you that way."

South Vietnam smirked. "I can wait, if it means being a nation again, to be alive, then I'll wait. Did... you save me so I could join you?"

"No. I saved you because I cared about you. I genuinely saw you as my friend, I wanted to help you, and now I saw you'd make a good addition to the group."

"Hmm, I'm honored." South Vietnam brought a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth then grinned. "I wonder how North Korea will react to the capitalist pig being fake?"

"Oh, he's actually one of us, he and I are lovers, actually."

South Vietnam nearly choked on his ice cream.

/ / / / /

The third narrowly dodged a bullet and he looked up to see a pissed Hungary with her rifle pointed at him, but he only laughed, looks like happy little Hungary lost patience. "Ah geez, no need to be so cranky, Liz."

"I've had it! I've had it with… with that!" Hungary shook in anger. "Stop… stalling. Right now, you die."

"Yeah…" The third held up a remote as he snickered mischievously. "Not yet."

He pressed one of the buttons, and the floor beneath Egypt and Hungary opened, causing them to fall through. As they screamed, the third hopped up and merrily walked up to the pit, and he smiled darkly. "Oh, I'm not done yet."

 **Hope you liked the chapter, guys! Next time we go back to the main group. Please review!**


	24. Trials: The starting level

**Thanks to those who reviewed. It came to my attention that I forgot to add the Romano thing a few chapters ago and I apologize for that. I tend to be very forgetful at times. This chapter will have it. Now, on with the show!**

After the light blinding his sight faded, Egypt grunted as his feet landed on the hard ground, nearly tripping on himself, and he exhaled as his eyes went to his surroundings. He recognized this place. The street lights, the houses, the road… it was a street just a few minutes away from France's house. He sighed, he would have preferred to be exactly at France's house, but it wasn't bad.

Egypt should really practice that teleportation spell more often, especially in these circumstances.

Now that he was now aware of his location, he should check if his unwilling companion was still present with him, Egypt looked to his right and felt tremendous relief at the fact that the bound Guatemala was here. Said nation seemed slightly disoriented and had an annoyed expression, no doubt from his situation and being blinded for a brief time.

Egypt glared slightly at the man and pulled him by the collar of his shirt as he walked in the direction towards France's house, causing Guatemala to yelp in surprise and scowl at Egypt, but he only rolled his eyes.

Neither of them spoke, but they had no reason to, and Egypt could speak for the both of them when he said that he doesn't want to interact with Guatemala. Egypt didn't want to interact with anyone affiliated with the New World Order, he had no intention of hearing what they had to say, he wasn't going to hear whatever insanity they'll come up with.

As he continued dragging Guatemala, Egypt's mind went back to his companions and allies and what they were doing as of now.

Algeria and Tunisia, along with Belize and Honduras went to go around Central America, hopefully being able to bring along the other Central Americans with them to help with the war against the Order. They decided to travel via car, much to Egypt's worry, since they insisted that they couldn't depend on Egypt's magic forever. But still… was it the right choice?

Seychelles, Bahamas and Saint Lucia stayed behind in Belize's house where it was the closest thing to a haven for them, hopefully. Their only means of defense was his trusted friend Anubis, who Egypt trusted will protect them and keep them safe no matter what, but he couldn't help but worry for their safety. Egypt could only pray they remain unharmed.

As for Egypt himself… he had two reasons for coming to France. The first was that he needed to know what happened to Mauritius, he needed to see if he was alright, despite logic dictating that the island was captured, but Egypt still, rather foolishly, clung on to hope. The second was to meet with France to see if they could find some way to arrange a meeting with the major powers and find a place to keep Guatemala in until…

Speaking of Guatemala, Egypt would sometimes spare a glance behind him to see what Guatemala was doing, just out of paranoia, and he would find the Central American silently looking around the area with an unreadable expression. Guatemala was… surprisingly calm with his current status as a hostage, he wasn't worried or angry. Guatemala has been surprisingly obedient so far.

That… was rather suspicious…

"You have been surprisingly cooperative." Egypt noted out loud, looking behind him at the man, who looked overall disinterested.

"Were you expecting me to be angrier? More… bitter, enraged and yelling that whatever plan you have in store for me will all be for nothing?" Guatemala mocked, sneering at him nastily before scoffing, and looked away with an expressionless face. "Well, I'm sorry if I'm giving you an easier time. I'm not happy with this, obviously, but I'll play along and behave… for now at least."

Egypt scowled when Guatemala smirked, and pulled him harshly. "I have a hard time believing that. You are too calm, either it's on purpose to get on my nerves or you are currently crafting some sort of plan to escape."

"Heh, well I'm not telling you, amigo." Guatemala shrugged with the same irritating smirk. "It's up to you, but choose your options carefully, the slightest miscalculation… could lead you right into getting up to twenty minutes of pain and agony as you're horribly burned alive by a petrol-filled tire around your chest and arms by South Africa."

How specific and detailed, now it was Egypt's turn to scoff. "How long have you been picturing that scenario in your mind?"

Guatemala chuckled, apparently amused by the remark, and Egypt glanced back to him cock his head to the side with a sick grin. "Now that long. I came up with it a few minutes ago. I must say, it's really helpful."

"For alleviating your boredom?" Egypt asked monotonously.

"No… it helps me deal with my current state with the fact that in the end you will drown in sand. I'm a simple man, Egipto. I have a lot patience to spare, I can wait for the day you _burn_."

"I thought I was wanted alive." Egypt noted. He didn't particularly care whether that organization wanted him dead or alive, but it still made him curious.

"You still are, not unharmed, but alive. _He_ prefers you breathing for reasons, but he won't hesitate to plunge the dagger into your heart if we decided you're too much of a threat." Guatemala explained with narrowed eyes. "But also considering the nations waiting for you back in Africa, death sounds like the better option for you."

But will it be after the Africans finish ripping off his flesh? Egypt almost wanted to ask, but he pushed that thought away, and stopped abrupty to turn around and face Guatemala. "I don't care what you or your fellow members want, but I will give you this warning: Try to escape, hurt me or others and attempt to somehow contact any of your friends… and there _will_ be consequences."

Egypt said with a snarl and bared teeth, and Guatemala snorted. "How _dark_. I already told you, I'm a patient man, I'll behave. But one thing I must tell you is that in circumstances like these, normally _we_ don't find the members…"

Egypt frowned when Guatemala trailed off, who seemed to be looking at something behind him with curiosity, he quickly turned back around and found an old and slouchy teddy bear sitting on a bench near them. Egypt stared at the little thing, not sure how to feel, and saw that Guatemala was staring with blank expression.

"…but the members find _us_."

Egypt stared at the bear some more then shook his head and resumed with pulling Guatemala away.

If he looked back he would have saw Guatemala grinning widely at the stuffed toy, and that the bear's body was now facing the departing duo.

/ / / / /

"NEIN!" Germany's deafening irritated voice echoed all throughout the park as he walked, no, stomped away from a desperate Italy.

"B-B-B-But Germany!" Italy stubbornly kept up with him, clasping his hands together in a pleading manner, and whimpering. "Why?! We've been here training for days and days and days and I barely had any pasta! I'm tired… Can't we at least-"

"NEIN!" Germany roared again, a vein almost becoming visible in his forehead. "How many times must I tell you?!"

"But-"

"NEIN!"

"Not even-"

"NEIN!" Germany came to an abrupt stop, causing Italy to bump into his back then quickly back away in quivering fear, and whirled around to face Italy in a seething rage. "For the last time… You will not flirt with any of my female citizens! Nor "hook up" with them!"

"B-B-B-B-B-But why?!" Italy exclaimed in confusion and sadness.

"Erm… Germany-san? Italy-san?" Japan tried to get their attention, sounding almost nervous, and looked at the distance with a panicked expression. "I think I-"

"Mark my words, Italy! If you try to get ten feet within any female in my land-

"But I-I-I-I-"

"SILENCE!"

"Ve…"

"Germany-san… Italy-san…" Japan tried again, becoming more panicked.

"VENEZIANO!" A new voice entered the fray, and the Axis trio looked in front of them to see a fuming Romano stomping his way towards them, not looking happy at all (well, even more than usual). If anything, he looked more furious than he ever was before.

Italy, however, being the clueless idiot that he was, beamed at the sight of his brother and waved at him happily. "Ciao, Lovino~ You finally decided to be with us! I'm-"

"Don't fucking act innocent, you idiota!" Romano cut him off loudly and angrily, causing Italy to shrink in fear.

"Meap." Italy squeaked out.

"That's right you empty-headed clingy cry-baby! You better be scared, because I'm about to fucking kill you and the potato bastard so damn hard that fucking Grandpa Rome and Germania will feel it!" Romano cracked his knuckles and had a frightening and twitching smile on his face. "Damn fight delays won't save you now! You're going to pay!"

Italy yelped at seeing his brother become scary and quickly hid behind Germany, already waving his white flag. "Ah! But wh-wh-what did I do?!"

"You know what you did, fucking moron!" Romano accused furiously.

"I DON'T! I swear I don't know anything, Lovi! Pleasedon'tkillmewe'rebrothersgranparomewouldn'twanttoseeusfightingsopleasedon'tgetangry!" Italy pleaded quickly and in an increasing panic.

"Like I care what that shitty old fart would want! And lie all you want, I'm still going to sic my whole mafia on you!"

"L-L-L-Lovi! Please don't do this!"

"I think I fucking will!"

"Now wait a minute, Romano!" Germany walked up to Romano, with Italy remaining glued to his back, and glared. "What the hell are you talking about!? You're not making any sense! What did Italy and I do?"

"Oh, you know what you did, potato bastard!" Romano scowled up at Germany, then scoffed. "You can't fool me! But if you're going to keep denying it, then I'll tell you, maybe it'll fucking jog your memory in that dead brain of yours! You finally gave up the act and romanced the hell out of my fratello!"

Germany could only blink and stare at Romano dumbfoundedly. "…What?"

Italy peeked his head from behind Germany, just as confused as he was. "…Ve?"

Japan looked at the two back and forth, then sweat dropped. "…I don't understand."

/ / / / /

Seychelles clipped the other bow on the pigtail on her right, then brought both tails in front of her shoulders, now her hair was in its usual style and she gave her reflection a tight smile. It was more comfortable and didn't get in the way of her face, besides, she looked better with pigtails, right…? Or did having her hair down make her look prettier? Should… she really care?

It shouldn't be a big deal. There are tons of things she should be worrying about right now.

But being Seychelles, it became a nagging thought at the back of her head. She supposed pigtails made her look… cute? Something France and Mauritius would usually gush over about, much to her embarrassment, in public no less! Comoros would wave it off and say she looked fine no matter how she styled her hair. Monaco didn't really see the problem with it. And Egypt… didn't say anything about it.

Not that she asked him about it, of course, a lot was happening and there was no time to fret about her looks, but Egypt didn't really comment about seeing her with her hair down for the first time… at all. Nothing. Not even stared at it with that expression she's used to seeing on him at World Meetings.

Even now that he talked to her more than he ever did before, it didn't come up, not even for a comment. Again, a lot of stuff was happening… but still!

Was he so focused on the situation that he didn't realize it? Was it because he didn't want to offend or embarrass her? Did he thought it looked good but didn't think it was important to say it? Maybe he didn't care. Maybe he didn't care about her appearance and thought she looked pretty either way?

That possibility made Seychelles smile at the mirror, but then the brief feeling of happiness got crushed when she realized something and looked down dejectedly.

Then again, he never once told her she was pretty, did he?

Seychelles suddenly glared up at her reflection then gave herself a light slap on the cheek, shaking her head, and groaned in frustration. Oh, look at herself. She sounded so selfish. Getting all insecure about her hair and worrying about Egypt's opinion of her when he has a lot of important things to worry about himself. World War III's on the horizon, there's a big and powerful organization out to get them, nations are dead _and she's worried about her appearance_.

What was wrong with her?

Shaking her head some more, she stormed out of the bathroom and went in the direction towards the living room where Bahamas and Saint Lucia were, hoping to get her mind off things instead of being vain. Or maybe she could bond with Anubis a little, hopefully this time he won't… pounce on her.

The only survivors of the Caribbean incident were also trying to keep themselves busy, probably trying to think about their neighbors' deaths as little as possible and tried not to worry so much about what's happening outside. Bahamas was rummaging through Belize's drawer of DVDs, and already took about half a dozen out. Meanwhile Saint Lucia was… Seychelles blinked. She looked like she was smothering Anubis in some way, the dog growled but Saint Lucia seemed happy.

Should… Should Seychelles be worried?

Seychelles reluctantly and nervously went towards Bahamas, who looked up when she did and smiled, then sat down with her.

"What sort of movies does Belize have in there?" Seychelles asked curiously, peering over the drawer.

"Well, she doesn't have many of them, and there's not a lot of stuff we could like. Although…" Bahamas took two movies from the stack she took out and showed them to Seychelles. "I think we can get a good laugh from the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ movies or _The_ _Emperor's New Groove_."

Seychelles brightened up considerably at the options. She liked the _Pirates_ movies, even though it can get a bit dark for her and liked pirates too (she had England to thank for that), she even dressed up as one for Halloween more than once. And _The Emperor's New Groove's_ humor would help them a lot at a time like this.

"Does she have _The Rescuers Down Under_ in there?" Saint Lucia asked from the table while doing something with Anubis. "It's one of my favorite Disney movies!"

"I'm not sure…" Bahamas began rummaging through the drawer again when she heard Anubis growl louder and angrier, and she turned back with a raised eyebrow. "Luce, just what are you doing to Anubis? Because he does NOT sound happy."

Saint Lucia giggled while Anubis growled even louder. "I'm giving Anubis a makeover! I found a bit of fabric in Belize's closet and I took a shirt or two from the clothes we bought a few days ago, so I decided to give him a whole new look!"

Both island girls sweat dropped a little at that, and Seychelles blinked at her in confusion. "A… new look?"

"Yep" Saint Lucia chirped, and her hand reached out to grab a piece of fabric.

"What type of look? Is it cute?" Bahamas eyes sparkled, looking excited, while Seychelles looked back and forth between them nervously.

"Um… but… Saint Lucia… Anubis is supposed to protect us, not be a doll and I'm not sure if Gupta will be happy to see his friend all-"

"Oh, what does _he_ know about fashion? He's been wearing the same outfit for over fifty years! He has zero taste." Saint Lucia scoffed, waving it off, and proceeded to tie something. "It took World War III for him to finally take those bland clothes off and take off that keffiyeh!"

"Luce!" Bahamas lightly scolded her.

"In his defense, it is traditional and part of his culture…" Seychelles said anxiously, while she did kind of agree that it was nice to see Egypt without his keffiyeh. "Not to mention the fact that he didn't bring a change of clothes when we escaped…"

"He's more good-looking that way too!" Saint Lucia exclaimed cheerfully, and Seychelles froze. "I almost didn't recognize him when I saw him. He should really take it off more often!"

Egypt's also physically nine years older than you, Seychelles almost told her but held her tongue, since Egypt's physically eight years older than Seychelles herself. It would just be the pot calling the kettle black. It would also sound kind of rude and snarky of her.

"And… Done!" Saint Lucia declared proudly, though Seychelles dreaded what she would see, and the younger girl grinned. "Behold the new and improved Anubis!"

Saint Lucia sat down in her chair, revealing to the other two girls Anubis's "makeover", and Seychelles's jaw almost immediately dropped to the ground when she laid her eyes on the poor large dog. Anubis now had several pieces, likely cut by Saint Lucia, wrapped around his body. Over Anubis's large golden collar, there was a colorful blue and pink tie wrapped around it, and there were slices of above his paws. He also had two covers of it on his body as a sort of… shirt? But what stood out the most was the neat pink bow on top of his head.

How did Saint Lucia not get bitten by Anubis during any of that?

Seychelles may not know much animal's expressions, but even she knew that Anubis was NOT happy in any way that he was dressed up in a girly outfit, and the dog was glaring at Saint Lucia during the entire time. Seychelles betted that he was thinking something like _You are lucky my master ordered me to protect you as I would have ripped out your entrails with my bare teeth._

She heard a snort and she looked next to her to see Bahamas shaking and covering her mouth, clearly trying to hide her smile and suppress her laughter. "L-Luce! Oh, look at the poor thing. He... He looks so..."

"Amazing? Fantastic? Adorable?" Saint Lucia guessed, still looking proud.

Anubis had enough of being treated like a doll and he vigorously shook his head, causing the bow to fly off, and he ran off. Saint Lucia puffed her cheeks in anger, picked up the bow and went after him. Eventually Bahamas couldn't hold it anymore and burst out shrieking in laughter while hugging her stomach at the sight. Seeing all this happen, Seychelles then began giggling.

Maybe they could get through this.

/ / / / /

Western Sahara slammed the door behind her in fury, gritting her teeth and wiping off her tears with her arm, then ran into her sofa and buried her face in one of the cushions. Soon enough, she began sobbing again, the pain in her heart not having subsided in the slightest during the last few dozen minutes. It hurt. It hurt so much.

Abarshane was gone. Vanished without a trace, likely slithered out of her house while she was wailing. Robbing her of the chance of decapitating that demon once and for all. That thing was probably on its way back to its master to hiss about how miserable and full of grief Western Sahara was.

Accursed filthy reptiles...

Why was she feeling so much grief over Spain? Why did it break her heart to see how his tortured by those brats? Tormented, taunted, stabbed, mutilated... Did she really care about him that much?

Why was she so broken over this?

Western Sahara lifted her head up from the pillow, wiping away her tears and rubbing her puffy eyes, then her eye caught a white object sitting next to her. It was the envelope, she forgot about it. Open after watching, Morocco said. She scowled. She snatched up the envelope and read the sentence again.

 _Please open when you finish watching my gift._

Western Sahara, without a word and filled with anger and grief, crushed the envelope with her hands and threw it away. No. The cobra was gone now, there was no need to go along with his demands, she won't torture herself with his taunts. She buried her face in her hands.

What now? What was she supposed to do now? Was she supposed to go back to her daily business after _this_? How could she ever do that? She just saw her former colonizer... die. Was she supposed to spend the entire day sobbing and wailing?

No...

She let her hands fall and her expression slowly became a glare as she clenched her fists. Western Sahara will not have it. She won't remain here helpless and constantly tormented by Morocco, she will take action. Morocco told (gloated) her during the day before it began that he and his cronies will be at Johannesburg at the AU meeting, didn't he?

Brazil helped with Spain's death, Western Sahara heard his voice, he had the gall to record it even, no doubt for South Africa. Those two were close, they're best friends even, and they're made for each other. Sadists and all. What Western Sahara could do right now was find South Africa... and kill him.

Western Sahara then scoffed at herself. Look at her. What was she doing? Was she really going to go out to avenge Spain of all people? Did... she actually care about him so much? Not to mention... She promised Morocco that she wouldn't interfere or harm any member.

But then again, he promised to leave her alone, and he decided to torture her.

Western Sahara narrowed her eyes and stood up, then ran off to her bed room. She quickly went to a series of drawers with a lock, and took out a small key, then with it she opened the drawers, revealing an assortment of gadgets and even a few weapons she barely managed to snatch under the Order's noses.

She reached out her hand to the far back and pulled out a gun along with a small pouch. Western Sahara may not know the secret to how to kill a nation, but she did have the bullets made for that purpose.

She scowled and shed another tear from her eye. She would kill South Africa, then naturally Brazil would try to avenge him, and then she'll kill him as well. After that, well... it's likely that she'll die either from an enraged Macau, the other four Africans or one of the South Americans.

But she decided it would be better to die like that, to make up for her sins, than to do nothing.

/ / / / /

Tunisia stared out the window with a neutral expression, watching the land go by as they sped through the road, a little too fast in his opinion. Honduras seemed to be getting over the speed limit, understandably because of her concern over El Salvador, and he couldn't help but feel anxious. There were barely any other cars, but Tunisia hoped she wouldn't get reckless and get them into an accident.

It didn't help that Belize was completely alright with it and was even taking a nap (and snoring rather loudly).

His sister, sitting next to him, was currently sitting in a straight posture and had her eyes closed with her usual serious expression still in place. Algeria seemed to be either trying to keep herself from getting nauseous, trying not to stress about how fast Honduras going or trying to tune out Belize's snores.

Or, Tunisia smiled, she was doing all of them. It did sound like her.

He admired how his sister managed, albeit sometimes barely, to keep her calm during most of their entire journey. True, she did have her moments of anger and frustration, but she never snapped and did anything reckless. The only times when she did snap were when topic of Morocco or Western Sahara came up.

Tunisia felt a pang of guilt and he glanced at his sister with remorse. Those two... Tunisia and Algeria got along well enough, there was no hate or animosity between them, but they did get into arguments sometimes when it came to politics and the like. Western Sahara and Morocco just happened to be the center of an argument they had about them. A heated one at that.

It all started when they were alone in France's house, in the day they escaped again, and Algeria began to bitterly express her anger towards Morocco. Tunisia listened to her pour out all her feelings, knowing she needed to unwind, but then Tunisia decided to admit to her his wish to understand Morocco. How he wanted to understand his reasons for doing all this.

Needless to say, she didn't take it well.

Algeria didn't think there was any point in it and refused to acknowledge Morocco as their brother, Tunisia disagreed with her, and it began heating up when eventually Western Sahara was brought up. That's when it got worse, Tunisia feared that she might be collaborating with Morocco while Algeria kept vehemently defending her friend and sister, furious that he would even suggest such a thing.

Algeria screamed that her name wasn't on the list, but Tunisia pointed out that neither were the micronations, and then she really did snap. She called him a hypocrite and a fool for defending Morocco but not willing to believe in Western Sahara, then promptly stormed off. Of course, they reconciled later, but Algeria still didn't understand why he would try to reason with Morocco.

Honestly, Tunisia didn't understand why either, especially after what happened when he went to sleep.

 _Tunisia almost immediately paled when realized where he found himself at, it was a beautifully designed room with an unused pool and there seemed to be no one around, but it didn't help his nerves. This was the basement of the Hassan II Mosque, possibly Morocco's most popular attraction, he was in his brother's land. It was silent in the room, eerily silent._

 _Tunisia heard familiar laughter and he gasped._

 _He looked up at the pillar in front of him and suddenly a hand reached out from behind the pillar and scratched the wall in the front, then slowly, Morocco himself slowly stepped out to make himself known. His brother had an unnervingly serene smile, which only grew when he laid eyes on him, and he stretched halfway down but never left his gaze._

 _"Did I scare you, Tunisia?" Morocco asked amusedly and softly while running his hand up his back._

 _"Morocco." Tunisia said in shock, miraculously not stuttering. "Is it really you?"_

 _Morocco's serene smile turned into a wide grin and he cocked his head to the side. "Yes, of course it's me. Oh, you're referring to whether or not I'm a manifestation of your fears and this is a so-called "nightmare". Well… As much as I'm flattered, I am real, I am me."_

 _"It can't be…" Tunisia shook his head in denial._

 _"It is, dear brother. After so many years, I am finally **me**." Morocco declared with what could be only be described as elation, then slowly smirked. "Are you still in denial of the truth?"_

 _"Why…?"_

 _Morocco didn't answer that one simple question, instead with responding with a wolfish smirk, and proceeded to walk around the pool towards Tunisia. Nervously, he tried to take a step back from his dangerous brother but found that he couldn't move his legs. Tunisia heard hissing and looked down in horror to see his brother's cobra coiling up around his legs, preventing him from moving, and he tried to wriggle his way out, but the reptile coiled tightly._

 _Feeling his panic beginning to rise, a bead of sweat fell down his face as he looked up to see Morocco smugly coming closer, then looked down and saw Abarshane hiss maliciously at him. The cobra almost seemed to smirk at the arrival of its master as Morocco smirked back at it._

 _When Morocco walked up to Tunisia he knelt down to gently and affectionately stroke its chin. "Abarshane, my little friend… how I love you… you never disappoint me."_

 _Abarshane smiled and flicked its tongue. Tunisia then became rigid as Morocco's attention became focused on him and his expression became serene again. Morocco wouldn't torture his own brother… would he? Still kneeling, Morocco's gaze then traveled up and down Tunisia's body, as if analyzing something that might be worth of interest. Then, Morocco licked his lips, which frightened Tunisia terribly._

 _"What are you…" Tunisia tried to ask but was cut off._

 _"I think the question that should be asked is why do you allow yourself to be bound to such confining rules, Tunisia?" Morocco asked innocently, then his expression became a sad one. "Why keep tricking yourself? Honestly, it's sad."_

 _"Rules? You mean my morals?"_

 _Morocco scoffed and looked away in distaste. "No, not those, I have my own limits I'll have you know. I mean, why do you keep lying to yourself? Why torment yourself?"_

 _"What?"_

 _"Don't you realize how much pain you're putting yourself through?"_

 _"I have no-"_

 _"You could do it, you know. I know you can..." Morocco cooed sickenly as he traced lines on the sides Tunisia's legs with his fingers._

 _"I don't the faintest idea of what you're referring to." Tunisia glared down, still trying to wriggle out of the cobra's grip. "I don't lie to myself. I am me. I am not like you."_

 _"Oh, don't make me laugh, brother. We have more in common than you realize, and you and I know exactly what I'm referring to, even if it is deep in your mind." Morocco sneered up at him. "You can't lie to me, Malik. One time when the entire UN went to a beach, I caught you staring at Turkey for quite a while."_

 _The mention of it sent a terrible shock through Tunisia's body, as well as the fact that Morocco was spying on him, and tried not to turn red from embarrassment. "He was having a fight with Greece, of course I would-"_

 _"And I remember another time during a break in a World Meeting when I was walking with Egypt, I spotted you chatting animatedly with Pakistan, the two of you were so happy… then I noticed that whenever Pakistan looked away, you blushed a little."_

 _"Now you're inventing things, I did no-"_

 _"But the one that stood out the most for me was the time with America." Morocco chuckled and grinned mischievously. "My, were you as red as blood at that time, America should have locked the bathroom door. I know he was embarrassed for a while…"_

 _Tunisia had enough of this and snapped furiously. "What are you trying to tell me, Rahim?! What type of person do you take me for? Are you accusing me of being a pervert? Don't tell me that you think I'm…"_

 _"Oh, I'm not accusing you, that would imply you disgust me, and I don't, **I know**." Morocco's smile briefly became psychotic, then he sighed. "But I don't blame you, my poor brother… Imagine it, being discriminated and beaten by your own people. Imagine what your boss would do!"_

 _"Be quiet, Rahim!" Tunisia screamed angrily._

 _"There's one difference you must know about you and me… I destroyed the chains binding me, I cut the strings holding me down, I set myself free. The only rules I have are the ones I set for myself."_

 _After he finished saying that, Morocco began to slowly and gently run his fingers up Tunisia's legs, the latter shuddered then paled Morocco trailed them up his thigh. Morocco then slowly began to stand up and his fingers traveled up his body until he reached Tunisia's chin. Tunisia swallowed anxiously as Morocco stared at him then his brother gave him a kind smile, but Tunisia didn't feel reassured, he wanted to leave._

 _"And now I will help you, my brother." Morocco cooed softly, stroking Tunisia's head and embracing him, and the latter trembled. "I know you will **adore** this."_

 _Tunisia stared into his brother's chocolate brown eyes. Morocco smiled so sweetly and kindly. His brother crept his hand behind his head and Morocco kissed Tunisia sensually on the mouth. Tunisia widened his eyes and immediately tried to push him off, but Morocco only pushed his mouth deeper into the kiss. Tunisia then felt Morocco lift his knee and became even more alarmed at his brother's actions._

 _Between Abarshane trapping his legs and Morocco keeping his head in place, Tunisia was trapped. Morocco didn't hurt him, he even allowed Tunisia to regain his breath for a few seconds, but he couldn't feel more disgusted. He was being kissed by his brother. His brother!_

 _But the wasn't even the worst part, when a about a minute or two passed, he-_

Tunisia grimaced then glared at his reflection in the window with disgust. He couldn't believe himself. How could he be such a disgusting person? Allah would look at him in shame and repulsion, no, Tunisia deserved it. During that… while Morocco was kissing him… Tunisia actually felt _aroused_.

He felt aroused at being kissed by his own brother, his mentally unbalanced brother.

Tunisia looked at his still silent sister and resisted the urge to go into a fetal position, then looked away in shame. He didn't notice Algeria open one of her eyes and she looked worriedly at him.

/ / / / /

America strummed the strings on his guitar as he hummed one of his favorite country songs, a rare smile on his face as he looked up at Molossia, who was smiling as well. They were in Molossia's house outside along with Ladonia and Kugelmugel. Ladonia was typing rapidly on his laptop while Kugelmugel was doing an impressive drawing with crayons.

America was babysitting for Austria and Sweden, as well as visiting Molossia. It was a job often dumped on him, but it was a job he enjoyed. Besides, the micronations were an interesting trio.

He messed up on the song when he heard his phone buzz in his pockets. Giving a small frown, America took out his phone and saw it was from Switzerland, this should be interesting…

"Vash, what do you need?" America asked bluntly, while noticing the other micronations were watching.

"Straight to the point as always, good. I need that little chamber of yours in Minneapolis for a test." Switzerland explained, and America raised an eyebrow. That place? "It's for a future recruit. It's in your country, Nigeria is here to take us all there, so I need your help."

"A recruit, huh?" America repeated curiously. Well, he doesn't see why not. "Sure, I'll be there in twenty."

"Danke."

/ / / / /

The last thing Estonia remembered before blacking out was that he was on his way for his charger when he heard giggling, after that it was all a blur, he had no idea what happened next. He moaned as a big headache hit him and he stirred as he blinked tiredly. What on… What happened?

Estonia slowly began to regain his sight, but it was all fuzzy, although he could make out the form of… Latvia? Where were his glasses?

His theory was confirmed when he heard Latvia's voice. "Oh… Estonia? Is… that you?"

"Y-Yes, it's me." Estonia told him while searching the floor for his glasses.

"What… happened?" Latvia asked groggily, beginning to sit up and rub his eyes from what Estonia could make out.

"I have absolutely no idea." Estonia said fearfully and dreadfully, which caused Latvia to whimper, and continued searching. "My glasses are missing too…"

"Wh-Wh-What's going on? Did Mister Russia kidnap us? Please tell me that he didn't kidnap us!"

"W-We still have no idea where we are or who's behind it, we can't…" Estonia trailed off when he felt someone poke him and handed him his glasses, and he smiled. "Oh, thank you, Latvia."

"F-for what?"

Estonia raised an eyebrow as he put his glasses on, before he could ask his vision became clear and he found the grinning face of Bulgaria hovering way too close to his, he froze. Estonia adjusted them a bit and blinked a few times, only for the same result. Oh.

Estonia then Latvia screamed.

/ / / / /

"Are you feeling better?" DRC asked his friend and neighbor sitting next to him on the floor.

"Yeah…" ROC responded nonchalantly, giving him a small smile. "That brat really knows how to make painful scars."

"But will you be alright?"

"What's that supposed to mean?

DRC frowned and looked away, prompting a confused look from ROC. Since ROC's surrender, DRC freed him from the chair and wasted no time in getting him medical aid, his neighbor looked worse for wear. ROC looked tired, and still did, but like DRC, he had hardened over the past years during his hardships. Still, DRC couldn't help but worry for his health. As well as… what this meant for the of them.

ROC had nothing against him for joining the enemy, but DRC felt hesitant, he also wasn't sure how the others will take ROC's friendly relationship with him. ROC was the more sociable one of the two of them, the others will…

DRC felt someone poke him and he looked to see ROC smiling at him. "If anything, I should be worried about you. I'm scared that you'll get killed off out there, and that you'll get reckless.

DRC narrowed his eyes at him. "You don't have any faith in my strength?"

"Now you know how I feel." ROC snorted and patted DRC on the shoulder. "Look… I maybe not be willing to join your little club… but that doesn't mean I hate you. I gave up for you, for us. I don't want to make you suffer, I want you to be at peace. I don't care if you wipe off the entire map of Europe, I don't care that you're becoming sadistic, you are my friend. You always will be."

DRC widened his eyes at the declaration and he shed a tear as he smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

/ / / / /

After much walking, more than Egypt would have preferred, he reached France's house. Thankfully, Guatemala kept his word and didn't once try to escape, but Egypt kept his guard up. He walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. About half a minute later, the door opened, and France couldn't look more shocked to see him. France paled, and his jaw dropped nearly comically.

"Mon Dieu…" France muttered in disbelief while Egypt tried to give a reassuring smile. "Egypt, mon ami, is it really you?"

"It is, France." Egypt nodded, which didn't help much with the Frenchman's shock, then smiled. "I did escape with the others. Salah, Ubon and Michelle are alright. They're safe. You don't need to worry for them now."

"They are?! Oh, thank you so much, Gupta! You really have no idea how worried sick I…" France trailed off when he saw an apathetic Guatemala behind Egypt, and he sprung. "Guatemala?! Egypt, what on earth is he doing here? He is of the Order!"

"I know, and he was defeated." Egypt scowled at said nation and pulled him harshly.

"I had my head bashed twice and I was forced to walk for half an hour to this frog's house. Just put me in a cell already." Guatemala snarled in disgust, but then he widened his eyes, and slowly began to smirk. "Or do you want to tell France here what happened to his dear old friend first? Or does France want to tell you what happened to Mauritius?"

Egypt and France both paled and immediately looked at each other for answers. He saw confusion in France's eyes, and he realized the Frenchman did not know Spain's fate. Egypt guessed that France was thinking something similar, because he also looked nervous.

"Egypt… Gupta…" France began carefully. "What is Guatemala talking about?"

"What happened to Mauritius?" Egypt said instead, not knowing how to explain what happened, how Spain…

Before they could even resolve it, a terrified scream cut through the wind, startling them both, and then Egypt froze. Egypt recognized who it was.

"MONACO!" France shouted in alarm, and he sped off into the house, not wasting any time in going to fins his younger sister.

Egypt snapped his head towards Guatemala, who only smiled lazily and shrugged, and angrily pulled him along to go after France. Please don't let this be a repeat of events. Please don't let this be a repeat of events. Please don't let this be a repeat of events.

When Egypt ran inside the house, he looked around and spotted France frozen before the staircase, staring at something in disbelief. Egypt went towards him and before he could ask what was wrong, he looked up in front of him and he froze as well while Guatemala burst out laughing in glee.

Lying in the middle of the stairs, was Monaco writhing in pain and hugging her bleeding chest, crying and sobbing. While at the top of the stairs was Haiti twirling his needles and grinning at them.

"Well…" Haiti began playfully, laughing. "Isn't this quite the predicament?"

 **I confess... I couldn't help but put those movies in there. Emperor's New Groove is one of my favorite movies and it deserves more love. The same goes for the Rescuers Down Under. Heehee. Please review!**


	25. Trials: Changes of plans

**Thank you to Eternal Nexus Warrior, NadiaJA627 and an anon for reviewing. Now, on with the show! Warning: This chapter contains some disturbing stuff near the end with DRC.**

Hungary was beyond worried.

She peeked out with narrowed green eyes from the shrubs and bushes to glare suspiciously at the house in front of them, Austria's house. She made sure to keep herself completely hidden and cause as least ruckus as possible, but she had her frying pan in hand ready to pummel any crook (Prussia) or any other suspicious persons.

But it's been quiet… too quiet… The sun was shining, the birds singing, nature was blooming, and Austria's house looked as fancy as ever… something was wrong, Hungary's gut kept telling her.

Everything here might be all fine and dandy, but appearances can be deceiving, and Hungary had no intention of letting her guard down until she saw undeniable proof that Austria was one hundred percent okay.

Austria still wouldn't answer her calls and no matter how many times Kugemugel kept reassuring her that he was fine (she may have interrogated the micronation one too many times), Hungary feared for her former husband's safety. The world was getting crazier and Europe's getting tenser by the day, could someone blame her? Now, Kugelmugel's words would have reassured her and she would trust that Austria was alright…

…If the Belgium and Spain incidents hadn't happened. It's been all over the news. Belgium's entire parliament and royal family massacred in a horrible and brutal way, Spain's capital bombed until it was rubble and ash… It was horrifying.

But that was probably a huge understatement.

Hungary was told by Poland who heard it from Liechtenstein who was told directly by Luxembourg that poor Belgium was traumatized, suffering from the effects of having government officials brutally murdered, and was currently being comforted by an understandably furious Netherlands along with Luxembourg himself. Hungary herself was pissed off. Belgium was a friend, and hearing someone so kind and cheerful like her go through that made her want to pummel the culprit.

Whoever the hell it was. So far, no terrorist group or nation has claimed responsibility, but Hungary felt it in her heart that she should know the answer.

Oh, and about Poland, he was crouching next to her. Hungary may or may not have forcefully and unfairly dragged him into her quest to search… wait. Where did Poland go?

Hungary heard a frustrated groan and she turned her head only to gape at the sight of Poland standing outside of the bushes obsessively typing on his phone.

"What are you doing, Feliks?!" Hungary exclaimed louder than she should have, and she clapped her mouth shut.

"I have been, like, trying to, like, call Tori for like, hours but he like, totally doesn't answer! Not even to, like, one my fifty-seven, like, voicemails!" Poland complained as he glared down at the pink glittery phone. "How, like, rude is that?"

"We're supposed to be hiding!" Hungary reprimanded him with a hushed tone.

"But I, like, totally washed this blouse this morning! I am so not, like, going to get dirt and leaves on it!"

"Keep your voice down!"

"Huh? I, like, didn't hear that, Lizzy."

"I said keep your voice down!" Hungary snapped and covered her mouth again in embarrassment.

"You're, like, still on with it?" Poland raised an eyebrow. "Liz, don't you, like, think that you're, like, being a little silly with the, like, stealth thing? It looks, like, a little hilarious, you know. No, like, offense, Liz."

"Wha… I'm not being silly! We never know who might be watching us, Feliks. If we're not careful, the bad guys going after Roderich will spot us and dispatch us!"

"But, like, if there are, like bad guys after Austria and the guy, like, totally vanished, then why would the bad guys, like, still be here? And if they, like, totally are here, then, like, why haven't they, like, totally jumped on us by now? Especially since, like, I'm, like, standing here in the open?"

Hungary opened her mouth to argue, but slowly closed it as she realized those were really good points, and by Poland of all nations.

"Oh." Hungary said simply. "I guess you're right."

"I, like, totally know."

"Sorry."

"Hey… like, Lizzy." Poland walked over to her and patted her head with a proud smile. "I, like, totally get it. You're worried for Austria, I'm worried for Tori, I get it. I'm worried that, like, something might happen to you too. I'm, like, totally here for you for, like, every step of the way."

Hungary looked up. "You are?"

"Duh! You're, like, one of my besties! If you, like, wanna continue looking for Austria then I'm, like, totally with you."

That sentence was more than enough for Hungary to swiftly stand up with her eyes sparkling as she held her frying pan. "Great! Because there's plenty of other places I want to investigate! Let's go! There's no time to waste!"

/ / / / /

Egypt was beyond panicked.

He could only keep staring at Monaco writhe around in agony as Guatemala's laughter was heard in the background. Monaco was both screaming and sobbing as tears streamed down her cheeks, her glasses were missing, and kept hugging what seemed to be her chest. After Monaco twisted around a little, Egypt realized, much to his horror, that it because her chest was _bleeding_.

The blood was starting to drench her arms. She was obviously screaming her lungs out, the pain in it was clear as day. It was probably the most painful experience Monaco was going in her entire life as a nation.

Egypt snapped and slapped Guatemala _hard_ to make him stop laughing. It did shut him up, but then Guatemala grinned at him, and Egypt widened his eyes.

Did Guatemala know this would happen?

"Hennrick!" France's shout brought Egypt's attention back to the situation at hand, and he saw the Frenchman glare up at Haiti while trying not to let Monaco's distract him much. "What atrocious thing have you done this time?! What have you done to Lucille?!"

Haiti said nothing, and his expression remained neutral.

"Hennrick!"

Still nothing.

"ANSWER ME!"

Haiti scoffed a bit then stared down at Monaco, oddly enough, he didn't seem to be enjoying the pain for once. "She brought this on herself, my sister tried to run away, she ignored my message."

"What are you talking about, Hennrick?! I want to know what you did and for you to undo it this instant!

"First of all, I do not take orders from you, France." Haiti took out a cigarette and inhaled, before exhaling smoke. "And second, you should never have come back, Egypt. I wouldn't have done this if I hadn't spotted you dragging Guatemala around."

"How did you even... You were still in France after that night?" Egypt asked. Has he not been taking enough caution?

"I thought it would be better to be safe than sorry, and..." Haiti gave a small smirk. "I assume you've met Mr. Cuddles? He's a bit shy around new people but he's quite the charming once you get to know him."

...What?

"Mister... Cuddles?" Egypt asked slowly and carefully in disbelief. What. What does that mean? A cute name, alright, but who would... Oh. He widened his eyes in realization. No... It couldn't be...That stuffed bear from before... "There was a stuffed laying on a bench..."

"Yes, that was Mr. Cuddles." Haiti grinned in delight. "Think of him as... my representative, my familiar, my eyes and ears. Quite unnerving is it?"

"Yes, quite. Now what are you going to do?" Egypt narrowed his eyes.

Haiti snorted at that question as he inhaled from his cigarette again then after he exhaled, he raised an eyebrow. "Now, we make a deal, you know what I want. Release Guatemala right now or have Monaco suffer from the curse as the price."

Egypt saw Guatemala grin in the corner of his eye and he scowled. This did not bode well for him and France, they couldn't just surrender Guatemala, he was supposed to help them save Mauritius. Egypt's gaze went back to Monaco, who has stopped screaming but was still crying, and he felt his conscience tug at him.

He looked away guiltily.

"Curse? What favor from the Devil have asked for now?" France spat in disgust.

That seemed like the wrong thing to say, because Haiti sneered at him while also obviously trying to suppress his anger.

" _Oh_ , don't you disrespect the gods, little fool. Derogate or deride them again, and I _will_ make things worse for you." Haiti growled in anger. "The gods were kind enough to grant me a favor today, it's quite rare, and I told them what I wanted, what I needed. You see Monaco's breasts bleeding? Every time she speaks she will feel as if a sword is being passed through her body. You heard her screaming and sobbing? Her lungs are feeling as they're slowly burning up. Wonder why she's on the floor? Every step she takes will be as if she's walking on sharp knives."

Egypt and France looked at him in horror, and not long after, Monaco screamed again, unable to handle the pain and keep herself quiet.

"Lucille!" France cried out.

"Let's continue for Monaco's sake, shall we? Every second that passes tortures her. I'd rather have this over as quickly as possible. The last thing I need right now is my conscience getting the better of me."

"Really? _You_ have a conscience?" Egypt raised an eyebrow.

"Enough! Hennrick, you truly are wicked. You helped massacre your neighbors, you attacked me and my other former colonies, you nearly dragged my little brothers and sisters back to monsters, hell, you happily delivered Mauritius to them! And now, you torment my little Monaco. Just cure her and get out of my land!" France yelled with what was probably the angriest Egypt has ever heard him. "To think I was considering…"

But one part stood out in Egypt's mind and he became rigid as the world froze.

Mauritius?

He really was…

…He should have known… Egypt really was being too hopeful. Of course they would take advantage of his absence to capture Mauritius. Why did he cling on to hope? Egypt should be wiser than that from experience after all these years. He had his hopes crushed to dust before, countless times, he would even say he has gotten used to it. But he did anyway, for Seychelles's sake, and he felt an ache in his heart.

Was this guilt? Or the fear of heartbreak? Both? Was he dreading of explaining to Seychelles what happened or that the next time he encountered Mauritius the island would have already become someone else?

Egypt felt his stomach turn at the sudden image in his mind of a deranged and remorseless Mauritius grinning at him while stretching around a rope with a hook with dark intention in his eyes. It was frightening. It was disturbing. It angered him. Surely, it would take a lot to morph a kind and strong-willed soul into someone cruel… right?

He was snapped back to the present when France dropped to his knees, he was shaking both in anger and despair, and his hair covered his face. Egypt looked at him in surprise. What could he be trying to achieve? He reached out a hand to him.

"Haiti… Hennrick… Please…" France pleaded, sounding resigned, and shook his head. "Please, let her go. You don't need to resort to such lowly methods to torment me, Haiti. You hate me, you despise me so much with every fiber of your being, you want me to go through the worse things this world has to offer. So, do it! Let poor innocent Monaco go and torture me instead! Go ahead, get your gods to tear me apart for your amusement! I accept it!"

Egypt watched in astonishment at France, even Guatemala stopped smiling and raised an eyebrow, and then looked up to see what Haiti's reaction was. Haiti was crossing his arms and had an unreadable expression on his face with cold eyes. But oddly enough, Egypt watched Haiti's expression change slightly, although in was only in the eyes. If Egypt was reading him correctly, he was contemplating it.

Or perhaps, Egypt supposed, he might be skeptical of France's words.

"Really?" Haiti finally said, sounding unconvinced and even a little bored. "You accept it? Tell me, what exactly does "it" mean to you?"

France slammed his foot on the floor, causing Egypt to flinch slightly, and started shaking. "EVERYTHING! Shoving you into a culture that wasn't yours, treating you as if you were less than human, treating as you as if you were one of the slaves, ignoring you, not feeding you, not giving you decent clothes, mocking you for worrying about the slaves, throwing you aside when I found Canada, not bothering to talk to you much in current times, everything you hate me for!"

"…Really?" Haiti repeated, his tone becoming a little more skeptical.

"I accept it, Hennrick! I was everything you think I am during my imperial days. I was greedy, ambitious, callous, I was _le malin!_ I used you and others as trophies to compete with Angleterre. I wanted to use America against him as well, but it looked like _I_ was the one being used." France laughed bitterly at that last one. "I accept responsibility. There is no use in begging for forgiveness, I know. But please know that I accept responsibility for how broken you, Cameroon and Morocco became."

"Do you?"

"OUI! So I beg of you, Hennrick. Stop hurting Monaco, take all your anger and hatred, and direct it at me! Do whatever you want… but please… stop this."

There was silence after that last plead. Egypt looked back and forth between the two nations in worry. Haiti's expression didn't change in the slightest, but his eyes looked away from France, and he seemed thoughtful. France remained where he was, on his knees, looking on the verge of tears.

Egypt pressed his mouth into a thin line.

Egypt admitted that he hasn't bothered to look for reasons or even think about the reasons of the New World Order. To him, they were the enemy, they were a threat to the world. That was it, nothing more, nothing less. The thought of them being merciful felt rather preposterous to Egypt. He doubted France's words would make Haiti change his mind. But still… would Haiti have laughed by now?

Guatemala was... he also seemed to be in deep thought. This was a nation who gladly assisted in the murder of Spain and was very proud of it, but still seemed to be intrigued by France's pleading, fascinated even. Of course, this was all Egypt's speculation.

That's when Egypt came to a realization. It was his speculation, he doesn't truly know what could be going through their minds, it's possible that…

No, it couldn't be…

Suddenly there was laughter, empty, bitter chuckling coming from Haiti. Egypt looked up and immediately widened his eyes at the sight. Haiti was smiling sadly and was… crying. There were actually tears coming down from his eyes all the while he grinned shakily and began to tremble. France saw this as well.

"Hennrick?" France said quietly.

Haiti laughed a bit more then wiped away his tears, only for more to stream down, and he crossed his arms again. There was emotion in his eyes again. Which one? Egypt wasn't sure. But he was sure of one thing, France's words did have an effect on him.

"You disgusting little… I hate you. I hate you so much. Oh, if only you were like this to me and your other colonies…" Haiti snorted then began to rummage through his pockets, and then took out a small doll of Monaco that had needles impaled through the chest and feet, he smiled sardonically. "I already told you before, me and others want to torture you together, but as much as I hate to admit it…"

Haiti turned his back to them and began to do something with the doll, meanwhile Guatemala scoffed.

"Well, this is interesting…" Guatemala muttered apparently to himself.

Less than a minute later Monaco's crying started to die down and she opened her eyes to reveal confused yet pained blue orbs. France gasped and wasted no time in standing up and rushing up the stairs to her side while Egypt stared at them in shock.

…What?

"F-Francis?" Monaco stuttered weakly as France caressed her cheek. "I…"

"Shh, Lucille, it's alright now." France smiled at her, relieved, then frowned as he looked up at a watching Haiti. "Hennrick…"

"There. I "reversed the curse" as they say, she's fine now, I even took the liberty as sealing up her wounds, happy?" Haiti told them in a rather annoyed and embarrassed tone, scoffing, then crossing his arms. "You're lucky. If it was Cameroon or Morocco, they would have laughed at you and cruelly shot you down."

Egypt felt that it was his turn to speak and he looked agape at Haiti. "You… why?"

Haiti shrugged and clicked his tongue. "I told you I had a conscience, didn't I?"

"Merci." France said to Haiti, nodding while holding a shaken Monaco closely, genuinely grateful.

"Oh, don't make any mistake, France. I hate you. _We_ **_will_** kill you so… so… horribly." Haiti hissed at him in anger, and France looked away without a word, but the island's gaze turned emotionless again when it landed on Monaco who shrunk a little in fear. "But I can promise you that this little girl won't be in the room where it happens. I won't harm _you_ anymore, but answer the phone next time, will you?"

France nodded again, and Monaco did the same, only more rapidly.

"Good. Now, where were we…? Oh, right. Guatemala. Give him back to us." Haiti said bluntly, narrowing his eyes, only to receive silence. "Is that a no? After I so kindly let Monaco go? Heh, I should have known. Then let me rephrase that better. Let him go now and we'll leave without a fight, also, we won't demand where the rest of your group is hiding right now."

Egypt was surprised by the offer. It sounded pleasant enough, but still not an offer he was willing to take.

"Or…?" Egypt asked.

"Or I'll come back tomorrow, with friends, more than before, to take him back ourselves and strangle the answer out of you."

Egypt didn't give it much thought and immediately answered. "No."

"No?"

"No."

"One more time. I am being generous here, Egypt, think carefully."

But what good will the offer do in the end? All it would grant them would be temporary peace and the loss of a potential bargaining chip for Mauritius's safe return. Sooner or later they would return and attack them again. So, what was the point?

"No." Egypt said firmly.

Haiti sighed and then gave a smirk. "Well, you can't say I wasn't generous with you. Fine, very well, it's your funeral, idiot."

"We'll see about that."

"Oh, how nice" Haiti scoffed then his smirk turned into a remorseful one as he looked at Guatemala. "I'm sorry."

Guatemala gave a small smile. "I'm a patient man, Haiti. I can wait."

Haiti smiled at him then frowned as he looked at the other three present, he stared at them wordlessly, then vanished in a puff of purple smoke.

Egypt sighed in relief. If Haiti was telling the truth, then he they can rest until tomorrow, but the question is at what time? More friends… that does not sound reassuring in the slightest, and Egypt doesn't think he could take on more than one of them at the same time. Oh… he rubbed his temples. This will prove problematic.

He heard crying and looked behind him to see Monaco being comforted by France, who kept quietly reassuring her that it was alright, and she trembled.

Guatemala probably saw his face because he scoffed. "If I were you I'd be worried about myself."

/ / / / /

In a darkened room of the basement of the New World Order's headquarters stood Norway, stroking his chin and keeping his eyes closed, thinking carefully and deeply about the information he had just collected today which was both interesting and worth getting concerned about. Norway then opened one of his eyes when he heard footsteps and suddenly found Sweden standing next to him with his arms crossed.

Sweden didn't say a word to him, he didn't even look at him, the man was never really that capable of emotion. He was laconic, just like Denmark, but less than Denmark. Anyway, it caused mild annoyance in Norway.

"I don't warrant a hello, Sweden? Not even a nod?" Norway grumbled calmly, along with a bit of melodrama on his voice, but his eyes remained emotionless. To tell the truth, neither of them cared much for pleasantries, despite the bond of their circle.

They don't need words.

The sound of a door being burst open was heard and Finland then arrived with an impatient scowl. "Out with it, Norway! What information do you have that required us to meet down _here_?!"

Norway couldn't help a sardonic smile. "It's nice to see you too, Finland. It's depressing, really. The New World Order is the rope that bound us together, it's our life, our place of healing, and we can't be that empathetic with each other in these times of war, much less the others."

Norway honestly believed in the bonds of camaraderie and family, despite their… problems with certain emotions, and he knew that the others did too but they had a hard time expressing it.

That seemed like a nasty blow, because Finland snapped. "I can feel those emotions, I just don't want us to become secretive, how dare you?!"

"Please, let it go, Tino." Sweden said bluntly.

"We didn't come here to argue meaninglessly, we're not them." Denmark berated them as he and Iceland arrived to them, no one made a retort, and then he looked at Norway. "What did you find out? What did you discuss with Austria and Prussia?"

Norway stroked his chin again. "You must know it's several things actually, all of equal importance I assure you. First, in fact it happened while I was waiting for you all, I was told by Haiti that he found Egypt in France along… with a prisoner."

"Prisoner? You can't mean that Egypt helped another African escape!" Iceland almost seemed to find the prospect amusing.

"No, little brother, one of _us_." Norway bit his tongue after he said that from the sheer bile in his throat. "Haiti said he saw Egypt dragging Guatemala bound-."

"That can't be!" Finland cut him off furiously. "How could-"

"I don't know." Now Norway cut him off. "Naturally, Haiti immediately went to retrieve him, but he failed. How? He didn't tell me."

"What do you mean he didn't tell you?!"

"But, he is planning to organize a team to help take Guatemala back and he asked if any of us would volunteer." Norway continued as if Finland hadn't spoken, and he looked around to see if anyone was considering and saw thoughtful expressions on Sweden and Denmark.

"I'll get him back." Sweden stated, not said, stated.

"I… guess I can come with." Finland muttered, probably because Sweden will be there, and he nodded. "Yes, I'll go if it's alright."

"Same with me." Denmark said.

"Good. Now while I was listening to that story I came to a quick realization regarding Egypt and the others." Norway snapped his fingers. "The Americas, at least most of them, should all be in their homes, no? Then if Egypt and his companions vanished, then reappeared with Guatemala…"

There were looks of realization on the others, and Iceland finished the sentence for him. "…Then they have to be in Central America!"

"Correct. Our leaders realized the same thing and speaking of our leaders…" Norway's expression became slightly annoyed. "There are nations going around Austria's land, causing him quite some stress if I might add."

Denmark began to growl. "… _Who?_ "

"Hungary and Poland."

Reactions varied. Iceland widened his eyes, Denmark began to growl louder, Finland hit his own forehead with his palm and began muttering curses, and Sweden looked slightly displeased. As for Norway himself… he was concerned, but…

"However…" Norway raised his hand and smirked slightly. "It shouldn't be very problematic. Also, it's not just them, a confused soul is wandering Austria's lands in search for something but the confused soul himself doesn't know what "it" is. I wonder… what will happen when he meets with Hungary and Poland?"

/ / / / /

Senegal played around with the knife in his hands, running his fingers through the steel absentmindedly, and then he came back to reality. He nearly wanted to scoff at himself. What the hell was he doing? He couldn't help himself. There was something about the tool that… he had no idea. He couldn't get if off his mind no matter how hard he tried.

It's another confusion to add to the list of confusing things that have been happening to him. The headaches kept coming at random times, just earlier today he went outside of one of those rooms just to hear the screaming before he came back to his senses and ran away, and he still had no idea why he felt that he was missing something.

Senegal wished he could find South Africa and tell him to take back the knife, but he couldn't, he _needed_ that knife. WHY?!

He's been holding on to that thing ever since South Africa gave it to him. But now Senegal's starting to get scared, not of those five creeps, but of himself. That night when he stared at Mali like that… he _wanted_ to kill her. Why would he kill her? She's a close friend, family, and his former wife. Hell, for about a split second or two when he stared at the knife, the urge would come back and leave Senegal terrified of himself.

But that wasn't even the most terrifying part, no, the-

"Since when did you get a knife?" Mali asked confusedly as her face hovered next to his.

Senegal yelled in surprise and nearly fell off the bed, but Mali pulled him back in time. He quickly sat up and met her curious eyes, clearly expecting an answer from him, and he scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Don't scare me like that…" Senegal muttered.

"I'm surprised you didn't hear me come over. Anyway, how did you get a knife like that, Abdou?" Mali asked quickly, leaning over with wide eyes, sounding impressed. "You never carry those things around, you always rely on your lighter. Come on, why didn't you tell me?"

"I…" Senegal really couldn't answer that, even he wasn't sure why he kept it a secret, he just did. "South Africa gave it to me after his meerkat stole my lighter."

Mali flinched at the mention of the nation and her expression became worried. "South Africa? Why would he?"

"He said it was to make up for his little rodent stealing my lighter."

"Oh…" Mali said, though she looked less than relaxed. "That sounds suspicious."

"You're telling me."

"So, why didn't you tell me?"

"Huh?" Senegal widened his eyes then his hand went to scratch his abdomen, though he nearly winced when he did. "I…"

"I know that face!" Mali accused, pointing a finger at him. "It's your "I have to hide it from Mali or else she'll have a nervous breakdown" face! What's wrong, Senegal? As a person who cares about you, I deserve to know!"

"Nothing's wrong!" Senegal exclaimed, probably louder than he should have.

"Yes, there is!"

"No, there isn't!"

"Yes, there is!" Mali insisted, beginning to get upset. "There's something awful happening to you and you won't tell me because "it's for my own good". Please, just tell me! Is South Africa or someone bothering you? Did they say something that upset you?"

"No, it's just…" Senegal started scoot a little away, but in doing so he unintentionally pulled the covers with him, and Mali gasped. Senegal turned his head and paled at the sight of bloodstains on the bed. Oh no…

Mali stared in shock and then shakily turned her gaze towards Senegal who swallowed nervously and looked away. There's no point in hiding it from her, maybe she did deserve to know, either way the cat's out of the bag. Now, he just hoped she wouldn't throw up.

"I… when I woke up today… early in the morning I think… I found the bed like that, the knife had blood on it, and I found this…" Senegal explained anxiously and lifted his shirt to show his abdomen to Mali, who then blanched and covered her mouth in horror at what she saw.

On Senegal's abdomen there were several bloody carvings of letters and numbers of mixed together in a nearly incomprehensible fashion but there were some that could be read, but their meanings were unknown to Senegal.

 _Ne-ca—fau 1954 Find- Kill- Return-it-_

/ / / / /

Switzerland rummaged through his large assortment of books and research journals he had stored throughout the basement room. It should be here somewhere. He never misplaced belongings that important, but perhaps he should have a better organizing system or at least put labels. Now, did he put it in that shelf or that drawer…

He heard a buzzing noise for a split second and then a yelp. Switzerland glanced behind him and saw a shaken Mauritius.

For the next test, Switzerland put some small electrodes in certain areas of his head, right above parts of the brain that serve certain functions, for a bit of stimulation. After a random number of seconds or minutes, a _mild_ electrical current will shock that part of the brain, which will cause a variety of reactions.

Nigeria wanted to do a more _extreme_ version of this, but Switzerland would not have it. There's a rather large chance that Nigeria will have too much fun and break Mauritius more than necessary and cause irreparable damage. That insane man… There were times when even Switzerland questioned Austria's choice for members. Although, it's better to have them on their side than for them to become a threat.

Switzerland considered himself more or less apathetic, but he would never use the African Five's brutal methods in any way, he's not heartless… at least not that much.

Mauritius yelled again, this time louder, and Switzerland made a mental note of that.

Switzerland smiled when his eyes landed on a certain book and he pulled it out, this should be the one, but then dropped it when he felt something. He gasped and widened his eyes as he began to pull his hair. No, no, no it couldn't be… Someone had just entered his land but…

He now recognized that presence from all times it came to his country. How could he not? Since she practically lived with him seventy percent of the time.

"Oh, you just had to jinx it, Cameroon…" Switzerland growled in rage.

/ / / / /

"Hey, so what is it now?" America asked.

"There's been a change of plans. You can make the arrangements when I call you back." Switzerland explained so quickly that by the time America fully understood, Switzerland had ended the call, leaving a confused and slightly annoyed American.

"Well, so much for that." America grumbled, it looked like he sent the micronations off for nothing, and he turned around only to flinch when he saw all three of the micronations before him wearing interesting costumes. Ladonia was dressed like a dictator, Molossia had a trilby hat and a brown coat, and Kugelmugel had a blue ninja mask.

Well, it's certainly not the strangest thing America has ever seen.

"So much for what?" Ladonia asked.

"I thought you guys went out to play." America said as he wondered how he didn't hear them come in.

"We did. But we want to play with you." Kugelmugel went over and tugged America's leg, his violet eyes glaring up at him. "We want to play going an adventure with your missions, nothing else."

"It'll be fun for everyone!" Ladonia proclaimed confidently while posing.

America sighed, not this again, they've been through this half a dozen times. He felt bad about not letting them get any action, but it's not their time yet, and Austria and Sweden will give him hell if one of them get hurt. Then again, America would give himself hell too if they got hurt. He looked at Molossia, who shrugged.

"I'm with them this time, sir." Molossia said apologetically.

America looked at each of them carefully then sighed again. Kids really were his weak spot. Besides, there's something America wanted to do that wouldn't exactly be dangerous…

"Fine, but only for you guys." America smiled.

/ / / / /

Kenya bit her lip as she gently patted Uganda comfortably on the shoulder as she tried her best to comfort him. DRC, the damn traitor, really did a number on him. While Uganda didn't die from the bleeding it sure didn't stop the pain that DRC gave him. Now that a handful of hours have passed (or at least Kenya thought it was since there weren't clocks) Uganda was… kind of okay. He could move more now and…

Oh, who was she kidding? Uganda was obviously not okay. He was still starving to death, which made the healing process last much longer and make him a lot more tired.

Liberia took it upon him to bring them food, something about Cameroon not being here because of something. Kenya didn't care, she didn't care what any of them like to do. But when he came, Kenya actually found herself wishing Cameroon would come back because unlike him, Liberia was a lot more willing to provide commentary and taunts.

She would have strangled the brat to death if there weren't consequences.

Kenya found her anger for those psychotic bastards grow with every stunt they pull. Just them go already! Give Uganda food and take Ethiopia to a hospital!

She heard the door open and speak of the Devil, DRC was back. DRC wordlessly came in with a vacant expression and stared at them, but Kenya knew he wasn't staring at her, he was staring at Uganda, who immediately became nervous, and that was enough to set her off.

"NO!" Kenya screamed furiously, getting on her feet and standing protective in front of Uganda with a fierce glare. "You won't hurt him! I won't let you! You'll have to kill me first!"

DRC 's expression became slightly amused and he raised his hands to calm her down. "At ease, Kenya. I didn't come here to hurt Uganda."

"LIAR!" Kenya snarled fiercely, shaking her head. "That's all you want to do! Besides, why should I believe you, traitor?!"

"Traitor? Is that how I'm going to be referred to? Very well then, I don't care." DRC shrugged and gave a small smile, which for Kenya looked horribly wrong for someone like DRC. "If you must know, I'm here to inform you that Uganda will receive… nourishment."

Kenya went agape with surprise, along with Ethiopia and Uganda, with this information but she didn't believe it one bit.

"You… No, I don't believe it!" Kenya stomped her foot. "You have some ulterior motive, I know it!"

DRC chuckled a little, which again unnerved Kenya, and turned his back to them. "Believe what you want, I will return in short while."

And with that he left, and as soon as he walked out of the room and closed the doors, Kenya whirled around to face Uganda and knelt with a worried expression.

"Don't listen to a word he says, Uganda. He's probably going to give you poison or something." Kenya warned him.

Uganda looked down at the floor and he muttered. "At least I'll get food…"

"Don't talk like that! Diarrhea, vomiting and fever are the last things your weakened stomach needs." Ethiopia told them while trying to sit upright without causing himself pain. "I agree with Kenya also."

"Yeah, and I'm sure I can find a way to hide some for you when we get our next meal." Kenya tried to reassure him, even though the last time she tried that it didn't end well. "You won't starve on my watch!"

Uganda didn't look very convinced.

A while passed then a strong smell reached her nose and she groaned in disgust as she covered her mouth and nose. Ethiopia and Uganda did the same. What the hell is that? It smelled like a filthy freshly killed animal's stomach sliced open. Almost like… She widened her eyes when she saw DRC walking towards them with a plate filled with meat that was way too red for her taste.

Was that… raw meat? No, some of it looked like…

DRC gave them a wicked smile as he set the plate down in front of Uganda, who was trying hard not to gag, but the latter scooted a little away. DRC in return pushed the plate closer to him with his foot and crouched down to his level, his smirk never leaving.

"Here you go. Eat." DRC said, almost ordered.

"What… What is that, Dikembe?" Uganda asked slowly and fearfully.

The question made DRC's smile widen. "Chunks and pieces of the innards and viscera of Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia and Chad. Cameroon, Morocco and Nigeria kept it all in a fridge. Cameroon wanted to be the one to give you this, but he gave me the honor of doing so while he is away."

The three other nations in the room both paled in horror and disgust. Kenya gave another look at the plate and felt sick to her stomach. She looked at Uganda hoping he wasn't going to consider eating a single piece of that, and much to her relief, he looked just as disgusted as she was.

"Are you insane, Dikembe?!" Uganda exclaimed and looked away. "I won't eat that! Take it back!"

"And starve yourself? Now, do you truly have the will for that?" DRC scoffed and pushed the plate a bit more. "Eat, I insist."

"I'd rather starve than eat any of that!"

"When did I ever tell you that you had an option?" DRC asked coldly. "You will eat. Do it before I force you to."

Uganda flinched at the threat but shut his eyes and shook his head. "No!"

"I am warning you, eat it now."

"No."

"Uganda…"

"No."

"Very well…" DRC said with an eerily calm tone, then without warning, he lunged and grabbed Uganda's head forced his face into the meat. Uganda yelled while DRC smirked. "Tell me, are you enjoying the taste? I know I did."

Kenya gasped at the horrific sight and without thinking, full of anger, and tackled DRC to the ground in rage. She screamed as she tried to wrap her hands around his neck while DRC yelled and thrashed around, giving Kenya a hard time keeping him down. But she had to. She had to!

"STOP!" Uganda screamed at them, Kenya and DRC froze, and she saw him look down dejectedly. "I surrender."

Kenya widened her eyes then felt herself getting pushed off and fell to the floor. DRC was back to looking emotionless, but Kenya could tell that he was a little annoyed, and the man nodded.

"Fine. But…" DRC lunged again, this time at Kenya's throat, and shoved her down. "You will eat one piece, any one you want, or else I'll forced feed it to her as well."

Uganda hesitated a little, but then he looked at Kenya and gave her a regretful look and he gave Ethiopia a look that begged him for his forgiveness, and then he shakily went to grab a piece. He picked up one of the smaller ones, he tried not to turn green and gulped, then after closing his eyes he brought the entire piece to his mouth.

Kenya did her best not make a disgusted expression for his sake.

Uganda grimaced as he chewed it, she knew he was using all his restraint to not spit it out, then after a lot of chewing he swallowed down and he shivered.

DRC, apparently pleased, let go of Kenya's throat, stood up, picked up the plate then left. After he did, Kenya scowled at the door, and then she heard crying from Uganda.

"It didn't taste that bad…" Uganda said between sobs.

/ / / / /

Hungary took a deep relaxed breath then slowly let it out and smiled to herself as she began to drive away from Austria's home. Okay, okay… she could do this. Just relax, Elizaveta. Brashness won't help her find Austria. She needed to be calm, not go overboard or over her head, and everything will work out. She'll find him, make him feel guilty by crying her eyes out and pummel the ass who's behind all this.

Yes, that's a perfect plan.

Poland was in the next seat using the rearview mirror for plucking his eyebrows, even though she specifically warned him not to use the inside mirror, she couldn't help but be worried that they'll hit a bump and he'll pick his own eye…

"Hey Liz, I'm, like, totally surprised that you're not, you know, going full speed." Poland commented as he plucked out an eyebrow.

"Well, I figured that being all gung-ho won't exactly work all the way, so I thought…" Hungary shrugged, eyes gleaming. "I should be calmer and more patient in this investigation."

"That is, like, totally great, Liz!"

"Thank you, Feliks." Hungary grinned as she made a turn to the right.

"You know, Liz, we should, like, totally go shopping while we're, like, investigating!" Poland proposed as he stood up a bit, blocking the mirror a little, mildly annoying Hungary.

"Really? You think…" Hungary trailed off when she saw a familiar figure in the distance, she squinted her eyes, then as she drove past them she paled when she realized who it was walking near the road to Austria's house.

"Yeah, we could, like, get you new flowers for your hair!" Poland cheered, then Hungary abruptly stomped on the brake, putting the car to an immediate stop and causing Poland to accidentally pluck his eyes. "Oh my, like, God! We won't get totally new flowers! Geez… Liz?"

"I think I just saw Bosnia." Hungary told him with a shocked expression.

 **I want to annouce that the next chapter for Mystery of the Great World Anomaly will come sometime this week hopefully. I'm already working on it. Please review!**


	26. Trials: Confusion

**Hiya, guys! Blaze here with another chapter! But before we begin I want to announce two things: First, I put up a poll in my profile about which story I shouls work on as a second priority, so if you can, please vote. And second: I FINALLY updated Mystery of the Great World Anomaly. Now, on with the show!**

Hungary whirled the car around faster before Poland could even question her, the vehicle screeched loudly, but she had only one thing on her mind right now. Bosnia. Her eyes couldn't have been tricking her, she really saw Bosnia, it had to be him even though it didn't make sense. Last she heard all the former Yugoslavians were keeping mostly to themselves… so why?

But what confused her even more was that he didn't even notice her, he didn't spare a glance or anything. In fact, Bosnia didn't seem to react to seeing the car, it was like they were invisible or something like… well, she doesn't remember his name, but it was like that guy! Sure, Bosnia can be kind of slow… but still! Something didn't sit right in Hungary's gut and she was going to get to the bottom of it.

Her foot stepped on the gas and the car sped off back towards Austria's house.

/ / / / /

Western Sahara, after wiping away more tears, began filling her purse with all the necessary items she will need for the beginning of her revenge and for her escape. Such items include medicine and bandages in the likely case of injury, each of the Five will not go down without fighting back ferociously, as well as the gun now loaded with the bullets, a knife just in case, and a few of those smoke bombs the Order have for quick travel.

She zipped her purse shut. Western Sahara also had recited a prayer, as well as asking Allah to give Morocco the punishment he deserved once the day when he's dragged to hell arrived, and to give the future resistance against the Order good luck and his blessings. They will need it.

As well as to forgive her for embarking on this possibly futile quest for vengeance.

Western Sahara looked at herself in the mirror of her bedroom. For the sake of hiding her identity and to express her grief over Spain's death, she has changed her outfit for this mission, in hopes of not being recognized immediately. She has changed her usual robes and hijab for a black jilbab with matching pants and three-layer niqab, though she still hasn't pulled it up to her face yet.

She frowned at the mirror and reached inside her niqab to pull out a lock of her black hair, then she smiled. That's better.

Then, she pulled the veil up her face, leaving only grieving brown eyes hungry for revenge.

/ / / / /

Egypt felt relief after he finally changed back into his traditional attire. Western clothing wasn't uncomfortable to him, but he felt more at ease with his keffiyeh and robes. He watched France fuzz over a still shaken Monaco on her bed. Much to their surprise, Haiti really did reverse the damage he did, there weren't any wounds on her. But even so, Monaco was still left traumatized by what happened to her.

Egypt also had his own worries. Haiti promised that he would come back with many friends, he and France need a plan, a good one that will _not_ backfire on them in any way. It was just them against Haiti plus several other members, the odds don't look great there.

He briefly considered bringing the others back in Central America here, but their mission was just as important. He also could just take Guatemala away to another location…

He looked at the other side of the room. Guatemala was sitting on a chair, still bound, with his black hair covering most of his face. But where could they keep him?

"Egypt…" Said nation looked back at a solemn looking France. "What are you planning to do?"

"Honestly… I don't know… yet." Egypt said slowly, feeling rather ashamed.

"Ah…" France said. Monaco squeezed his hand and gave him a small smile, then France smiled back. "Well, at least my petite Monaco is safe and unharmed, but I will happily tell you that I do have a plan. In fact, I've been working on it since you left!"

"You have?" Egypt looked up, surprised.

"Oui! But… uh…" France frowned and pointed at Guatemala, and Egypt noticed that he was now looking at them. "I'd rather that fiend not hear us, and I don't want to leave poor Monaco alone with him."

Guatemala gave a dry chuckle. "I _can_ hear you."

"My point exactly." France muttered. "You don't think he will try to escape if we leave him here alone, do you?"

Egypt narrowed his eyes at the captive nation. "He kept telling me that he'll behave and that he'll wait patiently for the others to rescue him. Besides, with Haiti's threat, he probably thinks he doesn't need to do anything."

"He _does_ think that." Guatemala agreed loudly with a wide grin.

"Very well then…" Egypt muttered, and he stood up, with France helping Monaco up.

They went downstairs to the living room, and Egypt sat one of the chairs while France and Monaco sat on the sofa. Egypt wringed his hands and his throat felt dry as he swallowed. He felt anxious, but it wasn't because of Haiti, it was because he still needed to explain to France what happened to…

"So, Egypte, mon ami…" France began, interrupting Egypt from his thoughts, holding Monaco's hand. "I haven't been just standing around fretting over you and my former colonies' safety, I'll have you know."

"I was hoping you weren't." Egypt said, nodding.

"I've managed to get in touch with Angleterre and several others while you were away to organize a meeting, it was a little difficult since I didn't quite tell them what the emergency was, but I did tell them I found some leads. I was hoping you would appear before that to give proof." France chuckled dryly.

"So, when is the meeting?"

"In the two days, in the morning."

"I see… where?"

"Angleterre's house."

"…I see." Egypt sighed, rubbing his temples. "Then I'll just have to survive and prevent Guatemala from being rescued until then."

"Mon ami, you don't have to remain here. Go back to your group with Guatemala and come back in two days."

"And what will _you_ do when Haiti comes back?

"Well, there will be nothing Hennrick can do about it."

Egypt raised an eyebrow. "Nothing? He'll torture the answer out of you. What's more, what if he brings Cameroon and Morocco with him? You know Haiti said that the three of them were planning to torture you together."

France's expression became pained and he sighed in defeat. "Then I will let them take their anger out on me."

"NON!" Monaco exclaimed, frantically shaking her head. "You can't possibly be thinking that! They… They'll tear you apart! They'll kill you!"

France and Egypt flinched at the sudden outburst, and the former squeezed her hand. "Lucille, sil-"

"No! Do you know what Haiti did to me?! You saw me there screaming and crying!" Lucille began to shake. "I couldn't speak, I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe, it hurt so much… I don't want that to happen to you, Francis! S'il vous plait, don't let them hurt you!"

"I will if it will make them stop hurting others to get to me."

"But what about the meeting?" Egypt pointed out, also not on board with this idea. "I am not leaving you to your death."

"Merci, but we…" France trailed off then frowned at Egypt. "Wait. Egypt… I have a question for you…"

Egypt tensed, and he squeezed his hands anxiously. "Yes?"

"About what Guatemala said… What happened to my old friend Spain?" France asked, but Egypt couldn't bring himself to speak, causing France to narrow his eyes. "Egypt?"

"I…"

"Egypt tell me!"

"Spain… is dead." Egypt said simply and bluntly, perhaps more than necessary, but there was no point in hiding it was there?

France's eyes went wide, and Monaco paled in shock. Egypt closed his eyes. He hated to be the bearer of such news, but it was now or finding it out from a smug Guatemala, and at least France didn't get to find out _how_ it happened. Egypt nearly cringed.

Egypt should really burn that recording when he returns.

He reluctantly opened his eyes and he found France frozen in disbelief with Monaco hugging his arm.

"Non…" France said quietly, noticeably in denial. "It can't…"

"I'm afraid so. It's already on the news, I assumed…" Egypt trailed off, and looked down grimly. "I'm sorry."

"How?" France asked, dangerously close to tearing up. "My friend… Spain… Antonio Lopez Carriedo is _dead_. My former colonies and now one of my closest friends has been murdered, and he will never come back."

"I… The others and I… we found out how they did it." Egypt's frown deepened. "It was brutal."

"How?" France repeated miserably.

"Spain was murdered by his former colonies. They tortured him, taunted him, butchered him…" Egypt cringed as he started to feel sick. "America helped, Haiti probably did too for all we know, and Brazil recorded it. I think Portugal was there… but I don't know what happened to him."

"How did you find out?" Monaco asked.

"Guatemala came to Belize's house with a disc containing that footage, he intended on showing it to her and Honduras, but then we captured him and saw the footage for ourselves. Guatemala proudly proclaimed it "satisfaction" for him and the other nations in the Americas. I…" Egypt trailed off when he saw France's expression.

France was now shedding tears and he clenched his shaking fists. Then, without a word, he suddenly stood up and stormed off upstairs.

Egypt widened his eyes. Oh no…

/ / / / /

Hungary brought the car to a stop once again and lowered the window, then she waved frantically at Bosnia. "Hey! Bosnia! It's Hungary! What brings you to Mr. Austria's home?"

But Bosnia didn't turn around or respond, he just kept walking, and Hungary felt a little hurt. Was he ignoring her? No, he wouldn't…. She doesn't think he was being slow, this was just ridiculous, even for him! What's gotten into him?

"Wow, rude." Poland muttered, scoffing, and Hungary felt inclined to agree. "What's with, like, the cold shoulder?"

"I have absolutely no idea…" Hungary bit her lip then gripped the wheel. "But we're going to follow him."

"So, we're not gonna, like, go shopping?"

/ / / / /

Lithuania groaned as he received voice-mail number fifty-seven from Poland. Honestly, he would just crush his phone to pieces and just end it, but he didn't _have_ another phone and it didn't occur with him that Poland could be stubborn… Oh, wait. He forgot who he was talking about.

Lithuania nearly ended up crashing the van when he heard _screaming_. Not Bulgaria, no, the airhead doesn't sound like that but the only other living beings in this vehicle were…

He abruptly stopped the van as he felt fury in his heart. If that idiot did anything to them, even if it was an accident or the drug Bulgaria gave to his Baltic brothers, he was going to kill that moron in one of the least painful ways possible. Temporarily, of course (unfortunately). Bulgaria told him a few minutes ago that he was going to check on Estonia and Latvia since the drug's effects should be wearing off by now.

"What is going on back there?!" Lithuania shouted as he walked to the back, where the first person that came to his view was a happy looking Bulgaria, and he grabbed his collar. "Dimitri, what the hell did you to them?!"

"Huh? Oh! No, no, no…" Bulgaria laughed merrily, holding his hands up in surrender. "I was just trying to wake them up when they began to wake up! They were just as hopelessly confused as you'd expect, but poor Estonia dropped his glasses, so I gave them back to him. I waited up close for him to see clearly, and then they both screamed and hugged each other! It was hilarious!"

As Bulgaria giggled like a drunk, Lithuania scowled. "No, Dimitri, it's not hilarious! They're my brothers and you and I will not treat them like the African Five treat their prisoners."

"Aw, don't overreact, Tori!" Bulgaria beamed, as Lithuania expected. "I know how much they mean to you. How could I hurt them?"

"Because you're Dimitri." Lithuania said flatly.

"T-Toris…" Lithuania widened his eyes and looked to his right where the two other Baltics were still hugging, it was Estonia who spoke. They both looked at him anxiously. "What's going on? Where are we? Why is Bulgaria with you?"

Lithuania didn't give a response as he stared at them with a frightened expression then looked back at Bulgaria, who was serious for once and seemed to say _Go ahead and tell them, I'll be here for you_ , and he let him go.

Lithuania took a deep breath and gave a worried smile. "Well, first of all, are you feeling alright?"

"Alright?!" Latvia exclaimed, distressed and trembling. "We were knocked out cold, we're in some scary place, and Bulgaria's scaring me!"

"Yes, he's an idiot, forgive him for that." Lithuania thwacked Bulgaria's forehead, but the latter hardly reacted.

"In fact, what's going on with you, Toris? You're acting pretty different…" Estonia pointed out shakily as he adjusted his glasses, then paled. "Not to mention Mister Russia! If he finds out that we're not in his house, he'll give us the pipe treatment!"

"You're wrong!" Lithuania snapped, and he found his hands were shaking in rage, he clenched them. "He won't hurt you, I'll protect you. Russia will never us or anyone else ever again!

"D-D-Don't act brave, Toris! H-He'll just tear your throat apart and feed us to General Winter!" Latvia stuttered in fear.

Bulgaria giggled and gained two confused looks and one annoyed one. "Oh, ne, ne, you shouldn't underestimate the extent of our power, silly! The chances of Russia correctly guessing your location are extremely slim, especially since as far as anyone's concerned you've completely vanished without a trace, so yay for us! Another point for the New World Order~"

"The what now?" Estonia asked.

"The New World Order." Lithuania told them then sighed. "Look… there's really no easy explanation for all of this but here's the truth. The Lithuania you knew for the past one hundred years… was fake. He didn't exist. That pathetic scaredy-cat infatuated with Belarus is _not real_."

"Wh-What?" Both Baltics exclaimed at the same time.

"And I wasn't real either!" Bulgaria piped up cheerfully, raising his hands with a bright blush on his cheeks. "My true personality is much more memorable! And I just happen to be the lover of-"

"That's not important right now. All you need to know was that I was lying and that this is for your own good." Lithuania cut him off before the airheaded could go into a fanatical rant.

"For our own good?! You've been lying to us this whole time?!" Estonia then laughed nervously. "No, stop joking around, Toris. It isn't April, and this is not funny. You are joking, right? _Please_ tell me that you're joking."

"Y-Yeah! Because I'm getting even more scared!" Latvia hugged himself.

"This isn't a joke!" Lithuania snapped. "This is the truth."

"It can't be!" Estonia exclaimed. "Why would you and Bulgaria just lie to us all these years? It doesn't make sense! You would never do that!"

"I'm sorry, I really am, but it was necessary. Please forgive me for this but I have to end Russia for everyone's sake!"

"And it's not just us in on it!" Bulgaria winked then began counting on his fingers. "There's also Prussia, Austria, America, Norway, Sweden, and many more!"

"Huh?! Them too?" Latvia exclaimed in horror.

"I-I don't believe this." Estonia shook his head in denial. "This is all too-"

"Unbelievable? Impossible? Well, it is possible with _proper_ planning and a lot of patience~" Bulgaria walked towards them and leaned down with a way too wide grin. "It's the truth, either accept it or writhe in _pure_ and _extreme_ agony as you deny it. Things will change in the world, we can promise that, **_so suck it up and don't make Tori go through more pain than he already has_**."

Estonia and Latvia both paled in terror at Bulgaria's frightening smile and tone and started to scoot away.

Lithuania eyes went wide as he stared at Bulgaria darkly. "Dimitri…"

"Do you know what pain I've been through? What Russia made me endure?" Bulgaria asked softly, chuckling, then his expression morphed into rage and he kicked the wall. "THAT BASTARD KEPT ME FROM MY BELOVED FOR FOURTY-FIVE YEARS! FORTY-FIVE YEARS WITH NO LAUGHING, NO JOY, AND NO SMILES! I only had Toris and Gilbert, I survived thanks to them…"

Bulgaria sobbed a little and some tears fell from his eyes. Lithuania's expression softened, and he reached out his hand.

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH PAIN I HAD IN MY HEART! Every day hurt… I had no escape… I couldn't even talk to him for more than a minute…" Bulgaria said emptily, eyes becoming vacant.

"Dimitri…" Lithuania tried again.

"To this day I dream of the moment where me, Toris and the others shove that damn pipe down his throat and feed him his own sister's viscera." Bulgaria clasped his hands together, as if praying that the day will come very soon. "I want to feel the same satisfaction the South Americans did when they took care of Spain."

"Wh-Wh-What are you talking about?" Latvia squeaked.

"You really, really, really, REALLY have no idea what's been happening while Belarus has been using you as doormats!" Bulgaria drilled a finger into his temple while walking slowly. "In fact, little white Russia's off having tea with Satan as we speak!"

"M-Miss B-Belarus? What happened to her?" Estonia asked fearfully.

"I killed her." Lithuania admitted, trying not let his mouth twitch and form a smile. "Permanently."

"WHAT?!" Both Baltics screamed simultaneously

"Her heart and pretty little dress got ripped to SHREDS!" Bulgaria exclaimed loudly and gleefully, then began jumping around the van like an idiot. "Shreds, shreds, shreds, shreds, shreds, shreds, shreds, shreds, shreds, shreds, shreds, shreds, shreds, shreds, shreds-"

Lithuania made an irritated scowl, he had enough of his insanity, and he punched Bulgaria in the stomach. The two captive Baltics gasped as Bulgaria yelped and was sent against the wall, then collapsed on the floor. Lithuania felt a pang of remorse, but he knew it was pointless, and he stared at Bulgaria as the nation struggled to get up.

Then, Bulgaria burst out laughing, gleeful and overjoyed laughter as he laid on the floor. Lithuania looked at him with the same annoyed expression he always had when Bulgaria did this, but then he felt his mouth twitching and he began to tremble. What in the world…? Since when was Bulgaria's laughter infectious?

Lithuania couldn't hold it and he soon also burst out laughing exactly as Bulgaria. They both laughed together. All the while Estonia and Latvia looked at them with fear.

/ / / / /

France honestly wasn't really thinking now, he didn't think about what he was doing, he didn't care. No, all he could think was that his friend had been brutally murdered and one of his killers was currently residing in his house. After he realized that, all he could see was red.

No more pranks, no more flirting, no more Bad Touch Trio. Prussia, another good friend, had never been his friend and he basically allowed or even helped make Spain's death possible. Spain will not be coming back.

They were in a war, and Spain was one of the casualties.

"FRANCE!" France heard Egypt shout his name before he could go burst through the doors, and he saw him and Monaco rush towards him. "Don't-"

"The killer of one of my friends is in my home!" France shouted back at him.

"Think about what you're doing, you idiot! Doing that will make you no different from them!"

France flinched and looked away. "But I…"

"Francis…" Monaco began as she took France's hands in hers and looked up at him sadly. "It's alright… Let it out. I'm here."

Before France could say anything, Monaco wrapped her arms around him and hugged him comfortingly. He slowly returned the embrace and soon enough began to cry. It was true. What was the point in harming Guatemala? Hurting him will not heal his pain. France would be no different from them.

But still, it hurt.

/ / / / /

Portugal was rudely awakened from his nap by a smack to his head. It was difficult, but tiredness of the events caught up to him and he could sleep instead of looking at Brazil, although it was short-lived. He grunted and rubbed his head, then looked up to see Peru looking at him with a bored expression. Portugal widened his eyes and immediately tensed.

"We've arrived, tio." Peru stated bluntly, then turned around. "So, get up and meet us outside the plane, por favor."

Portugal frowned as Peru left, then dejectedly stood up and reluctantly followed him out of the plane. As they exited the plane, Portugal caught sight of a pouting Brazil crossing his arms, looking rather disappointed, while Argentina argued with him. Portugal looked away from them, preferring not to meet their eyes.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to disappoint you, it probably just slipped his mind or-"

"Well, it's nice to see my visits mean that much to him." Brazil cut Argentina off with mock bitterness.

"Oh, now you're just being a child."

"I _really_ wanted to show him the recording, I promised him. I feel bad for giving Morocco one in advance while…" Brazil trailed off then slowly grinned as he noticed Portugal's presence. "Oh, hello, irmão. I trust you had a nice nap?"

Portugal shifted uncomfortably at the affectionate tone and still refused to meet his eyes. "Why would you care? It doesn't matter."

Brazil burst out laughing at that remark. "Oh, I've already told you like half a dozen times, irmão. I care about you, and I'm worried that your post-traumatic stress will hamper our little bonding time. Are you saying that I can't care about you?"

"Worried? Care? Everything you've done strongly contradicts your "kindness", or is that your sick way of saying that you love me?" Portugal asked miserably, then widened his eyes when he felt Brazil grab his chin and pull it so they can face each other.

"Something like that…" Brazil shrugged, grinning sheepishly. "But I didn't bring you here so we could argue, we're here for the family reunion."

Portugal paled as he remembered about his former African colonies. "What are you going to do them?"

"Nothing, nothing! Don't always assume the worst!" Brazil, Argentina and Peru laughed together, then Brazil wrapped his arm around Portugal. "They're fine. I just thought you would feel better if you finally saw your missing ex-colonies again!"

"Why are they all here?" Portugal asked.

"Oh, there's some resistance but Chris and the others are easily taking care of it, the others are there so they could learn." Brazil explained nonchalantly, waving his hand in dismissal. "Lucky, Chris and his group get to have fun every day. However, I had a _great_ time with you."

"Enjoying my anguish?"

"Don't be a downer. Anyway, Chris is away for business, but that hardly changes my plans. So, let's get going!"

/ / / / /

Bosnia stared with dull eyes at Austria's grand house, having finally arrived after walking for so long, but strangely enough, he wasn't even tired. The world around him was muffled and blurry, and he hardly thought about what he was doing, but this place was calling him somehow. There was something here, an answer to a question he never once asked, and he was going to find it here one way or another.

He honestly had no idea how he got here all by himself or how long its been since he suddenly left his house, but he didn't care, all that mattered was finding it.

What exactly? He didn't know. He had no idea. But he did know it was something that should be inside Austria's house, or at least that'll help him find that something. Bosnia hoped that Austria wouldn't mind… but for some reason, he had a feeling that he doesn't need to worry.

Bosnia felt a pang of pain and he gripped his head. He felt confused about all of this. Why was he here? What's going on with him? He really shouldn't be going all the way here…

 _"Sounds like someone's confused!"_ A jovial voice cheerfully sang, Bosnia gasped when he saw a light and felt someone wrap their arm around him. _"C'mon… what are you waiting for? You know where the spare the key is!"_

"What? I don't know where Austria's…" Bosnia trailed off as he realized something. "Wait… I know where it is?"

 _"Yes, of course you know, the guy told you, remember?"_ The voice teased him, poking a cold finger on Bosnia's cheek.

Bosnia nodded slowly, not looking at the outline of the person. "Da… I think."

 _"Then go in! Discovery and adventure await!"_ The voice laughed merrily.

"But… I don't understand…" Bosnia shook his head worriedly, feeling the numbness slowly leave his mind and his senses return, and he felt arms wrapped around his neck. "Why did you lead me all the way here…? I shouldn't… Who are you?"

 _"You shouldn't?"_ The voice asked in mock surprise, and Bosnia felt a chill run up his spine. _"Also, I didn't lead you here, you came here by your own free will. I'm here to make sure you don't abandon your desires."_

"I… I did? But still, I shouldn't-"

 _"Ah, but you should, Emir."_

"Why? I don't know …"

 _"Oh? Then let's fix that, shall we?"_ The voice proposed, then Bosnia felt a hand caress his cheek, and the voice whispered a word in his ear so sweetly.

Bosnia's eyes went wide once he heard that word, the world became muffled again, and his expression became sleepy once more. His resolve was solid once again. He knew what he had to do and how to do it. He could feel the voice smirk.

 _"Good… Now listen closely and attentively, my cherished friend…"_ Bosnia nodded obediently, and the voice caressed his cheek again. _"I can't tell you what you're going to find in there, but just remember, it's all in the plan. You can rely on your instincts to guide yourself."_

"Of course…" Bosnia nodded, smiling tiredly.

 _"I trust that you go on by yourself?"_

"Da."

 _"Perfect. Then see you later~"_

And with that the light vanished without a trace, like it wasn't even there, and Bosnia walked forward to the front door. Austria wasn't here… he knew it. Bosnia then crouched down and began searching for the spare key. It should be right… here! Bosnia smiled and brought up the key to unlock the door.

Bosnia went in. He wasted no time in admiring the interior and instead went directly towards the stairs. The library… The library… it shouldn't be that far ahead.

The answers were in there. All he needed to know was there. He looked around, trying to remember where it was, he should know. Bosnia knew that the answers were in his mind, but he needed the key to unlock it, the word, the kill…

Bosnia felt a pang of pain slam into his head, he barely could glance back to see a frying pan and a green dress before the world went dark.

/ / / / /

Western Sahara hid behind one of the cars in the parking lot, not that far from the entrance where guards remained vigilant, and he carefully spied on them from afar. This was it. She has been here for a grand total of about five minutes, South Africa should know that someone just entered his land, which meant that she couldn't waste a single second.

Just kill South Africa, escape, perhaps ask the wise old man for help, and lay low in her home for a while. Although, perhaps she could hide in another nation, a friendly one. Like Algeria.

Western Sahara hoped that she wouldn't encounter them first. She could ask the others in there for South Africa's whereabout, and maybe, just maybe, she could finally apologize to Algeria for lying to her all these years.

Western Sahara searched through her bag, she took out the gun, and aimed at the nearest soldier.

She closed her eyes and pulled the trigger.

/ / / / /

South Africa widened his eyes as he watched Nigeria and Cameroon engage in a friendly fight. Someone just entered his land. "Well, would you look at that, Morocco? Safiyya broke her little promise."

Morocco stopped smiling calmly and raised a curious eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"Western Sahara just entered my home. It looks like that little gift of yours you pushed her past the brink." South Africa theorized, then chuckled to himself. "And Liberia complained that we're leaving him out of the fun."

"She's there?" Morocco asked, interested.

"Ja, and you ask me, she's probably pissed at…" South Africa trailed off once he noticed the expression on Morocco's face, then burst out laughing. "You charming little kobra! Did you really knew this would happen? She's there looking for your head."

"Of course she is…" Morocco grinned.

/ / / / /

Hungary glared at the groaning body of Bosnia rolling on the floor in pain with Poland lifting up his pink sunglasses to cringe. It… It may look that she went a little overboard but it's… it's all justified! Bosnia had the nerve to go in Austria's house without permission from her ex-husband himself! Not to mention how Hungary gaped when she saw that Bosnia found a spare key! Austria told her that he didn't want to have a spare key!

Maybe it was a recent thing but that wasn't important right now! Anyway, Bosnia looked like he was in some sort of trance and he didn't respond to her and Poland calling him, so Hungary had no choice but to knock some sense into him.

Literally.

"Like, wow, Lizzy." Poland said in awe and fear. "That, like, looks totally painful!"

"Maybe..." Hungary said, and her eyes sparkled. "But there was no other way to snap him out of it!"

"So, like, now what?"

Hungary hummed at the question then looked again at Bosnia, and she crouched down to shake him awake. Well, now they get answers out of Bosnia! Maybe he knows what happened to Austria! It's a long shot, but she has to try! She's getting tired of all the confusing stuff happening, she needed answers, and she needed to know that her former husband was safe and not in some terrorist's clutches.

At that thought, Hungary shook him more roughly, and even tried to slap him awake, Again, maybe a little extreme, but it's justified and necessary! Besides, this wasn't the first time she hit Bosnia with her frying pan.

"Bosnia!" Hungary slapped him, then slapped him again. "Bosnia!"

"Like, ouch.." Poland muttered.

"Bosnia, wake up!" Hungary slapped him yet again. "Bosni-"

A groan from Bosnia and seeing his eyes open stopped her. "I'm... I'm awake... Please... stop hitting me, Hungary. It hurts..."

"You're up!" Hungary exclaimed in glee and quickly pulled his arm to make Bosnia sit up. "Sorry about that, but you just wouldn't listen to us! Now tell us... What are you doing here in Austria?"

"A-Austria?" Bosnia stammered, confused, and looked around. "What are you talking about? Wait, where am I anyway? And why did you hit me with your frying pan?"

That's the slow Bosnia she knew. Hungary looked at him with a confused expression, and Poland decided to ask the questions on her mind. "Like, what do you, like, mean? You were, like, totally giving us the cold shoulder back there! You were, like, a zombie or something, but a lot less gross."

"I... what?" Bosnia gaped and paled. "Since when did I see you two today?"

"Like, today. Like, minutes ago."

"That can't be! I don't remember that!" Bosnia said in confusion and fear, and then paled again. "Wait, did you say we're in Austria? How's that possible?"

"Wait..." Hungary realized something. "You don't remember anything about getting here?"

Bosnia shook his head. "No."

Now it was Hungary and Poland's turn to gape. "Not even a little?"

"No! The last thing I remember was feeling really tired and..." Bosnia sat a bit more upright, then the sound of paper being crushed was heard, and he curiously reached into his pockets.

"Like, what is it?" Poland asked.

"It's... a piece of paper." Bosnia stated as he took it out, and from the looks of it he had no idea how he got it. "Await orders in France...? And it's written with my handwriting."

Hungary took the paper from him and saw it for herself. It said just that, await orders in France, and it also a crude drawing of the Eiffel Tower with an arrow pointing at the top saying "here". It really was Bosnia's handwriting, but he doesn't remember writing it... Hmm...

Well, Hungary now knew where they needed to go next.

/ / / / /

Honduras could care less about traffic laws right now as she sped the car through a shortcut she knew, more or less paying attention to the panicked cries of Algeria and Tunisia and the energetic laughter of Belize, she felt guilty, but she also felt worried for adoptive brother El Salvador. She wanted to pick him up and leave as soon as possible, away, so he could be safe.

Luckily for them, the last she heard of him was about two days ago when he complained over the phone about his constant headache and dizziness. Poor El Salvador… she should have brought some aspirin for him. But at least he'll still be at home, he said it himself that "there was no way in hell I'm going anywhere with this migraine", and she can tell him the truth. Honduras hoped he believed them.

Belize proposed kidnapping him by knocking him out and binding out with some rope she brought, but Honduras preferred the least amount of violence possible, nothing if possible.

Honduras also could not be happier that El Salvador lived not that far near the outskirts, so as of now, they'll be right at his house in a few minutes.

"Would you slow down?!" Algeria exclaimed in anger.

"Don't be a downer, Kally!" Belize screeched in laughter at the whole situation, much to the older woman's annoyance.

"I think I feel a bit of nausea…" Tunisia muttered as he covered his mouth, starting to turn green.

"Oh, not in the car, you won't! If you're going to vomit your lungs out, then roll the window open, peak out your head like a dog, and let it all out!" Belize scowled in repulsion at the male nation, shaking her fist to emphasize the consequences.

Honduras smiled and giggled. It's so nice to have such great and funny friends!

Several minutes later, Honduras stomped on the brake and whirled the car around, much to the others' horror (or glee in Belize's case), and with a deafening screech the car parked perfectly near El Salvador's house. Honduras let out a "phew" then quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and exited the car sprinting towards El Salvador's door.

"Hey, Sophia, wait for us!" Belize called out to her as she also exited the car, nearly stumbling because of her sleepy legs. "Kally, Tuni, come on!"

"Are you alright, brother?" Algeria asked her neighbor in concern as she helped him out of the car.

"Just… fine…" Tunisia said weakly as he leaned against the car for support.

Honduras looked at the door fearfully then took a deep breath to calm. It's alright, Honduras, he'll be fine, he'll be here. She reached out a hand and knocked the door. "Hola? Angel? It's me, your big sister~"

She waited a few seconds, but no response came, and didn't hear any footsteps. Honduras paled.

Honduras tried again. "Angel~ Open up por favor~ It's important, I promise!

Same result. Honduras began to slowly shake her head in denial. No… no… he couldn't be…

"D-Don't worry, Sophia! That idiot's probably hiding in his bathroom. Here, let me try…" Belize went up the door, took a deep breath just like Honduras… then began pounding on the door. "OPEN THE DAMN DOOR, ANGEL! WE'RE IN A BIG HURRY AND IF YOU DON'T GET OUT HERE IN THE NEXT TEN SECONDS I'LL TEAR THE DOOR DOWN WITH MY BARE HANDS!"

Honduras, Algeria and Tunisia sweat dropped at the girl as she tapped her foot impatiently. Even though it sounded foolproof, the result was the same, but Belize did manage to scare some birds.

"Maybe he's not home…?" Tunisia suggested hopefully.

"No, he told me that he was going to be at home…" Honduras said quietly, and she covered her mouth in horror. "Dios mio… please don't tell me that he's…"

"That's it, I'm tearing the door!" Belize screamed for anyone in a hundred-mile radius to hear, and before anyone could even object, Belize kicked the door so hard it fell off its hinges.

Honduras widened her eyes. El Salvador won't be happy with that...

But still, Honduras ran in and immediately began calling out his name. "Angel! Angel, where are you? Please come out, we just want to help!"

When no answer arrived, Honduras began to panic.

"ANGEL?!" Honduras screamed desperately.

Belize put a comforting hand on her shoulder and narrowed her eyes. "Don't worry, he's got to be here somewhere! Let's check his bedroom, you know how much he likes to hide there sometimes."

Honduras nodded and the group, led by her, went to El Salvador's bedroom door. He has to be there, he has to be there, he has to be there, she kept telling herself. She flung the door open and expected to see a grumpy El Salvador surprised of their arrival, she hoped that would be the case, she wanted it to be the case...

But the sight that greeted her was not that... What she saw was something horrifying...

Something she never would have expected.

"Allah..." Algeria muttered in shock, pale as a ghost.

 **I feel bad about leaving you guys with cliffhangers, it feels evil, lol. But anyway, I hoped you enjoyed the chapter. Please review!**


	27. Trials: Mysteries and Secrets

**Thanks to Eternal Nexus Warrior, NadiaJA27, SpacePotato117 and an anon for reviewing. Well, sorry for having you wait a week after that cliffhanger, here's the continuation! Now, on with the show!**

Algeria couldn't have worded it any better, although Honduras would have said "God" but that doesn't matter, what mattered was the horrific mess in front of them.

El Salvador's room looked like a warzone. It was a mess! And anyone who knew El Salvador well would know that he was practical and responsible, not the type of person to just leave their room like this, he would snap if he ever found his bedroom looking like the aftermath of a tornado. Belize would often tease him and tell him to "try to loosen up" or "chillax" for once.

Honduras doesn't think this was what Belize meant.

But that wasn't the horrifying part, no, not even close. It was just suspicious and even a little alarming, especially when the person living in it was nowhere to be seen, yeah, it was just that. The odd marks on the wall only made her even more scared, it looked like someone tried to slice the wall or something like that, with something very sharp. Probably a machete, a sword, a very sharp knife, an axe…

Something meant to kill, for Honduras it looked like someone tried to kill someone else but failed.

Honduras pressed her mouth into a tight line and swallowed anxiously as a bead of sweat slowly fell down her face. She felt a chill, and she could goose bumps on her arms as she just stared in pure disbelief at the other things.

The horrifying part… what truly stood out… the part that made Honduras feel fear… were the things that she saw all over the room.

All over the walls and floor of the disorderly and insane room were drawings. Both in paper or just pen ink scribbled on the wall, the room was covered with crude, strange, frantic and psychotic drawings and writings of… men, groups of people, knives, begging for help, pleading to be left alone, questioning where is "it" and even just the word "no" scrawled repeatedly… there were more of course but…

Honduras didn't know what to say… for once she couldn't find or make any ray of sunshine out of all this.

The only thing that disturbed her more than the creepy pictures was that she noticed that the window of El Salvador's room was shattered, and it was stained with red, with blood. He… did he… what happened? Was El Salvador pushed out? Did he jump? Or did it just get damaged when El Salvador… or someone got slammed into the window during a fight? What happened to El Salvador anyway?

"Well…" Honduras was snapped out of her shocked reverie when Belize spoke, though judging by the forced calmness in her voice she was just as shaken as the rest of them, and the younger nation passed by Honduras and walked straight to the middle of the room, then she looked around and put her hands on her hips. "I really wasn't expecting this."

Seeing Belize go in caused Honduras to swallow her anxiousness and finally get her courage back and enter as well, cringing when she accidentally stepped on a few papers. Algeria and Tunisia reluctantly did the same as well.

Honduras leaned down and picked up several of the papers, then went through each of them, none of them helping with her nerves.

THEY'RE ALWAYS WATCHING – There were doodles of four or five figures standing on hills, they looked familiar...

NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO- …?!

WHERE IS IT? – Those were a lot of question marks.

NO PUEDES ESCAPAR DE ELLOS – "Wow, way to be optimistic, Angel…" Honduras heard Belize comment sarcastically as she looked at another one with the exact same sentence.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS? – What's "it"?

AYUDAME – Honduras nearly choked.

SER NOSOTROS PARA SIEMPRE – There was a colorful and slightly childish drawing of four people smiling on a field of flowers, it sounded innocent enough, but it was ruined when Honduras saw that underneath them, underground, there were the same four figures with wicked smiles on their faces and holding knives.

Honduras let the drawings fall from her hands then began to look around the room. This couldn't be it! None of this made any sense, both the drawings and the situation, and she was starting to get scared. She clutched her head as her knees began to buckle, feeling her head beginning to hurt as she tried to make sense of all this and felt increasing dread for El Salvador.

Were they too late?

Did the Order get to him before they did?

Was he…

Honduras felt someone pat her back and turned to see a solemn looking Belize, though she looked all cool, Honduras could see the worry in her eyes. Honduras bit her lip and put her two index fingers together, looking away, but Belize wasn't going to have it and went in front of her with a raised eyebrow. Honduras gazed down at her dejectedly, and Belize's expression softened a at the sad face

Belize blew out a puff of air and kicked some drawings away. "This is bloody gold. We spent hours coming all the way here to find out El Salvador's lost his marbles."

"Bel…" Honduras muttered softly, giving her the sad face again.

"Aw, no, I didn't mean to sound mean, Soph. I'm just as worried as you are. I'm the one who suggested we go on this trip. It's just that…" Belize groaned and flailed her arms all over the room. "This doesn't make any fucking sense! You said you last heard him a few days ago, right?

"Si… I did…" Honduras responded quietly, and then glanced at the wall where the number 1954 was drawn and circled with red. "He sounded okay then…"

"Must have been some headache…" Belize grimaced, and then her expression morphed into a concerned one as she stroked her chin. "You know, I really hope that Angel didn't go mental or gotten himself… hurt, but this… All this makes it hard for me to think that's the case."

"I know…" Honduras wringed her hands together, having a sorrowful look on her.

Belize sighed and patted her back again. "Hey, Soph… chin up. For all we know Angel could have just snapped and ran for his life into the trees, the guy's pretty athletic, after all. And he's no coward. If there's no stinky smell of death in or out of the house, then he might have gotten away!"

Honduras perked up when she realized that Belize had a point, and she felt her usual energy return as she found a ray of sunshine again. Belize was right! El Salvador could be just as tough as Honduras herself, there's a chance that he escaped whoever was after him, he could survive going through a window. Besides, you can't prove anything without a body, right? He has to be out there on the run…

There's still hope, there's no proof that he's okay, but there's no proof that he's gone.

Honduras smiled and clapped excitedly. "You're so right, Bel! I should have realized that sooner…"

"Of course I am! And don't feel bad, Soph, just don't get lost in that sea of sadness!" Belize smirked and winked at her.

"We need to find my hermanito!"

"Yup, that's the whole point of this trip, right?"

"Si! Angel's probably out there… waiting for me to rescue him!"

"Si, I bet right now he's wishing he was being smothered by your hugs!"

Their little cheers of optimism were interrupted when someone cleared their throat, and they turned to look curiously (or annoyed in Belize's case) at an uncomfortable Algeria with a drawing in her hands. "I… hate to be the one ruining your cheerfulness…"

"You're not going to scold us for being optimistic, are you?" Belize asked dryly with a wry expression.

"La, but I doubt you'll be happy to see this…" Algeria muttered with what looked like a disgusted expression as she looked at the drawing.

"See what?" Honduras asked.

"You… Did… Have either of you or any of the other Central Americans been on horrible terms with El Salvador? As in, done terrible something to him?" Algeria asked carefully as she raised an eyebrow at the paper. "Because what I am seeing strongly implies that…"

Honduras widened her eyes at the question. No! El Salvador may bicker a lot with her, but they get along! She would never do something awful to him! She was confident that the same went for her brother. In fact, none of the other Central Americas have ever done…

"What?!" Belize exclaimed, borderline screeching. "Look, I may tease him but I've never, say, went to war with him or anything. I've never did anything like that to him."

"Why? What did Angel draw?" Honduras asked anxiously, feeling dread pool into her stomach.

"Well… this." Algeria showed them the drawing and the two girls gasped in shock and paled.

Honduras took it back. What she was seeing right now was the most disturbing in the room.

It was morbid. The drawing had Belize, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras herself as colored doodles of themselves. Honduras swallowed. It depicted Belize with her eyes bloody and missing as she had her own sword impaled through her chest, Costa Rica with his chest and abdomen torn open, Nicaragua cut to pieces (to the point where it took Honduras several seconds to recognize her), and Honduras was hanging from a rope with her heart torn out.

On top of the drawing was one question. WHICH ONE?

Honduras felt her whole body tremble and she covered her mouth as she felt bile rise up her throat. No… He wouldn't… He wasn't one of them… So why would he… El Salvador would never do something-

"Khalida… sister…" Tunisia began, sounding a little nervous, Honduras slowly turned look at him and she saw him looking at the window. "Was… Was that gate open we arrived?"

Honduras tensed further and rushed towards the window, seeing that the gate out in the back of the house was open. Honestly, Honduras was too busy driving wildly to notice a detail like that while they went by the back of the house, and El Salvador and anyone else hardly used that entrance. So, Honduras really wouldn't know if it was… oh… oh no…

"I only glanced at it for a brief second…" Algeria narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "But I think I remember it being closed."

"Same with me. I only looked at it for like a split second or something…" Belize scratched her head in confusion. "But I don't think it was like that… Wait. Does this mean that someone got in while we…"

"Angel…?" Honduras asked hopefully but uncertainly as leaned out the window.

But no answer came.

/ / / / /

Switzerland went up the stairs, briefly glancing back with a scowl, and once he reached the ground floor he slammed the door behind him and locked it. He was more than likely going to regret this later, but he needed to give the Africans some form of entertainment so they wouldn't interfere with his current issue, they're not above ruining it, if the look he received from Cameroon was any sort of indication.

They may have limits, but to them, Liechtenstein was just an annoyance. Switzerland wouldn't be surprised if they somehow attempt to get rid of Liechtenstein if they see that he wasn't capable of handling the situation or doing it himself.

They would do it without hesitation, all the while proclaiming it was for his sake.

Now, keeping all this in mind, Switzerland proposed that they leave for the time being, but no. They insisted that they stay, promising to "behave" and South Africa told him that they could just reside in a room for the time being, preferably that room. Switzerland, of course being the only sane one, refused rather vehemently. Leaving the four of them alone in a room with Mauritius was like letting four cats alone with a fishbowl.

Switzerland already had several scenarios in his mind of how he'll find Mauritius when he returned, none of them were pretty, and none of them helped with the plan.

But, as he sensed someone nearing his home, he gritted his teeth at South Africa's smirk. Switzerland was tempted to lock them in his closet.

Switzerland's head snapped up when he heard someone knock on his front door, and he sighed. He kept his face in his usual neutral expression, he was sure he still looked a little angry, but it was still in character. He just needed to look not too furious, and everything would go smoothly, as least with Liechtenstein. Another reason why he locked the basement door.

They will not expose his secret.

Switzerland walked up to the door, and as his hand shakily reached out he made a mental note to remember to act surprised and Cameroon's words echoed in his mind. He nearly scowled, but he quickly regained his composure. Then, he finally opened the door. He widened his eyes in false surprise at seeing Liechtenstein standing before him, greeting him with a blinding and kind smile.

"Hello, bruder." Liechtenstein said softly.

"Lili…" Switzerland's expression softened now that he looked at her, but he turned serious again. "What are you doing here all of a sudden? I'm busy with work."

"You are? Oh…" Liechtenstein's smile vanished and she looked down guiltily. "I'm sorry. I wanted to see you, but if you're too busy then-"

"No! You don't have to!" Switzerland exclaimed without thinking and he mentally screamed at himself for throwing away a golden opportunity for Liechtenstein to leave, but… "You came all this way just to see me, I won't let it be for nothing, I can finish my work later."

"Are you sure, Vash?" Liechtenstein asked uncertainly. "It's actually my fault for not asking you first, I can see you tomorrow."

"Ja, of course I'm sure." Switzerland insisted, trying to ignore the yelling in his head, as well as trying not to think of the glare he's going to receive from Cameroon. "You can stay here until I finish work. It won't take long and that way you won't have to spend money on a hotel."

"Really?"

"Really."

Liechtenstein's smile returned and threw her arms around Switzerland, who hesitated a little before hugging back. Switzerland then began to smile a little too.

"How long are you staying, Lili?" Switzerland asked.

"I would like to stay a few days, if that's alright." Liechtenstein responded shyly, looking up at him worriedly.

"No, don't worry, stay as long as you like."

Switzerland then realized why Cameroon didn't trust he could handle the situation Not that he'd ever admit it, but as much as it annoyed him, Cameroon had a very good point. But despite that, Switzerland's loyalty was and will be unshaken, regardless of how this problem ends. He swore it. Also, now he regretted leaving Mauritius alone with the four Africans, he regretted it a lot.

He really wasn't giving Cameroon enough credit, but like he said, it's not something he would actually admit out loud to the man.

/ / / / /

Mauritius felt sweat drip from his forehead as he dealt with the after effects of being shocked over and over again, which included his mind being a little fuzzy and a headache that's been giving him hell for the past hour, but he was getting better. He was not okay, but he was feeling better. It's really not as bad as the water torture… he shuddered. He wondered how much he still had to go through.

Mauritius was tired. He had no idea how much time has passed since he ended up here, but it felt like years.

He missed Seychelles. He missed home. He was worried. He didn't know what to do. The only thing he could do was endure the pain of the tests and he couldn't fight back. He was stuck here until some miraculous rescue comes or he…

The island shook his head. No, it's probably best if he doesn't think about it.

Mauritius wasn't sure if he had a good chance of being rescued, the others have got to already know what happened to him but they wouldn't know where he was, so yeah, his future doesn't look too bright. Still, maybe Egypt could something off? He wasn't going to give up hope just yet. He's sure he'll see Seychelles and the others again, he just hoped that when he did he won't be-

"Well… look who we have here?" A new but frighteningly familiar asked playfully, and Mauritius became all the more anxious, then he heard chuckling. He then felt someone wrap an around him, almost in a chokehold. "Hoe gaan dit met jou, recruit?"

"South Africa?" Mauritius asked hesitantly, already feeling unable to breathe, even though he wasn't being choked.

South Africa laughed in delight. "Of course it's me, you adorable idiot! I've been here since you've been brought to this place. But unfortunately, Switzerland had forbidden us from visiting you, didn't quite trust that we could behave, until now…"

"Until now?" Mauritius repeated, then winced when South Africa suddenly tightened his grip then loosed it again. Mauritius couldn't believe it, but he missed Switzerland.

"I'm afraid dear old Switzerland is busy with a… pest." South Africa explained gleefully but said that last part as if it pained him, then his face hovered near Mauritius's. "But don't worry; you won't get bored to death in this place…"

Mauritius felt someone yank his hair to his left and came face to face with a manic grin. "…Because you have us!"

As Nigeria laughed in his face, he released his hold on Mauritius's hair, allowing the island to see, much to his horror, Morocco standing before him with an eerily serene smile and a stone-faced Cameroon crossing his arms.

Oh God…

/ / / / /

Philippines frowned in annoyance at the fact that he was carrying a sleeping East Timor on his back on his way back to the plane. Not that she was heavy; to Philippines she was as light as a feather. Not to mention like this he won't have to talk to her or deal with her constant tripping. So, why was he annoyed? Well, since it's late in this country, way past East Timor's bedtime and she was now asleep…

He'll have to take a break until East Timor's had enough rest, so they could return to South Vietnam and finally move on to Indonesia. Philippines would press on anyway, but it wouldn't be comfortable for her, and he needed some sleep too.

Speaking of South Vietnam, he's also one of the reason Philippines was willing to carry East Timor and make a stop. Before he left, South Vietnam made him promise that he won't lash out or abuse Ease Timor in his hurry to get Indonesia and help Malaysia, as well as not be brutal with Indonesia, and Philippines reluctantly agreed. It still baffled him that South still cared about those two.

Sure, maybe South Vietnam was right, Philippines shouldn't be too rough with a sweet little girl like East Timor and a nice girl like Indonesia, especially since he got along well with her, but Philippines cared more for Malaysia than either of them combined.

He just needed to get them all, then he'll let the leaders take care of the rest, it didn't matter who bit the dust.

/ / / / /

America was _not_ a warmonger, despite what his actions might imply and his role in gathering recruits, he just saw nations that deserve better and introduced them to the possibility of joining the better group. He did _not_ manipulate their anger, they were already angry, he just stated facts and wanted them to get better. He didn't save South Vietnam because he saw a new nation for the organization, he saved him because he was his friend.

Perhaps he was a warmonger, but just didn't consider himself one, and refused to see it. America wasn't sure, but he did _care_ a lot for the recruits he brought in. He had every intention of helping South Vietnam take back his land without failure and painful sacrifices of his soldiers, he was going to help deliver Russia to Lithuania and the others, he'll help Hong Kong get rid of the rage in his heart after they demolish England.

Canada could be gored by the Africans or just killed with just a single shot from Switzerland, America **_didn't care_** , either way worked. France will have his Judgement Day and he'll be torn to shreds and devoured. England's fate was obvious.

As for the rest of the world, America would be lying if he said that he didn't care. Like South Vietnam, there were nations that grew on him. Israel, Indonesia, Taiwan, Liechtenstein, Bahamas, Monaco, Thailand, Australia, and others. Even South Korea was a decent person to be around, but America suppressed any feelings of compassion towards him for North Korea's sake.

Speaking of North Korea, that was a nation America could not bear to lose. North was… he was like America's anchor to sanity. North was a man of duty, but he had a heart, especially when it came to him. America would probably be as deranged as Nigeria if it weren't for North. North understood him, it's kind of hard to explain…

But anyway, America wasn't sure why he was going through all this in his mind. Did a part of him really did wish he had more compassion? Did he want to justify his actions? That he was a hero?

Why the hell would he-

"Hey." America flinched and whirled around, then relaxed when he saw it was just his alien friend Tony staring at him. "Hey, buddy. Why you staring into fucking space?"

"Tony, I…" America trailed off, and he chuckled, shaking his head. "No, it's nothing. Are the engines all up and ready?"

"You bet your damn ass they are, Al." Tony nodded, then looked at his large UFO, which the micronation trio were admiring. "My ship's in fucking perfect function. My shit is all packed. I'm ready for the trip back to my home planet."

"Cool, good to hear." America smiled fondly, but sadly. He and the trio were here to see Tony off, his little alien buddy was going back to his home, right now Earth wasn't safe, and the last thing America wanted was for Tony to get hurt.

Still… America wished…

"Oh, Al…" Tony muttered, and his big red eyes became sad and watery. "Don't cry, damn it. Cause if you cry then I'll cry."

"Huh?" America raised a confused eyebrow and touched his cheeks, they were wet. He looked at his gloved hands and saw drips fall on them. He was crying. He really was… America laughed emptily at the notion. "N-No, I'm…"

America sobbed before he could even finish that sentence and buried his face in his hands. He couldn't believe this… When was the last time he cried? Washington's death? The witch trials? 1812? Honest Abe? Why…

He heard Molossia call out his name, but he didn't remove his hands. Why was he crying? Tony was just leaving, he wasn't dead, and America had no doubt that this won't be the last time he'll ever see...

America felt someone pull on his pants, and he removed his hands to see Tony with watery eyes. "Hey, buddy, don't cry… You see me on a deathbed? Hell no. Now, you listen up and listen fucking good, damn it! I don't hate you for this war, buddy. Never did, never will, understand?

America nodded, wiping away some tears, he felt Molossia hold his hand and he gave a weak smile at the micronation.

"But I want you do to something, just one fucking thing…" Tony declared.

"Anything." America said without hesitation.

"Just live, damn it. Al, for fuck's sake, don't die and just live."

"You got it." America smiled sadly.

"You better." The alien wiped away his own tears, then glanced at his UFO, but he looked back at America with sad eyes and nearly tackled him with a hug. America cried harder, and somehow didn't suffocate Tony while hugging him. "You fucking better, Al. Be careful…"

America let go of Tony, then after some more tears, the alien began to walk towards the spaceship. But then Tony suddenly walked back to America and gestured him to crouch down, so he could whisper something.

"Buddy, Alfred… Just know that if you ever get fucking sick of this war, if it gets too damn much for you to take, whatever happens, just give me a call and I'll beam you and anyone else up my ship and disappear. You can just spend the rest of your life exploring the fucking universe."

America widened his eyes at the offer, he glanced back at the micronations, then back at Tony and nodded. "Okay."

"Then, see ya on the flip side, Alfred." Tony turned around and walked under the center of the ship, standing by. He stared at America wordlessly and shed one more tear, then made a peace sign.

America smiled and returned the gesture. And with that, a light came from the UFO and beamed Tony up. The four personifications gathered together in awe as the UFO began to move, then abruptly sped away up to the skies.

A tear fell from America's eye as he smiled. "Goodbye, Tony."

/ / / / /

Mali huffed as she looked around in search for Senegal, who's been avoiding her like the plague not long after he showed her… those marking on his abdomen, she cringed, and so she's been determined to find him. Just what was going on in her former husband's mind? Did he think she was going to be disgusted of him? Well no! The carvings disgusted her, yes, but not him! She's not that type of person!

She was worried about him. He's getting less sociable by the day and spends a strange amount of time in a thoughtful daze with that lighter of his. It's almost as if Senegal wasn't comfortable with her anymore. There were even times when he would just stare at her…

She got a little unnerved during those times, but fortunately Senegal would snap out of it.

Well, she was going to help him out with whatever problem he had, whether he liked it or not. Whatever words that were said or vile witchcraft South Africa inflicted on him, Mali was going to find Senegal and-

Mali felt herself bump into someone as she rounded a corner, she yelped and took a few steps back as she rubbed her head, and then she looked up. The person before her was someone she didn't recognize, but she knew the person was female judging by the face veil and robes. But none of the female Muslim African nations were dressed like that.

The woman grunted and looked at her with annoyance, but then it turned into surprise. "Mali?"

Mali widened her eyes, and she recognized that voice. "Western-"

"Shh!" The woman put her index in front of her mouth then pulled down her veil, revealing Western Sahara's angry face. "Do you want me to be discovered? I already raised a couple of alarms on my way in!"

"What are you doing here? Why didn't you come to the meeting?" Mali whispered, probably a bit too loudly, but she was confused. Then, she noticed a few blood splatters on her jilbab. "Why do you have…"

"I apologize, but I don't have time for questions! My time is limited!" Western Sahara nearly hissed at her. "Now, where's South Africa? Just point me in the right direction."

"W-Why…"

"Just tell me."

"Well… most of us stay as far away from them as possible… but I think he should be hurting Namibia…" Mali explained hesitantly, it was the last place he'd ever seen him, she pointed to the hallway behind her and told her which room. "That's where he should be I think, but the doors are-"

"Not a problem, don't worry." Western Sahara cut her off, but she smiled. "Thank you, and I wish you the least anguish as possible in the coming future."

As Western Sahara marched off, Mali remembered something and asked. "Wait! You wouldn't happen to have seen Senegal on your way here, would you?"

As soon as Mali asked that question, Western Sahara froze in her tracks, and then the other woman turned around with a pale, almost horrified expression. "Excuse me?"

"Senegal. He's been avoiding me for a while and I want to find-"

"NO!" Western Sahara screamed in horror and she launched herself to grab Mali's shoulders, giving her a panicked expression. "You can't! He's avoiding you for a good reason. Please, forget him, and you will do a great service to me, the continent, and everyone opposing the New World Order. Allah, please forgive me for not telling you about this first!"

"I-I-I what?! What are you talking about?!" Mali demanded in bafflement, confused by the sudden alarm.

"If not, then you'll unwillingly make our situation worse!"

"You're not making any sense! I'm worried about him and he needs-"

"Don't help him! Doing so will prove your undoing!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"You don't understand, Mali. I know things, I know what the Order has been doing while the rest of the world were being played for fools, and I…" Western Sahara began to tremble, her eyes started to water, and she wiped them off. "Oh, you wouldn't believe me if I told you. But I'm begging you, Mali, please, please _listen_ to me."

"I…" Mali began, still puzzled by the other woman's rambles, but nodded. "Alright?"

"Whatever you do, _stay away_ from Senegal, stay as far away as possible until you're able to return home. And when you do, never speak to him or see him, and if he comes to visit you then run away to one of your neighbors. If…" Western Sahara trailed off as she suddenly looked behind Mali and she paled. "No…"

Mali looked behind her, and much to her surprise, Senegal was there staring at them with confusion. "Abdou! There you are…"

"Mali?" Senegal asked as he looked at Western Sahara, and he began to walk towards them. "Is that-"

"NO! STAY AWAY FROM US!" Western Sahara screeched like a banshee, and then looked at the nations back and forth until she settled for Senegal. "You. I know what's been going on with you, and for the good of the world, throw away that lighter, stay away from your ex-wife, and don't listen to a single word the African Five say. I hope you remain as you are, even though you're not…"

Western Sahara trailed off at that last sentence, staring at Senegal with her mouth open, as if she wanted to tell him something but couldn't. She then shook her head, and without a word she ran off, leaving a confused Mali and Senegal.

/ / / / /

"So the last thing you remember was falling asleep in house in the middle of the day, Bosnia?" Hungary asked the still confused nation sitting in the back of the car, then gripped the flew as the car went in the air after speeding off from a hill, getting a shriek from Poland, then barely landing safely back on the ground.

Bosnia kept a firm grip on the handle and nodded uncertainly. "Da… All of a sudden I felt really, really sleepy, which doesn't make sense because I felt fine earlier, and I had a relatively normal day until I blacked out…"

"Hmm…" Hungary hummed in deep thought, even as they hit a bump. "Really, just like that? You were off having a merry day when you suddenly blacked out?"

"Pretty much…" Bosnia nodded, then suddenly widened his eyes and held on to the handle in horror. "Holy shit, woman, are you trying to kill us?! Slow down, for fuck's sake!"

Hungary flinched at the sudden mood change and resisted the urge to face-palm. That's Bosnia for you…

"You, like, only realized that now?!" Poland exclaimed in disbelief. "God, you're, like, totally slow!"

Bosnia either ignored him or didn't catch that, because he then looked at them confusedly. "Hey, Hungary, where are we going?"

"We already discussed this, Bosnia…" Hungary sighed, but then again, the poor thing is confused enough, explaining again wouldn't hurt. She smiled at the mirror. "We are going to France's place to strangle… I mean, interrogate the man for Mr. Austria's whereabouts! Also, find out what's going on with you."

"But why France?" Bosnia asked.

"Because the note in your pocket, the note you supposedly wrote but don't remembering doing it, specifically states that you have to meet someone in France for orders." Hungary explained while taking out the piece of paper for Bosnia to grab.

"Oh, right…" Bosnia took it and stared at it with bafflement. "I still don't know how that ended up in my pocket…"

Hungary's eyes sparkled in excitement. "So, we're going to help you get to France for your "orders", and in the process, we might get a clue of what's going on and who's behind you acting weirder than usual!"

"Actually, I kind of wanted to go back home…" Bosnia scratched his head with his usual blank expression in place.

"WHAT?!" Hungary shouted in utter shock and disbelief, nearly crashing the car into a tree. "You don't want to help us find Mr. Austria and find out what's wrong with you?!"

"No, no. Let me finish, damn it… It's just… I'm confused." Bosnia said, shifting uncomfortably, and frowned. "I feel so uneasy. I don't want to go to France because I'm not sure if I want to meet someone who made me do things I don't remember doing. But at the same time, I feel that I need to go, like it's something I have to do."

"Like, what do you mean?" Poland asked. "So, if you, like, feel that you, like, have to go, then, like what's the problem? We'll, like, totally make sure nothing unfabulous happens."

"You don't understand, I…" Bosnia trailed off as his expression became uneasy, and he began to clutch his head. "It's something that's been happening for a few days. I feel all weird and for some reason I feel that I have to do something, like look for something. I can't shake off the feeling that I'm missing something."

"What's this "something", Bosnia?" Hungary asked before whirling the car to the right, beginning to feel her concern grow.

"I… don't know…?" Bosnia said slowly with an upset and confused expression.

/ / / / /

The walk back to the car was… depressing.

Algeria glanced back at El Salvador's house with a deep frown. There was no sign of El Salvador anywhere in the area, so they could either assume he ran away to parts unknown or met with a bad fate after a failed escape. It could be either of them. Honduras wished to search more, but the risk of running into an enemy was too high, they couldn't stay in one place for long. Especially without someone like Egypt.

And so, they gave up.

Hopefully they'll have better luck with Nicaragua, so they better move fast, and arrive before any Order member does or before they're found out. Algeria didn't know if the Order knew where they are, but she did know that they would be searching far and wide for them. If they already knew, they would have striked by now, no?

Algeria heard sniffing and she saw Honduras covering her face with her hands as she began to cry. Belize jumped and quickly went over to provide comfort for her neighbor. Algeria's expression became downcast. She could relate to Honduras's pain, Algeria herself had nations she's worried sick about, such as the family and friends she left behind back in Africa and Western Sahara...

Especially Western Sahara...

Algeria gave a quick glance to her brother, who was looking at the two Central Americans sadly, and sighed. They haven't really brought up that subject again, it was probably for the best, but she just couldn't stand the fact that Tunisia was suspicious of Western Sahara. How could he?! She-

Rustling from the grass caught her attention and she looked to the side to see the source, then her eyes widened. No…

Staring at her with a shaken expression was none other than El Salvador himself. He looked… pale, too pale. His clothes and hands were heavily stained with dried blood, Algeria wasn't sure if it was his. El Salvador continued staring at her with wide eyes and brought his index finger in front of his lips then drew two fingers across his throat.

Algeria opened her mouth to say something, call his name or the others so they could know that the nation they were looking for was right in front of them, but El Salvador's expression turned angry and she felt obligated to close her mouth.

No… what was this? What happened to him? He looked awful! Honduras and Belize both had a right to know what happened to him.

A sudden gust of wind blew on Algeria's face, causing her to slightly wince and close her eyes, then when she opened them again, he was gone.

/ / / / /

"I know I said that I didn't care about the things you'll do... but I can't help but feel bad for Uganda." ROC lamented with a sad smile while DRC regarded him with a indifferent expression as they leaned against the wall of the hallways. "That was too much, don't you think?"

DRC wanted to scoff, he felt bad for not having ROC's level of empathy, but he felt no remorse. "Personally, I don't care, and I couldn't care less about him. It was necessary, besides, now that he has surrendered I will not torment him anymore."

"More like you won't be allowed to." ROC muttered loud enough for DRC, snorting.

"There's not a single reason for you to care." DRC told him with narrowed eyes. "You shouldn't."

ROC just smiled tiredly and sighed, not at all bothered by DRC's coldness. "But I don't have your level of apathy, and I'm anything but a sadist, sorry for caring. Also, I can smell the stench of viscera in your mouth and clothes, you might want to wash that later because it's... a little nauseating."

DRC flushed slightly and glanced at his gloves and shirt. True, ROC was the _kind_ one of the two of them, a virtue that DRC largely lacked. However, DRC was willing to have Brazzaville feel at ease, for his friend's sake. Although, despite ROC's overall acceptance of DRC's decision, he knew that this will be a change that will take some time to get used before things could ever return to "normal."

DRC wanted to smirk. If that were even possible, perhaps that wasn't the best word to describe it. His own definition of the word could be considered warped in several aspects. How-

DRC stopped when a figure rushed out of one of the doors, and he became alert, the figure also stopped in their tracks to stare at him. A woman, it was a woman, obviously Muslim from the clothes. But this raised suspicion, DRC narrowed his eyes, this was not he did not recognize. Someone who wasn't here before.

He knew because none of the Muslim-African female nations were dressed like that, and something about her made him keep his guard up, his hand even twitched for his knife.

The only part of her body that wasn't covered were her eyes, dark brown and hardened like his own eyes.

She stared at him some more while he stared at her with a cold gaze while ROC looked back and forth between them in confusion, before she continued on her way, intending to pass by. But DRC snarled and moved to stand in her path, earning a glare from the woman.

"What are you doing? Why are you in my way?" The woman demanded, but DRC just glared back, and her voice sounded familiar.

"Who are you?" DRC asked bluntly and coldly.

The woman pulled down her veil, revealing the irritated face of none other than Western Sahara, much to his surprise. How interesting, very interesting. DRC honestly didn't know a lot about the relationships of the Order, it didn't occur to him to ask about it, but he wondered how it was with Morocco and Western Sahara. Judging from the anger in her eyes, she was not an ally of the New World Order.

Were Morocco or South Africa aware that a possible threat was in the building? Or did they know but are still planning how to deal with the problem?

Either way, DR Congo wasn't going to just sit and nothing.

"Western Sahara..." DRC muttered in slight surprise, then he chuckled a bit, causing a flinch from her as he smiled. "Does Morocco know about you visiting?"

"Hopefully, he's not." Western Sahara scoffed, then looked away in distaste.

"Why... are you here?" DRC asked slowly, his hand now reaching more towards his knife, his instincts telling him to do so.

"You don't need to know. Now, please let me pass, unless you know where South Africa or Morocco are then I see no need to continue this conversation." Western Sahara stated irately, noticeably growing more impatient as she looked around. "Time is of the essence, and if I don't hurry I'll meet with a cruel fate."

DRC smirked at that remark. So, she wanted to see South Africa and Morocco. He was not informed of such a visit, so the logical conclusion would be that Western Sahara came here for harmful purposes, if her anger was any indication. This personification in front of him intended to harm his allies.

Well... DRC will not allow it.

DRC shoved ROC away to a wall and snatched up his knife with a snarl. "Oh, I'm afraid it's too late for that."

 **Yup, I continue after a big cliffhanger only to give you ANOTHER cliffhanger! Heehee! Oh dear... I'm sorry. Please review!**


	28. Trials: The gun

This wasn't supposed to happen in the plan.

Western Sahara barely had time to widen her eyes as she narrowly dodged a swift attempt by DRC to stab her in the eye, missing her by only a few centimeters, and she quickly took a few steps back. She lifted her gaze to look at DRC with confusion as the other stared at her with narrowed eyes and a snarl. What. What. What. What was he doing?

Still lost in confusion, Western Sahara could only avoid another attack from DRC, this time aiming to slit her throat, but despite her utter bafflement she could at least dodge his attacks. However, it still proved to be a difficult task, DRC was relentless in attacking her. He growled and glared at her with pure hatred in his eyes, in a way that distastefully reminded her of Cameroon, as he lunged at her then grabbed her shoulder.

Despite wearing gloves and Western Sahara wearing robes, she could _feel_ the pain of DRC digging his nails into her skin, and she angrily tried to claw his arm off, but he didn't even react. DRC then tried to stab her shoulder, but as soon as Western Sahara noticed that, the panic and adrenaline helped her push him away.

What was going on? Why was DR Congo attacking her? Did Western Sahara miss something? No, there was absolutely no reason for DRC to be attacking her, none. This wasn't supposed to happen in the plan. She was supposed to get in, assassinate South Africa, then leave as quickly as possible. Why?!

"What are you doing?!" Western Sahara demanded just before she barely avoided another attempt to blind her.

DRC stared at her with a raised, almost amused, eyebrow. "What do you _think_ I'm doing?"

Western Sahara wanted to grit her teeth at the vague response, and she glared at him. "How would I know, Congo?! All I want is to pass through, but you seem very intent on making sure I don't even live before I take a step past you! Really, there's no reason for you to attack me unless…"

She trailed off as the realization struck her and she gasped. No… It couldn't be… Someone actually joined them out of their own free will?!

"No…" Western Sahara muttered in disbelief.

DRC slightly smirked at her expression, confirming her fears, and nodded. "Oui, I assume you already knew about all this for a while?"

Western Sahara didn't respond, she couldn't, all she could do was stare at him agape in disbelief. She couldn't believe this. Perhaps it was just her own opinion of the Five and the Order and being on the opposite side, but the fact there's yet another madman recruited into… Then again, the five of them, Morocco especially, could be quite persuasive. Still, she couldn't believe that there are more people with that same mindset.

Someone else who took absolute pleasure in causing any sort of harm or suffering to others. Now that Western Sahara looked at him, she saw that dark glint in DRC's eyes, the same one Morocco and the other four have. _Bloodlust_. _Hatred._ The feelings that drove them forward.

The African Five were now the African Six, if you… that's not important right now.

Eventually the shock in Western Sahara was replaced with _fury_. She clenched her fists and glared at DRC with more anger than before. It already disgusted her that were nations as demented as the Five, but the fact that there were more, perhaps others that the Order haven't discovered, both horrified and angered her.

"Why?" Western Sahara demanded with seething anger.

"I was promised justice. I was told by Liberia about their plans for Europe, and I was interested. I can finally get my long-deserved revenge on Belgium." DRC explained calmly with a growing smirk. "And I must say, I never knew that torture and the suffering of others would have given me so much pleasure."

"Revenge... Europe... Bloodbaths... You're just the same as them." Western Sahara spat in disgust.

"I am. Your point?" DRC deadpanned.

Western Sahara snarled at him. "My _point_ is that I'm disappointed in you. You were always such a strong-willed nation to me, but I see now that even with that you let your hatred and anger be much stronger. So, I won't feel much remorse doing _this_."

Western Sahara swiftly took out her own knife and blocked an attack from DRC just as she did.

DRC chuckled a little, but his expression was still severe. "And I will not feel remorse sending you back to Morocco in _pieces_."

/ / / / /

Switzerland forced a small smile as Liechtenstein sipped from a small cup of tea. This was pleasant. It truly was, and Liechtenstein was great company as always, but Switzerland still had that nagging feeling in his head that was his concern about the African Five.

Admittedly, yes, his care for Liechtenstein did cloud his judgement and he ended up making a decision that may or may not end up unraveling the secret he worked so hard to keep hidden from her all these years. He already acknowledged that Cameroon was right. Still, Switzerland meant every word he said to him, he will not let anything interfere with their plans. Switzerland would **_die_** before he let it happen.

Switzerland wondered what Austria would say if he found out about the unfortunate situation Switzerland landed himself in, and it made him feel very ashamed of himself. Switzerland was known in the group for putting duty before feelings, and this… was not an example of that.

Liechtenstein began chatting something about either Hungary or Czech Republic, but Switzerland was only half-listening. Was he overthinking this? What the African five lacked in self-restraint they made up in loyalty. They always followed orders. Perhaps he was worrying too much over nothing…

"Liechtenstein… Lili…" Switzerland called out her name flatly, unintentionally interrupting her.

Liechtenstein blinked in surprise at being cut off, but she didn't seem to mind and smiled sweetly. "Yes, big brother?"

"Would you be willing to drop a piano on my head?"

/ / / / /

Mauritius nervously swallowed in fear as four sets of eyes stared at him predatorily. He kept his gaze down at the floor, not wanting to even look at the four of them, but he could _feel_ their stares on him. He was actually _scared_ right now. He was sweating in a lot places from how nervous he was feeling. Here he was, bound in a chair, locked in a room, alone with South Africa, Cameroon, Nigeria and Morocco with no way out of it.

If South Africa was telling the truth, then Switzerland won't suddenly pop up to save him from any horrifying situation anytime soon, and Mauritius had no way to defend himself.

They could do whatever they wanted to him, they have him all to themselves right now, and Mauritius knew it wasn't going to be pretty. He really, really, _really_ hated his situation right now. He didn't think he would say this, but he wished Switzerland would come down here and yell at them to go away. Mauritius would rather do the tests than be with these psychopaths.

He could feel the spot where Nigeria bit him and the mark left by Morocco, he would have brought up his hand to his shoulder if he could. He's got a feeling he's going to get a lot more of those things on his body, he's in for whole a lot of pain, no one needed to tell him that.

"Well… now that we have you completely to ourselves…" South Africa began cheerfully. Mauritius pushed down his fear and looked up, and found the nation crossing his arms with an amused smile, South Africa tilted his head. "Whatever shall we do with you, rekruut?"

Mauritius didn't say anything, he just frowned, hating all the attention he was getting. All four of the Africans gathered in front of him with thoughtful expressions on them, contemplating what could be the best way to torture Mauritius.

"What do we _want_ to with him?" South Africa asked as he stroked his chin.

Mauritius felt a bead of sweat fall as the room descended into tense silence, at least for him. He almost too scared to breathe.

"I want to destroy his soul." Nigeria stated suddenly, an eerie smile on him as he twirled one of his dreadlocks, unnerving Mauritius. "I want him to taste blood until he lusts for it. I want him to enjoy tearing flesh open as much as we do. I want to send him back to his group so he that he can laugh as we tear them apart."

"I want to break the chains restraining him." Cameroon growled out slowly and clearly, then smirked. "I want him to run the world with the same freedom we have. I want him to crave gore. I want him to get the same justice we're going to get.

"I want him to feel true pleasure." Morocco declared with a slight blush on his cheeks all the while smiling calmly. "I want all his sorrows to melt away so it could be replaced with ecstasy. I want to show him the error of his ways. I want to show him true happiness."

"And I want him to see the light." South Africa finished, chuckling at Mauritius's pale expression. "You want to know something about us, rekruut? We are free souls. We follow our own rules. It's _liberating_ in an amazing away. And we want to share that same freedom with _you_."

Mauritius shook his head. "Non… I don't want it."

South Africa laughed some more. "Ah, of course you don't, but unfortunately… we don't care. However, we're all determined to show you the light. We want this for you, Mauritius. But before we begin you have to face your long-overdue punishment."

"Punishment? For what?!" Mauritius demanded, though he felt a little stupid because the reason was obvious.

"Escaping from us, if it isn't painfully obvious." Cameroon gritted out, sounding annoyed.

Nigeria leaned down and smiled mischievously. "As much as we like you, we still haven't quite forgiven you for running away with those friends of yours. Not to mention we're _aching_ to make up for the hours we missed torturing someone. _They'll_ have their day, but for now, we'll play with you~"

The way Nigeria happily sang that last part was enough to terrify.

"No!" Mauritius shouted, struggling in vain in his restraints.

Nigeria licked his lips and began to advance but was then stopped by a ferally grinning South Africa. "Now, now, Nigeria, don't hog all the fun. I know you want to play with him, but you already left your mark on him, Morocco as well. I want a taste too. I assume the same goes for you, Cameroon?"

Cameroon grunted in response, which probably meant yes, and Nigeria pouted, taking a few steps back. "Oh, fine~ Just for you, Chris."

"I wish to participate as well… Our last encounter was tragically cut short." Morocco sighed sadly but kept his usual smile as his gaze went to Mauritius, who felt a chill down his spine. "But there won't be any interruptions this time. I'll be able to entertain you and myself to my heart's content."

Mauritius really doubted he'd be enjoying whatever Morocco had in mind.

Mauritius swallowed nervously as South Africa approached him, then snaked a hand behind Mauritius's head and gripped his hair tightly. He could feel South Africa's breath on his shoulder and he already knew he was smirking. This was going to be a long day. He really hoped Switzerland will come down here soon, but for now, whether he liked it or not, he was at their mercy now.

All he could do was endure it.

Mauritius widened his eyes when South Africa brutally sank his teeth on his shoulder and he screamed.

/ / / / /

Egypt walked on the pitch-black ground of a pitch-black world. A world of nothing. He wandered wary of this world, keeping his guard up at all times, not daring to unless he wanted to risk a vile consequence. What he was looking for was _here_ , there was no doubt about it, it was somewhere hiding from him. It was hiding well, but Egypt was determined to find it, and when he does he'll be able to…

He found himself smiling when a speck of light caught his eye and proceeded to walk towards it. It grew as he got closer. This was it. He knew what this meant. He was close to finding out where Mauritius was being held now that his found his essence.

Mauritius will be saved from his suffering soon. And when Egypt and the others do rescue him, he just hoped that the island will be able to forgive him, and that Mauritius hasn't suffered any irreversible harm.

Now, when he arrived at the light, he'll be able to see where-

His eyes went wide as the light blinked out and suddenly none other than Norway appeared in front of him looking very displeased. Egypt stared at him in shock and confusion. No, was he being monitored this whole time?!

Norway then smirked and slowly began to reach out his arm. Then, he flicked his flingers, sending Egypt flying backwards into the darkness.

Egypt immediately sat up in alarm on the bed, breathing heavily, and wiped his forehead as his face morphed into a scowl. Curses, he failed to find Mauritius. He should have known Norway or another magic user would be out watching and making sure no one interfered in their plans.

He muttered a series of curses in Arabic.

/ / / / /

In hindsight, she should have kept her presence more hidden and not engage in contact-

Western Sahara gritted her teeth at her situation. Oh, how wonderful her situation was. She kicked DRC in the stomach, earning a small grunt from him and pushing him away. Here she was, trapped in a fight with DR Congo when instead she should already be on her way out of the building. How was she supposed to have known that those sadists have recruited another nation into their group?

Her time was running out, she just knew it. At this rate she'll have to leave without having accomplished anything if she wanted to escape this alive with just a few scratches. _That_ was something she did not want to happen.

She wanted to accomplish her plan, even if she left the nation bleeding to death, she knew what the consequences were. She wasn't a fool.

In terms of combat, Western Sahara considered herself to be rather talented. She spent more than a dozen years fighting alongside the Polisario Front during her war with Morocco. She was agile and nimble, not meaning to brag, and she knew how to navigate the terrain. Overall, she was a good fighter.

Western Sahara's eyes went wide when she barely avoided DRC skewering her breasts. She did not need that sort of pain right now. Then she failed to stab him in the heart. The two of them were constantly trying to cut the other, both were angry, and hated the lack of progress.

DRC was a new addition, possibly recruited just yesterday or the day before. He only just recently embraced his bloodlust and she could tell he was still struggling with a few emotions, which will cause him to have his emotions somewhat cloud his judgement but unlike Cameroon's fits of feral rage, DRC still seemed calculating. But he was still more angry than anything, too angry, Western Sahara wondered if he was pretending that she was Belgium.

Western Sahara internally scoffed. How pleasant, she's being used as practice.

"Don't think for a second that you will win just because you joined them and obtained "freedom", Congo." Western Sahara called out at him, blowing some strands of her hair out of the way, as they glared at each other coldly. "You don't know what I've been through in the past decades. What the Order made me do."

Those declarations only made DRC angrier than before as he gnashed his teeth. "What _you've_ been through? Don't make me laugh. Do you know what I've been through ever since Europe came into my life? I've been through _hell_ since I was nothing but a little boy!"

"And you think participating in the coming war will save you from that?" Western Sahara spat, clenching her fists.

"I am being saved! The chaos in my land is slowly vanishing! And right now, I am the happiest I've ever been in centuries!" DRC roared.

"Until your organization crumbles to dust and the resistance rips out your heart." Western Sahara said, no, stated. She was sure of it.

Western Sahara had a firm belief in the resistance. The future or perhaps even present opposition against the New World Order. Together these allies will do whatever it takes or sacrifice whatever necessary to prevent the Order from carrying their plans.

It saddened her that she likely won't be there to see it.

DRC sneered at that statement. "Maybe I will die, maybe I will not, but I _will_ live to exact my revenge on Belgium."

"QUOI?!" A loud enraged shout nearly caused Western Sahara's heart to stop, she then looked around and saw ROC looking very upset, she had forgotten about him. "Dikembe, you promised me that you would _live_!"

Western Sahara looked back at DRC and saw hurt on his face. "Oui… I… I did. But I can't make those sorts of promises in war."

"You can!" ROC shouted at him, this time sounding more desperate. "Just don't get reckless or obsessed and you can live! I know you're enjoying torture, but please consider-"

"You approve of this?" Western Sahara cut him off coldly, earning a glare and a confused look, but she didn't care about that.

"Enough. No more talking-" DRC began to growl out before Western Sahara interrupted him.

"You approve of him contributing to the future deaths of millions of humans?!" Western Sahara exclaimed in disbelief. How could ROC do that? His neighbor will commit and more than likely already committed unspeakable sins!

ROC pressed his mouth into a thin line for a bit then narrowed his eyes. "I care more for him than I do for Europe. I understand him and his reasons. I'm alright with it, and I'm hoping this will help him get the happiness he deserves."

Western Sahara couldn't believe her ears. Was ROC just as apathetic and sociopathic as North Korea?!

"Are you insane?!" Western Sahara screamed. "Do you even understand the-"

"ENOUGH!" DRC roared deafeningly and lunged at Western Sahara, who barely had time to react.

Once again, the two of them glared daggers at each other with sheer anger and hatred, and then they clashed again.

/ / / / /

"Aiyanna!" Saint Lucia screeched with fury as she ran around the table in circles chasing the mystical dog known as Anubis, who now had his outfit torn up, in a seemingly never-ending chase to repair the clothes. "Stop laughing and help me catch Anubis!"

Bahamas was now doubling over as she shrieked with laughter on the couch. "I-I'm sorry, Lucy, it's just that the whole thing is… HA!"

Seychelles was giggling, struggling not to burst into uncontrollable laughter, and she found the whole thing hilarious. Still, poor Anubis… Hopefully, Egypt won't lash out at Saint Lucia or something for giving Anubis a "makeover". She felt a little bad for wondering how comical his reaction would be and wanting to see it. Hopefully it'll blow over when he comes back from Big Brother France's house.

But Seychelles was happy. She didn't think she would be this at ease and being able to smile after Mauritius went missing. It's… it's nice… really nice. She still wished Egypt would be here with them, she was scared that something bad might happen…

But it'll be okay, right? They have Anubis. If Egypt trusts him enough to protect them then they shouldn't be worried… right? No, she should just have faith in him.

Seychelles was so distracted in her thoughts that she didn't notice Anubis sprinting towards her, and she was once again knocked over by the large dog, she shrieked in alarm as Anubis kept licking her face. She heard Bahamas burst out laughing again while Saint Lucia saw a window of opportunity.

"Aha! Got you!" Saint Lucia exclaimed triumphantly as she wrapped her arms around Anubis. "Now, time to replace the dress you-EEK!"

Anubis wasn't going to take it, and he took off again, unintentionally dragging Saint Lucia with him. All the while Seychelles watched them dumfounded.

"Ha… Oh, Luce… The poor pooch…" Bahamas lamented between laughter, then grinned at Seychelles's face. "I'm sure she'll be fine. Lucy's stubborn but I'm sure Anubis won't get hurt or anything."

That didn't exactly help reassure Seychelles, but she smiled nervously anyway. "I hope so…"

Neither of them said anything else after that. They went into a comfortable silence as Bahamas smiled absent-mindedly and Seychelles twiddled her thumbs while flinching at the sound of barking and yelling. It wasn't awkward or anything for Seychelles. Bahamas was a nice nation to be around and Seychelles admired how positive she's been in the hours she's been with her. The same went for Saint Lucia…

Although Saint Lucia could get bossy sometimes… and some of the things she suddenly said out loud (mostly about Egypt) annoyed Seychelles. So much that Seychelles had to restrain herself from making some snarky remarks.

She didn't like being snarky.

"I'm glad Lucy found something to keep herself happy…" Bahamas said suddenly, snapping Seychelles out of her thoughts, and the older girl smiled at her. "I really am. She's been pretty quiet ever since we…

Bahamas trailed off and her expression became pained. Ever since they escaped, Seychelles thought.

Then Bahamas's smile came back, although it looked forced and she gripped her hands together. "And I'm just happy for her, you know? She's acting more like her normal self again. It's helping me too… I like this."

"I'm glad… I think…" Seychelles smiled a bit. "I like this too. I've never felt this relaxed since this all started."

"Yeah, me too." Bahamas nodded, her smile becoming more genuine again. "I mean… I'm worried about the others are doing…"

Seychelles bit her lip and gazed at the floor. She was obviously worried about the others too. She was worried about being left here for too long or the others not coming back at all. She was worried that Egypt will get himself captured. She was worried that Miss Algeria, Belize and the others will get ambushed. She was worried about Mauritius… Who knows what he's going through?

"Huh? Oh no, Seychelles…" The island girl looked up to see Bahamas smiling apologetically. "I didn't mean to take you to a dark place. I'm sorry, don't worry. I'm sure they'll come back!"

"Hopefully…" Seychelles muttered, but she tried to brighten up. "If you and Saint Lucia could escape, then I'm sure Kelvin can too somehow…"

Bahamas's expression became pained again. "Seychelles… I know how you feel."

"H-Huh?"

"I lost someone too, back when Lucy and I escaped. It wasn't just luck. If weren't for him… we'd probably be with our neighbors." Bahamas leaned her head on her hand, once again forcing a smile, though it looked sad. "We were already cornered, but Barbados didn't want us to die so he… he stayed behind."

Seychelles widened her eyes. "Oh… So you mean he…"

Bahamas nodded, about to tear up. "Yup, or at least that's what we think. We didn't see it happen but I don't think Haiti and the others would have let him live…"

"I'm sorry." Seychelles said quietly.

"No, no… it's okay. He wouldn't want me to get depressed, so I'll stay positive like I always do, it's what he would have wanted." Bahamas waved it off, but the tears in her eyes said otherwise, and she kept smiling. "You're lucky, Seychelles. Mauritius is still alive, there's still hope for him, unlike Barbados. He'll be saved."

Seychelles sniffed a little and smiled. "Merci."

/ / / / /

Algeria stared at the bag of "nacho cheese" flavored chips in her hands with distaste. This… This… unhealthy Western snack was what Belize shoved in her hands when they decided to stop the car to eat. To save the time, trouble and money of finding a restaurant, they ate some of the snacks they brought. Unfortunately, Belize and Honduras oversaw that and dumped the bags with things that made Algeria's stomach turn.

Seriously, they might run into enemies later, and these things contain many ingredients that could have an adverse effect on human (as well as nations') health. Wouldn't it be better to eat something… healthy?

She heard crunching and her eyes went wide as she snapped her head to the side where her brother was calmly munching on a bag of those chips, looking far more alright with this than she was, and she glared at him in disapproval.

Eventually he noticed her glaring at daggers and shrugged. "What? They're not half bad."

Algeria sighed and turned away, where she then saw Belize calmly chewing some chips while looking at Honduras who was conversing with Nicaragua on the phone. To further save on time and minimize risk, Honduras was going to arrange a "super-special get-together" in her house with Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The woman kept telling them over and over to travel via their private jets or the quickest plane possible.

A lot more than she should.

"Them it's settled, Nica! Oh, don't sound so grouchy! It'll be fun, and we'll play all the baseball you want. Just meet me in the airport I told you about and bring all your bats too!" Honduras insisted with the happiest tone she could muster, which wasn't much. "Si, si… just… promise that you'll meet me there, please promise me, please."

Algeria frowned at the faltered happiness in Honduras's voice. For good reason, Honduras hasn't spoken much since they left El Salvador's house, much less smiled. And the times she did were obviously forced. Who did she think she was fooling? They all saw her bawl her eyes out back at the house!

Belize was… well, she was quiet. She still had her usual spunk but has become more serious. Now, this would make Algeria happy, if it weren't of what the cause of that behavior was.

Algeria along with Tunisia weren't devastated by this result, but it did affect them, especially with all the mad drawings they found in that room. She wringed her hands and looked sorrowfully out the window, almost expecting El Salvador to make another appearance, but no one was there.

She did feel guilt for not telling Honduras and Belize, or even Tunisia, that she saw El Salvador. She felt ashamed of herself, but El Salvador left her rather unnerved and she feared the possible consequences he implied would happen despite not being sure what they were herself. She sighed. Algeria couldn't get it out of her mind.

Just what happened to him…?

Algeria buried her face in her hands and groaned. She needed fresh air…

/ / / / /

South Vietnam held his arms sullenly as he paced back and forth the airplane cabin, something he'd been doing for the whole past hour, and his frown deepened. Malaysia's condition remained relatively the same, but on the positive side he was becoming more docile and calm and hasn't tried to kill him. No sedatives have been necessary. Philippines will be happy to hear that.

He sighed. Speaking of Philippines, he wasn't back yet with East Timor, but South Vietnam wasn't worried. It's late here, and little East Timor probably needed sleep. Hopefully, Philippines wasn't being harsh on her, he better not be. South Vietnam made him promise not to hurt her. He wasn't going to let children be harmed, not if he could help it. Malaysia could be helped without harming East Timor.

South Vietnam cringed. There were several reasons _why_ they wanted East Timor, including helping keep Indonesia in line, but _one_ of those reasons, the one Philippines was most fixated on… It was… South Vietnam hoped it wouldn't be East Timor.

Or Indonesia for that matter.

Maybe it'll be Singapore. Then that way, like South Vietnam was planning with his sister, Malaysia could…

"Aren't you tired of doing that? It looks boring." A creole-accented voice drawled out. South Vietnam exclaimed loudly in Vietnamese at the surprise and whirled around to see Haiti sitting comfortably one of the seats, smoking.

"How long have you been sitting there?!" South Vietnam yelled at him. Haiti had an annoying habit of just popping out nowhere, it nearly caused South Vietnam to have a heart attack more than once in the past.

Haiti grabbed his cigarette with two of his fingers and smiled slyly. "A few minutes. I wanted to see how long it would take you to notice my presence, but I got impatient."

South Vietnam slapped his forehead while Haiti laughed, groaning. "Very funny."

"Oh, don't get grumpy, my sweet. I didn't come here to tease you. As matter of fact, I need your help." Haiti waved it off then leaned back into the seat with a lazy smile. "And I think you'll definitely want to participate."

"I'm a little occupied here…" South Vietnam scratched the back of his head, but he wanted to make himself known. "But alright."

"Mesi~" Haiti grinned, then his expression became a more serious one. "Guatemala got captured."

" _What?_ " South Vietnam asked agape.

"I know, I know, but it really did happen. Anyway, I saw our friend get dragged away bound by Egypt to France's place…" Haiti trailed off when he saw South Vietnam's eyes widen for a second. "I tried to get him back… but I failed."

"How?"

"Why does everybody ask that?"

"It's a legitimate question, Haiti."

Haiti sighed. Whatever happened back there, it sounded like something Haiti was ashamed of. "It's not important. What _is_ important is getting Guatemala back from France as soon as possible. However, I'm going to need a little team to do it. I think you'll be finished with your little mision by then. So, what are your thoughts about revealing yourself to our dear old colonizer?"

South Vietnam gaped a little while Haiti smiled his trademark smirk. Now that's... he crossed his arms with an unreadable expression. "I'm listening."

/ / / / /

America wondered why a lot of people were bothering him today.

He got thirty voicemails from England all demanding why he's been ignoring his calls, sixty from Russia who was angry that they missed their "date", ten from China demanded that he pay him back… And don't get him started on the text messages and the fairies sent by England. Yes, he could see them, he just liked driving England insane. But that's not the point! The point was that these people were on his case!

More than usual.

…Do these idiots even remember that he was the "world superpower"? He might be busy!

Other than that, he got called by Switzerland while taking care of the micronations to prepare the chamber only for that whole thing to be suspended when later Switzerland basically told him "You know what? Never mind!"

One non-annoying but still a little tiring exception was Liberia. His little brother called complaining and ranting childishly about how boring it was getting in Africa. A little after Tony left.

America's exhaustion must have showed, because Molossia snatched the phone from him and yelled at Liberia, who became pissed off by the interruption screamed back at Molossia. And so, America's day became even worse.

"Are you that fucking desperate for attention, Tehpoe?!"

"I was just need to unwind, Kevin! Besides, he wasn't complaining!"

"Yeah, cause you didn't let him talk, you moron!"

"That's not true!"

"It's the goddamn truth and you know it!"

"Why are you mouthing off that you know better? You took his phone and you're not letting him speak for himself!"

"He doesn't have time for your crap!"

"How do you know that?!"

And their scream fest went on and on for a lot longer than America's patience can bear. His best friend left the Earth, he'll probably never see him again, and the first he's treated to was a deafening argument between his two younger brothers. It grated on him, it angered him...

It made him snap. With a furious snarl, he stomped over to Molossua and snatched his phone back. Then America snapped at the two if them.

"You two, both of you, SHUT UP!" America roared at them, causing Molossia and the other micronations to flinch, and he was sure Liberia must have been trembling. "I just lost a friend foreve, and I'm upset, I'm falling apart! But even so, you two spoiled brats won't even let deal with the grief! Why can't even you two of all people think about how I feel?! I'M TIRED!"

After that reprimand, what followed was a tense silence with America breathing heavily and Molossia pale and trembling, Liberia was silent. America groaned loudly and threw a punch to the desert ground, shaking it slightly and leaving a large crack.

America hasn't ever yelled at Molossia or Liberia like that, he almost never even scolded them, and it wasn't even in a harsh way

And now, Mexico was screaming angrily into his ear about Guatemala.

He loved her to death, but he was still dealing with Tony's departure. Couldn't he get a break today?

Mexico was pissed off that Guatemala got taken, America was too, but she seemed very hell-bent on cursing Egypt's name than doing something.

"…But at the very least, the only good thing that's come out of this, is that we now know where the rest is." America's eyes went wide as soon as she mentioned that. "They're somewhere in Central America, probably either in Guate's or Belize's house. I heard that Norway and Denmark or Colombia and Chile are going to check Belize's house first."

Huh…

Wonder who might be there?

/ / / / /

Finland had a apathetic look on him as he watched Sweden drag a limp El Salvador back to them. The boy's not dead, obviously, that's not why they came here. Not to mention the Americas would never forgive them. The bloodied El Salvador impressively managed to drag himself rather dar from his house, perhaps the adrenaline or insanity and paranoia helped him, but what mattered was that they got him.

He and Sweden were able to find him without any difficulty. The trail of blood helped too.

Hopefully no one heard his screaming before he was knocked unconscious. They already knew that the group they were hunting for weren't that far, if the broken door was any indication. They needed to move, fast.

Those four runaways will be dragged back to the Africans, and anyone who was helping them or contributed to the capture of Guatemala will face the consequences for interfering with their plans. Then there won't be any meddling pests to worry about and they'll continue to more important matters.

Finland and Sweden wanted to go to the mission in France, but he supposed they could join up they're both done here.

/ / / / /

Western Sahara was beginning to lose her patience.

She already knew before this war began about DRC's strength and will. She didn't dare underestimate him. But this was nerve-wracking!

She panted as she held her bloodied shoulder, wincing and gritting her teeth. DRC held his injured arm but he didn't seem in pain. Western Sahara's eyes went wide as she suddenly felt her air restricted and began to cough. She couldn't breathe…

Western Sahara gnashed her teeth harder and hit her own stomach several times until she coughed out a substance, a liquid. She stared at the floor and her hands. Blood.

She frowned. How injured was she?

This fight clearly wasn't going anywhere. Neither of them had the advantage or disadvantage, no one was winning or losing. But Western Sahara will be the one losing if she's caught by the other five Africans. Then this whole trip will have been all for nothing and Spain and her suffering would remain unavenged. She'll die accomplishing absolutely nothing but dooming herself and possibly her people.

Just the thought of it made Western Sahara's blood boil. No. No no no no no no no no…

NO! She will NOT die here accomplishing nothing! She WILL do something right. Everything she went through in the past due to the Order… Algeria… Spain… NO! NO! NO! Western Sahara needed to get her revenge. Hasn't she suffered enough? Hasn't she lied enough? Didn't she deserve it?

She will kill either South Africa or Morocco! She will give them what they deserved.

Western Sahara began to choke as DRC grabbed her neck. She angrily tried to claw his arm as he sneered.

"I hope, for your sake, that you at least have my tolerance for pain." DRC nearly deadpanned but had an amused look in his eyes. "I don't know of your relationship with the Order, but I'm sure that Morocco will enjoy your torment."

"He's… been enjoying my torment… for about a century!" Western Sahara managed to rasp out.

"Is that so?" DRC raised an eyebrow.

Western Sahara clawed even more. "I won't die… before I find one of you and…"

"Then I'm afraid it was all for nothing."

Western Sahara went pale. "…What?"

"I should have told you before we fought, but I was too furious you and I didn't feel the need…" DRC cracked a small victorious smirk, and much to Western Sahara's horror, he told her that. "South Africa, Morocco, Cameroon and Nigeria… are not here in this building, or in the continent for that matter. So, in other words, this whole plan of yours was for nothing."

As soon as he finished telling her that, Western Sahara wasn't sure of what happened next.

She screamed in anger and despair with all the strength she had. Before she knew it, she was free of DRC's grasp, she could breathe, and she pushed him to the ground. Western Sahara, needless to say, was furious.

Western Sahara remembered something, something important, something vital. She searched through her jilbab and swiftly snatched up the gun.

She retreated back from DRC…

Got into a good enough position…

Aimed it right at his heart…

And…

PANG!

And it missed DRC… No… No… No, it didn't… Western Sahara gasped and the gun fell from her hands. She felt pale, she felt horrified, horrified of herself. Her hands were shaking. She was scared… She was feeling terror and she felt devastated. Western Sahara shook her head in denial.

The bullet didn't miss… It did hit someone…

It hit ROC, who put himself in front of a shocked DRC, in the blink of an eye he just shielded his neighbor from the bullet. ROC was rigid, frozen, and his chest was bleeding from where the bullet pierced him.

ROC then moved. He looked down at where he was bleeding and then he smiled tiredly as he turned around to face the still shell-shocked DRC.

"If… If you don't think you can keep your promise…" ROC said slowly, chuckling. "Then I'll help you keep it."

And then he collapsed to the floor.


	29. Trials: Consequences

**Thanks to Eternal Nexus Warrior and an anon for reviewing. Sorry for the cliffhanger last chapter, guys! Here's the conclusion! Now, on with the show!**

Now this… this wasn't supposed to happen…

"ALPHONSE!" DRC screamed just as ROC fell to the ground and dived towards him, tears already making their way down his face. His hands trembled as he cradled his friend in his arms, seeing the blood trail down from the bloody hole in ROC's chest, and for once in his life DRC looked devastated.

Western Sahara, meanwhile, could not be more horrified.

She covered her mouth in horror and promptly sunk on her knees all the while still staring at the pair in a state of shock. No… no… this wasn't supposed to happen… ROC was innocent in all of this. He did nothing to deserve her wrath. Why did he get in the way? Why, why, why, why, why?

She… She didn't mean to…

DRC's sobs were loud and clear, as well as filled with his anguish and despair, as he held his neighbor close and began to break down. Now this was new… Western Sahara never thought she'd see the Democratic Republic of the Congo cry, the same probably went for most nations, and it added to Western Sahara's remorse and horror of her actions. In a stupid fit of rage, she murdered an innocent bystander.

The bullets… Was the one that shot through ROC one of those bullets…?

ROC then began to stir and groan, and the sound of him inhaling and exhaling heavily showed that he was indeed still alive.

"I'm… I'm here…" ROC seemed to force out, wincing and then grunted in pain, but smiled anyways. "Are you alright? Did… she hurt you?"

DRC stared at him in disbelief as tears dripped from his eyes, then quickly wiped them off with his arm. "Don't act like a fool. I should be the one asking those questions, you… you selfish idiot… Why? I could have avoided her attack…"

"Now that's a… foolish question." ROC wheezed out, giving a pained grin. "I know you, Dikembe… I know how you are. Whether you like it… or not… we both know that you wouldn't be able to keep that promise. And selfish idiot? Huh… Isn't that what I called you when we argued about our border…?"

"That's not important." DRC said quickly.

ROC chuckled at that. "Well… you remember that I took it back when… you and I made up, oui? Too bad our bosses didn't…"

"Oui, we did. Now please-"

"I'm sorry. I really am. But it's just… you're so used to having problems that you didn't even try to solve them no matter how much you wanted to… You're so used to being in pain that you're not scared of getting hurt or killed by anything… I was scared that… Maybe I am selfish… but you don't want to die before making that European salope pay, did you?"

"Alphonse, please, for your good and mine… stop… talking." DRC growled out, though his face was anything but severe. "And don't be so dramatic. It was just going to be a temporary death, nothing worth getting yourself hurt over."

ROC frowned, and his eyes traveled down to the wound in his chest. "No… This doesn't feel the same as my other deaths… I feel… like I'm fading away…"

DRC's eyes went wide. "What?"

"I think I'm… really dying, Dikembe…" ROC muttered as he stared at nothing in a sort of daze.

"No…" DRC shook his head. "NO! How dare you lie to me, Alphonse! I will keep my promise, happy? Are you satisfied? Have you tortured me enough? Had fun seeing me shed tears? Now, please drop the act and rest."

"I'm not… I think I'm actually going to die for…" ROC trailed off as he grunted and clutched his chest, likely beginning to suffer the effects of chest hemorrhage, and suddenly blood spewed from his mouth.

"The bullets…" Western Sahara barely managed to say shakily. "He's telling the truth."

DRC's head shot up to face her with a furious glare. "What are you talking about, woman?"

"The bullets in my gun… the one that hurt him… it's a special type of bullet made by the Order enchanted or coated with a sort of potion that allows to kill a nation, normally through the heart… the most vital organ for nations…" Western Sahara explained while she watched how ROC stirred and coughed blood. "He's going to die, and he will not come back."

DRC was silent after the explanation, his expression was one of disbelief, and Western Sahara bit her lip as she looked away. What had she done? She let her anger and hunger for revenge cause the demise of someone not involved in her feud. No… What was she even thinking when she decided to go along with this horrible idea of hers? She was just so angry; she just wanted to give them what they deserved.

Then a realization dawned on Western Sahara. Was she just using Spain's death as an excuse to go out a rampage? Or did she, but also wanted to use it a chance to murder Morocco? She felt herself pale. Allah, she didn't even know what she came here for!

She wasn't like that… She cried when she witnessed Spain's brutal death! But going out of her way and risking her land and people to get revenge… Allah forbid! She was no different than those five and their fellow members!

"WHAT IS WITH ALL THE RUCKUS OUT THERE?!"

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!"

Western Sahara flinched at the sound of two voices shouting nearly at the same time, then widened her eyes as she recognized those voices, she wouldn't forget them. But what could he be doing here in Africa? She felt alarm as she heard hurried footsteps approach. Now what was going to happen?

She first turned to her left where she saw an annoyed Liberia stomp towards them. His eyes looked a little puffy, has he been crying?

And then she turned to her right where she saw something a lot more surprising. It was none other than Brazil, one of the nations she's been keen on killing, along with Argentina, Peru and… Western Sahara gasped. Portugal?!

Once all sides met up, their expressions matched Western Sahara's in terms of shock, surprise, disbelief and horror, both at ROC's state and the sight of nations they didn't expect at all.

"Western Sahara?!" Liberia exclaimed.

"Liberia…" Western Sahara muttered with narrowed eyes.

"Liberia!" DRC shouted.

"DRC?!" Liberia shouted back.

"Western Sahara?!" Portugal exclaimed in shock.

"Portugal!" Western Sahara exclaimed.

"Portugal?" DRC asked.

"DRC?!" Portugal exclaimed.

"Portugal!" Liberia exclaimed.

"Liberia!" Portugal exclaimed back.

"Western Sahara?!" Brazil exclaimed both with anger and surprise.

"Brazil…" Western Sahara said with seething anger.

"Western Sahara?" Argentina asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Western Sahara?!" Peru growled out in rage.

"Brazil!" Liberia shouted.

"Liberia!" Brazil shouted back.

"QUIET!" DRC roared deafeningly, finally putting an end to it, and seethed. "Can't you all see he's dying? All because of her!"

Suddenly everyone's attention was on Western Sahara, who could only swallow while keeping her anxious expression, she felt uncomfortable with all the pairs of eyes on her. This did not bode well… DRC, Liberia, Brazil, Argentina, Peru… Her life could not be in any more danger at the moment.

Western Sahara stiffened. "I didn't mean to… You were the one I wanted to…"

"You have the bullets!" Liberia yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at her.

She glanced at ROC then at a hopelessly confused Portugal and then at a surprised Namibia and then at a sneering Brazil. She could already barely think clearly after what she did to ROC. A part of her wanted nothing more than to die at the moment and another was burning in rage at the fact that three South Americans were right here in front of her and another was nervous at the sight of Portugal.

What to do? What should she do?

Western Sahara closed her eyes for a moment. Run. Run fast… run far… Not willing to waste any time, she snatched up one of her spheres, and before they could even cry out her name in pure anger and hatred… she vanished. Perhaps she could only create problems instead of solving them…

/ / / / /

Liberia screamed angrily and without thinking he dashed to grab her so that the bitch wouldn't get away… but he ended up grabbing air. He looked around frantically. Just… great. And by great, he meant absolutely fantastic. Was the universe out to get him today? It already made America snap at him, and that was nearly enough to send Liberia off the deep end.

America yelled at him. America yelled at him. America yelled at him. AMERICA YELLED AT HIM! America never yelled at him. America loved him. Liberia loved America, he adored him, and he loved him so much! America created him and gave him the kindness the rest of Africa did not get from their own colonizers. Liberia made him angry… He hurt America while he was already hurting… Liberia hurt him… he hurt America…

And then America went off feeling guilty and ashamed of himself and it was all Liberia's fault. How could Liberia be so selfish? He-

"How fantastic… she went off and pulled off this sort of stunt…" Liberia was brought back to reality and sanity when he remembered that he had company. Brazil snorted and turned to grin at Liberia. "How are you doing, Tehpoe?"

Liberia brightened up enough to grin back. "Could be better. It's kind of boring without the whole quintet… Well, now sextet… but I didn't want this to happen. Dikembe…"

Liberia bit his lip. Western Sahara had the bullets, there was no doubt about it, and if it struck ROC then that meant that he was a dead nation. By now, it was too late to do anything about it, even if Liberia acted immediately when he arrived, there was no way to treat it…

Damn that sand bitch. What was she doing here anyway? Looking for Morocco? But Liberia thought that Western Sahara didn't want to see Morocco ever again. Moreover, why didn't South Africa do something about it or at least tell Liberia about it? There was no way South Africa couldn't have noticed Western Sahara. Liberia sure could have used the warning

Then Liberia heard muttering, DRC muttering, it was DRC muttering while still holding ROC close. ROC wasn't moving, he was limp, so it was safe to assume that good ol' ROC left the living world forever. DRC was probably grieving, but the weird thing was, Liberia didn't hear any crying or sobbing… just muttering. Weird, really weird. But most of all, it was concerning, and Liberia was of course, worried.

Liberia went over to DRC with a neutral expression ans reached out a hand to comfort him, but stopped when he heard what DRC was muttering.

"You will not die."

DRC was muttering that same sentence over and over again to ROC in… some sort of mantra? Probably, probably not, but he was saying it again and again. And not just that, DRC was saying it in different languages. English, French, Lingala, Tshiluba, Swahili… until DRC settled for Kikongo. Yeah, he was now saying it in Kikongo and not in the other languages of his country, but the reason why was lost to Liberia.

Liberia blinked in confusion as DRC continued with his mantra and rocking ROC back and forth. He wanted to say something, comfort him, but something told Liberia that DRC shouldn't be disturbed.

So, reluctantly, Liberia turned around and headed back to Brazil and the others.

When he did, Liberia could have sworn he saw ROC's right hand twitch.

/ / / / /

Austria would be lying if he said that he despised Egypt for evading them several times and for having the nerve to decide to try bringing all of his and Prussia's carefully laid plans that took years to prepare. No, although he did not appreciate the threat he and his group posed, he did not hold any resentment or anger against them. Their reactions were expected, and of course they would try to interfere.

But Austria saw them as that, threats, opponents, escapees, runaways. Nothing more, nothing less, and that was all. All he felt was a bit of annoyance, but other than that he saw reason to be feel rage and utter hatred towards them.

Unless, of course, in the event they discover their method of permanently killing a personification and successfully use that method on one of the other members, his good friends, he will despise them with every fiber of his being and personally make sure they suffer an excruciating demise.

Another possible reason could be amusement. Austria did want to see how far this group will go before they're defeated. Call it foolish, but it would be an interesting game.

Speaking of games, he was playing one with Prussia right now, chess. Well until…

The door swung open to reveal a breathless Iceland. "We have a problem."

/ / / / /

Liechtenstein felt as happy as she always did when with Switzerland, their time together never failed to make her smile, even in these days with tension in the world. That was actually of the main reasons Liechtenstein came over to her big brother's house. She felt anxious, frightened, so she went to the nation who was always there for her: Switzerland. If anything terrible ever happened, he would be there to stop it.

Everyone was… very, very, stressed. She saw this as she went around Europe to visit her friends, mostly the female nations. Just yesterday, she went over to Belgium's house with Luxembourg. Poor Miss Belgium's been stuck in her house looking very hurt and traumatized, but at least she had her brother the Netherlands with her, never leaving her side. What happened was just awful…

Who or why would anyone do such a thing to Miss Belgium?

Miss Hungary seemed determined to find out what was going on, as she declared that she will begin a search/investigation to find answers as well as Austria's whereabouts, claiming that she already got Poland on board. She asked if Liechtenstein wanted to help.

While Hungary was well meaning, Liechtenstein doesn't think that Switzerland will approve…

Speaking of Switzerland, she was a little worried about him. He seemed… anxious or stressed? And not long ago he asked her to drop a piano on his head. It took her aback, and from how grumpy he looked he sounded serious about it.

Perhaps it was the work he told her about? Oh no… Liechtenstein felt guilt grow in her heart. Was she causing her big brother so much stress with being with her instead of finishing the work his boss given him?

"Liechtenstein."

Said nation was snapped out of her thoughts and smiled at the nation before her.

"Yes, big brother?" Liechtenstein asked.

"I need to go back to the house. I… think I left some guns in the basement." Switzerland explained as he flushed in embarrassed and glanced away. "As well as some other things. I'll be back in a few minutes at least. Is that alright with you?"

Liechtenstein blinked a little surprise before nodding. "Of course you can, big brother. Take as much time as you need."

Switzerland seemed happy with that reassurance and he sighed in relief. "Danke, Lili. I won't take long."

Her big brother stood up from his chair and turned around to walk away, rather hurriedly in Liechtenstein's opinion, towards the front door and went inside. With no other company, Liechtenstein joined her hands and sat patiently as she admired her surroundings. Maybe she did come at a bad time?

/ / / / /

Mauritius screamed in pain as Nigeria gnawed on his shoulder, while a hand with claw-like nails dug into his other one, both to give him more pain and stop him from struggling even though there really was no hope for him. Nigeria was the third one to add to the many bleeding bite marks on his arms and shoulders, and he was probably the worst yet and the one taking the most pleasure out of Mauritius's suffering.

Nigeria used various ways to make the experiences even more painful. From just chewing on the flesh before suddenly tearing it away to raking his nails across the other bloody wounds while gnashing Mauritius's shoulder.

What made it even worse was that the other Africans were watching, and frankly their expressions terrified him.

South Africa was chewing some of his nails while grinning widely, too widely, and the insane glint in his eyes was very creepy. Morocco was watching happily, so much that he didn't seem to blink, and he had his usual smile but once in a while it twitched to form a grin. Cameroon wasn't smiling, but there was something about the way he just stared at them that sent a chill down Mauritius's spine.

"Oh… you taste so good~" Nigeria whispered with what could only be pleasure in his voice, and Mauritius cringed. "Can you smell it? The sweet scent of your own blood and torn flesh? Tell me, can you? I know you can."

Mauritius wanted to gag in disgust. It wasn't sweet at all. It was gross.

"I can feed you, you know…" Nigeria began softly near the island's ear, and Mauritius shivered in disgust. "In fact, I want to feed you. Aren't you just the slightest bit curious, Mauritius? Of what the human flesh tastes like?"

In alarm, Mauritius frantically shook his head. "N-No!"

Nigeria just laughed nastily at his response and leaned in to gnash on Mauritius again, when the island heard a door suddenly burst out, and Nigeria nearly stumbled in surprise. Nigeria was blocking most of his view, but Mauritius managed to see a fuming Switzerland stomp his way towards them.

"What… do you think… you're doing…?" Switzerland growled out through gritted teeth, and Mauritius had to flinch at how pissed off he sounded, it was the angriest he's ever heard him.

The Africans were surprised at Switzerland's sudden arrival, and with some hesitation, Nigeria released his grip on Mauritius and retreated a few steps away from him, allowing the island to breathe in relief and in pain. Other than surprise, the four nations also looked a little annoyed, and not at all fazed by how angry Switzerland was.

"Oh, no need to get angry, Switzerland. We're just playing with him…" South Africa laughed heartily while Switzerland glared daggers at him, and then smiled darkly at Mauritius. "Also, this is punishment. We still don't have the other four to punish for escaping, but we do have him, so why not seize the opportunity?"

"Why? Why? I'll tell you why you can't go _eating_ the prisoner…" Switzerland fumed, but took few deep breaths to calm himself, to little affect. "If we're going to have him on our side, he'll need to have the least amount of bitter memories about your circle, doing so otherwise will make the process very difficult."

Nigeria snorted as he licked the blood off his mouth and hands. "Eat him? Aw, Switzy~ We're not going to eat the recruit, we're not idiots."

"Nein, nein, I don't think you're idiots… I just think you're annoying." Switzerland deadpanned with a twitching eyebrow, earning some frowns and raised eyebrows.

"Hmm, perhaps… but we promised we would behave, didn't we?" Morocco asked calmly and serenely while looking at his nails.

Switzerland looked ready to tear Morocco's head off. "I… you-you-you… WHAT?! How is inflicting great pain and anguish to the prisoner, the very thing I've forbidden you to do and what you promised not to do, in any way considered "behaving"?"

"The "great pain and anguish" you say we are giving him is nothing." Cameroon snarled coldly at Switzerland. "This… what you see here before you… is pathetic. We went easy on him for you, we keep our promises."

"No, no, you did not, and no, no, you don't." Switzerland said flatly.

"Ah, but we did and we do, good friend." South Africa leaned over and flashed a mischievous smirk. "Why must you be so hard on us?"

"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer." Switzerland muttered, but loud enough for the other nation to hear, causing South Africa to chuckle, and the European scowled. "Listen, do you want him with us or are you going to keep him as your plaything? Decide."

"I don't see why it can't be both." Nigeria grinned and snickered.

"Well, I do see why. Don't you all care how difficult it'll be for me later on?"

"No, not really." The four Africans said in unison.

Switzerland's eyebrow twitched before he sighed. "Fine. But, Mauritius will rest now until his wounds heal up. Oh, and Morocco, tell me… What exactly were you planning with Western Sahara when she broke into the prison building?"

Mauritius widened his eyes at the mention of Western Sahara. That's right… Switzerland mentioned her before… but what does she have to do with anything?

Morocco raised an eyebrow and Switzerland sighed again then walked over to him. Switzerland began to whisper something in Morocco's ear, Mauritius's didn't know what was going on, but whatever it was it really surprised Morocco.

"Oh…" Morocco said, shocked, then rub one hand on his temple. "Well, I did not have that scenario in mind at all… But still…"

/ / / / /

Egypt couldn't do much else to do to pass the night except to sit there in his bed, "brooding" as Turkey would put it, while staring out the window. France was busy with his "beauty sleep" after all the stress and work from the day, and Monaco was fast asleep. Egypt would do the same, especially considering what was going to happen tomorrow, but he was still busy planning.

He still felt anger over his failure to find where Mauritius was being kept, but he did not want to do another attempt lest Norway becomes less merciful with him. If Norway ended up being one of the "friends" Haiti was going to bring, then Egypt would try to get rid of him… or at least… he could try if he knew how… Egypt highly doubted that Guatemala would be willing to tell exactly how to permanently kill…

A realization dawning on him made him widen his eyes. Permanent death… Would Egypt and the others be willing to do the same act the Order is committing? Was it morally correct? Then again, right and wrong have little meaning in war, and if… when they won… they couldn't let such dangerous individuals live. They would just try again.

Egypt groaned. He would need to discuss this later with his friends.

He gasped. Speaking of his companions… Egypt had just realized that neither of the other two groups knew of what France had planned, and they had a right to know, Belize's group especially. He did not want to pressure them, but they all must regroup on the day after tomorrow, they needed to hurry if they wanted to gather the remaining Central Americans together before the G7 meeting commenced.

Egypt still had faith in his friend Anubis to protect Seychelles, Bahamas and Saint Lucia, but he still worried for their safety. However, bringing them here was out of the question. He will believe that his trusted pet will keep them safe.

Now, as for contacting them in a safe way, Egypt had a good idea in mind…

/ / / / /

After recovering from his bout of laughter… No wait, Lithuania still hasn't recovered, he was still laughing like an idiot along with the personification of stupidity known as Bulgaria… and he was enjoying every single second of it. His sides hurt, his throat felt tired, his lungs barely had air… but Lithuania could not feel more elated. The only other occasion that caused him such joy was when he dug his hand through the wound in Belarus's chest…

…And ripped her heart out. Yes, he remembered it clearly and perfectly. Lithuania made sure to hold on to the joy and satisfaction he felt in the second that she died. He recalled her screeching furiously at him and clawing his arm as he pinned her down, but he felt little to no pain, he paid no attention to it. Belarus put up a good fight, he'll admit…

But when surprised, she's one hell of a poor fighter, not to mention he terrified her. He felt amusement at the reversal of roles, although he was never actually frightened of Belarus.

It really was a shame Lithuania won't be present for Russia's reaction to his sister's gruesome demise, he waited years to see Russia go through the anguish Lithuania did thanks to him, but he'll have plenty of other chances to torment him later on.

Oh, and Bulgaria will also have his long-awaited payback for being separated from his annoying beloved for decades. Lithuania wasn't going to have Russia's suffering all to himself. He will share it with others that also want to choke Russia with his own entrails. Lithuania couldn't help but feel a sense of fondness when imagining a maniacally grinning and giggling Bulgaria utilize his techniques in torture.

That idiot… That stupid, sadistic, psychotic, unstable, airheaded, ditzy, cruel, love-sick, obsessive, crazy idiot… No… That adorable, cheerful, caring, loving, optimistic, loyal, funny nation who just happened to be one of the people Lithuania trusted the most and was his best friend. What could he do without that idiot?

The answer was nothing. Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all.

It's alright if Bulgaria gets injured… Bulgaria loved the feeling of pain. What wasn't alright was Bulgaria getting mortally wounded or just getting killed then and there. No, that wasn't alright at all…

Anyway… Lithuania clutched his sides as he wheezed in laughter. It hurt. It hurt. He rolled over as the van hit what seemed to be a bump and _wait a minute_ …

Lithuania returned to his senses and stopped laughing as he realized that the van was moving. The van was moving… But Bulgaria was next to him being a idiot and Estonia and Latvia were still there before them looking very uncomfortable. So, who could… Oh… Oh…

Lithuania didn't put the van on park, did he?

Bulgaria's stupidity was beginning to infect him.

/ / / / /

Hungary was half-asleep curled up in a ball on the driver's seat, clutching her frying pan, dead tired. It was late, very late, and even she was getting sleepy. Poland and Bosnia were quick to agree with the idea, and fell asleep a few minutes later, but not before going outside to… throw up? Hungary had no idea why. But anyway, they're going to need a good night's sleep, because they still have ten more hours for Paris.

They already crash-landed in Berlin, but Hungary informed Germany in advance about it, so he wouldn't get so stressed about it. Hungary would have invited him to join their epic quest to find Austria… but it sounded like Germany had his hands full with trying to board up the house against Romano or something like that…

Ah, how sweet of Germany. Determined to not hurt the brother of the nation he loved. She knew it was only a matter of time before they got together! If she wasn't on a mission, she would have gone over there with her camera!

Anyway, it's still a while before they get to Paris for Bosnia to meet up with… whoever he's supposed to meet with. Speaking of Bosnia, he still hasn't gotten his memory back. Hungary felt tempted to hit him again with her frying pan. Maybe another bang will get his memories back and help them out!

But if she did, there's a chance Bosnia will get a concussion, and Hungary did NOT have the time and patience for-.

Hungary woke up with a start when the sound of a car door slamming shut reached her ears. What the… She drowsily rubbed her tired eyes and looked out the window to see what was happening… and saw Bosnia outside running off into the night. Huh…

Then she did a double take and slammed her hands against the glass as her eyes went wide. Bosnia was outside running into the night! Why would he…

"Poland!" Hungary shook her friend on the seat next to her snoring loudly. "Poland wake up! Bosnia's running away! We have to get him back!"

But Poland just stirred and kept muttering "fabulous" in his sleep. Hungary groaned and looked again at the window. Bosnia was disappearing from her line of sight, there was no time to waste!

Hungary began to search frantically through her compartments, she remembered storing a flashlight here somewhere a month or two ago, it should be right… Aha! Here! Hungary snatched up the flashlight and flashed it a few times. Good, still has battery. Now, to go after Bosnia. She doesn't know what's gotten into him, but he wasn't going to go off running away, especially at this hour near the woods!

Poland will probably have a heart attack if he woke up soon, but Hungary won't take long, or at least she hoped so. Not wasting any time, Hungary opened the door and ran off after Bosnia, who she could still see.

"Bosnia! Emir!" Hungary called out his name as she chased after him, but like last time he didn't respond, and she got even more worried. "Come back! Where are you going?"

Bosnia didn't stop, if anything, he went faster but Hungary managed to keep up with him. She hesitated a little when Bosnia entered the woods, but she was determined not to lose him, and to whack him hard in the head for worrying her. Hungary called him out again, but like before, she got no response.

Then, a couple of minutes later after crossing the forest border, she lost him.

Hungary huffed in frustration. Great. Bosnia got away and… she looked around and sweat-dropped. She wasn't very sure where she was either. Just… great.

But then her flashlight showed something that caught her eye, _blood_. There was blood on a tree forming an arrow pointing to the right, and there was another arrow not far from the tree on the grass, pointing towards a similar direction. Hungary blinked. Huh…

She decided to follow the only directions she had right now. Hungary had her trusty frying pan with her, she was going to be fine, no one was going to get the jump on her. After following the arrows for a while, she also noticed a bit of a blood trail, and not long after that she found one spot while several arrows pointing towards… a house. Hungary walked closer.

It was an old house all charred and falling apart, only a few timbers still holding it up, in the middle of the forest. Curious, Hungary went over and poked her head inside, and her eyes went wide at what she found. It was Bosnia sitting on the floor staring at the room he was in, unmoving, but it also looked like he was just staring at nothing. As Hungary drew closer, she flinched when Bosnia suddenly looked at her, coldly.

"Huh? Oh… it's you…" Bosnia said uncaringly with even duller eyes than usual and looked away from her. "So you did follow the trail…"

"Emir, what are you doing here?" Hungary asked worriedly, feeling a sense of unease from the house. "What were you thinking?! Do you have any idea how worried I was when you ran off?"

"Doesn't matter…" Bosnia muttered loud enough for Hungary to hear, and the female nation felt temped to hit him with her frying pan, then he looked up. "I was told that he burned this house, his own little house, down in despair, did he tell you that?"

Hungary didn't know what to say as Bosnia stared at her. "What? Who?"

Suddenly Bosnia snorted. "Ne… Of course he didn't. Why would he tell you that? Anyway, since you're here, can you make yourself useful and help me find it?"

"What? Find what?"

"Well… it's not the "it" I need, but it's still something minor that I want, that I _need_. I know it's here…" Bosnia said as he looked around the ruined room. "It has to be…"

Hungary raised a confused eyebrow at Bosnia. This was almost as weird as when she and Poland heard him talking to himself earlier before she knocked him out, except this time Hungary was even more confused, and a little annoyed. Hungary reached out a hand to shake his shoulder.

When Bosnia looked back at her looking rather annoyed, Hungary smiled at him. "Emir… You're tired… You're sleepy… it's late, so please come back with me to the car and you'll see that you'll feel a lot better tomorrow."

But Bosnia just narrowed his eyes at her and shrugged her hand off. "If you're not going to help, then just leave me alone."

Hungary's eye twitched and she gripped her frying pan tightly. "Don't make me smack you in the head again!"

Bosnia ignored her. "Help me or leave, but if you'll help me, let me know if you find it. Because if you don't tell me the second that you see it, there _will_ be consequences."

Throwing her hands up in frustration, Hungary groaned and walked away from Bosnia, angry. _Fine_ , she'll help him find the damn thing that he wanted. If that's what it'll take to drag him back to the car without a concussion, then fine! But he better turn back to normal when she did.

Hungary made a "hmmph!" sound and then made the mistake of leaning against the wall, causing parts of the wall to fall off and Hungary to nearly fall, but she regained her balance on time and cringed a little at the damage she caused. Oops… But then her embarrassment turned into curiosity when she spotted an object between the walls, it looked burnt, but still Hungary carefully reached out to grab it.

It was a book, a notebook apparently, and kind of old too. Hungary looked at it curiously and opened it. Many pages were singed, like you'd expected, and Hungary had to squint her eyes to try to make out what was written. It was in German, but she could hardly make it out…

But then she turned a page and she saw two that could be read.

 _I'm sorry._

 _I want more than anything for my dream to be a reality and for the others as well, but this was unacceptable, what I did was unacceptable. I am so fortunate to have such loyal members, but I am hardly a good leader. I took advantage of their loyalty. Those nations… they're so loyal and claimed that they would be fine, but their friends and families weren't. Rod and I took them. What were we thinking? Surely, we could have come up with a better method instead of-_

Hungary shrieked when she was suddenly tackled to the floor and then felt two hands wrap themselves around her neck. This person was Bosnia, who looked _enraged_ with her, and he snarled at her in fury as Hungary looked at him in shock.

"Bosni-" Hungary tried to say but was cut when Bosnia harshly scratched her across her face.

"WHAT DID I TELL YOU?!" Bosnia roared and scratched her again. "I told you… I told you there would be consequences! What's in there is _not_ meant for you to see!"

Bosnia yanked Hungary up painfully by the hair and then slammed her head down to the ground, and she blacked out.

/ / / / /

Tunisia was speechless.

The others were too. He, Algeria, Honduras and Belize were all gaping at the sight in front of them, because what they were saying was… something, and they all almost believed that they were hallucinating or one of them was in a strange dream. Those explanations made more sense to Tunisia than whatever could be the cause of the very thing they were seeing's existence.

This must be what the Westerners mean by "tripping balls", although Tunisia has never consumed any drug, not ones that could cause those trips, Allah forbid he does.

Now, Tunisia was not a skeptic when it came to the supernatural or magic. He believed in Egypt's magic, for example. He acknowledged the existence of those abilities, as well the fact that Anubis was a mythical animal with magical abilities and not just a dog. Tunisia also accepted, despite how much pain it gave him, that it was extremely likely that his dream with Morocco was real and he was aroused by his brother.

As much as he hated himself for it…

What he was seeing was not horrifying, no, no it wasn't, it wasn't hideous either. Nothing that could give you nightmares. It was just shocking and unbelievable. And also… strange, very strange, and just slightly disturbing. It was an image that would remain burned in his memory for all time.

Right in front of them, perched on a branch, was a bird with Egypt's head.

…What even?

"Brother…" Algeria muttered shakily, swiftly and tightly grabbing Tunisia's hand. "There's a bird with Gupta's head staring at us…"

"I know…" Tunisia said nervously. At least he wasn't the only one…

And then in a rather delayed reaction, Belize shrieked, startling everyone present, including bird Egypt who flapped it's… his… wings. Belize, as always, had a over-the-top reaction by jumping into a puzzled Honduras's arms in terror and screaming while slashing her sword at nothing.

"El brujo tiene magia negra! Les dije! Les dije!" Belize shrieked, holding onto a still confused Honduras for dear life. "Quick, Sophia, bring out the holy water!"

"But we don't have holy water." Honduras said innocently, blinking in surprise at the trembling Belize.

"Why don't we?!"

"Well, you didn't exactly-"

"Excuse me…" The bird with Egypt's head spoke with Egypt's own voice. "I apologize for having to communicate with you in such a manner, but I have urgent news to share with you."

"Apology accepted." Tunisia nodded, smiling, not paying any mind to Belize's "no it's not!".

Algeria smiled too, but it looked a little nervous, and it kept twitching. "Is that bird form the "ba" you once told me about? Your soul, I mean."

Egypt nodded. "Yes, this form is a result of using my magic to have my soul leave my body while I'm asleep. While normally the ba travels to the Duat, it can also travel through time and space, and with a certain-"

"We all read those Riordan books, Egypt." Belize cut him, frowning while still clinging onto Honduras.

"It's not like those…. Oh, never mind."

"You're so cute~" Honduras accidentally dropped Belize, earning a yelp from her, and beamed up at Egypt. "I know! I'll name you Gupta El Segundo! You'll be best friends with my macaw and all my other bird friends! I have all sorts of worms and seeds for you to eat!"

Tunisia had to hold back a chuckle at Egypt sweat-dropping.

Eventually Algeria narrowed her eyes and decided that was enough. "Honduras, focus, that's Egypt. Gupta, what is it that you want to tell us? Because we also have some news to give you."

And so, they traded stories. Algeria explained their luck with El Salvador, much to the grief of Honduras and Belize, and what they found in his house. While Egypt told them what happened in France's house with Haiti, and what was going to happen tomorrow. Tunisia widened his eyes. Oh dear…

"Allah, Egypt! You're going to be attacked tomorrow?!" Algeria exclaimed angrily, making Egypt flinch a little. "And you're only telling us this now?! We still haven't met up with Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and you're telling us that tomorrow it will be you and France against who knows how many nations?!"

"Again, I apologize, but now you know. And now, I highly recommend that you meet those two as soon as possible." Egypt said calmly.

Belize scoffed and scowled at him. "You think?! Well, good news is that Costa and Nica will get to Sophia's place in a few hours, and we're already on our way to meet them at the airport, brujo."

"Good." Egypt sighed in relief.

"Do you know when exactly they're going to come, Egypt?" Tunisia asked, perhaps they could help him and then come back.

"No, I do not. Haiti only said tomorrow, so for all I know they'll arrive in France early morning."

"That's reassuring…" Algeria muttered sarcastically.

"I have more thing to tell you… the meeting." Egypt said, frowning. "France told me that there will be a meeting with several nations in England's house in two days. We have to regroup before then to testify."

A time limit… that's not stressful at all.

 **Sorry if it's not too good, a ltitle tired right now, still I hope you liked it. The next one will be better. Please review!**


	30. Trials: The lesson

**Thanks to Eternal Nexus Warrior, NadiaJA27, and a guest for reviewing. Alright, this chapter should be a LOT better than the last one, I feel more confident of this one too. I hope you enjoy. Also, I want to announce that I posted another story a few days ago about AmeTai vs RusAme in case any of you are interested, it's a lot more light-hearted. Now, on with the show!**

Seychelles was amazed that her eyes didn't pop out of her head or her jaw hit the floor the moment she saw Egypt.

Saint Lucia had roped Seychelles and Bahamas into helping her give Anubis a bubble bath, apparently Saint Lucia didn't like that Anubis smelled like sand and death (though can someone really blame him for that?), so cleaning the pooch was a must according to her. Seychelles tried to reason with her that it was probably natural, and she shouldn't torment the poor dog further but…

Saint Lucia just laughed and waved it off while dragging Anubis, who tried to desperately escape his coming torture but only ended up scratching the floor as he was pulled away and howled in anger and fear, and Seychelles only gave him a sympathetic look.

Seychelles had to give it to Saint Lucia; the younger girl was pretty determined and stubborn.

Bahamas also wasn't really on board with the idea, but having known Saint Lucia for many years, she knew better than to try to convince her and instead decided to make sure Saint Lucia doesn't traumatize Anubis… too much.

As for Seychelles, well… more or less the same as Bahamas but also Saint Lucia wouldn't leave her alone until she helped her.

And so, that's what she was doing, and the result of that? Disaster.

The beginning of that disaster began when they had to get Anubis in the bathtub. Obviously, Anubis wasn't going to let himself suffer at the hands of a small bossy and girly nation and put up a fierce fight. Seychelles had no doubt that if Anubis wasn't ordered by Egypt to protect them, the mystical pooch would have bit their heads off or sent them to the underworld, and she could tell Anubis wanted to do so.

The next more difficult part was keeping Anubis in the bathtub, and considering his size, it took the three of them together to hold him down and stop him from escaping. But even that was barely enough. He kept barking, howling and growling ferociously as they washed his fur with the soap foam.

During all of this, they got splashed with water and soap, and Seychelles' hair and dress were now wet. The same went for the Caribbean girls. So, Seychelles went downstairs for more towels, and to escape from the mess in the bathroom.

Then, she saw something weird perched on a branch outside the window… a bird with Egypt's head staring at her.

Well… it's not the weirdest thing Seychelles has ever seen in her life…

She'll admit that it was… awkward talking to a bird with his head… not to mention just looking at it… him, but it was still Egypt and she'll try not to let that distract too much. If he's here then that meant that he has big news. But what? They weren't in danger, were they?

"I… apologize that we have to interact in this manner, Michelle…" Egypt said to her in embarrassment. "I would teleport myself here but-"

Seychelles flushed red and laughed nervously as she waved her hand in dismissal. "O-Oh no! You don't have to apologize. I understand if it's the best way to talk to us without wasting too much energy. It's… a little odd, but its fine, really! So, what did you want to tell me?"

By the time Egypt was finished, Seychelles had a saddened look on her and was filled with dread at what he told her. So Mauritius was… he's really… captured? Seychelles clasped her hands together tightly and sniffed. Oh, why did she hope that he was somehow okay?

"I'm sorry." Egypt said grimly.

"Oh… no, no, it's not your fault." Seychelles quickly told him with a sad smile. She really meant that, it wasn't Egypt's fault, she knew that he wouldn't willingly leave Mauritius behind. "I should have known that-"

"WHY IS THERE A BIRD WITH EGYPT'S HEAD?!" Seychelles jumped when she heard Saint Lucia screamed behind her, and saw her and Bahamas gaping with soap and water on their clothes.

Then a bubble covered Anubis came out running barking in joy towards Egypt, who looked _very_ confused.

"Why is Anubis drenched in soap and bubbles?"

/ / / / /

Portugal was left speechless by what transpired several minutes ago as he stared at the spot where Western Sahara stood before she vanished. What the hell was that? Seeing Western Sahara wounded while on the other side DR Congo cradled the limp body of ROC who had a bleeding hole in his chest. Brazil seemed as surprised as he was, and he as well as Peru and Argentina seemed angry at the sight of Western Sahara.

Portugal could think of a few reasons as to why Western Sahara would be here, she was a member of the African Union, wasn't she? As to why Brazil was currently cursing under his breath in Portuguese, Portugal didn't have a clue.

Liberia seemed the most furious of all, but he would grin maliciously whenever he met Portugal's gaze before going back to pacing in frustration. Portugal wasn't really surprised at seeing him involved, Brazil already taunted him about America.

As much as the revelations would pain him like it did with Brazil, Portugal was curious as to who Brazil's group were comprised of and what they had to do with Western-

"If you're wondering about Western Sahara, irmão, then forget about it." Portugal flinched when he heard Brazil's cold voice behind him and turned around to see his ex-colony with is arms crossed and an unusually irritated look on his face. "She's not important."

"But why-" Portugal tried to ask, but Brazil shushed him.

"But what did I tell you?" Brazil hissed harshly, startling Portugal with his sudden change of demeanor. "Besides, there's no use thinking about her. You'll probably never hear from her again, so again, forget about her."

"Why are you suddenly so cold, Xavier?" Portugal asked carefully, feeling tense.

Brazil stared at him with the same cold expression for a few seconds before smirking. "Ah, sorry about that, Western Sahara does have that effect on me. But anyway, do you want to see your other former colonies?"

Portugal's eye went wide when he remembered the main reason he was brought here, he was going to see his missing ex-colonies, he had been so in shock over what happened to his brother and surprised by the sight when they arrived that he forgot all about them.

Feeling his paternal worry resurface, he quickly nodded.

/ / / / /

Once Western Sahara's feet landed on the ground and she dazedly stared around the empty street of the countryside as she panted from exhaustion, her knees gave in and she collapsed to the concrete ground, groaning and coughing out some blood. Now that there was no one in sight to tear her head off, her physical and emotional exhaustion caught up to her, and she was now very tired.

Not to mention losing blood. Her torn shoulder as well as other parts were dripping red from cuts, stab wounds and even cannibalism courtesy from DRC.

She wasn't even outside South Africa, but needed, no, wanted rest. After everything that happened today, all Western Sahara wanted was to rest, nothing more. The former territory looked tiredly up at the sky, she saw that it was now dark and full of stars. Has she been in there that long…?

Honestly, Western Sahara doesn't even remember when she broke in.

As Western Sahara stared at the stars, now safe for the time being and resting, something came over her. She felt water prick the corners of her eyes and she sniffed. Western Sahara began to cry.

She wept as she buried her face in her hands literally stained with blood, the guilt and disgust of her actions beginning to overwhelm her, she now fully realized what she had done and now she couldn't be any more devastated. Not only that, now that she rationally thought about it all… what she felt, thought, and did… she realized how unbelievably stupid she actually was back there.

She was a complete and utter fool.

What exactly was she thinking? Coming up with an ill-conceived and rash plan to kill South Africa in a foolish attempt at somehow avenging Spain and getting revenge for all the mental torture Morocco and the others put her through. About half of the plan relied on luck for it to succeed and her to survive for the next phase of it!

Such a poorly thought-out plan was doomed to fail from the very beginning.

Western Sahara sobbed into her hands. She didn't mean to… She didn't want to kill ROC! The bullet was for DRC! What he told her just filled her with such ire that she couldn't help herself and so she… But DRC wasn't even a target,

Western Sahara didn't want all of this to spiral out of control and cause horrifying consequences, she didn't mean to, she really did not. She was angry, she was furious. All she wanted was to make them pay for what they did, what they made her do. Seeing Spain's gruesome death thanks to Morocco angered her so much that she snapped, all her self-restraint vanished, and her buried fury and hunger for revenge got the better of her.

Western Sahara screamed.

She just couldn't take any more! Western Sahara was already about to break down not long before Morocco gave her independence from everything Morocco and his cronies made her endure all the years before. Now even after independence, just when Western Sahara was getting over her paranoia and beginning to breathe easy, Morocco's demonic cobra came to bring her more suffering!

Western Sahara didn't deserve to be tormented like this. She did nothing for Allah to damn her to a life of seemingly never-ending suffering. She deserved to cause her tormentors the same anguish and despair she felt… right? She deserved it after everything, didn't she?! They deserved to suffer, no?

What she wanted to do was justified… was it?

She sniffed and wiped away her tears with her sleeve before she froze when the sound of familiar chuckling reached her ears. No…

"Oh my, this is the first time I have seen you cry in a while." An amused voice commented wryly.

Western Sahara removed her arm and opened her eyes to find standing before her staring down with a wide malicious grin showing off his carnivorous teeth, much to her horror. Out of shock and fury, she shrieked and immediately scurried away before glaring up at the nation who took the most pleasure out of torturing her.

"YOU!" Western Sahara furiously screeched.

"Me." Morocco agreed, nodding and crossing his arms, his grin never faltering.

"What are you doing here?!" Western Sahara snarled while she carefully tried to stand up despite her wounds. "What do you want with me?!"

Both questions only seemed to amuse Morocco more, as his smile broadened. "What I want with you? Well, nothing really, at least not anymore now that there's no need to keep you on a leash. I just happen to adore tearing you apart piece by piece until you drown in the depths of despair."

Western Sahara gritted her teeth at him. "You want my suffering."

"Oh, you have a point there, dear sister. I do want that from you." Morocco said amusedly as he gave her a cheerful toothy smile as if he did something hilarious. "But you must admit how clever I was to use that loophole."

"You promised!" Western Sahara shrieked, grabbing her head, she wanted to tear her hair out.

"I did. But again, the loophole, and I just couldn't help myself." Morocco smiled sheepishly, touching his cheeks as he blushed in apparent embarrassment, which Western Sahara doubted was the case. Morocco then smiled slyly. "My beloved Abarshane informed me of how you reacted to Spain's bloody end, you know. I must say, I wasn't expecting such a strong reaction from you."

Western Sahara narrowed her eyes and scoffed. "Allah damn that accursed reptile to hell."

Morocco stared at her with narrowed dull eyes then his usual smile returned to his face. "Honestly, I think that's about the hundredth time you said that about my precious little friend, do you have any originality?"

Western Sahara rolled her eyes and scoffed again. "Believe me, you would not like all the insults and curses I have for that demon. Now, what do you want?"

"You genuinely surprised me when I heard what happened." Morocco told her calmly, crossing his arms with a serene smile, though it looked less genuine than usual. "I guessed you'd be devastated to the point where you seek revenge, but I did not expect you to kill ROC."

"I didn't mean to kill him!" Western Sahara screamed desperately, though what was the point in telling that to Morocco?

"Maybe you did, maybe you did not, but either way he has left this world and he has you to thank." Morocco shrugged then smirked at that last part, and then all of a sudden, his smirk became a demented grin. "I really despise you, Safiyya. Have I ever told you that?"

"What?" Western Sahara muttered in surprise, though she was used to his sudden mood swings...

"I said I really despise you, dear sister. Do you need to have your ears cleaned out?"

"I heard you the first time, just came out of nowhere, is all..."

"Well, do you know why I despise you so much?

"Alright, you demented bastard. Why do you hate me so much?"

"Because of what you did to ROC, foolish sister, because of your actions. Yes, I am disappointed that you've became this desperate, but you have also made me very angry. Why?" Morocco's insane grin widened and began to bite the nail on his thumb as he began to breathe heavily. "You unintentionally caused the demise of our fellow member's friend, something that will haunt you forever and has devastated DRC."

Western Sahara scowl's deepened as her eyes began to water again. "You think I don't know that?! And for that last time, I am not your sister!"

"You don't understand, Safiyya. Do you have the slightest idea of how I'm feeling right about your actions? It's pure agony!" Morocco moaned out then bit his nail harder as his cheeks flushed red and Western Sahara could see he was sweating. "Seeing that the guilt is slowly killing you and hurting you so very much pleasures me, but the fact you killed ROC and caused pain to DRC enrages me so."

Western Sahara wanted to groan and spit in disgust at Morocco. She had seen this display one too many times in the past and her repulsion hasn't diminished in the slightest. It genuinely amazed her how much self-restraint Morocco actually had compared to the other lions considering how much he took pleasure in gore and the suffering of others.

Morocco must have seen her disgusted expression, because Morocco snorted.

"Don't you dare start berating me for my… tastes, Safiyya. Think of me as the Devil if you want, but don't forget that I can express kindness and care for others, although it's only limited to them. You see…" Morocco stopped biting his now damaged nail and proceeded to lick the blood, much to the female nation's digust, before smirking. "Dikembe is now one of us; he is our comrade, our friend, our brother. And we are not happy that he's hurting thanks to you."

"That's…" Western Sahara trailed off before she felt her air restricted again and once again spewed out blood.

Morocco grinned in glee as he saw Western Sahara cough out blood as she held her stomach. "The only ones who can to hurt him are the ones he allows to. But anyway… disregarding my anger at you… let me congratulate you, since it seemed that you didn't read my letter."

Western Sahara coughed and he looked up at him with a bitter glare. "What?"

"For what you did, the conclusion may have been a scenario that did not come into my mind, but barring ROC's demise it ended in a way I hoped it would." Morocco chuckled then leaned down with the same wicked smirk. "Congratulations, you finally understand."

"What are you talking about, you madman? Understand what?" Western Sahara demanded.

"Tell me; after you watched the tape of Spain's death I sent you, when you finally snapped, when you decided to come after me, you felt it, that emotion of pure rage and hate, as well as the hunger for revenge for so many years of suffering." Morocco's malicious expression then became an empty one. "All the resentment and bitterness building up as the years went by and your maltreatment continued until one day… you crack."

Western Sahara's stared at in shock, she still doesn't understand what… "I… that's…"

Morocco's widened but dull brown orbs stared at his fist, then he clenched it. "And when at last you break, you go through a rather short period of anguish and despair at the state of your life, and then at the end you are left with the strong feelings of hate and an overwhelming desire for revenge, to give your tormentor what they deserved no matter what the risk and what you had to do, a desire that changes you."

"What are you trying to tell me, Rahim?! You can't be trying to imply that..." Western Sahara trailed off as she shook her head in denial. The pieces were beginning to come together, but she refused to think about it. No…

"Isn't it obvious? You now completely know how I feel, you understand one of the reasons I relish the feeling of making others suffer. I wanted someone from the outside to understand me and the others, preferably some of my family, and now you know how the demon in front of you came to be. I had to show you. I had to make you see, to finally understand…"

Western Sahara closed her eyes and clutched her head to block out the sound of Morocco's voice. No… no, no, no, no…. She wasn't Morocco, she wasn't like them. She utterly hated what she'd been forced to do. She couldn't be more remorseful over trying to get revenge and what she ended up doing to ROC. Western Sahara wasn't Morocco's puppet!

She wasn't! It couldn't all have been in Morocco's plan!

But it made sense. Remembering her experiences in the past with the Order, Western Sahara noticed that it was Morocco and the other four who were responsible for most of her suffering and torture. Austria, Prussia and the others never really did much to her, and except for some snide comments, she remembered the assignments the two leaders gave her as being a lot more tolerable and even not damaging at all.

Western Sahara opened her eyes when she felt a hand caress her cheek, and saw much to horror Morocco smiling at her.

"You had to understand that a basically anyone can become like us, even for a temporary amount of time." Morocco said softly with a kind smile, a smile so fake.

"You put me through all of that just to teach me a lesson?" Western Sahara asked in pure disbelief, too shaken to scream at him.

"Yes, I could have hurt you a lot less, but then you wouldn't have learned anything." Morocco grinned mischievously, shrugging sheepishly.

"You're mad…" Western Sahara stated, feeling the tears beginning to flow again.

At this, Morocco's smile broadened and he wrapped his arms around her in an embrace as he laughed in joy. "Oh, thank you! Shokran! Tanmirt! I knew you would understand!"

Western Sahara, now snapped out of her reverie and more angered and disgusted of herself and Morocco than ever, pushed him away angrily. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Western Sahara then winced and collapsed to the ground again as she remembered the wounds on her too late, and she sobbed and cried as she hugged her stomach, with Morocco laughing in the background. Unable to bear the pain and guilt, out of frustration and fury at him and herself… she screamed.

/ / / / /

"Push the brake all the way and go faster than a speeding bullet, Sophia!" Belize shouted at the top of her lungs as the car landed from the jump off the cliff to the ground, causing some startled cries from the two African siblings on the back.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Honduras informed her as she whirled the car to the right, causing even more hilarious commotion on the back.

"Ow! Malik, you hit me across my face!"

"I'm sorry, Khalida!"

Belize couldn't be more pissed at Egypt. Why? Because he told them information that they should have been already told about an hour ago instead of wasting said hour going on a more normal speed! Seriously, the guy's going to get attacked in at least a dozen hours, this puts a lot more pressure on her and her crew. It would have been nice if he explained his little problem to us sooner!

But it's fine… it's fine. Belize was just as determined as the brujo to keep that old bastard Guatemala behind bars for what he did. She'll make sure they pick up Costa Rica and Nicaragua as soon as possible to help Egypt out.

Besides, Belize's been wanting to have a little "talk" with Haiti about the Caribbean.

It's over a four hour car trip to the airport in Honduras, but with her friend's speed and constant traffic law breaking, odds are they'll be there in three. Once they get to the airport, she and her crew will immediately drag those two to the car, and they'll explain the whole situation to them.

But if they think they're crazy, too bad! Either believe it, or come face to face with one of the Order's members like Belize and Honduras did.

/ / / / /

And so, the race was on. For the four nations to gather all the remaining Central Americans together to get to Egypt in time to help him against Haiti. For the Order to complete their missions in the required time and recapture the escapees lest risk all their carefully laid plans to fall apart. Time was ticking over the heads of every nation rushing to their goal, every minute and second must not be wasted.

Because if they lose the race, then it'll spell dreadful consequences for the losing side.

They must move, they must act, fast.

The Order's goals of change and justice. The escapees' hopes of survival and victory. It all depended on how fast they acted, and how they fare against the enemy. Whatever happens, whoever wins, it'll have quite the effect on the war.

Now, we go to four and a half hours later…

/ / / / /

The first thing Hungary noticed once she regained consciousness was that her head hurt… a lot, that and she felt dizzy.

She groaned as she tried her best not to throw up and rubbed the back of her head, only to wince at the pain when she did, then her head fell back to the ground with a thump and more pain on the back of her head. Ow. Goodness, that hurt.

Hungary tried to remember how she ended up with that felt like a concussion, then the memories came back to her, and she felt alarmed. The last thing she remembered was a furious Bosnia scratching her face then slamming her head down to the ground. Why… Why did he do that? Why did Bosnia knock her out? The book… She remembered a book… or was it a diary… or a journal?

The memories were blurry, even though Hungary was slowly beginning to remember how she got into this position, she just couldn't remember what were in the pages. Something told her that it didn't make sense anyway, so…

Then Hungary heard voices as she stirred, and she tried to open her eyes.

"Heh, would you look at that? Sleeping hag's waking up."

"Gasp! Oh, my, like, fabulous God! Lizzy, like, wake up! Can, you, like, totally hear me?"

For some reason Hungary wanted to scowl at the first person who talked, and felt that she was going to need her frying pan, now. Hungary slowly opened her eyes to finally see what was in front of her, and she groaned when she came face to face with a fanged grin.

Lighting up the dark room with an ember above his hand, Romania smirked, that smug smirk that Hungary hated so much, at her as she began to feel less disoriented. Oh, why… There'd better be a good explanation for the bloodsucker in front of her.

"Hello, Hungary." Romania greeted cockily, tipping his small hat to her.

"Go to hell." Hungary stated bluntly, and then she plopped back to the ground, not wanting to deal with that jerk right now, or ever.

"No, Lizzy! Don't like, go to the light!" Poland cried out as she rushed to her and hugged her tightly, much to Hungary's embarrassment and then anger as Romania's smirk grew. "Oh, Liz, I was, like totally worried we, like, lost you!"

Hungary smiled tightly as her eyebrow twitched. "Feliks…"

"Yeah, Liz?"

"What the hell is that rejected Twilight character doing here with us?" Hungary asked as nicely as she could, but ending up sounding very forced, and Romania scowled.

Poland let go of Hungary and smiled proudly. "I, like, called him after you and Bosnia totally vanished!

"Da, way too early in the morning as well." Romania muttered as he sighed. "When Poland mentioned you, I was ready to hang up, but then he went on about going on this quest for Austria and find out what's going on, and that piqued my interest. So, when Poland requested my magical services in finding you, I gladly helped him after he gave me a brief but confusing summary of the strange events. Very kind of me, nu?"

"As if! You want something and I'm not going to give it to you." Hungary scoffed and crossed her arms.

Romania then sneered. "Hag, I got up very early in the morning for you of all people. Moldova's already scared enough of everything happening, and for reasons I cannot fathom he likes you, so as a good big brother and a good nation, I helped save you from Bosnia. I think I at least deserve a thank you."

Hungary scowled and was ready to spit back a retort when she remembered Bosnia, she widened her eyes. "Wait, where's Emir, anyway? Don't tell me he's-"

"He's, like, right there." Poland pointed untrustingly at the figure sitting against the wall hugging their knees, and Hungary could see that it was Bosnia. "Vlad and I, like, saw him drag you out of the house, it was, like, totally creepy!"

"When he saw us, he angrily but reluctantly let go of you and tried to escape into the woods, but I managed to catch him." Romania explained, his sneer replaced with a frown, as he then raised an eyebrow. "But he kept trying to attack us ferociously, he seemed almost feral, so Poland knocked him out with your frying pan. When he came to, he was surprised and claimed he didn't remember leaving the car."

"This again…" Hungary muttered in worry.

"At first, I thought Poland was overacting or something like that when he explained what happened with Bosnia, but now I believe it and I'm very confused."

"You think we're not?"

"Nu, but he seems stable now, in case you want to talk to him."

Hungary looked over at the still quiet Bosnia, who carefully looked up with his usual blank face to meet her gaze before looking away guiltily. Oh, he must really feel guilty about what he did, even though he doesn't remember any of it. Well, Hungary doesn't hate him for knocking her out, but she was now warier than before. They'll probably need to keep him on a leash or something.

Then Hungary remembered something. The book!

"Bosnia…" Hungary began, scooting to Bosnia, who still didn't look at her, and she smiled. "Oh, come on, Emir. I forgive you for slamming my head to the floor, I'm not happy about it, but I won't hit you with my frying pan for it or anything. In fact, think of it as payback for me knocking you out back in Austria!"

"I'm sorry…" Bosnia murmured sorrowfully, just loud enough for Hungary to hear.

"And what did I tell you?"

"I went bat-shit crazy on you."

"Well… yes, but-"

"I don't remember anything. Why don't I remember anything?" Bosnia asked desperately in despair as he gripped his head. "I couldn't stop thinking about it, then I blacked out. Why... What am I missing? Why can't I remember?"

Hungary widened her eyes in worry. "So, you don't remember the book... notebook... diary or whatever, Emir?"

Bosnia stopped his muttering and looked at Hungary in bafflement. "What book?"

Hungary sighed in disappointment. "I guess that answers my question."

"Oh, I think I know." Romania announced as he bared his fangs in distaste. "Do you think that book of yours has anything to do with what's on the floor?"

Hungary opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but as her eyes trailed to the floor, she gaped in shock. Strewn through the floor were shreds of paper and she could see pieces of a cover scattered too.

"How...?" Hungary began, too shocked to finish the question.

"I don't know..." Bosnia said quietly. "But I know it was me."

/ / / / /

Indonesia happily hummed to herself as she took out the kitchen supplies from the drawers and cabinets then set them on the counter one by one. She wanted to make herself a good breakfast, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to try out that new recipe she heard from Malaysia or perhaps better save it for another day, not to mention that she's going to have visitors at her door arriving soon.

Philippines and East Timor are likely to be tired from traveling for several hours, and so late at night too! Indonesia hoped that East Timor at least got at least some hours of sleep on the way here.

Indonesia sensed someone entering her land less than an hour ago, so those two should be arriving soon, it felt nice that they're going to visit her but… she frowned slightly. The conversation at night with East Timor was still fresh on her mind, and it still bothered her. Why would Philippines just suddenly snatch East Timor from her home just to visit her?

There are several possible explanations as to why, but Indonesia felt that none of them were any close to the real unknown answer. Indonesia could scold them later, especially Philippines, later when they arrive. Hopefully, this wasn't part of some prank planned by the two of them. Philippines did comment that Indonesia was becoming a stick in the mud like Singapore.

Indonesia took offense to that. First of all, she was NOT a stick in the mud, and she wouldn't say Singapore's like that. Second of all, Philippines wasn't that-

Indonesia nearly dropped the frying pan in her hand when she heard knocking, but then she relaxed and smiled. That's probably Philippines and East Timor!

Setting the pan to the table, she made her way to her front door, but then stopped when she spotted her sharpened bamboo stick, the one she liked to always carry around, out of the corner of her eye lying against the wall. Indonesia bit her lip.

She may like to carry it, but she doubted it'll be necessary to carry it on her way to answer the door. However, her instincts told her that she needed to take it, and then again, it's also not necessary to carry that stick around at all times but she did it anyway.

Reluctantly, Indonesia went over and grabbed the bamboo stick, and she arrived at the door. She opened it and smiled when saw Philippines holding East Timor's hand, the former unusually serious and the latter beaming in joy.

"Hello, Kira!" East Timor said happily, smiling cutely up at Indonesia. "We're here!~"

"Yes, hello, Tina. It's nice to see you, but we're going to have a talk, but first…" Indonesia smiled kindly at Philippines, who stared at her with an unreadable expression. "Hello to you too, Felipe. I hope the trip here wasn't too tiring?"

At this, Philippines gave her a small smile and put his hands behind his back. "No, in fact, I felt my energy come back the moment I set foot in your land. Anyway, now that all of us are here together…"

Philippines's smile suddenly became a feral grin and he pushed East Timor away before his right hand revealed a butterfly knife. Indonesia barely had time to express her surprised before he lunged towards her, but fast reflexes helped her duck in time and block his arms with her bamboo stick.

Indonesia's eyes went wide as Philippines smirked. "Let's get down to business, shall we?"

/ / / / /

"…You're kidding." Hong Kong deadpanned. Seriously, he could not believe what he was hearing.

Haiti frowned in annoyance at Hong Kong's remark as he crossed his arms and the Caribbean sighed, but Hong Kong kept giving him the "seriously?" stare, which looked nearly identical to his usual empty stare but he was sure Haiti could tell the difference. Hong Kong would have also face-palmed as well, but he didn't want to give Haiti that much of a hard time about it.

But then Haiti cracked a sly smile. "That's the fourth time you've said that. Is your record broken, my pretty?"

Hong Kong's eye twitched at the nickname and then scowled. "Very funny, but refer to me as "my pretty" one more time and I'll slit your throat."

"Oh, forgive me, but I can't help myself because you're just so cute with that vacant expression of yours~" Haiti grinned mischievously and cackled as he pinched Hong Kong's cheeks, much to the latter's irritation. "You're even more adorable when you look like you want to strangle me."

"That's not even close to what I want to do." Hong Kong growled at him angrily. Hong Kong really hated it when Haiti, Macau or anyone else do something like this. Did he really look like a puppy to them? Or a grumpy cat according to Macau.

Thankfully much to Hong Kong's relief, Haiti let him go and went back to looking at his nails. "Again, I'm sorry, Hong Kong. You want to be taken seriously; I understand that, everyone does, even Macau, despite what you might think…"

Hong Kong's scowl softened. True, he could tell that Macau did take him seriously; that gambling addict mostly did it to tease him. The same went for Haiti.

It was a strong desire of Hong Kong to be taken seriously, as well as gaining nationhood, he intended to get it by attaining that. Something else he desired, as much as becoming his own nation without China looming over him, was to get stronger, that's what Mongolia's training was for. His mentor taught him everything Hong Kong now knew, and the young Asian couldn't be more grateful to him.

He still hasn't mastered patience though. It was a rather large flaw of Hong Kong, but given everything he had to endure for the past few centuries, he'd say he did a good job. Because Hong Kong lost count of how many times he was on the brink of snapping and burning whatever place he's with England, China or Japan to the ground.

There were even times when Mongolia or Macau had to use the tranquilizers or mood enhancers normally reserved for Bulgaria or the Africans on him.

Even though he always felt ashamed of himself after his master and leaders scold him for almost giving them away, Hong Kong continued to struggle with his patience, but he managed... miraculously. The wait was pure agony.

He just couldn't stand seeing those three going on in their everyday life, looking all proud or smug of themselves or just existing. He just wanted to snuff out their lives already. Fortunately, his master, in his wisdom, gave Hong Kong a way to get through it.

Whenever Hong Kong stared at them emptily, he would remind himself that their days were numbered and soon it'll all come crumbling down for them. He could relish in the fact that they'll burn.

He'll burn England alive with a petrol-filled tire, a method he heard from South Africa that he's been wanting to try out, for trying to erase Hong King in a pathetic attempt to replace America.

China will die a death of a thousand cuts, one of that old man's own original torture methods, for trying to force his mindset into him and Macau, for keeping them down in desperation and greed.

Hong Kong will starve Japan and then feed him his own organs for refusing to acknowledge what he did to him and his people, trying to avoid and deny the truth and memories burned into Hong Kong's mind.

They'll see. They'll see that-

"Anyway, back to the main topic, you don't need to scold me for what happened." Hong Kong was snapped back to reality at Haiti's voice, and he remembered that he wasn't alone in the shrine. "The decision to let Monaco go was of my own free will. I felt nice at the time."

"It sounds like you went soft on them." Hong Kong grumbled, earning a narrowed gaze from the smoking Haiti. "They have one of us captive. You should have done whatever necessary to rescue him, but you left for an "innocent" girl when you could have easily-"

"I said I felt nice." Haiti hissed with seething anger as he snapped his head towards Hong Kong, and the Asian wisely shut his mouth, and then Haiti calmed down. "Little Monaco is not the one I want to hurt."

Hong Kong swallowed as he got over Haiti startling him. "Fine, I won't judge you."

Haiti sighed in relief as he inhaled his cigarette again. "Mesi."

"But how are you going to explain this to Nigeria?" Hong Kong asked with a raised eyebrow, then widened his eyes slightly as Haiti threw his head back, laughing.

"Ohohohoho! Speak a single word about what happened to him, my pretty, and I'll have to rip out your esophagus and feed it to you while your feet are flayed." Haiti explained merrily while he laughed as if it was a hilarious joke and patted a stunned Hong Kong's head.

"Oh." Hong Kong said, sweat dropping while keeping his unreadable expression. "So you don't want him to know?"

Haiti just laughed.

Why did Hong Kong like to hang out with South Africa and Nigeria again? Oh right, mutual hatred of England, duh.

Still, why does Hong Kong have to work with crazy people?

"So, are you interested in coming, my pretty?"

"I'll discuss it with master first, but sure, why not?"

/ / / / /

The world burned, and so did the van.

Lithuania, Bulgaria, Estonia and Latvia all stood together as they watched the van before them lodged between some rocks light the night as it burned down in glorious flames. This was what happened when you go along with Bulgaria's ideas… as well as Lithuania not putting the car on park. Yes, as much as it pained Lithuania to admit it, it was mostly his own fault they were in this situation.

Lithuania sighed and put his hands in the pockets of his coat. "It looks like we'll have to wait for another member to pick us up."

"But on the bright side, I have insurance!" Bulgaria stated cheerfully, giggling and not at all concerned.

"Ah, good, good... Dimitri?"

"Hmm?"

"I... am very well aware that this sight in front of us isn't your fault in any way... surprisingly..." Lithuania smiled very tightly and cracked his knuckles. "I am very frustrated right now, so if you don't mind..."

"Oh, Toris, you don't even need to ask." Bulgaria clasped his hands together and smiled kindly.

Lithuania smiled back, albeit tiredly. "Good..."

Lithuania walked over to Bulgaria and leaned his head on the other European's shoulder while said nation patted Lithuania's head.

/ / / / /

"VENEZIANO!"

Italy screamed in terror and trembled in fear as he hid behind Germany at the sound of his brother roaring his name outside the house, already waving his white flag while he wailed that he was going to die, while the latter nation just groaned at the just ridiculous situation he ended up in.

Why… Just… Why?

Germany really wanted to go up to a wall and bang his head against it until he woke up from the mad nightmare he was having, because this had to be a nightmare, a horrible nightmare, and soon he'll wake up to find Italy sleeping next to him like he usually did. But if this wasn't a nightmare like Germany desperately hoped, then he was still going to bang his head against the wall.

Romano was out to get him and Italy for what had to be one of the nonsensical reasons in existence, a reason that both baffled and angered him on so many levels, and no matter what Germany and Italy told Romano, the angry coward would still try to kill them.

Romano… thought that Germany and Italy were dating.

What even?

"Germany-san." The mentally ranting German looked up to see a tired Japan run to him. "I have boarded up your entire house as you requested. Romano-san shouldn't be able to enter, not with his own hands at least."

Italy deflated to the ground in relief. "...Ve."

Germany sighed and gave a small smile to Japan. "Danke, Japan. Now, we'll just wait until he gets tired… whenever that is."

"Why does Lovino want to kill me?" Italy asked miserably, which sounded a bit muffled from the floor. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Ja, but the idiot thinks we're…" Germany trailed off as he blushed red in embarrassment and looked away. "What your brother said. But if it comes down to it, you'll have to go outside and talk some sense into him."

"WHAT?!" Italy screamed in horror and then he quickly crawled over to hug Germany's legs, much to the latter's dismay. "B-B-B-But my fratello wants his mafia to stab me and then push me into a volcano after he starved me for weeks without pasta!"

"OPEN THE DAMN DOOR AND FACE ME LIKE A FUCKING MAN, VENEZIANO!"

"Meap." Italy squeaked, then he fainted.

"I do not think we will get out of this easily, Germany-san." Japan said as he sweat-dropped at Italy's unconscious body.

/ / / / /

"Do you see them?" Sweden asked his trusted partner as they sat on the roof looking over the parking lot.

Finland remained silent as he peered out through his binoculars then he smirked. "I do, at their speed, they should be here in a few minutes. Then we can take out two birds with one stone and my finger is itching for the trigger."

"Don't worry; you will be able to snuff out some lives." Sweden assured him, adjusting his glasses.

 **I hope I combined the humorous parts with the more serious parts well. I like doing the "light and darkness" thing, it shows how things can be good or bad around the globe at the same time. I really had fun writing this chapter. Please review!**


	31. Trials: The challenger

**Thanks to Eternal Nexus Warrior, NadiaJA627, AquaEclipse, seenlee93 and two guests for reviewing. Here's a longer chapter than usual. I kinda wanted to show some more characters and whatnot. Hope you enjoy! Now, on with the show!**

Nicaragua dragged her suitcase as she walked through the airport, huffing and frowning as she made sure her long bangs still covered the left side of her face, the part that she didn't want anyone in heaven, hell or earth to see. She put her long black hair to the back and proceeded to look around for any sign of Honduras. This better not be part of some plot, because Nicaragua was very worried at how desperate Honduras sounded.

Especially if this was another attempt by her to have Nicaragua and Costa Rica "bonding" and resolve their differences and issues so they could one big happy family… Heh, wouldn't that be nice…

She was a bit in a bad mood right now. Things are alarming and rough in her home, her boss was causing her no end of stress and suffering, the instability was really getting to her. That was also why she agreed to meet with Honduras here. Nicaragua needed a break, and Honduras was a sister to her.

And now that she thought about it, dealing with Costa Rica was a lot better than dealing with her boss and his wife.

"NICA!"

Huh? All Nicaragua saw was a blur charging towards her and before she knew it, she was up wrapped in a tight bear hug by none other than Honduras, and the former winced at the lack of oxygen. Wait, Honduras wasn't the only one suffocating her, Belize was grinning as she hugged Nicaragua next to Honduras. Nicaragua stammered and choked from the tight embrace and tried to choke out some words.

"L-Let go…. por favor…" Nicaragua managed to say.

Thankfully, Honduras and Belize let go, letting Nicaragua get some air. The two of them were all smiles, their grins were so wide that it looked painful to Nicaragua, then Honduras went and hugged her again, this time not so tightly. At this, Nicaragua's mouth twitched into a smile and returned the hug.

They look very happy to see her. It felt… nice.

"Oh, Regina, we're sorry… But we're just so happy to see that you're alright and that we managed to find you!" Honduras told her joyfully as she held her, causing Nicaragua to raise a confused eyebrow. What?

"Thank… you?" Nicaragua responded with a puzzled expression. "What did you hear? Did you think I was missing? My boss may be a pendejo but even he's not stupid enough to do something to someone like… Sophia?"

Nicaragua trailed off she heard sniffs coming from Honduras, and the other nation's arms were shaking, making her realize that Honduras was crying. Honduras sobbed into Nicaragua's shoulder, and the latter looked at Belize for an explanation, but the younger girl was smiling and shedding tears herself. Nicaragua was getting even more confused by all this, was there some horrifying incident she wasn't aware of?

"Sophia? Why are you crying?" Nicaragua asked, looking at her worriedly.

Honduras wordlessly let her go, still crying, and Nicaragua could see that her neighbor was smiling as her tears fell. "I'm happy you're okay, Regina."

Belize wiped her tears with her arm and attempted a mischievous grin. "We were worried those pendejos were gonna get you before we did!"

"Who?" Nicaragua inquired, her confusion only growing, more so after she saw she two other nations approach the scene.

"It's… a very long story, too long, and complicated as well… very complicated," Algeria commented with a wry smile with her brother Tunisia at her side as they walked up to them. "Oh, and I forgot to mention, we're here too."

Now this made her jaw drop. "A-Aren't you two supposed to be missing?!"

"We don't have time for this, Regina!" Belize exclaimed irately and swiftly snatched Nicaragua's wrist. "Now that you're here you have to help us find Costa Rica so that we can go to France in time before Haiti attacks them!"

"What convoluted nonsense is motivating you to-"

"LET'S GO!"

"W-Wait!" Nicaragua tried to object, but her words fell on deaf ears as she was pulled by Belize and pushed by Honduras away as Algeria and Tunisia gave her apologetic looks.

/ / / / /

DRC stared blankly at the body of his neighbor laid before him, limp and lifeless, beginning to pale just slightly, filled with nothing but sorrow and grief. ROC's eyes were closed, and his expression was calm, he didn't feel pain as he left. Then he looked at his gloved hands emptily for many seconds, then clenched them as he gritted his teeth.

Why?

Why did suffering and loss play such a constant part in his life? Why was it that whenever he went, as the years went by, those two were never far behind? His whole life the moment the Europeans stepped into his home, back in Kongo, became hell. No, it truly became complete and utter hell the moment she came into his life with that disgusting fake smile of hers, he was doomed the day she took over.

War, instability, poverty, danger, rape, child soldiers, corruption, suffering, anguish… DRC had all of them ever since became a colony. They were part of who he was, of what the people he represented did or went through, parts of his identity.

But he also had endurance, and by using all his strength he survived. He survived Belgium, her cowardly king, his wars, his own people, he lived. Sometimes, in his moments of despair, he wanted to die, to fade away, but he didn't. For some reason he lived. There had to be a reason he was still here breathing, he wasn't alive just so he could suffer even more…

…Right?

"What are you doing?" A new voice suddenly asked DRC, causing said nation's attention to snap back into reality and his anger to rise at the person who dared to disturb him while he was grieving, only to relax somewhat when he saw it was Nigeria staring down at him with his arms crossed and an unusually serious expression on him.

"Nigeria…" DRC said with slight surprise on his face. "You've come back?"

Nigeria stayed silent for a few seconds before he began twirling one of his locks with fingers absently. "Yes… only for a while… we heard what happened from Switzerland and I took all of us here so we could make sure all is orderly as well as to see how you were doing…"

DRC looked back at ROC and nodded. "I see..."

The Congolese man grunted when Nigeria suddenly grabbed his collar so he could face the other man's grave expression. "Listen closely…"

"What is it?" DRC asked with slight annoyance, uncomfortable at the close proximity between their faces, and tried to wrench from Nigeria's grip. "And do you have any sense of personal space whatsoever?"

" _This_ … is serious, Dikembe. If you truly have love for selfless little Alphonse, then you'll listen to every word I have to say with your full attention." Nigeria told him carefully, his green eye glancing at ROC, then back at a confused DRC.

"Just what are you trying to say?"

"Do you want him back?"

"…Oui."

"Good, then you'll listen closely and carefully…"

Nigeria promptly released his grip on DRC's collar, allowing for some space between, and despite DRC's bafflement he nodded. "Alright… You have my undivided attention. Are you trying to imply that he _can_ be brought back from the dead? Don't raise my hopes for such fantasies."

That last word seemed to cause a bit of distaste in Nigeria, because he gave him a frown. "Dikembe, I am a proud practitioner of Vodun and the blackest arts, I spent my whole life helping various gods and spirits of all kinds and being helped by them in return, I have charms and talismans, I've cursed, and you saw with your own eyes how I took us to and back from Brussels."

"I've never cared for magic or Vodun." DRC said emotionlessly, such things were the last things on his mind.

"Because Belgium made you forget." Nigeria corrected him, a grin spreading across his face, and DRC flinched.

DRC's eyes went wide, and he looked down solemnly. It was true… unfortunately. Back in the days of the Scramble, when most of the African continent were under Europe's boot, they made sure to any and all traditional religions so everyone could convert to Christianity. He remembered it all too well, Belgium made sure to send many missionaries to the Free State so his people could receive "salvation".

He had too many bitter memories of back when he was a frightened little boy and Belgium would shove his face into a Bible in his "tutoring sessions" with her.

It was suffocating, but DRC hardly had a say in it. And as a result his knowledge of the religions of his own people ended suppressed deep in his mind, never to be seen again.

"Anyhoo, now's not the time to debate about magic, because our dear ROC doesn't have much time." Nigeria licked his lips and leaned over close to DRC's face, much to the latter's discomfort, and he smiled mysteriously. "ROC's not dead."

" _What?_ " DRC said in disbelief.

"Liberia told me an interesting detail of when you were holding him, little Beria told me that you began _muttering_." Nigeria informed him with a smirk, and DRC widened his eyes at that, having forgotten about that. "You were apparently muttering in every language of your nation, one and then the next, until you finally settled for Kongo. Interesting, but the truly interesting detail was the sentence you were muttering. Tell me, what as it again? I kind of forgot, silly me."

DRC frowned and stared down at the floor. "You will not die."

"Ah, right! That was it. And just why would you do such a thing?" Nigeria asked cheerfully, putting his hands on his hips.

"I… I don't know." DRC said, looking at his gloved hands. "I did it purely out of instinct, it felt like it was what I needed to do."

"Of course it was!" Nigeria chirped, laughing joyfully and winked. "So you know what to do, because you have what I have. We both have the same magic in us, we have the darkness, the affinity with spirits. Believe it or not, you do have the magic touch."

DRC stared at him in disbelief. "And how do you know that?"

Nigeria only snorted at DRC's doubts and then grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "Oh, don't start with that, DRC~ You do have it and you know you do, that bitch just made you forget what we're capable of. And don't you dare forget about our cute little brother."

DRC stared at him in pure bafflement. "Little… brother?"

"Yes, our little brother!" Nigeria nodded with a wide grin.

"But we don't _have_ a little brother." DRC corrected him with a stone-faced stare, beginning to get a little annoyed by Nigeria's words. "You and I aren't even related, Nigeria."

Nigeria gasped dramatically at those remarks, and DRC resisted the urge to either roll his eyes or crack a small smile. "Oh, but you can't really mean that, Dikembe! If our little brother ever hears you say that, why, he'd be devastated! Or are you trying to tell me that you don't care about our dear brother Haiti?"

"Haiti?" DRC repeated.

"Yes, Haiti! We all know that back when little Hennrick was a colony, France brought slaves from Africa to his land, and the slaves were quite the influence on him." Nigeria laughed a little before smiling darkly. "One of the ethnic groups of the slaves were Yoruba, originating from yours truly, and another one was Kongo, which you used to be a part of."

True. Along with ROC and Angola, parts of their present land used to comprise the Kingdom of Kongo, which he and the other two have vague memories of. None of them were sure _who_ represented Kongo, or if there was a separate individual who represented it, the multiple ethnicities in their lands did not help with their memories. Angola had her memories suppressed by Portugal, ROC by France, and DRC of course by Belgium.

DRC had a theory, one that he kept hidden to himself, that he was once Kongo. It sounded slightly far-fetched considering his low population of Kongo people compared to ROC and Angola, but his memories the days before Belgium and during the time of Kongo were…

"Our people influenced him, there's a part of you and me inside of him, his voodoo is partly based on Yoruba and Kongo's." Nigeria stated confidently, putting a hand where his heart was, then his smile turned fond. "We are some of the nations who make up who he is, _our_ people gave him the gift of magic, so you have it too. Look at ROC, did he really leave this world?"

DRC felt his grief well up and prepared to shout that his friend was dead, but then he looked at ROC and saw something he hadn't noticed before.

ROC was breathing, it was barely noticeable, but he was.

"The Republic of Congo is stuck between life and death because of your chanting, you unknowingly used your magic to stop his soul from leaving his body and freeze the death process, _you_ are keeping him in a sort of half-dead state." Nigeria gestured his hand towards ROC while a pale DRC watched. "His heart has stopped, but he still breathes, now listen closely…"

/ / / / /

Indonesia couldn't bring herself to move, she was too stunned to, the only she could do was stare in shock at a smirking Philippines who she was still blocking, barely. She had just enough concentration to not let him move, but she could feel that Philippines was strong, and it was difficult for Indonesia.

She was still having trouble processing what was happening, she wasn't she even sure she knew what was happening. All Indonesia knew was that Philippines brought East Timor with him, probably against her will, and then when the two of them finally arrived at her door, Philippines suddenly attacked her. Philippines... attacked her.

...Why?

She had a lot of questions running through her mind right now. What was he doing? How could he? And why? The most prominent one was why. Why did Philippines take East Timor late at night to her house? Why did Philippines attack her? Why was Philippines smirking evilly at her as if he was enjoying this? Why was he enjoying this? Why was he doing this? Why did Indonesia feel that she'll like none of the answers?

Philippines kept smiling ferociously at Indonesia, baring his teeth. "Nice reflexes as always, Kirana. I knew this wouldn't be easy."

Indonesia regained just enough of her composure to finally ask. "What are you doing, Felipe?"

"Right now? I'm trying to wrench my hands free so I can plunge this balifong into your stomach just enough times to leave you unable to fight back." Philippines shrugged nonchalantly, then kept trying to push, surprising Indonesia with his strength. "But don't worry, I'm kind of bound by a promise to not hurt you too much."

"No! I mean…" Indonesia swallowed and had to force the next words out as she looked at him desperately. "What are you doing attacking me? Why are you doing this, Felipe?!"

Philippines just laughed, which caused Indonesia to glare at him in anger.

"Answer me right now, Philippines! What's gotten into you? We're family! Why would-" Indonesia began upset, but before she could on more, Philippines shoved her as he freed himself and lunged at her again.

Indonesia gasped as she stumbled a little on her feet but didn't lose her balance and managed to block Philippines's attempt to strike her in the nick of time. She took a couple to breathe as Philippines snarled. This is not good. She's a little slippery from the shock that Philippines was attacking her. She still couldn't fully process it and even though he was trying to stab her, she didn't want to hurt him.

There had to be a logical explanation for this! Philippines wouldn't… He would never… No! She refused to believe that Philippines wanted to hurt her, he's one of the closest friends she's ever had in her life!

"I see that look on your face, you're confused and in denial of what's happening, you're hoping that I'm doing this against my will…" Philippines stated with a confident smile, moving some bangs away from his face. "But you're wrong. In fact…"

Philippines suddenly thrust his knife swiftly multiple times, with Indonesia noticing that he was targeting certain pressure points, and the archipelago nation felt very glad that she liked to practice her martial arts in times of stress (which was too often) as she blocked and dodged each attempt to mortally wound her.

"It was my idea and my decision to do this!" Philippines finished haughtily.

"But why?!" Indonesia demanded, beginning to feel a little angry at the lack of answers

"All you need to know right now is that I'm your enemy and you two…" Philippines pointed at Indonesia then at East Timor, who Indonesia almost forgot was also here and was currently on the floor looking terrified. "Are coming with _me_. You'll both learn the truth afterwards, and help me with…"

Philippines trailed off as a worried expression came to his face and he began to absently gaze into the distance. Indonesia's expression had to soften if only a little at that, despite the possibility of it being a ploy to lower her guard, at the glint in Philippines's eyes. He looked sad, worried. But it didn't last long, and before Indonesia could go more into it, Philippines regained his composure and glared at her.

"Anyway, I would ask you to come peacefully, but I know you way too well to assume you'll do that." Philippines said in a colder tone, brandishing his knife. "But to be honest, I've been waiting for a good fight for days, so this will work. Don't expect me to drag it out though."

And with that Philippines attacked again and Indonesia continued to hold her own but seeing neighbor attack her so violently was a little disorienting. He was striking fast, Indonesia had no doubt she would have been bleeding from stab wounds if it weren't for her reflexes, and that's when she realized something.

Philippines was obviously using eskrima, his nation's martial arts, which can be fought with knives. Well, two could play at that game. Indonesia has pencak silat and even bela diri, she should be able to knock that knife out of his hands.

Indonesia shot a quick glance at East Timor, and her worry for her increased. She narrowed her eyes, if Philippines was intending to harm her little sister, then she'll never forgive him. Fine, if he wasn't going to explain himself, then Indonesia will demand the answers when she's finished immobilizing him. She'll definitely have better luck being on the offense than on the defense.

/ / / / /

Costa Rica could not be more excited.

He grinned so much that it looked painful as he grabbed up his suitcase and walked rather briskly through the people walking through the airport, laughing quietly to himself as he hardly could contain his excitement and joy to seeing Honduras.

He couldn't _wait_ for his game of futbol with her today, any game with Honduras was guaranteed to be very fun. A part of Costa Rica was surprised and confused why Honduras lied when he asked if something was wrong and why she demanded he came over, but all that went to the deepest depths of his mind once Honduras challenged him to a game of sports. Costa Rica practically _flew_ out the door.

To hell with paperwork! He had a game to win!

Sure, Costa Rica's boss will chew him out when he came back, but the laid-back Central American didn't care. He loved playing that game far more than he was worried for the consequences of leaving without letting his boss know and ditching work.

Now, time to go off in search of-"

"FELIX!"

That didn't take long. Nice! This day just kept getting better and better for him~ Costa Rica turned and broke a grin at the sight of Honduras running to him, looking a little out of breath, and then it turned into surprise when she saw Belize follow not long after and along with her…

A wide smile spread across Costa Rica's face as felt himself be filled with complete joy. It was none other than Nicaragua, being dragged by the wrists by Belize, and shouting something about something that Costa Rica was too busy beaming to actually listen to what she was saying. Oh, was Honduras trying to being them together by him impressing Nicaragua with his amazing skills? How nice of her!

"Felix, gracias a Dios… we found you…" Honduras said, out of breath, with a relieved smile. "We found… both of you… I'm so happy that we did…"

Costa Rica smiled at this. "Of course you would find me! I wouldn't miss a good game of futbol for the world!"

"Why is he here?!" Nicaragua demanded angrily.

"Hola, Regina!"

"Oh, shut up, you. There better be a good explanation for all this or else I-"

"Si, si, we get it. Now shush and let's get going." Belize cut her off then blew an unkempt bang out of her face, and then Honduras grabbed Costa Rica's hand while he was beaming at Nicaragua and pulled him away. Belize smiled proudly. "Alright! Honduras let's go back to the car and be on our way to help the brujo against the other brujo! Time of the essence!"

"Okay~" Honduras chirped and did as she was told.

Costa Rica didn't really pay attention to what the other two were saying, he was too busy with Nicaragua. "Oh, Regina, it's been too long since I last saw you. We should go out together more often, we need to go out more often, and together we can complain about our bosses and-"

"You idiot, can't you see they're dragging us away?" Nicaragua hissed at him while trying to wrench out of Belize's grip.

"Don't be so uptight, Nica! It's Honduras and Belize, what could- Oh, look, it's Algeria and Tunisia!" Costa Rica smiled cheerfully and waved at the confused siblings, then did a double take. "Wait… what…?"

/ / / / /

Prussia stood on a cliff overlooking the mountains, red eyes never leaving the horizon, as he waited with a blank expression for a good friend of his. Contrary to his serious demeanor, he was actually concerned about certain business he needed to take care of, but he couldn't. He grinded his teeth in frustration.

He berated himself for forgetting such an important object of his past, that house. The one near Berlin that he burned down when the guilt welling up inside of him became too much for him to bear, the guilt for… That didn't matter now. Also, he berated himself more for _leaving_ some of his journals there, for stupidly assuming that none survived the fire. Prussia never bothered to check.

That house was his haven when his burdens and emotions took a toll on him, where he would cope, where he would _grieve_. Prussia would berate himself more than he was now in that house for the suffering of the other members. He would grieve and grieve until he could detach himself again.

And when he's emotional, he liked to write his struggles down in his journals.

When he burned that house down, he hoped to burn his grief along with it, the memories of those feelings…

So when he discovered that Hungary, Poland and Bosnia were near Berlin, close to that house, Prussia paled. He should have completely destroyed it. But luckily, Bosnia was there, and it was easy to send him off to destroy the evidence.

Hopefully he did it in time…

Prussia couldn't help a small smile as he saw Gilbird in the distance flying towards him. Once his little friend landed on Prussia's finger, the former nation decided to ask…

"How did it go?" Prussia asked a little anxiously.

Gilbird chirped happily and saluted. At this, Prussia sighed in relief.

/ / / / /

Namibia admitted that a part of her thinks that wandering around like this was a bad idea, that somehow it'll end horribly for her, but her frustration with being trapped in a dark room for days got the better of her.

She obviously wasn't going to stay out here all night, eventually she'll _have_ to go back to the room or else she'll get in big trouble, but for now she was going to focus on just getting _out_.

Oh, speaking of Liberia, it looked like that brat never came back, or there would have probably been a manhunt for her. He probably went to sob somewhere else after-

Namibia froze in her tracks when _laughter_ reached her ears and she looked to the side at a slightly open door. Narrowing her eyes, carefully went over to the door and peered through the small opening.

Her eyes went wide in surprise when she saw South Africa and Brazil sitting on opposite ends of a table apparent dying of laughter about something. At the sight of South Africa, Namibia felt her anger return with a vengeance. What's _he_ doing here?! Didn't Liberia he away with the others on some type of "business"? Moreover, what's _Brazil_ doing here?!

"You did not!" South Africa exclaimed as he howled with laughter, banging the table with his fist as he cackled, and Namibia was sure she could see tears in his eyes.

"I did~" Brazil sang with a wide smile, a light blush on his cheeks, before bursting out laughing again.

"I… I can't believe you… and you're telling me that he believed it… he completely fell for it?" South Africa inquired between wheezing, wiping the tears from eyes. "He really stormed off as soon as you finished?"

What were they laughing about? Namibia wondered as she narrowed her eyes. Whatever it was, just from hearing their laughing, she knew it was because someone was suffering.

Brazil quickly nodded, his smile never faltering. "Sim, he flew out the door like the wind! I could have sworn I saw rockets on his feet as he blasted off angrily, and God, was he angry. As in, the angriest I've seen him in years."

"Oh?" South Africa said, and leaned over excitedly. "Tell me, just how furious was he? What was the look on his face?"

"It was priceless!" Brazil snickered, still blushing. "And he looked _murderous_. Like "I'm going to send my mafia after you to give you hell" times ten! I wouldn't be surprised if Romano actually ran all the way to Germany!"

Romano?

South Africa screeched as he laughed, now hugging his stomach from how hard he was laughing. "Oh, I think I'm going to die… this is just too much!"

"You better not! Nigeria will kill me if you do!" Brazil warned playfully, then grinned sheepishly. "I _think_ I may or may not have caused a divorce… Romano's going to kill his wimpy wife for "cheating" if they don't do that first."

"Too bad we won't be there when it happens." South Africa smirked ferociously.

The two then burst out laughing again, all the while Namibia watched perplexed. Romano? Germany? Italy? Cheating? What were they talking about?

/ / / / /

This situation wasn't getting any better, in fact, it was only getting worse.

Germany face-palmed for what seemed like the thousandth time today, his forehead's beginning to hurt and he really wouldn't be shocked if he later saw himself in the mirror with a red bruise, and groaned for what seemed like the hundredth. Why? What sort of fiendish devil decided to throw this mess at them?

He and his two friends were supposed to be here in his land training for the coming menace, not hiding in his now boarded up house like cowards (Italy) from Italy's surely deranged brother who was so insane that he honestly believed that Germany and Italy were dating! He and Italy… dating! Germany didn't even know where to begin on that one…

And as for Italy's even more idiotic brother, he was still outside, and trying to get through the house's defenses…

"OW! DAMMIT, MY WRIST!"

…With fortunately little success.

Germany looked back tiredly at his two friends. Japan was frantically fanning an unconscious Italy with a folder in hopes of waking him up while the latter idiot was muttering something about Grandpa Rome and pasta.

"Mio Dio!" Italy suddenly exclaimed as he suddenly woke up, startling the other two nations, and he smiled. "Oh, Germany, Japan! I'm so happy to see you two! I just had the worst dream ever, it was so scary!"

"Let me guess… you were in a world where pasta didn't exist." Germany deadpanned, Italy only had that nightmare a couple million times.

Italy shook his head vehemently. "No, Germany! It was _worse_. I dreamt that we were stranded on a deserted island with no hope of rescue, then we ran out of food, so you and Japan decided to drown me, so you could eat me! Oh, and I think Lovino wanted to kill me, but the first thing is so much scarier!"

"AGH! NOW MY SHOULDER! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING MADE OF?!"

Italy screamed and before Germany knew it, the former was hugging his legs in sheer terror.

Japan gulped as he sweat-dropped. "I'm afraid half of your nightmare is real, Italy-san. Your brother seems fully intent on making us suffer in the most gruesome ways imaginable due to his belief that you and Germany-san are dating."

"Ve…" Italy said dejectedly.

"Ja, we know, but none of us need to worry, there's no way he'll be able to get in. So, get up!" Germany ordered as he tried to pry Italy off his legs, to no avail much to Germany's annoyance, and he scowled. "Italy, GET UP!"

"B-B-B-But Germany!" Italy stammered fearfully, and Germany rolled his eyes, here we go… "W-What if my fratello blows the house up and kill us?!"

Germany gave him a "seriously?" look as he tried to push Italy. "Italy don't be ridiculous! If he had grenades, then he would have used them by now!"

"Er… But Germany-san…" Japan began nervously, and Germany turned to see that Japan was pale. "Didn't you… tell us that you had several guns, grenades and other weapons of the sort stored in your garage to help us train later?"

Germany opened his mouth to respond that no, he did not, but then he dreadfully remembered that he did do that. Before he could properly react to that revelation, the three nations jumped at the sound of an explosion and bullets going off.

"HA! I GOT ALL YOUR SHIT NOW, POTATO BASTARD! NOW WATCH ME BLOW THE GODDAMN DOOR OFF!"

"Meap." Italy squeaked, then he fainted again.

"Germany-san…" Japan began nervously…

"Ja, Japan?" Germany responded exasperatedly.

"Forgive me for not being optimistic, but I am almost completely sure we are doomed."

/ / / / /

"No." Hungary refused stoutly, crossing her arms with a grumpy look on her.

The Vampire Diaries wannabe standing outside her window of the driver's seat of her car who goes by the name of Romania laughed. "Aw, Hungary, come on… You can't possibly mean that after I helped save you!"

"No." Hungary refused again, sinking a little from her seat, not even bothering to look at Romania.

She could _feel_ Romania leaning closer and grinning wider. "Don't be like that, hag. Besides, I think I can be of great help to you and your poor group of unwilling accomplices, case in point, I both saved a witch like you _and_ stopped Bosnia from running away. So, what do you say?"

"No."

"Doesn't it occur to you that my magic might be able to help you in more ways than one?"

"Oh, I know. But still, _no_."

"Actually, I would appreciate having someone else around to make sure…" Bosnia tried to chime in but trailed off in fear at the look Hungary gave him and shrank. "I'll be quiet."

"Oh, Hungary, look at us… fighting like an old married couple. Ahahahaha…" Romania laughed merrily at his own stupid comment while Hungary kept scowling at him, then the former's grin turned into a glare. "It's not funny. Be realistic, Elizaveta, you _need_ me. Trust me, I'm just as happy about this as you are, but for the sake of Moldova and the rest of the world, I can't leave something as important as this up to _you_."

Hungary felt a vein pop and an eyebrow twitch as she made a tight smile. "That's it. Feliks, Emir, we're leaving. Romania, you're not invited. We got a lot of more important stuff to do than to waste time with this jerk!"

"Really, Liz? Cause I've, like, seen Romania's fabulous skills myself and I think…" Poland commented as he plucked an eyelash then paled when he glanced at Hungary only to meet with a frightening glare. "…That we should _totally_ not bring that loser with us!"

With a satisfied smile, Hungary started up the car to get back on their mission again. Giving an annoyed Romania a victorious smirk, Hungary hit the gas and the car sped away.

She sighed in relief as she quickly drove far, far away from that bloodsucking jerk. Good riddance! The last thing Hungary needed right now was-

"So, I never got the chance to ask, where are we going and why?" Romania asked cheerfully from the back.

"We're going to Paris to meet with whoever Bosnia needs to…" Hungary trailed off as she did a double take, and she went agape, and her eyes widened as she looked at the mirror to see Romania smugly waving at her. "WHAT THE-!"

/ / / / /

After getting out of his car, Thailand closed the door and proceeded to walk up through the mountain fields, an unreadable expression on his face as his feet crunched the grass. He's off to visit that place again, like he does every week, and all the happenings in other countries weren't going to scared him out of visiting. He absently gazed up the sky with dull gold eyes.

Attacks from an unknown party on nations, top politicians turning up murdered in gruesome fashions, nations suddenly vanishing without a trace…

Oh, must we simply sit and wait for it all to end?

Thailand smiled sadly as he continued the trek to his destination. Everyone was stressed and so tense, understandably of course, but it was truly a sad sight to see. Unlike the others, paranoia was far on the back of Thailand's mind, he'd much rather just be on guard and continue with his everyday life while he still could. Appreciate the slowly vanishing peace.

Even so, he worried for the others, his neighbors, his family, his friends… Just recently he was informed by Nor… Vietnam, he was informed by Vietnam (who was accompanied by South Korea for some reason) that Laos was missing. Thailand's neighbor was the latest victim, the latest "disappearance" that he knew of, and that piece of news did cause Thailand's worry to increase somewhat.

How distressing… Hopefully Laos and the other victims weren't…

Thailand perked up when a cemetery uphill came into his view and his eyes regained their shine as he sprinted towards it. This was the place. A cemetery in the southern regions of Vietnam, located in the more rural areas. This was it. This was the place where they gave him a proper burial after he was so cruelly killed.

South Vietnam's grave.

Thailand spotted the deceased nation's grave almost immediately upon arriving and ran to it as fast as he could with a relieved smile, then collapsed to his knees before South Vietnam's tombstone, out of breath but his smiled remained. He didn't care about the long trek here, he was just happy to be able to visit South Vietnam, he felt so happy that he wanted to cry.

Vietnam was aware of Thailand's weekly visits to her brother's grave, but didn't really comment on it, she understood Thailand's feelings and thankfully didn't talk about the personal feelings he had. She let him come to visit and mourn.

Thailand sighed in relief as a tear fell from one of his eyes and his hands shook as he smiled at the tombstone.

"I'm here, Chinh. I missed you, even though I come here to this spot every single week without fail, I _miss_ you, ana…" Thailand began the usual one-sided spiels that he said a thousand times over, but he was only expressing how he felt. "Especially these days… Everyone is so on edge, filled with paranoia, and I worry for my people."

Thailand swallowed as he struggled to hold back his tears.

"I wish you could be here… with me… that way… we could lean on each other for comfort. It sounds like a wonderful dream, no?" Thailand said softly and took off his glasses to wipe away some tears, then put them back on. "Hm, but there's no point in dwelling on what could have been, ana."

Like always, Thailand's chatter went unanswered, and he chuckled at that.

"I also wish we can talk to each other again, I assume you wish the same as well. I may hate ghosts, but if it were you…" Thailand trailed off as he began to get more emotional and he covered his eyes with his arm. "I'm sorry, Chinh, I know much it would hurt you see like this, please… don't mind me."

He then spent a few minutes sobbing into his arm, the grief constricting his heart. It hurt. It hurt him so much. Forty years and the pain hasn't diminished in the slightest.

Wiping away the tears again, Thailand staring at the tombstone with a mixture of longing and sadness, then inched more towards it. "A war is coming, there's no doubt about it, I assume it's only a matter of time, ana... If anything _does_ happen to me, then I'd rather you not watch, and I know you are. Perhaps it's just my desire to see you again, but I can't help but feel that you're watching over me, I'm sure of it…"

Thailand ran his hand smoothly along the stone and leaned against it, closing his eyes in bliss as pink dusted his cheeks.

/ / / / /

Western Sahara had her head buried in her knees as she leaned against a rock, wanting nothing more than to sleep away the rest of night and forget Morocco's haunting words echoing in her mind, but sleep eluded her, leaving her to curl up in the middle of nowhere in her despair. She was so tired…

She was having trouble deciding what to do now. Going back to her land seemed like the obvious answer, but Western Sahara couldn't bring herself to, she felt that she didn't deserve to return home to normality. Guilt and grief were still present in her heart, as strong as when they appeared, and showed no signs of vanishing. Morocco was right, the feelings were slowly killing her.

So much that she wanted to kill herself. Didn't sound so bad… That way she won't have to suffer at Morocco or anyone else's hands anymore. She'll see her ancestors again, apologize to them for her actions… Oh, why bother? She can't bring herself to do that either

"Oh, Safiyya… What have Morocco and Chris done to you now?" The familiar voice of someone who wasn't here before asked her sadly.

Western Sahara froze as some tears already began to fall, she knew that voice, she recognized it, she knew who the owner of that voice was… It someone she hasn't seen in a while. She turned around to look behind her and her eyes widened as the tears fell faster.

"You?!" Western Sahara exclaimed in a mixture of shock and joy.

/ / / / /

This was not what Algeria had in mind.

She sighed. She wanted to face-palm when she glanced behind her and saw Honduras and Belize dragging an understandably angry Nicaragua and a confused but more compliant Costa Rica out of the airport and to the parking lot. Honestly, they may be in a hurry, there were better ways to find the two Central Americans quick and get them to come along without being forceful or conspicuous.

Algeria was worried what would happen if Nicaragua and Costa Rica didn't believe them, which was more than likely. What would they do then?

Belize, ever the bold and stubborn one, declared to Algeria, Honduras and Tunisia that they were going to pick up the last Central Americans no matter what, even if they had to resort to kidnapping or knocking them out. And of course, the younger nation ignored Algeria's objections regarding that.

Well, it was too late, anyway. They're already outside and almost to the car.

"We made it! Victory for us! Dance with me, Costa~" Honduras sang with absolutely joy and took Costa Rica's hands in her own so they could both happily jump around while laughing, and the latter seemed happy to oblige. "I'm so happy, Felix. Are you happy, Felix?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about or what's going on, but this looks fun, so I am happy!" Costa Rica laughed merrily and twirled Honduras.

At least Costa Rica wasn't angered by all this.

Belize smiled haughtily and winked. "You should be! We just saved you from certain doom. You're welcome, by the way."

"What doom?" Nicaragua demanded, not looking any happier with this than she was minutes ago. "As far as I know, you two and… also those two for some reason, are taking us somewhere with no adequate explanation! Costa Rica, stop jumping around like an idiot, aren't you the least bit confused by this?"

Costa Rica kept jumping around Honduras and grinned. "Oh, no, I am confused. But it's Honduras and Belize, have a little faith in your neighbors, Nica."

Nicaragua gave him a fierce glare. "Really? You're just going to go along with this?"

"Si, and you should too. Would Honduras really waste your time knowing how stressed you are lately? Look at her!" Costa Rica gestured towards Honduras, and Algeria nearly gaped at what she saw.

Honduras was giving Nicaragua what was known as the puppy dog eyes, that look that's supposed to crumble the other person to get what they want, and Algeria would say that Honduras was doing a very good job. Nicaragua looked mortified at Honduras, the former's resolve noticeably beginning to crumble, and tried to look away in embarrassment but Honduras kept moving into her line of sight.

Algeria had to snort at the sight. She had to admit that it was very amusing to watch, and it wasn't a bad way to solve things.

"Do you think it'll work?" Tunisia whispered, trying to hold in his laughter.

Eventually, Nicaragua relented. "Alright, alright!"

"It worked." Algeria smirked.

"Great! But here's the thing…" Belize went up to Nicaragua and Costa Rica, who has stopped jumping, with narrowed eyes. "Do you want the short version… or the long version?"

"They're both fine/Whichever gives us the most explanation." Costa Rica and Nicaragua said together respectively.

"Long version it is!" Belize exclaimed and crossed her arms, but as she opened her mouth the girl stopped. "Dios, where do I start? Honduras, can you… help me out here?"

"Okay! ~" Honduras chirped and leaned close to her neighbors with a sudden grave expression on her face. "It turns out that there's been a secret powerful conspiracy under our noses this entire time made up of nations who pretended to be people they weren't! The truth is that they're really, really, really evil! They're the ones who wiped out the Caribbean, captured Africa, killed Spain, and murdered Belgium's Parliament and Royal Family! This group call themselves the New World Order, they want to take over the world and they must be stopped at-"

Honduras never got to finish that sentence, because she suddenly shrieked in pain and fell to the ground, her left leg bleeding. Algeria gasped in shock. Nicaragua screamed in horror and rushed to her side, Costa Rica and Belize doing the same.

"What was that?!" Tunisia demanded, looking around.

After staring in shock, Algeria blinked and whirled around to see who was responsible and saw the horrifying answer behind her.

It was Finland with his rifle, accompanied by a frightening Sweden, but most shocking of all… Algeria widened her eyes.

"Stopped at all costs? Really, really, really evil?" Austria repeated with an amused smile. "You offend me so."

 **Wow, that took a long while. Also, cliffhanger time! Please review!**


	32. Trials: Next Time

**Thanks to Eternal Nexus Warrior, FGLFFFF, AquaEclipse, NadiaJA627, and a guest for reviewing. Before we begin, I want to credit Eternal Nexus Warrior and Patient Harmony for their OCs that will first appear in this chapter, as well as thank them for letting me use them. Now, on with the show!**

Tunisia froze once he fully realized who were the nations before him.

He felt his mouth open to gape in shock, he had no doubt that the others were having similar reactions, of course they would all react like this, especially since one of the very nations in the distance studying them coolly was…!

And Austria wasn't the only one here, to his left and right were Sweden and Finland respectively, not looking anywhere near friendly. While Tunisia already heard that Sweden didn't mean to always look so intimidating, this time Sweden was _trying_ to look frightening, and he was doing a very good job at it. Tunisia could _feel_ Sweden's vacant eyes stare right into his soul and he felt the European was probably pondering which was best way to skewer the nations before him.

Tunisia felt several beads of sweat on his forehead and the back of his neck, and he tore himself away from Sweden's unnerving gaze, not wanting to look at him any longer.

Tunisia then looked at Finland and he couldn't help but stare. Finland, friendly and sociable Finland, was _scowling_. Was the real Finland angry and hateful? Not to mention he was looking at them with utter disdain, as if they're annoying pests.

Well, from how long Tunisia and the others avoided danger and capture, it did made sense…

Tunisia tried to swallow his anxiety down but found that he couldn't. He and the others were in trouble and Honduras was already wounded, so… Tunisia glanced at his sister and found her gritting her teeth with one of her hands trying to reach something behind her.

"You shot my sister!" Nicaragua screamed furiously while she held a pained Honduras, pointing an accusatory finger at Finland. "You shot her! How dare you-

"Oh, don't get all hysterical on us now, she's not going to _die_!" Finland cut her off irately, but then sneered. "Unless, of course, the infection gets to her first…"

"Those… those aren't bullets that can… kill us for good, are they?" Tunisia asked anxiously, impressing himself by not stuttering.

Finland shrugged, but gripped his rifle. "Want to see for yourself?"

Tunisia flinched at the threat, then he heard Algeria growl, and saw her move in front of him. "You stay away from him."

"You're in no position to threaten any of us."

"And you think you can?"

"Don't get so cocky just because you-"

"You two. Enough." Austria sighed, covering his mouth, and Finland closed his mouth but kept his glare on Tunisia's sister. Algeria scowled at being ordered by the enemy, but threatening gaze sent by Sweden probably prevented her from making a remark.

Belize then decided to come forward with a face full of fury, no doubt because of Honduras, and Tunisia knew it was taking all of Belize's self-restraint to not sprint to Finland and decapitate him with her sword. Belize clenched her fists and then directed her glare at Austria, then glanced back at Costa Rica and Nicaragua, gesturing at said European.

Belize glared at Austria with distaste. "You see that guy Austria? He's one of the ringleaders, one of the nations behind this whole mess, one of the leaders. You see it now? I wish this was all just a big exciting adventure, but this is serious, this is no joke, I learned that when Guatemala came over to my house and tried to hurt me and Sophia, and you two now know from how Finland hurt her. I hate to say this, but we've been had, really badly."

Despite the current situation, Tunisia couldn't help but be impressed with Belize's seriousness, since the younger girl's been the most mischievous and relaxed during the whole trip, but Tunisia supposed he underestimated her. He felt a little guilty about it, especially since Belize and Honduras together defeated Guatemala for them.

"Now, I think I speak for this side when I say that this is all pretty crazy, but crazy or no crazy, these pendejos gotta be stopped." Belize explained seriously pointed at the three nations before them lazily, earning a growl from Sweden, and the former then raised an eyebrow. "But what I don't get is why one of the heads is here."

Austria seemed to find the remark amusing. "I wanted to see the progress for myself. Just because I'm a leader, doesn't mean I should remain in hiding plotting and scheming while all my fellow members give their all for the cause. I am just as capable of taking a life as the Africans."

Tunisia had to admit, he did find that, as well as the coldness in Austria's eyes, intimidating.

"Believe me when I tell you this, Belize. I admire your determination and resolve, it warms my heart to see that there are other nations who do care about the world, the same goes for Honduras. And El Salvador is fine, still mentally unstable, but recovering." Austria said calmly, not paying any mind to Honduras's and Belize's shock, and then looked at the siblings.

"What do you have to say to us?" Algeria spat.

"You're both worried for Mauritius, and for Western Saha-"

"Where are they?!" Algeria snapped angrily, interrupting Austria

Austria didn't seem bothered by the interruption or by Algeria's anger. "I won't say…"

"Tell me! Did Morocco harm my sister even more? Where are you keeping Mauritius while you try to fill his head with your nonsense? Where is my horror of a brother so I can wring his neck for his crimes?" Algeria spat question after question, her anger growing by the second.

"Why should _we_ answer any of those questions?" Finland asked, sounding annoyed.

"Now, now, Finland…" Austria raised a hand to calm the irritated Nordic down. "It's only natural that they'd demand answers. While I can't answer several of your questions for the sake of our goals, I will give you _some_ explanations."

"How very _kind_ of you…" Algeria muttered.

"Salah…" Tunisia warned her anxiously.

"What do _you_ want from all of this, anyway?" Belize asked Austria with eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You're a fancy European, fake you even acted snobbish, I don't get it. You round up some Vikings, bitter colonies, psychotic cannibals, a world superpower, two administrative regions, former infamous conquerors, etcetera. You managed to get them to resolve any differences to work together, but for what? Revenge? Riches? That can't be it. So, what's the endgame? What's your goal?"

Austria seemed surprised by the question, but he looked impressed, and then he smiled again. "A new world order."

/ / / / /

Switzerland never thought he'd be glad that they didn't kill Western Sahara all those years ago. He, like many others, demanded her death for discovering them, but despite his doubts and objections he obeyed the heads' decision to spare her instead. So, Switzerland decided that he'll keep an eye on her, but he overall ignored her most of time.

Western Sahara probably liked that, she always preferred to remain as invisible as possible around other members.

That didn't mean that Switzerland did not dislike her, of course he disliked her, she was a possible threat and Switzerland despised that. Prussia and Austria were no doubt aware of that too, yet they were merciful to that clumsy girl…

Austria… Was it out of kindness that he spared the desert girl from being killed for an accident? Did he think that Western Sahara was a good enough soul to spare? Was Austria even aware of how bitter Western Sahara became? Honestly, it's obviously the smart decision to…

Switzerland's previously stern eyes staring up at the ceiling went wide and he quickly sat up from his bed. Gnashing his teeth in anger, he lifted the covers up, left his bed, walked up to the near and slammed his forehead against it as hard as he could.

He remained there for several seconds before he stumbled back, panting and tried to prevent himself from losing his balance from the dizziness and the slight pain in the center of his forehead, obviously where the wound will appear. He glared with sheer rage at the wall, if there was a mirror right in front of him, he would have punched it from all the anger and disgust he was feeling toward himself.

Switzerland felt something trail down from his forehead to down his nose, blood. He growled and wiped it with his sleeve.

This was ridiculous of him! Questioning the efficiency… no, just merely questioning one of Austria's decisions, even _doubting_ him! After all the shows and performances the entire organization made throughout the years, Switzerland had the stupidity to think that girl would be a danger to their goals if they let her live, that Austria would actually let someone…

Switzerland nearly wanted to scream here and there, but he remembered that Liechtenstein was in another room not far from him, sleeping, and he would wake her up if he went into a feral rage. If she woke up, she'll come here and ask what's wrong, and Switzerland _really_ wasn't in the proper state of mind to come up with a good lie.

However, despite his distaste for _her_ , today he was grateful to that pest for stirring up trouble, it was thanks to her that the four Africans had to leave for their continent and no longer interfere with Switzerland's tests with Mauritius for the time being. They'll be back eventually, but he appreciated that for now he doesn't have to worry about them causing damage, it allowed Switzerland to breathe easy again.

While Switzerland did share the same opinion that those who interfere or cause turmoil in their plans must be punished… _harshly_ … but those four also wanted to convert that island to their side, so why…?

It's expected of the Africans to want some form of twisted and/or violent entertainment due to their practically insatiable lust for blood, not to mention their frustration of not having any of the other escapees apprehended yet and Switzerland himself preventing them from using the more _extreme_ methods for brainwashing on Mauritius.

So, really, Switzerland wasn't at all surprised to see that they somehow twisted his instructions from "don't go about harming the prisoner" into "don't go about killing or maiming the prisoner". If anything, he was surprised he sincerely expected them to be able to go a day without blood. He should have known better.

His stress with the Liechtenstein situation must have clouded his judgement.

Anyway, the island's in the basement fast-asleep bound in his chair resting from all the pain and stress from today, Switzerland has decided to postpone further tests until Mauritius recovered from his injuries. Switzerland didn't quite understand why those four, especially Nigeria, were so infatuated with Mauritius. That island was a good boy, not eager for fighting, quick to argue, but a pacifist.

That last part was in fact, something Austria himself admired about Mauritius…

Switzerland's heart constricted further, and he grunted in pain.

They wanted to feel twisted enjoyment seeing someone so kind and considerate with a decent history as a colony become just like them. However, Switzerland wasn't so intent on letting something like that completely happen…

Austria nor Prussia are here, Switzerland can't restrain the Africans, but Switzerland refused to disappoint Austria because of his incompetence.

/ / / / /

The fight could be going better. Granted, Indonesia's not _losing_ , but she wished Philippines would make a slip up or something, because this... doesn't seem it's really going anywhere.

Indonesia swiftly caught Philippines's wrist, but quickly had to let go when he tried to throw her, and they went back to hand-to-hand combat. Neither Indonesia nor Philippines seemed to be able to get the upper hand, neither of them were badly injured, neither tripped... It felt like they were currently in a deadlock that can't be broken.

In Indonesia's opinion, they were equally matched.

If she could, Indonesia would deliver a quick jab to Philippines's side, pick up East Timor, and flee to somewhere hidden where Philippines won't have any way to track them down. But Indonesia barely had enough time to catch her breath. Philippines was doing a good job keeping her on her toes, more than Indonesia would have liked. Running away didn't look like a possible option.

And Indonesia knew that she wasn't the only one getting a little frustrated with the lack of progress, Philippines looked angry and he was becoming more aggressive by the minute.

"Felipe…" Indonesia began patiently, ducking when Philippines tried to swipe her again. "This is going nowhere. Stop this!"

"As if!" Philippines said irately.

Indonesia blocked with her bamboo stick again. "So you want to continue until one of us gets too tired to? Felipe, I don't know what's going with you, but please, be reasonable and stop this!"

Her neighbor remained silent for a moment and then in response, Philippines snarled and punched Indonesia in the stomach. "You know what? You're right."

"I… what?" Indonesia looked up at him in bafflement while holding her stomach in pain, not expecting him to agree with her right away.

"Yes, you're so right. I'm running a bit of a tight schedule and I think I underestimated you just a little bit…" Philippines said slowly, as if he was slowly realizing something important, and he narrowed his eyes as he began muttering. "I got so caught up in the fight that I forgot about him… pucha. No, I can't stay here for long, not while he's hurting…"

Indonesia winced as she shakily tried to reach out her hand to grab the stick that she dropped, but then she shrieked when a smirking. Philippines stomped on her hand.

"Sorry, it was fun while it lasted but I have more important business to attend to, but I'm sure you'll want to hear this…" Philippines said with a more serious tone and he crossed his arms, his smirk replaced with a frown. "It's Malaysia."

At the mention of her brother, Indonesia's eyes went wide in alarm. "A-Abdul? What happened to him? What did you do to him?!"

That angry accusation made Philippines flinch, but he quickly glared at her. "I DID NOTHING! He… he's… _sick_ , and I need you and East Timor so he can recover. Well, he'll only need _one_ of you, but, you know, just in case."

"Sick? What do you mean sick? And why-"

"Listen, I don't have time to answer questions right now. He's in pain every minute! Don't you want him to get better?"

Indonesia did feel worried, but then she remembered what her neighbor did, and she glared up at him. "Wait… why should I believe anything you say? This could be a trick. Not long along, you were trying to stab me!"

Philippines groaned and face-palmed. "And not long ago, you were trying to get us to stop fighting."

"That doesn't mean I'll trust you right away!" Indonesia said, upset. "Moreover, why didn't you tell me in the first place?!"

"I just wanted this over and done with as quickly as possible. I don't have time for this or to elaborate! If you really do care about Malaysia, then you'll drop the stick, pick up East Timor, and come with me _now_." Philippines said angrily, beginning to lose his patience.

"And what happens if I don't?" Indonesia asked.

Philippines sighed and rolled his eyes, then began searching for something in his pockets, causing Indonesia to get a little anxious. Then much to her horror, Philippines whipped out a gun and with a cold expression he aimed it right at a terrified East Timor.

And when Indonesia saw Philippines's finger slowly press the trigger…

"NO!" Indonesia screamed, and quickly got on her feet to stop him.

BANG. The bullet missed East Timor by a few inches, and the child burst out into tears.

Indonesia fell on her knees, covering her mouth as she started hyperventilating from the terror she felt for East Timor's safety. Her heart beat deafeningly against her chest. He missed on purpose, he could have… he could have… East Timor would have been… Philippines didn't even hesitate!

"… _That_ was a warning shot." Philippines stated darkly.

Indonesia looked up at Philippines, her neighbor, her brother, one of her closest friends, with tears pricking her eyes… "How could you?"

Philippines grinned like he would normally do, but his eyes looked dull. "Oh, don't take it personally. I'm not doing this because I hate you two or anything…"

He then burst out laughing.

"…I just care a lot more for Malaysia than both of you combined."

/ / / / /

"Khoisan!"

The skinny indigenous man in his early sixties before Western Sahara smiled. Western Sahara wanted to cry more at the sight of him, and she chuckled brokenly as she covered her puffy eyes. Now _he_ was someone Western Sahara hasn't seen in quite a while.

This man was likely the oldest personification Western Sahara knew in terms of years in existence, the oldest of them all. This person represented the San and Khoi people, not bound by borders. Living in isolation for many years, he managed to live, and somehow has South Africa's respect. Although, the relationship between them was tense, mostly due to South Africa's behavior and goals.

Like Western Sahara, he had to deal with the burden and guilt of keeping the secret to himself

"It's truly been too long, Safiyya." Khoisan nodded.

Western Sahara laughed weakly. "I know… five years, no? I'm very sorry really for that. I couldn't take any more torment, I wanted to be alone, but I really should have told you and the others or let you all help me…"

Khoisan held his hand up and chuckled, much to Western Sahara's bafflement.

"Safiyya, do you really think I'm angry at you? I thought you knew me better than that. I never held any ill will toward you." Khoisan stated clearly, and Western Sahara looked away in shame. "The same goes for Chantal and Ike. Honestly, I don't even think Chantal is capable of holding a grudge!"

"Th… Thank you… but what are you doing here?" Western Sahara asked, a bit of a loss for words. "Especially at this hour."

Khoisan glanced around. "I thought I sensed a bit magic around here and I suspected that Chris came for a visit again, so I decided to meet him here instead of the village, the children especially are terrified of him."

Western Sahara scoffed. "Good point."

"But enough of that. Now tell me…" Khoisan walked over to Western Sahara and sat down with her, eyes narrowed. "Why are you here in the middle of nowhere crying?"

Western Sahara held her arms and looked away again, not willing to face him. "I… I really hate Morocco."

"I figured. But if I'm going to help you, I need to know the story."

/ / / / /

This wasn't good. Yeah, today really wasn't Belize's day.

Belize covered her eyes and winced at the sound of bullets going off and hitting the car she was hiding from the other side. She wiped off sweat from her forehead with her hand, and then looked at it with a grimace, not because it was gross, because this meant she was actually feeling nervous about the stand they're all stuck in.

A part of her, the really pissed one, wanted to blame Algeria for causing shit to hit the fan, but Belize was better than that. This wasn't her fault. The Finn started it, he set it off, he shot the bullet that probably killed Tunisia. Dead how? Belize had no idea, but she hoped that the nation will revive. He'd better...

Algeria was furious and of course thought that her brother bit the dust for good, Sweden charged with a really long sword, Nicaragua joined in with that baseball bat she loved to carry around sometimes, a bullet grazed Belize's shoulder... It all happened so fast, too fast. Belize didn't know how it was going out there, but something told her that they're doomed.

Not on Belize's watch.

Belize was tempted to peek through the window, but she didn't want to have bullet holes on her face, she cringed at the mental image. So, she looked to the side where two others were hiding with her, the reason Belize was hiding.

Costa Rica was surprisingly calm enough, shaken, but not trembling and sobbing, he's cooler than that. Good. The last thing Belize needed right now was dealing with someone pissing their pants. Honduras was still alive, but she's getting weak, and the wound doesn't look too good...

But then all the noise stopped.

Huh?

/ / / / /

"H-Huh…?"

Senegal suddenly felt himself wake up, but his vision was still dark, and immediately he was greeted with the damn headache he's been having for a while. Ugh, he really needed to find some aspirin for… wait. When he did fall asleep? He didn't even remember going to his bed. The last thing he remembered was… suddenly getting really drowsy?

Why hasn't he been sleeping well recently? Well, it looked like at least he got good sleep this time, despite the annoying pain in his head, it's better than the past few days.

Now, where was his lighter? He left it in his pockets… or did he leave it on the nightstand? Senegal began to panic. No, no, no… Senegal tried to move but found that he couldn't. His body felt really heavy for some reason and it felt like the back of his head was being… Wait a minute…

Senegal blinked a few times and sleepily looked up, but once he did the color drained from his face.

Wh-Wh-What?!

Sleeping peacefully on top of Senegal with his arms wrapped around the latter's head and snoring softly with a smile on his face was none other than _Morocco_.

Senegal nearly screamed at the top of his lungs at the discovery but the only sounds the came out of his mouth were shocked noises and in fear he tried to carefully move Morocco away with his trembling hands.

"Ha… hah… Oh my, that tickles…" Morocco murmured happily in his sleep.

"Shit." Senegal whispered to himself, gulping.

"Ah, I wouldn't wake him up if I were you…" Senegal's eyes went wide, and his gaze went to find an amused South Africa sitting on a chair. "Don't let his face fool you. Rahim will pounce on anyone who interrupts his beauty sleep."

Senegal felt himself sweating and he scowled. "G-Get him off!"

"Why are you so flustered? You were fine with it just a minute ago." South Africa asked while fiddling with something in his hands, and Senegal realized it was the knife South Africa himself gave him.

"What are you doing with that?" Senegal asked, then shook his head. "N-No, more importantly, why are you in my room?"

South Africa ignored the question and licked his lips as he swiped the knife around. "Of course you wouldn't remember. Still, sorry for Morocco, he just couldn't help himself and wanted to surprise you. But don't worry, you didn't carve yourself this time."

"H-H-How did you-"

"It doesn't matter. Now…" South Africa stood up from the chair and walked over to Senegal, then he reached out his hand with a ferocious smile. "Let's have a _talk_ , shall we? **_Wach auf!_** "

/ / / / /

Bulgaria hummed a song from his country to himself while he laid on top of a singed tire he and Lithuania managed to salvage from the van, looking up at the stars absentmindedly. They were all sitting around at the small camp made from all the other stuff Bulgaria and his bestie managed to rescue. True, a lot of the stuff was kind of… you know… burnt, but other than that they worked perfectly!

Lithuania's sword was safe and sound without any black marks, Bulgaria grabbed his trusty stick when they all jumped out of the van, Lithuania's stress hammer was a little scorched but otherwise A-Okay, Bulgaria got his briefcase out alright…

Yup, except for maybe Lithy's pride, everything was okay!

Lithy _may_ or may not have cried a teensy eensy bit on Bulgaria's shoulder, it's not completely confirmed, no one could be sure, and not because Lithuania made him swear on his Bulgaria's love for his beloved to not tell a single soul that he… that one of his wolves is pregnant?

Now for their next move, they needed someone to come and pick them up, and Lithuania was of course already working on that. His bestie was standing not far away, making a couple of calls to the nearest Order nation. He's calmed down, his stress levels are better, and hasn't talked much to the other Baltics.

Bulgaria's expression became dark as he glanced at the sleeping Baltics, or at least trying or pretending they are, and his hands twitched. Those inconsiderate bastards… How _dare_ they ignore Lithuania… How _dare_ they hurt his feelings! Cowards! Why, if Lithuania didn't like them or decided that they weren't worth his time, Bulgaria would have gladly ripped them to bloody shreds!

"Idiots…" Bulgaria said coldly without a single shred of emotion.

The same punishment or worse will also be given to anyone else who's retarded enough to try. Russia will receive a fate worse than death for hurting Lithuania and Prussia, and for keeping Bulgaria from his love.

Bulgaria hugged himself in longing. "Darling… I hope with all my heart that we'll see each other soon…"

"M-Mari, I'm serious, don't worry! We're all fine!"

Bulgaria perked at the name mentioned by Lithuania and stood up with a beaming smile. Ooh, was Lithy talking with Vilnius? How fun! it's been a bit of a while since Bulgaria last saw his best friend's little sister. He waltzed over to a stressed Lithuania apparently trying to reassure Vilnius.

"Yes, each and every one of us jumped out of the van in time… No, I did not get injured in the jump and neither did the others. Besides, even if Dimitri got hurt he would have enjoyed it and laughed like an idiot…" Lithuania muttered that last part, and Bulgaria saw that he was blushing in embarrassment. "…Yes, you're right, I'm sorry for calling him an idiot. I love him too but you know how-"

"Aww, Tori~ You said you loved me~" Bulgaria sang in delight while Lithuania froze solid, and the latter's blush became darker when Bulgaria wrapped him in a hug much to his friend's mortification. "I love you too, Lithy! You're the best friend anyone could ever have!"

"D-D-Dimitri! What are you-" Lithuania stammered, looking absolutely horrified, but Bulgaria knew he enjoyed it deep down.

"I mean, I always knew you did, but it just warms my heart to hear you say it!" Bulgaria grinned widely and squeezed Lithuania even tighter, making sure to hug him with all his love.

Lithuania choked a little and glared at Bulgaria. "Dimitri… You… moron… I can't breathe…"

Bulgaria just giggled at that. "Oh, stop it, Tori."

"I'm… serious… stop it! I'm not… a masochist like you…" Lithuania rasped out, struggling to escape Bulgaria's loving grasp.

"Is that Dimitri?" The voice of a young girl asked curiously from Lithuania's phone.

Bulgaria's grin widened, and he let Lithuania go, allowing his best friend to regain his oxygen and grabbed the phone from his hands. "And is that Tiny Tori I hear?"

Vilnius giggled shyly from the other side of the line, and Bulgaria laughed as well. He really liked his bestie's capital, she was the most adorable thing ever!~ The very cutest living being in existence! Bulgaria lost count of how many times he would wrap her in a bear hug every time he saw her.

Vilnius was looked like a small Lithuania, but anyone could tell she was a girl. Her appearance was what helped Lithuania and Bulgaria realize that the girl was Vilnius, Lithuania's new little sister, and that the experiment was a success. Oh, Lithuania was so happy that day… It was at a time when Lithuania hardly ever smiled, when Russia's treatment was really getting to him, but then Vilnius came and brightened his world.

Bulgaria will forever be grateful to her.

Bulgaria thought of Vilnius like a little sister as well, but she can be quite the shy one. Lithuania said it was because "his stupidity and obsession with his beloved made her nervous". Ah, but it was alright. Vilnius was still young, she'll understand when she's older.

"Toris told me all about what happened, how awful! And now you're stranded in Russia's land!" Vilnius said in a worried tone.

"Oh, it wasn't that bad. You should have been there when it happened, Mari! The van went boom and erupted in glorious FLAMES!" Bulgaria exclaimed loudly and gleefully, causing a squeak from Vilnius and a groan from Lithuania, and then he began to jump around. "Flames, flames, flames, flames, flames, flames, flames, flames, flames, flames-"

Bulgaria was interrupted when Lithuania harshly shoved him away and snatched his phone back, but Bulgaria just laughed.

"Anyway, I just wanted to let you know what we've been up to for the past few days…" Lithuania smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I'm very sorry for leaving you alone without someone to take care of you. I promise I-"

"Actually, I'm not alone right now." Vilnius said.

Lithuania blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"$%#&#&'s here for a visit, he's actually sitting next to me right now." Vilnius explained, and Bulgaria froze at the mention of that name. Did he hear that right? "Do you want to talk to him, Dimitri? Because he wants to, and he misses you a lot."

"Hah! A lot is an understatement kid." A familiar voice snorted, probably smirking deviously like he loved to do.

"DARLING!" Bulgaria screamed at top volume in absolute joy, so loud that the Baltics woke up in alarm, and accidentally stepping on Lithuania's foot when he jumped in excitement.

"OW!" Lithuania exclaimed in pain and anger, but Bulgaria was too giddy to notice.

"Ah! Wh-What happened?!" Vilnius asked frantically.

"My little birdie is happy to hear me, kid, that's what happened." Bulgaria's love cackled, and the European felt himself about to shed tears of joy.

Lithuania muttered something under his breath and handed Bulgaria the phone, who took it eagerly, and sighed. "I'm not going to stand here to hear all the flirting, it'll just make me want to cringe... I'll be over there preparing to throw up if you don't mind."

"Oh, but Toris, how could you walk away before I reveal my big surprise to the two of you?" He said slyly, and Lithuania stopped in his tracks.

"What… surprise?" Lithuania asked suspiciously.

"You want a new mission?"

/ / / / /

A girl about the age of eleven with hair very similar to Lithuania's and possessing the same green eyes could only blink in confusion as she looked up at the nation sitting next to her talking lovingly to Bulgaria. Vilnius tilted her head in puzzlement.

"I don't think I'll ever understand those two…" Vilnius said quietly to herself.

The nation briefly stopped talking and turned to smirk at her. "Aw, don't worry. You'll get it when you're older, kid."

"Somehow I doubt that…" Vilnius sighed.

Well, it was nice to hear that Lithuania and Bulgaria are okay, but Vilnius was still worried about a lot of things. How did Estonia and Latvia react to her brother's secret? Were they angry? No, of course they'd be angry. Vilnius would be upset if her brother kept a secret like that from her.

But more importantly, will Lithuania be okay when Russia finds out about Belarus?

/ / / / /

 _Bosnia gulped as he took in his surroundings. He was in some underground passageway? An underground? Wherever he was, wherever it was, it was pretty dark and… he shivered. It was kind of freezing in here. Where the hell was he?_

 _Moreover, when did he get here? The last thing Bosnia remembered was being in Hungary's car…_

 _His eyes went wide. Oh no… Please tell him that he didn't black out again. Last time was bad enough, and it was really starting to get annoying to suddenly find himself somewhere with no memory of how he did it and why. Bosnia looked around and scratched his head._

 _Only going forward, huh? Looked like he didn't have much of a choice. Besides… Bosnia frowned. Something seemed to be compelling, telling him, that he should go on ahead. Yes… there was something out there that he needed to look for. Maybe it's the "it" he's supposed to find! If he found it, then he won't have to go through the blackouts again!_

 _With newfound resolve, Bosnia confidently went ahead to explore._

 _Much to Bosnia's dismay, he's not finding anything so far except darkness that somewhat made it difficult for Bosnia to see where he was going and rocks that he nearly tripped over, and it was still cold. But the further he went in, the more the sense of foreboding he was feeling grew and he felt even more drawn to press on. And press on he did, until after he dropped down to a small cave._

 _Bosnia jumped when banging reached his ears and he stopped momentarily as he spotted a small room with more lighting than the rest of place. He flinched when he heard the banging again, and he could have sworn he heard angry yelling. Walking over to the room, he saw a trapdoor, from which the banging and yelling came from. Someone was under there…_

 _Bosnia went over to the trapdoor, and nearly fell from fright when he saw something slam against it. He stared at the door, and barely thinking, he leaned down and unlocked the hatch._

 _After opening it up, Bosnia was puzzled to see that nothing was there. Huh? What the hell… Nothing was there? But then suddenly a hand shot up and grabbed Bosnia's throat._

 _Bosnia screamed, and the hand dragged him down into the darkness._

Bosnia gasped as he woke up, panting and palms sweaty, and frantically looked around. Bosnia then sighed in relief. Thank goodness… He wiped his dark bangs out of his face. Much to his joy, Bosnia was back in the car with the others who looked too busy to notice that the Balkan was pale as a ghost.

Poland was using his pink glitter compact mirror to put on lip gloss, causing Bosnia to snicker a bit. Meanwhile, the lovely couple Hungary and Romania were bickering about the fact that Romania teleported into the car and Hungary was _really_ pissed off about that and… anyone could figure out what happened next.

Good… Nice… Now… what did Bosnia just see?

"Oh, Bosnia, Poland~" Romania sang cheerfully while Bosnia could see Hungary with an extremely annoyed scowl. "Who knows any good folk songs so we could sing them _extremely loudly_ to pass the time?"

At the mention of a song, Bosnia forgot about his horrifying dream and beamed. A song? Bosnia never missed a chance for a good chance to sing and dance!

"Oh, Oh, I, like, totally know a good one!" Poland raised his hand eagerly, grinning. "I call it "Ninety-Nine Fabulous Outfits". I, like, totally invented it myself!"

"Really?" Romania smirked and then winked at Bosnia. "You interested, Bosnia?"

"Do I!" Bosnia exclaimed excitedly.

"Okay, here's the first fabulous verse!" Poland cleared his throat and then commenced to sing extremely off-key. " _Ninety-nine fabulous outfits on the wall…_ "

"Damn you, Romania." Hungary grumbled.

/ / / / /

"We're going to die, we're going to die, we're going to die, we're going to die…" Italy kept repeating in an extremely annoying and mantra as he rocked himself back and forth, sobbing while Germany and Japan could only watch miserably.

Germany tried many, many times to get Italy to go outside to reason with Italy's maniacally crazy brother before said brother BLOWS UP GERMANY'S BELOVED HOUSE?! But it was their early training all over again, meaning it was impossible to get Italy to do anything useful. At one point, Germany felt a little tempted to just throw Italy outside while he and Japan run away to safety.

No… In fact, it was _very_ tempting. However, Germany didn't want to risk possibly having Italy's annoying ghost haunt him for eternity along with his pervert grandfather (Germany still hasn't gotten over that incident). Or worse, Romano's angry ghost.

 _Why_ did Germany have to leave the weapons in a moderately easy place to break in and steal them? _Why_ didn't Germany just pummel Romano when he had the chance? Was Italy's stupidity beginning to infect him?

Oh, great. Now the idiot was praying.

"Nonno, please forgive me for being so scared and for letting Lovi become so angry and scary. Please forgive him for killing me and don't hate him!" Italy said quickly and frantically holding a cross with both hands. "At least I can have pasta in heaven, right? Right?! Please tell me there's pasta!"

"Germany-san…" Japan began nervously, gulping.

"Ja?" Germany responded.

"Didn't you have a back door?"

Oh… his house did have one.

But then door exploded, and the house shook, leaving no time to go with other solutions, and the Axis Trio jumped. Italy cried and latched himself onto Germany's leg, much to the latter's anger, while Japan began sweating. Because right exactly where the door was, with an proud grin, was Italy's insane brother Romano with a machine gun and a blowtorch. Very, _very_ bad timing, Japan.

"Here's LOVI!" Romano announced through gritted teeth and proceeded to laugh. "Prepare to die, ba-"

Germany heard something snap and one of the chandeliers fell on Romano. Oh, how convenient.

"FRATELLO!" Italy cried out in horror.

"Shut… up… You're still… dead…" Romano said muffled from under the ceiling ornament. "Mio Dio, it hurts to talk."

Germany smiled uncertainly. Huh… Perhaps the universe didn't hate him after all.

/ / / / /

"I _still_ think you shouldn't have left Gupta outside like that." Seychelles said guiltily as she twiddled her thumbs and looked anxiously at a window. "You could have at least explained yourself and apologized for torturing Anubis."

Saint Lucia, who was hugging Anubis, made a "hmph!" sound and looked away stubbornly. "No way! I don't have to apologize for getting rid of the stench of death coming from Anubis! If anything, he should be thanking me!"

"In Anubis's defense, he _is_ supposed to be a magical animal involved with death." Bahamas chimed in with an amused grin.

Anubis barked in agreement.

"Well, I regret nothing." Saint Lucia crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks like a chipmunk. "And can you really blame me for leaving him outside? You two saw how he was staring at me like he wanted to peck me to death! Besides, the bird thing was really creepy."

"You do have a point there…" Seychelles nodded hesitantly.

"Definitely…" Bahamas agreed, sweat-dropping.

Seychelles then opened her mouth to continue insisting that yes, picking up an unreadable (and kind of scary-looking) Egypt in bird form, open the door, set Egypt outside the house, and then closing it without so much of an apology or goodbye was not the responsible thing to do, but then suddenly Anubis shot up and began growling.

"Huh? What is it, Anubis?" Bahamas asked.

Anubis continued growling then his head snapped towards where the front door was, and he barked.

Oh no…

/ / / / /

Belize made her instructions very clear to Egypt. Wait until this hour to teleport himself outside the airport in Honduras she told him about where he'll find her group with the remaining Central Americans, help brief Costa Rica and Nicaragua on the problem at hand, and get them all out of there as soon as possible in preparations for the next day.

It was simple.

Egypt patiently waited for the hour to come, but it felt just the slightest bit grating sue to the deadline looming over their heads. What's worse was that Haiti didn't quite specify _when_ he was going to come back. It could be early in the morning or in the dead of night for all Egypt knew.

But Belize promised that they'll pick up Costa Rica and Nicaragua as soon as possible (on the condition that Egypt never uses his ba form with them ever again), and Egypt promised that he'll be right on time. He had faith that they will succeed in finding the two nations, the enemy couldn't be aware of every move they were making, right? Hopefully the two won't share the same fate as El Salvador.

Whatever happened to him…. Egypt was admittedly unnerved by the group's story of when they arrived at his house. It sounded like El Salvador's sanity was deteriorating… everyone was left rather shaken. Algeria in particular looked _pale_.

Anyway, Egypt expected to arrive to find the group not far from him and calling his name.

What he wasn't expecting was finding blood.

A blanched Egypt was speechless as he stood in the center of various bodies on the ground. He saw Tunisia with a bleeding hole in his chest, Algeria with her eyes glassy and wide in shock with a nasty gash on her stomach, another woman who Egypt assumed was Nicaragua lying face down over splattered blood while a shocked Costa Rica kneeled beside her, and Honduras leaning against a car with her leg drenched in a pool of blood.

Egypt couldn't bring himself to speak. They were dead, he could so clearly see that, but dead how? They couldn't be gone… Weren't they wanted alive? Or the enemy consider them too much of a nuisance?

He heard something hit, and he looked behind him to see a grim Belize holding her shoulder with a clenched fist against a car. The younger girl was breathing heavily, obviously exhausted, but then she gave him a pained smirk.

"Hey… brujo…" Belize panted out, waving a bloodied hand in greeting. "You'll never… guess who we… ran into…"

Egypt stared at her injured form and then he finally found his voice. " _What_ _happened_?"

"Well… I got bad news… and good news…" Belize took a moment to regain some breath, and her expression turned serious. "Bad news… We met one of the ringleaders, Austria… and I think Algeria and Honduras pissed him off… and one thing led to… told us we were interesting… thought it'd be a shame if we lost today…"

"B-Belize, breathe." Egypt told her worriedly.

"I'm… fine… I don't think they're gone… He said we all were wanted alive… this was… supposed to be a warning…" Belize trailed off and coughed a little, then shook her head. "Good news is… He likes us I guess… didn't really get his speech…"

"What happened, Belize?"

Belize bit her lip and crossed her arms, looking a little puzzled. "I think… they let us go?"

 **Vilnius belongs to Eternal Nexus Warrior and Khoisan to Patient Harmony. And a salute to anyone who got the Danganronpa 2 reference in this chapter. Please review!**


	33. Trials: Live to fight another day

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, EternalNexusWarrior, NadiaJA627 and a guest for reviewing. This is the last chapter of the Trials arc (the longest one yet!) and you're gonna get a couple of revelations in this chapter. Now, on with the show!**

"Pardon?" Egypt asked in disbelief.

Belize didn't meet his eyes and kept her arms crossed, her bushy eyebrows furrowed as she grimaced in distaste, as if she didn't want to explain the story and wanted to forget about the experience as soon as possible. From what Egypt saw of the bodies on the ground and the blood splattered throughout the area, he couldn't quite blame her.

Belize herself didn't appear to have any life-threatening injuries, her wounds appeared to have mostly stopped bleeding, but she still had various bruises on her body and she looked somewhat in pain. The shoulder Belize held earlier had a slightly bleeding scrape, either from a bullet or from a sharp object, and it was stained with dried blood along with her tank top and skirt.

Tunisia got shot, Algeria probably got slashed and/or stabbed, Nicaragua was likely killed in a similar manner, Honduras appeared to have died from blood loss… leaving only Belize and Costa as the only ones breathing at the moment.

Judging from her injuries, Belize narrowly survived getting assaulted with bullets and someone probably beat her a little. Costa Rica had similar bruises to Belize's, but despite that he was arguably the one in best condition.

"…Egypt!"

Egypt snapped out of his reverie, tearing his gaze away from the morbid sight around him and looking back at a frowning Belize.

"Yes?" Egypt asked, slightly embarrassed, and prepared for a sassy reprimand from Belize.

But said nation only glanced at the (temporary) corpses with something akin to sadness and then went back to Egypt. "Hey… I told you, didn't I? They'll be okay, brujo… All we gotta do is wait some hours, we know that…"

"I-I am aware of that…"

"They're not _dead_ dead, you know?

"I know."

"In fact, that nasty gash on Algeria looked worse before you poofed here..."

"I get it, Belize."

"You sure? Because you look like you've seen a huge massacre."

Egypt didn't respond to that remark and chose not to meet the girl's concerned gaze. True, the visage did leave him quite shocked, and he feared the worst at the sight of his companions' _corpses_. Despite Belize attempts to reassure him that they did not meet the same fate as Spain, that belief still based on what a _liar_ said.

But if Belize was right, and the injuries appeared to be healing, then…

"And I'm fine, thanks for asking…" Belize muttered.

Egypt frowned. "I thought it would be an insensitive question… and that you would slap me."

Belize gave a short chuckle. "Heh, I know, just wanted to lighten the mood a teeny bit. It was stupid, I know."

"Also, unless your definition of "fine" is not being dead, I wouldn't say you are." Egypt said.

Again, he expected a rude remark, but Belize only avoided his gaze. "Pssh, I _am_ fine, brujo. I can stand, walk and maybe run a little, so that's nice to know. I'm not _happy_ , obviously, because as you can clearly see… we practically got our asses handed to us. When I saw them on the ground and realized that Sophia bled out, I…"

Belize trailed off and then shook her head.

"But on the bright side, we brought Costa and Nica. You have no idea how happy Sophia was cause of that." Belize commented and glanced at said nation, then at Costa Rica. "Poor guy's worried for Nica…"

"I see…" Egypt nodded, that was very good news.

"But anyway… to answer your question… and trust me when I say you'll have a hard time digesting this crap…" Belize began rather annoyedly while kicking a tiny rock and scoffed. "I… we were told by one of the guys behind all this mess himself, one of the big bad guys that we're supposed to defeat, a mastermind… that he likes us. Apparently… he and Unawesome like what we're doing."

Egypt raised an eyebrow. "They like… what we're doing? You're referring to us opposing them?"

"Pretty much."

"Why?"

"Austria said something about world orders and being happy that there's nations willing to fight and yadda, yadda, yadda. Listen, brujo, I'd love to tell you the full story of how we lost… badly, but I don't want to keep Sophia and the others on the ground like that."

Belize gripped her head as if in pain and shut her eyes as Egypt stared at her worriedly. Very well, Egypt understood. Attempting to ignore Algeria and Tunisia's corpses in order to pry information out of Belize didn't sit well with him. Besides, they needed to get them to a safe place.

Algeria, Tunisia, Honduras, Nicaragua… They'll return.

France will undoubtably have a heart attack and panic upon seeing two of his former colonies in such a condition, he'll likely fuss over them during the next few hours, but everything will be alright for all of them. Egypt just worried about putting them those four through another battle not long after recovering. He _hoped_ they'll all have more than enough time to both revive and recover.

"Alright." Egypt nodded. "But let's gather them first."

Belize removed her hands from her head and nodded as well. "Okay, but… brujo…"

"Yes, Belize?" Egypt asked, feeling concern when a worried expression appeared on the girl's face.

"I've… Seeing those three guys find us here, almost as if they've been waiting for us or something, that got me wondering… How'd they find us?" Belize asked confusedly as she scratched her head and began to concentrate on something as Egypt paled. "I mean, seriously, how? They really got no reason to suspect that your crew ended up at my house, right? Did that jerk somehow tip them off?"

"I… I don't think so…" Egypt said hesitantly. No, no, Guatemala couldn't have... Egypt personally made sure of it. "I suspected that Norway or some other potential magic user could try to reach out to Guatemala, so I kept up some wards."

Belize tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, not really looking impressed. "Like… some sort of magical force field to stop anyone from trying to use magic telepathy?"

Despite detecting the sarcasm in some of her words, annoying him a little, Egypt nodded. "Yes, like that."

"And… you think somehow it failed and the jerk spilled?" Belize asked.

"No, it doesn't make much sense, since Guatemala wasn't aware of your goal of gathering the remaining Central Americans and he even if he was aware of that, he would have to know _where_ you and the others were." Egypt shook his head, and Guatemala also wasn't aware that the girls were going to stay Belize's house, which he visited a while ago. "It is very perplexing…"

"You didn't happen to hear some sort of spy shtick from any of those jerks at some point, did ya?" Belize asked while looking at a dark red bruise on her arm, then cringed as she looked away from it, and looked back at Egypt expectantly.

Egypt shook his head. "No, but even that theory doesn't quite fit."

Belize threw her hands up in frustration and scoffed. "Then how the hell did they figure it out?!"

"I don't know. The only one to make an appearance in France's house was, as I've told you before, Haiti who…" Egypt trailed off as the terrible answer dawned on him. "Oh, my…"

"What? What's wrong?" Belize asked worriedly, alarmed.

"I... It never crossed my mind before…"

"What never crossed your mind?"

"Haiti saw me holding Guatemala hostage."

"Yeah, so?"

"Wouldn't Haiti wonder _how_ I encountered Guatemala? Where I could I have _possibly_ crossed paths with him? And wouldn't Haiti or at least one of the nations in the Americas have been told by Guatemala himself _what_ he was going to do after murdering Spain?

Belize blinked at him with a baffled expression and pondered on it while stroking her chin. However, it didn't take long for her to put the pieces together and reach the same conclusion as Egypt did, and she looked shocked when she did.

"That cocky jerk would have told them he was going to my house…" Belize muttered as she rubbed her temples, face agape in disbelief. "And maybe they even guessed that me and Sophia would end up joining you, since…"

"Perhaps one of them were spying on you and the others from afar at El Salvador's house…" Egypt wondered out loud.

"The gate… I remember seeing the gate open when it wasn't when we got there…" Belize murmured to herself and began to pace as her words puzzled Egypt. "Were they looking for El Salvador? Did he get away after all?"

"I'm afraid don't have the answers to those questions." Egypt said grimly.

Belize kept pacing back and forth as she muttered but then she came to an abrupt stop, and she slowly turned to look at Egypt, expression pale. "Hey… Egypt… something just hit me…"

"Yes…?" Egypt said uncertainly, something telling him that something terrible will come out of her mouth.

"If they knew where Guatemala would be… and figured you ended up with me..." Belize began, swallowing, and looking at him dreadfully. "Would they go over to my house?"

/ / / / /

Needless to say, they panicked.

"They found-" Saint Lucia nearly shrieked but covered her mouth in time as she looked around in fear and whispered. " _They found us?"_

Anubis growled even more ferociously and seemed ready to sprint to and tackle the first person that entered so he could castrate them. Well, according to Anubis, there was _someone_ , a member of the New World Order, outside looking for them. Someone, somehow, _found out_ that Seychelles, Bahamas and Saint Lucia, three weak, powerless nations were hiding out at Belize's house.

And that someone, who could be with more nations for all Seychelles knew, was right at their doorstep.

A million questions were on Seychelles's mind as she felt herself pale and fear quickly took hold of her mind. How? _How_ did they find out? Who's out there? Do they know that only Seychelles, Bahamas and Saint Lucia were in the house? Do they know about Anubis? Will Anubis be able to protect them?

Seychelles at least hoped it wasn't anyone psychotic. She doesn't think she'll be able to stifle a scream if she saw Nigeria, Cameroon or any of the other African members barge in the room looking for their blood.

A frightened Saint Lucia decided to wrap her arms around an equally afraid Bahamas, who trembled as she returned the embrace, the older girl trying to convince herself that everything will be alright. Seychelles bit her nails and turned to a still growling Anubis in with a look of desperation.

"Anubis, what do we do?" Seychelles asked fearfully.

Anubis turned its head towards her, its snarl vanishing as he regarded with an unreadable look and woofed to get their attention, and then walked towards the confused and panicked trio of female nations. Seychelles wanted to ask what he was planning, but it wasn't like she'll understand if she did.

"Wh-What's…?" Saint Lucia nervously tried to ask but was shushed by Bahamas.

"Lucy, shh." Bahamas said quietly, though she looked uncertain as well, her index finger against her lips. "Let's just trust him."

That's right. Egypt trusted that Anubis will protect them, so they should too! Since Egypt believed in Anubis, Seychelles will too!

Seychelles flinched at the sound of the door being kicked open and tensed at the sound of footsteps. But then Anubis barked and everything went white.

/ / / / /

"MON DIEU!"

Costa Rica winced at the loud exclaim from France as he carried a limp Nicaragua in his arms. He had to admit, as surprised Costa Rica was when magic actually turned out to be real, he was impressed that Egypt managed to get them all of them directly to France's house and then vanish almost immediately after that in a short amount of time.

Belize told him more about the current situation, and even after seeing Austria he was still having a hard time digesting it. It all happened so fast too. Costa Rica wasn't expecting himself to end up finding out about a conspiracy. He was pretty shaken, however…

Costa Rica glanced down at Nicaragua and narrowed his eyes. He's already got a reason to hate the New World Order.

"Hello, France." Belize forced a smirk and waved. "Now, I bet you're wondering why Egypt poofed away and what happened to Algeria, Tunisia and Nicaragua, so hear me out because it's more complicated than you think."

"Of course I want answers!" France cried out and ran over to his two former colonies. "And how could you be smiling at this? Algeria and Tunisia… they are… non... Please tell me that they are not…"

"H-Hey, calm yourself, Frenchie! They're fine!" Belize waved her arms around in alarm and shook her head. "Well, not 100% fine, they're dead… but not _dead_ dead! And are you just gonna stand there being a worrywart or are you gonna help me set them down on a bed or something? Honduras's wound is gonna get infected!"

Costa Rica was way ahead of them, and he set down Nicaragua on a sofa. Now, Costa Rica didn't think of himself as a fighter, he'd rather spend his time playing soccer and stuff, but he'll fight for Nicaragua and his neighbors' sakes. Except for Guatemala, obviously.

Speaking of neighbors, Costa Rica just happened to be very worried and confused about one of them, Panama. What happened to his brother in name wasn't mentioned by Belize or Honduras, they probably forgot about him, which wasn't that surprising since Panama kind of shared that trait with that nation over in the north (whose name Costa Rica doesn't remember).

Costa Rica frowned. He wondered what Panama could be doing right now, Costa Rica sure would like to know. Because Austria whispered something to him, something that shocked Costa Rica so much that he would ended up like the others if Nicaragua hadn't pushed him out of the way.

 _Panama knew._

/ / / / /

Indonesia did her best to comfort a crying East Timor sitting on her lap, though the archipelago nation would be lying if she said that she herself was alright, she really _really_ wasn't. And she didn't want to give East Timor false hope, but Indonesia still tried to calm and reassure her.

The betrayal stung horribly, that was needless to say, it hurt. What Philippines did... How he laughed at them hurt so much and ended up breaking Indonesia's heart, and Philippines himself didn't care. He didn't _care_.

Now that part probably hurt the most.

Why didn't Philippines care?

Indonesia wondered if Philippines ever did care about her, thought of her as a family, but just suddenly stopped for some unknown reason. What happened? Has Indonesia ever done something so unforgivable to Philippines? Or did Philippines just pretend this whole time?

But Philippines said he cared more for Malaysia than Indonesia and East Timor combined, that meant that he did care about them on _some_ level, right? Right? She had to be right. Philippines did care about them... even though he deliberately tried to stab or even kill Indonesia for Malaysia's sake as he told her... and nearly ended up shooting East Timor dead with no apparent hesitation...

Indonesia wanted to sob, she would if she wasn't also angry with him.

They were in the plane Philippines informed them about. He didn't tell them where they were going to go, but Philippines told them they're going to meet up with the others, whoever they may be. Philippines was having a conversation, which then turned into an argument, with the pilot.

"Oh, he came by? And he told you what?"

"Really? Heh, sounds fun, you're free to leave if you want. I can handle things here. Just give me the coordinates and I'll be fine."

"Yes, I probably left them a _little_ traumatized, but other than that I did keep my promise, didn't I?"

"For the _last_ time, I did NOT threaten to nuke East Timor! Instead, I tried to shoot her, but I missed on pur... Hey, why are you looking at me like that?! The gun wasn't even loaded with _those_ bullets!"

"There's no point in scolding me for that now, is there? What's done is done."

That was Indonesia managed to overhear, but she didn't quite understand what they were talking about, and she couldn't make out the pilot's voice. It sounded like they solved their argument somewhat, because Philippines came out with an annoyed scowl and East Timor froze in fear.

Philippines's face flushed a little and he didn't meet their eyes. "I'm… sorry you had to hear that, we had a little disagreement, but it's alright now. Oh, and our pilot's leaving for another mission so I'm in charge of taking us to our destination."

"Alright…" Indonesia muttered quietly, nodding.

Philippines stared at her with some unreadable emotion in his eyes, much to Indonesia's discomfort, and then he chuckled. Indonesia glared up at him.

"What's so funny?" Indonesia spat.

"I'm surprised you haven't asked about Malaysia."

Indonesia's eyes went wide. "Where is he?"

Philippines pointed to the side. "The cabin with the sign marked "caution". You're free to visit him, but listen carefully…"

Philippine's expression became very dark and furious and he stepped towards a nervous Indonesia, causing East Timor to whimper, but he didn't pay her any mind and grabbed Indonesia's collar to snarl at her.

"If you, accident or not, do something that makes his mind slip even further into insanity or causes him to harm himself, I will with my own two hands-"

"In other words, don't pressure Malaysia too much with questions. He's tired and needs a lot of rest." A voice familiar to Indonesia, a voice from someone she hasn't heard in decades, someone who shouldn't be here, calmly cut off Philippines. "He's regaining his sanity by the day, so he might be able to talk to you…"

Indonesia blanched and looked to her left, and her heart stopped. No…

"It can't be…" Indonesia muttered in sheer disbelief.

The familiar stranger before her, who had to be a ghost, lifted the conical Asian hat he was wearing to reveal the smiling face of South Vietnam.

"Hello, Kirana." South Vietnam greeted, waving at her as he went towards the exit. "I'd explain, but I have business to attend to, so goodbye for now."

Indonesia wanted to shout at him to wait, but couldn't find her voice, she could hardly believe what she was seeing. She could only shakily reach out her hand towards the ghost while Philippines laughed.

/ / / / /

Egypt felt a little guilty about leaving so soon without a single word to France, but time was of the essence and Egypt couldn't be more worried for the three girls he left under the protection of his trusted companion Anubis. He admitted that may be acting without thinking first right now, but he needed to see for himself if they were alright.

He trusted Anubis, as he stated various times before, as he had for centuries. Anubis was smart, strong, powerful. If anyone could protect the girls, it would be Egypt's dear friend.

However, Egypt still felt that he needed to make sure that Seychelles and the Caribbean girls were alive and well, as well as to check on Anubis. That last one was partly because of Saint Lucia. Egypt has yet to fully reprimand her for the torment she put Anubis through. He hoped that his expression of sheer indescribable rage was enough to intimidate her into not attempting to torture Anubis.

Egypt nearly wanted to scoff. Anubis smelled like death, Saint Lucia both complained about that and tried to use it as a pathetic excuse, but of course Anubis had the scent of death! He was associated with it!

But anyway, back to important matters…

After the usual light faded, Egypt's feet landed on the floor of Belize's simple house, thankfully this time not losing his balance. He was gradually improving using this spell, it didn't drain much of his energy this time as well. That was good. He was going to need to use it a lot in future. Egypt sighed, and his eyes went to his surroundings. Yes, this was definitely Belize's house, and now to find the girls…

Egypt then went around the house, searching through various rooms for the girls and Anubis, but every single one he went into was empty and lifeless. Including the closet littered with hundreds of swords identical to the one Belize carried.

The house was quiet, almost in an eerie way, that slightly worried him because he should be able to hear the chatter of Seychelles, Bahamas and Saint Lucia. Then again, Egypt probably startled them from his entrance and went to hide.

However, Anubis should have already sensed his presence by now and came running to Egypt by now. Egypt narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Where could…

"I know I already said this twice, but still, what the hell was that?" A familiar but not friendly voice demanded, and Egypt very nearly exclaimed in Arabic, and paled as he looked for a place to hide. Egypt settled for jumping behind the couch just as he heard footsteps and he listened the conversation going on. "Did they have Egypt with them?"

Egypt's eyes went wide as recognized that voice. Chile.

Another voice hummed in thought. "Probably, but it looks like there's nothing we can do now, amigo."

Colombia, Egypt thought.

Chile groaned. "Perfect… just perfect… Oh, and Colombia?"

"Yes?" Colombia asked.

"What is just me, or did you hear a dog barking before we were blinded?"

It took several seconds for the realization to sink into Egypt, but when it did he smiled, and he felt a heavy burden lifted off his shoulders. In fact, if he weren't hiding from enemies, he would have laughed from relief.

He knew he could trust Anubis.

/ / / / /

"But Lovino, you have to believe me!" Italy tearfully and desperately begged his brother who was currently being crushed under the weight of a chandelier. "I didn't go out on a date with Germany, and he didn't me fuck me over!"

"Likely… ow, fucking story…" Romano snarled in pain, still glaring at his sobbing brother.

"B-But it's true!" Italy insisted, kneeling near his Romano. "Why don't you believe me?!"

"Because you can be such a fucking s- Ow, dammit!"

"F-Fratello! G-Germany, please get him out!"

"What the hell do you think we've been doing, you idiot?" Germany snapped angrily as he and Japan kept trying to lift the chandelier without killing Romano. He just _had_ to buy a very heavy chandelier. "And Romano, if you don't want to be in more pain, then shut up!"

"Don't fucking tell me what to do, you bas-OW!" Romano yelled in pain.

"Lovino!" Italy cried out.

"Shut up!" Romano growled at him.

"Germany-san… Forgive me for asking, but…" Japan began uncertainly and then winched when Romano yelled "OW!" again. "Wouldn't it be better if we called a hospital?"

"Nein! If we call an ambulance then sooner or later, Italy's boss will find out about this, and I don't want to get into more trouble with that man or have my boss scolding me for straining our relations!" Germany roared, causing Italy to whimper.

"But shouldn't we do something to prevent Romano-san from-"

"NO! MY FRATELLO'S DEAD!" Italy wailed in despair.

"Oh, it appears we are too late." Japan stated nervously as Germany face-palmed… again.

/ / / / /

"And IIIIIII-EEE-IIIIIII will always, like, totally love youuuuuuuuu~" Poland sang… very off-key… the fiftieth song so far.

Hungary wanted to let her head hit the wheel. Good God was Poland a horrible singer, too horrible. His voice could be used as a deadly weapon… and then get banned by international treaties. How many hours were left until they arrive in Paris?

"Ah, Poland does have _quite_ a unique voice." Romania commented with a relaxed smile, and Hungary growled. "And we still have about five hours until Paris."

Where's the nearest cliff? Where can Hungary crash this car so… No, no, no, Hungary! You can't let that third-rate Dracula get to you! Romania's always so cocky and confident of his stupid magic skills that he thinks will help them get out of dangerous situations.

Ha!

"Romania…" Hungary's hands gripped the wheel tightly.

"Da, hag?" Romania asked cheerfully.

"Use your damn magic to speed this car faster to France… or else I'm driving this car off a cliff." Hungary threatened with a sweet tone and a tight smile.

Romania put on a thoughtful expression, and Hungary felt more annoyed by every second he made her wait, but then he smirked.

"Your wish is my command." Romania winked, and snapped his fingers.

And then most of the occupants in the car screamed as they blasted off to the sky.

/ / / / /

DRC listened intently with full attention to Nigeria explaining how the dark magic they had worked and kept nodding in affirmation while Nigeria grinned as he kept talking excitedly about the "delights" of magic with a blush on his cheeks, even occasionally cackling to himself. DRC made sure to memorize Nigeria's words both for the sake of ROC and to torture Belgium in many horrific ways.

And more and more ideas of how to tear apart Belgium with his newly rediscovered abilities came into his mind as Nigeria continued animatedly with his explanations.

DRC was truly interested in learning how to use his own magic, to reach out to the parts of him that were crushed and erased by Belgium, to remember, and what Nigeria was telling him was very interesting as well. Nigeria was obviously having fun with this as he laughed and wrapped his arms around himself.

DRC could understand why. He himself was beginning to feel excited over the prospect of gaining new ways to make Belgium's life hell like she did with him.

"So, you see..." Nigeria began, then giggled to himself, and grinned wide. "It's truly a wonderful thing, right? Right? I can tell your liking this, I knew you would, I can see it in your eyes! Of course you'd love it, think of all the horrible and bloody possibilities!"

Nigeria burst out laughing again while DRC smirked.

"Chris and I are definitely going to use our talents, as well as be helped by me pulling a few favors I'm owed by some spirits and gods, we have a clear plan of how we're going to play our part in the plan to eradicate England. And needless to say, it'll be a total beautiful massacre~"

"Is that so?" DRC asked, chuckling. "Care to share a few details?"

Nigeria laughed and gave him a wink. "Oh, I wouldn't want to spoil it for you~"

"Well, then I am looking forward to it."

"But anyway, back to a more serious topic." Nigeria clasped his hands together. "Since you're... out of touch with your abilities, I'll gladly help you learn, but there's one important thing you should know..."

DRC raised an eyebrow at Nigeria's sudden serious expression. "And that would be...?"

Nigeria frowned. "Learning how to use magic, getting used to it, and to use the stronger, more risky parts of it... It's going to take a while before you can bring your neighbor back."

DRC tried not to let his worry show, and he narrowed his eyes. " _How_ long exactly?"

"Just until you learn how. It won't take years, if that's what you mean."

"And will that affect ROC's state?"

"Nope. Don't worry, Dikembe. The only way the spell could possibly wear off is if you get killed... permanently, but I have a feeling that I don't need to worry much about that, right?"

"…That's correct."

Suddenly the door flew open, nearly causing DRC to flinch, and he was greeted with the sight of a smirking Liberia and a smiling South Africa entering the room. DRC had to widen his eyes slightly at their unexpected arrival. What could they be doing here at this hour? Still, DRC nodded in greeting.

"We're here for the group conference!" Liberia announced loudly, laughing, but then looked confusedly at South Africa. "But are you really sure about not telling Cameroon and Morocco about it, Chris?"

"They need rest, Liberia." South Africa reminded him, smiling in amusement, but then smirked ferociously at the younger nation. "But if you want them here so bad, no one's stopping you from waking them up, kleintjie."

Liberia paled in fear and then glared at South Africa as the latter laughed. "Th-That's not funny, Chris!"

"Really? Then why am I laughing?" South Africa cackled, much to Liberia's annoyance.

"Because you're-"

"Forgive me for interrupting, but why can't Cameroon and Morocco come this… conference?" DRC asked, cutting the two off before they could begin bickering, wanting to get to the matter at hand.

South Africa turned to look at him and smiled. "It's nothing. Just a little meeting to talk about our progress, I thought Nigeria told you about it."

"Oops!" Nigeria giggled, blushing in embarrassment. "My bad! I guess I forgot. I'm sorry, Chris~"

"Oh, don't worry about that~" South Africa grinned, waving his hand in dismissal, then scowled when Liberia made a gagging gesture. "Don't make me throw you into Cameroon's room, kleintjie. Anyway, to answer your question, Dikembe. Cameroon and Morocco will be paying a visit to a certain someone in several hours and are currently resting for the trip."

Oh? DRC thought with interest.

"Anyway, I called this meeting because I have some announcements to make." South Africa clasped his hands together and licked his lips, then grinned. "We're nearly done wrapping things up here, I'll take care of the last pest, and when that's over with, we'll be free to move around as we wish. Then the _real_ fun will begin."

"So that means I will able to torture Belgium more?" DRC asked.

"Ja, of course! We'll _all_ be free to create carnage in Europe, but as a warm-up, the four of us have been asked for assistance." South Africa put his hand on his face, leaving only an eye, but the carnivorous smile was all too visible. "Another way to torment the prisoners while they roam free…"

"STRIKE THEM RIGHT AT THE HEART!" Nigeria shouted deafeningly in glee, and then laughed. "Or at least that's what Hennrick told me."

Liberia perked up at the idea. "You mean…"

"Ja, Nigeria and I will take care of Egypt, and Liberia will go to Algeria. Dikembe…" South Africa turned his gaze to DRC. "Would you like to accompany him?"

DRC only stared at him unreadably at the offer, and saw Liberia grinning up at him, obviously telling him to say yes. Well, DRC could use the practice…

DRC smirked and then nodded. "Oui."

/ / / / /

 _The last thing Tunisia remembered was getting killed, he recalled that he was shot by... Finland? Yes, it was Finland. That nation shot him right near the heart. And then Tunisia remembered pain and dizziness, blood, Algeria screaming, and then his vision going black. He... died... But... died how? It couldn't be permanent, could it?_

 _No, it couldn't be... He and Algeria were wanted alive, right? They were wanted alive so they could be punished, Morocco wanted them. Did the Order get too furious with them and decided enough was enough? No... It can't... Besides, would Morocco…_

 _Oh no... Algeria! What happened to his sister?! She didn't get killed like he was, did she?_

 _Tunisia slowly opened his eyes as they started feeling less heavy and he groaned in discomfort. Where was he? It felt like he was on some… bed? A very comfy one at that. He drowsily looked around and tried to move but found that he couldn't… and he realized that he had arms wrapped around him in an embrace. But for Tunisia, it felt like he was trapped. And why did it feel a little cold?_

 _Tunisia looked down and paled as he realized he wasn't wearing a shirt or… He felt mortified._

 _Then he heard **very** familiar laughter and Tunisia froze. No… not him… Please tell him that it's not… Not again! Tunisia felt a hand grab his chin so he could face a smirking Morocco._

 _"You'll be seeing me very soon, brother…" Morocco said maliciously, and then laughed._

"BROTHER!"

Tunisia gasped as he felt himself shaken awake, abruptly but thankfully waking him up from that horrifying dream, and he was immediately met with the worried but relieved face of his sister Algeria. He stared at her, a little disoriented, and Algeria sighed in relief.

"Algeria…?" Tunisia asked drowsily.

"Yes, it's me…" Algeria chuckled, smiling at him, and then forcefully lifted Tunisia up when he began to lie back down. "Oh, no, you won't. You already began to worry me when you wouldn't wake up, you're alive, and now you stay awake."

"Sorry…" Tunisia muttered, then shook his head as he realized something. "Wait, what happened?"

Algeria frowned and crossed her arms. "We were killed."

Tunisia widened his eyes. "Y-You mean-"

"Temporarily, I mean. Allah let us live to fight another day, and I'm very grateful for that." Algeria sighed again and touched her stomach with an expression of discomfort. "I was killed not long after you were."

"Are you alright?" Tunisia asked quickly, immediately feeling concern well up.

"I am now." Algeria nodded, then grimaced. "I was killed by a slash of Sweden's sword, quite the nasty wound, and I didn't even manage to last long against him."

"Well, at least you're alright. That's what matters." Tunisia said.

"I suppose so." Algeria agreed and then looked to her right, where Tunisia was surprised to see Nicaragua and Costa Rica having a one-sided argument. "We weren't the only temporary casualties. Honduras bled out and Nicaragua got stabbed from what I was told. Both are fine now."

"That's very nice to hear…" Tunisia chuckled in relief, then felt himself frown at the memory of the nightmare with Morocco and felt disgusted when he felt heat in his cheeks. How sickening, he-

"What's wrong?" Algeria asked suddenly, a look of concern on her.

Tunisia flinched at the question. "Wh-What?"

Tunisia inwardly cursed for stuttering, because it only made Algeria more worried. "Is there something wrong, Ubon?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Don't lie to me, Malik."

Tunisia felt panic rise, but then he was saved by the surprise entrance of Belize, who stormed into the room and gave Tunisia her trademark grin when she saw him, with a thankfully healed and joyful Honduras behind her.

Belize put her hands on her hips. "About time you woke up, Tunisia! You took even longer than Sally, her wound wasn't pretty to look at, and you only got shot! Are you okay there?"

Algeria glared at Belize for the interruption, but Tunisia smiled at the girl. "I think I'm alright."

"Nice, because France has a plan and he wants the entire group together to tell us! Let's get to it!"

/ / / / /

Lithuania kept his gaze up at the cloudy sky with his hands in his pockets and a frown on his face. The sun was beginning to come up, it's now dawn, and they should be here any second, all he had to do was to keep an eye out. He'll know when they're here, and once he did, he and Bulgaria are off on another exciting adventure as that idiot would say. But still, Lithuania couldn't help but smirk.

Lithuania will admit, though not to Bulgaria, that his adventures and misadventures did amuse him. Partly because it provided him a great excuse to strangle Bulgaria because the dunderhead had the unique talent of messing the order of things. But mostly… it was because he had fun with his best friend.

There, he said it, as stupid as it sounded.

And speaking of that idiot, Lithuania nearly wanted to snort at what Bulgaria was doing right now. Bulgaria was doing something similar to what Lithuania was doing, only the idiot was beaming up with excitement, like a puppy eagerly waiting for its treat. Although do dogs drool when they do it?

Lithuania looked away in disgust. Well, at he doesn't have to clean it up.

He will admit, again, that when that idiot's boyfriend told about this mission, Lithuania was really interested in going. It'll provide a temporary distraction for him from the rift with his fellow Baltics, and…

Lithuania clenched his fists.

There was a rather large chance that _Poland_ will be there. Lithuania's hands reached for his sword as he began to breathe heavily, and he gripped it tightly with both hands while trying _extremely_ hard not to burst out laughing and instead smiled ferociously.

There were two types of idiots for Lithuania. One was the tolerable psychotic idiots like Bulgaria, and the other was the extremely annoying, selfish, stupid, vain idiots like Poland.

Lithuania hated Poland about half as much as he hated Russia. So, he was obviously looking forward to seeing him again. This time Lithuania will be the one laughing at the other's pain and misfortune.

Two in the same week. Lithuania felt lucky.

"Lithy!" Lithuania nearly jumped at the sound of Bulgaria's cheerful voice calling him and froze when he felt arms wrap around him from behind. "I'm so, so, so, so, so, so SO excited! Can you believe we're going to fight alongside my darling!"

" _…No… REALLY?_ " Lithuania commented sarcastically, eyebrow twitching. "I never would have guessed that you were over the moon happy to see your boyfriend."

"Oh, don't use that sarcasm with me, Toris… He loves you too." Bulgaria said innocently.

"Well, I _don't_ love him." Lithuania grumbled, trying to get out of Bulgaria's grasp.

Bulgaria gasped in horror, and Lithuania cursed at his choice of words as the idiot stammered. "Wh-Wh-What?! But how could you not?"

"No, you moron, I like him, but I don't love him!" Lithuania growled and then face-palmed, hoping it'll calm Bulgaria down. "Don't take it the wrong way."

"Oh, silly me, sorry about that." Bulgaria giggled, and Lithuania rolled his eyes. "But if you change your mind, feel free to tell us if you're interested in-"

Lithuania stopped him from finishing that sentence by grabbing Bulgaria by the collar. "For the three-hundredth-and-sixty-seventh time, Bulgaria, I do NOT want to have a threesome with the two of you! I-"

Lithuania dropped Bulgaria, causing an "oof!" from him, at the sound of helicopter blades and saw a small object in the sky making it's way towards them. Eventually, the sound also woke up Estonia and Latvia.

"Ah! What's going on?!" Latvia cried.

"Did Mister Russia find us?!" Estonia asked in alarm, scrambling for his glasses.

"Ne, you cowardly idiots, it's my beloved!" Bulgaria cried out in delight and laughed as he hugged Lithuania tighter, and the latter couldn't help but smile as well.

The military helicopter soon landed near them, with Lithuania waiting stoically with a hyperventilating Bulgaria holding on to him, and the nation who came out was none other than…

"SADIK!" Bulgaria exclaimed in pure joy and ran into the smirking nation's arms.

"My little birdie…" Turkey chuckled as he embraced Bulgaria. "Sorry for keeping you waiting, you little crazy…"

"I don't care about that now!" Bulgaria cried, tears falling from his eyes. "You're here, _here_ in front of me, that's all I care about, that's all I wanted!"

Turkey snorted. "Maybe, but I think you and I can agree that this has been dragged out for far too long…"

And then they… Oh, does Lithuania even need to say it?

Lithuania grimaced a little at the display of affection, but heard feet crunching in the snow. He saw Haiti, Hong Kong, South Vietnam, Denmark, Cameroon and Morocco before him. Haiti smirked and reached out his hand.

"Are you ready?" Haiti asked.

Lithuania smirked back and grabbed his hand. "I am."

/ / / / /

"And how is he?" Prussia asked curtly as he walked with Iceland.

"Do you want me to tell you what you want to hear?" Iceland asked sourly, cringing. "Because I really doubt you're going to like it, because frankly according to the reports, out of the four he's got it the worse."

Prussia shook his head. "I feared as much, but it won't be a permanent state, you know that as well as I do. Also, if I want to know which sedatives and drugs to use on him, I need to see how he's doing."

Iceland sighed. "Suit yourself."

Prussia stopped so Iceland could press some buttons and use some keys to open up a vault, then a series of metal doors, and then they continued on their way. Not long after, they reached a series of cells, made just in case, and they stopped before a large one.

A very large one, big enough to be considered a room, and it certainly has changed from when Prussia last visited. The cell did have several items so the prisoner could entertain themselves, but it seemed this one was very fond of the notebooks and colored pencils. In fact, the boy was hunched over the desk with a face void of expression frantically scribbling something down on paper.

It seemed he'd been very busy, if all the pages and pictures littered all over the cell was any indication.

Prussia narrowed his eyes stepped forward. "El Salvador."

The Central American snapped his head up in Prussia's direction and then laughed. "I finally made up my mind!"

El Salvador got up, nearly tripping on his own chains, and walked towards Prussia with a wide grin as much as the chains could allow him. Iceland tensed, but Prussia didn't feel worried.

"I'm going to get all of them!" El Salvador exclaimed while holding up a drawing of the gruesome corpses of Honduras, Belize, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua.

 **That's it for this arc! Thanks for reading! Next chapter will begin the Brawl arc, which will mostly focus on the coming battle in France. Please review!**


	34. The Brawl: Preparations

**Thanks to Eternal Nexus Warrior, AquaEclipse, NadiaJA627, FGLFFFF, and a guest for reviewing. This marks the start of the brawl arc! It won't take long to get to the action. And here's a longer chapter for you guys! Now, on with the show!**

In hindsight, Vilnius probably didn't think this through well enough.

The capital shifted in discomfort inside the large bag, which luckily for her was conveniently just about her size, trying to reach the zipper to give herself more air. The last thing Vilnius wanted was for her brother to find her dead from suffocation inside the bag. She gulped.

Lithuania wouldn't like that…

Well, she did know that she might get a lack of air, which was why she was planning to use the zipper, but she didn't think that it would feel this cramped. Vilnius could hardly move, so much that she doesn't think she'll be able to peek her head out, and it felt a little claustrophobic. This was the luggage compartment after all.

In fact, this was all causing her to regret doing this in the first place, not to mention how guilty she felt….

Vilnius overheard what Turkey told Lithuania, and she wanted to help her brother, but she knew that he wouldn't let her. She didn't understand why not. Lithuania taught her how to fight with a sword, he told her how proud he was of her progress. Besides, wasn't she created to help the Order?

All Vilnus wanted was to impress her brother, help him get the happiness he deserved! That way they could live happily for the rest of their lives in the new world the Order's making.

Vilnius felt horrified when she heard about what happened to Guatemala. A member of the Order captured? Each of them are so strong... She couldn't believe that the Order's enemies would be able to do that! Why don't they want the Order to help fix the world? Hopefully they're not torturing Guatemala, but it'll be okay! Lithuania, Bulgaria, Turkey and the others could save him, and with Vilnius's help.

Vilnius sneezed and then sighed. She just hoped she didn't get sick first.

/ / / / /

"I hate you." Namibia spat with nothing but venom in her voice.

South Africa didn't feel the slightest bit of any sort of negative emotion from that pleasant remark, much less from the deadly glare Namibia she was giving him, it even elicited laughter from him, making her even more angry. Seeing her just so furious with him and looking at him with so much hatred…

He laughed harder. Oh, it was such a wonderful feeling!

Whether or not his neighbors began to hate his very existence was of no concern to South Africa, he could live it without a single problem, but if any of them one day decide to embrace his ways, then he'll happily welcome them with open arms. However, them hating and fearing him was also pleasing.

Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. As South Africa once heard a fictional character say, and he couldn't agree more. And their suffering only fed South Africa's hunger for the misery of others. South Africa could clearly see that Namibia was suffering

"You're… laughing?" Namibia asked in disbelief, which then became anger. "You're laughing?!"

"I-I-I'm sorry, Namibia, but I just can't… ha!" South Africa burst out laughing again, and Namibia threw her hands up in frustration.

"No, I'm sick of this, of you." Namibia snarled and turned her back to him. "I only agreed to this so I could get as far as away from you as possible."

South Africa gained some control of himself as he wiped a tear from his eye, grinning. "Ja, good luck with that. You're right next to me, you know."

"Well, then never show your face in my land!"

"Ja, ja, I'll do what I want."

Namibia gave him one final glare before storming off, leaving South Africa to chuckle to himself. Oh, he just loved that woman…

"Judging from how furious she was with you, I assume it went well then?" The voice of South Africa's most recent comrade deadpanned, and he looked to see DRC leaning against the doorway as he crossed his arms.

South Africa grinned in amusement. "Were you standing there the whole time listening the whole time? I'm not upset, just curious."

"I was curious to see how you would handle it." DRC stated bluntly, his emotionless eyes glancing towards the path Namibia stormed off to. "Perhaps be here to assist you if the situation turned violent."

South Africa laughed loudly at that, and he felt a blush come over his cheeks. "Aw, you were worried about me? How nice of you, Dikembe! But you really shouldn't underestimate my skills in diplomacy."

DRC raised an eyebrow. "Namibia both looked and sounded furious, and you _threatened_ her."

"Ja, so?" South Africa asked, not really getting the point.

"Isn't diplomacy dealing with other countries _without_ arousing hostility?"

"Ja, so? That wouldn't be nearly as entertaining" South Africa grinned widely and went over to pat DRC on the shoulder. Then he smirked at the door, deciding its time they discuss the elephant in the room. "And speaking of hostility, I wonder if it ever crossed your mind that you'd be met with that when you decided to spy on us, _Malawi_."

There was cursing in Chichewa, and DRC immediately tensed and snarled as he followed the very instincts he got from years of hardships and reached out for his knife, but South Africa stopped him. The rainbow nation smirked.

"Well, are you going to show yourself?" South Africa chuckled darkly, he'd recognized that smell of tobacco from anywhere. "I never took you for a coward."

The door swung completely open, revealing a skinny (though healthy compared to Zimbabwe) young man South Africa's age with curly black hair wearing a gray t-shirt, green shorts and black sandals. South Africa smiled.

Well…

How convenient.

Malawi scowled at South Africa, but then his expression softened into a frown.

"You smelled the tobacco, didn't you?" Malawi grumbled, almost in embarrassment.

"I always kept telling you to stop spending so much time on the fields." South Africa reminded him with a sly grin.

"Don't remind me…" Malawi muttered before he widened his eyes as he remembered the situation he was in and looked at South Africa warily with an anxious scowl. "A-Anyway, now what are you going to do, Chris? If you're planning on punishing me for eavesdropping on you then… I… you don't need…"

South Africa stared at Malawi unreadably while the latter's voice faltered and glared at the floor and the former went over the situation in his mind. Oh, Malawi… Poor Malawi, literally poor Malawi, loyal little Malawi… someone South Africa just happened to be hoping to talk at some point.

Malawi. Formerly known as the Maravi Confederacy or Empire but has long since discarded that name since narrowly escaping death and madness when he broke into smaller autonomous factions and was now spending his time in the present trying to recover from his schizophrenia, live with the despair of having infant mortality, and deal with being one of the poorest countries in the world.

Sad, isn't it? Now South Africa may or may not have played a small part in causing Maravi's decline, but it was honestly unintentional, and it was _before_ South Africa met him. He even apologized, and South Africa hardly ever apologized for causing carnage for his own pleasure.

But then it turned out that Malawi blamed himself and some others instead of South Africa. Strange, wasn't it?

" _Why_ were you eavesdropping on us?" DRC demanded lowly with a growl.

"I-I-I that's…!" Malawi stammered, much to his own annoyance, then glared at DRC. "Tell me why you joined Chris and the others first."

Oh?

DRC sneered at him. "Don't try to dodge the question, Malawi. You'll try to give us reasonable explanation for your actions or else you will be the latest victim of our bloodlust, so I repeat to you again… Why were you eavesdropping on us?"

Malawi glanced at South Africa. "I just want to talk to Chris!"

"That still doesn't explain why your actions."

South Africa decided it was time for him to step in and with a relaxed smile he put himself between DRC and Malawi, giving the latter a grin. "No need to be so rough on Chisulo, DRC. He's a loyal friend, he would never lie to me, and no harm will come to him."

DRC raised a surprised eyebrow at him, and even Malawi was shocked from how _sincere_ South Africa sounded. Well, of course he was! South Africa owed Malawi. South Africa _liked_ Malawi. Why, someone might ask incredulously? Heh, wasn't it obvious? Malawi was _insane_.

Why else would Malawi choose to maintain close relations with him during the Apartheid and treat him like they were good friends and never was wrong? Why else would Malawi defy the Organization of African Unity and risked isolation to continue to be friends with a "Nazi"? Why else would Malawi not be angry with him? How else would Malawi see through the hypocritical actions of all the other African leaders?

He was insane, plain and simple. This was all proof that Malawi was just as mad as South Africa and the others.

South Africa clutched his chest as his heart pounded, he slowly lifted his gaze to meet Malawi's, who appeared to be quite confused. "Why are you here?"

"I… I've been thinking a lot about all this lately, I wasn't sure, but then I overheard you talking with DRC and thanks to that I made up my mind." Malawi explained, this time sounding more assertive, and South Africa grinned.

"Really? And what did you decide about?" South Africa asked curiously, tilting his head, though he already knew the answer.

"You want to get back at Europe, don't you? That's why DRC joined you. You promised him that he could destroy Belgium if he did, right?" Malawi pointed at DRC, who decided to remain silent, and he looked at South Africa again, waiting for his answer.

South Africa hummed and crossed his arms. "And if we do?"

"I'm not a fighter, not anymore at least, but still I want to help in any way I can because I'd sure love to see _you_ burn England down in flames." Malawi remarked with a sneer, and his face became determined. "I don't care about what the others will think about this. Wouldn't be the first time I end up isolated."

South Africa could barely contain his glee. "Are you saying... what I think you're saying?"

"Yes, I want to make them pay for leaving me to rot." Malawi stated. "I want to help you."

/ / / / /

Even though Turkey saw this over a thousand times or more, and will see it for centuries to come, he'll never get tired of making Bulgaria blush.

The masked nation smirked in amusement at his lover's constant blushing, praising and sappy proclamations of love that would have made many people gag or annoyed, but he loved the adoration, it reminded Turkey that he wasn't _completel_ y wicked. It's true that Bulgaria became madly in love with him due to Turkey's own manipulations…

But dammit, did that adorable Bulgarian trap him in his own spell, not even on purpose!

But what Turkey loved even more was giving Bulgaria affection. Why? Because even the simplest compliment made his crazy lover giddy.

It was cute. Turkey cackled.

And Turkey couldn't help but smirk at the members Haiti had assembled for the rescue Guatemala mission. My, were all these interesting choices, very interesting indeed. Although, he could clearly see why Haiti picked him and the others, smart kid.

Speaking of the kid, blondie's sitting cross-legged while smoking a cigarette without a care in the world (or for the safety rules) and trying not to freeze. Haiti, good soldier, sly, smart, tricky and whose teddy bear terrified the hell out of Turkey. Not to mention sadistic partly thanks to Nigeria. Whatever plot the kid had, it always made for a fun show.

There was Denmark, always aloof, quiet, serious and stuff but had a nasty habit of going into a blood-crazed rage, who was currently looking out the window. No doubt Haiti picked him because of that little detail of the former Viking, not to mention that the guy's tougher than nails. Cameroon couldn't be the only strongman on the team. If Turkey were Haiti, he would also pick him.

South Vietnam was piloting the aircraft. People would assume South's here because France was involved, but for Turkey it was obvious that the ghost was fed up with hiding and was _dying_ to see the look on their enemies' faces when they spot him. Nice boy… Turkey then grinned. Except when the topic of his sister or the Vietnam War came up, in which case you'll see that he hasn't quite calmed down since then.

Then there was the annoyed Pearl of the Orient hugging his knees. Judging from Turkey's observations, Hong Kong was either A) On the fun way to getting encased in ice. B) Completely bored out of his mind. Or C) Almost ready to throw up from the nausea of being forced to watch Turkey and Bulgaria's demonstrations of affection.

Eh.

Ah, Lithuania… His lover's best friend who _really_ needed to lighten up. Despite that, Lithuania just fascinated Turkey to no end. Lithuania was probably one of the few nations that could cause Bulgaria to disobey Turkey, but Turkey didn't feel threatened (he already knew that he owned Bulgaria anyway), quite the opposite! He liked this guy, and he owed him for keeping

Morocco and Cameroon were, to Turkey's pity, and for lack of a better word, _freezing_ to death. Morocco for once didn't have that fake smile on him and was grinding his teeth along with Cameroon, who looked really frustrated. Turkey could relate, he's not doing too well himself. He shivered as he held his arms, which caused a gasp from Bulgaria.

"Darling! O-Oh no, I didn't notice you were freezing!" Bulgaria exclaimed in horror and began unzipping his jacket. "Please, have mine!"

Turkey cracked a smile at the offer and stopped him. "And have you getting hypothermia instead? No way, Dimitri. Besides, I've been like this the whole trip!"

"Don't say that, beloved. I'm more used to cold climates, and you'll get hypothermia if your body temperature drops too much!"

Then Turkey got an idea, and he smirked. "Then why don't _you_ warm me?"

Bulgaria's face brightened up the idea and he nodded quickly, but before anything exciting could happen...

"NO!" Lithuania shouted in alarm, causing Hong Kong to yelp, Denmark to scowl, and Haiti to grimace. "You two are NOT going to-"

Turkey burst out cackling at Lithuania's face. "HA! Aw, relax, Lithuania! We're not gonna do anything like that, especially in front of you guys!"

Lithuania practically deflated in relief. "Good. It'd be very appreciated if you don't do anything inappropriate in front of us."

"It'd also be appreciated if you two got a room, but unfortunately we're stuck with you for like three hours…" Hong Kong grumbled, and went back to hugging his knees as the Asian failed to notice the snarl Bulgaria was giving him.

Uh-oh. Bulgaria looked ready to spill some blood, Turkey better do something to stop him, fast.

But then to Turkey's surprise, someone unexpected beat him to it as all the passengers jumped at the sound of someone punching a wall, and he looked to see none other than South Vietnam who looked kind of really pissed off. Not North Vietnam pissed off, more like China or Russia pissed off. Still, this should be interesting.

South Vietnam glared at Hong Kong, and Turkey saw that the former's fists were shaking.

"Stay your tongue, Leon. You cannot fathom the pain of being unable to be with your lover, you haven't felt the anguish of having to keep their relationship a secret." South Vietnam said scolded Hong Kong coldly, but then his expression softened. "They've been through enough. They earned this. So, please, leave them be."

Hong Kong looked like he was about to say some sort of retort, but he just as he opened his mouth he faltered after looking at South Vietnam in the eye and looked away guiltily. And Turkey knew exactly why. Hell, everyone here knew exactly why, the entire organization would know why.

South Vietnam had his own sweetheart, key word _had_ , because as far that sweetheart is concerned, SV was dead.

South Vietnam turned to Turkey and Bulgaria and smiled as he nodded to them then went back to piloting.

"Wow..." Bulgaria said in awe. "How nice of him to support us, right beloved?

"Definitely. That's one interesting nation..." Turkey said in agreement, then smirked. "And speaking of interesting nations, you made some odd choices for this mission, Haiti. But once someone examines the choices more, it all begins to make sense, and they come to the conclusion that you are an evil genius."

At this, everyone's attention went to Haiti, who opened an eye and grinned. "Is that so?"

"Now that Turkey mentions it... Why did you pick him to go with you? I know that Egypt will be there, but still, you could have choosed Norway to counter his magic." Lithuania commented, raising an eyebrow at Haiti. "And why Denmark? I understand if you wanted him because of his strength, but... why?"

Denmark didn't utter a single word.

"Aw, come on, it isn't that hard to figure out!" Turkey exclaimed, feeling rather disappointed at the confused looks, and then he gaped when even his own lover didn't get it.

"Hmm..." Bulgaria hummed in thought, stroking his chin, but then he shrugged. "Nope. I don't get it."

"And why _me_?" Hong Kong asked in puzzlement, pointing at himself. "I agreed to go because it sounded like fun, but it's England, China and Japan I hate. I have no reason to torture France, and all you asked me to do was to create chaos."

Haiti laughed at their confusion. "Really? You don't get it?"

"I wouldn't be asking if I did!" Hong Kong snapped.

"Isn't it obvious? Each of you here were chosen for several reasons, but one stands out the most, one that'll help make France's life hell." Haiti explained calmly and smirked along with Morocco and Cameroon as he clenched his fist. "Chaos."

/ / / / /

Belize was okay. Obviously, she wasn't happy, but she was feeling okay, sort of. Although she nearly collapsed from relief once Honduras, the first nation to revive, woke up. She really couldn't describe how happy she was to see her friends wake up one by one because a part of Belize, the stupid part of her, was scared that they'd never wake up.

She mentally scoffed. Seriously, how stupid was that? Of course they were going to come back, Belize saw the wounds get a little better while waiting for Egypt, and that guy said that they weren't going to die for good. Then Honduras, Nicaragua, Algeria and finally Tunisia woke up.

And it only took about four or five hours for all of them to do it! Too long in Belize's opinion…

But on the bright side, it gave Belize plenty of time to explain more stuff to Costa Rica, trade stories with France, and adjust to the time zone (geez, it was barely past dawn in Paris) while waiting for the others to wake up. Oh, and Monaco's here too, and she looked like she's seen better days. France and Egypt both told Belize what happened, and it made her mentally shake her fist at Haiti in rage.

Belize was told that Guatemala was being kept tied up in another room, she hasn't gone there because frankly the last thing she wanted right now was to see the lying bastard. Although she had considered going there just to punch him right in the face and demand where El Salvador was.

She even proposed this idea to Honduras, but…

"...What would be the point of it, Bel?" Honduras looked down sadly, her bangs obscuring her eyes, and she held her arms. "I don't think Guate would know where Angel is, not that he'd tell us anyway."

"But he's bound to know something!" Belize retorted, eyebrows furrowed. "Maybe tell us why Angel was going insane and drew all that stuff, including us along with Nica and Costa as corpses?"

"I..." Honduras trailed off and Belize's expression softened at seeing pain in Honduras's eyes. "I really don't want to see him right now."

After that sentence, Belize felt like an awful person, even though Honduras said she wasn't upset with her.

Really, what good would that do, besides shutting him up? It was really, really tempting, especially since he was probably sitting there with a cocky smile on his face as if he's completely confident that he'll be rescued and able to watch them die in some bloody way, but would it be worth it? It's not like hurting Guatemala will make their situation any easier, and he won't spill any useful information.

Beating Guatemala up because of anger and hate wouldn't make Belize that different from him too, and that thought made Belize feel even worse.

"Don't get glum, Bel!" Honduras chirped in attempt to cheer Belize up. "If I'm not allowed to get depressed, then you're not allowed either!"

Belize smiled. That's right, neither of them could afford to get sad at a time like this! Especially with the barrel of laughs that were the Africans in their group.

And about Costa Rica…

Belize was starting to get worried for her fellow Central American.

Honduras bit her lip and wringed her hands anxiously. "I don't know, Costa… I think… I think we should just leave him alone."

Honduras then nearly flinched at the angry look Costa Rica gave her. "Why?! You don't know if Emanuel's a part of this! He wasn't on that list you told me about, right? So for all we know, he could-"

"To be honest, the micronations aren't there either, but they're obviously a part of it." Belize cut him off and narrowed her eyes. She wasn't liking what she was saying one bit, but she knew where this was going. "And if what Austria said was true, then Panama obviously had some part in it."

"If you're saying that he's as fake as Guatemala was-"

"I'm not saying that!"

"It sounds like you are!"

"Well, I'm not! Besides, I'm just as confused as you are!"

"Exactly. So this doesn't automatically make him a member of the Order." Costa Rica nodded, and Belize wanted to sigh. "Who knows? Maybe Emanuel got blackmailed into keeping quiet and lying to us."

Honduras crossed her arms with an unsure look on her. "Maybe… But you need to remember that Emanuel used to be with Colombia and America, Felix."

"That still doesn't-"

"Then _what_ the hell does, Felix?" Nicaragua snapped at him, clenching her fists.

Costa Rica didn't say a word after that. But they all knew that the conversation was far from over.

For now, they'll all worry about the itsy-bitsy problem they have right now, the Haiti problem. Speaking of which, now that Tunisia's alive again and Egypt's back with a smile on his face (which kind of creeped Belize out), meaning that those three girls are okay, France could tell them what his big plan was. Oh, and speaking of that guy…

"FRANCIS! For the last time, yes, we know we're alright, so please release us this instant!" Algeria demanded irately as she and her embarrassed brother struggled to escape an overjoyed France's hug. "For the love of… Did you even hear me?!"

After France laughed some more in joy, he let them go. "Oh, forgive me, Algerie. It's just that I am so overjoyed to see you and your brother alive and well! I've been so worried!"

Algeria dusted herself off while glaring at her former colonizer. "Yes, well, as you can clearly see, we're alright. Your concern is appreciated, but please stop overreacting, France."

"More importantly, we might want to begin discussing how we're going to deal with the Haiti problem." Belize reminded them, a wry smile on her face as she patted her sword. "If you ask me, I think we might want to start getting some weapons, because if this is going to be as hard as we all think it's going to be, then we need them, now.

"But France, you said you came up with some plan, didn't you?" Tunisia asked.

"That is correct, Tunisie!" France proclaimed proudly, sparkles all around him.

Algeria didn't look too convinced though and she raised an eyebrow. "What is this… plan of yours?"

The sparkles became more vibrant and France winked. "The plan… is a secret! Honhonhonhonhon~"

Nicaragua face-palmed, Costa Rica blinked in confusion, Egypt looked like he couldn't believe what he was hearing, Honduras tilted her head in curiosity (a question mark might as well appear above her head), Tunisia only stared at France with either confusion or dismay, Algeria was gaping and looked ready to give France a harsh slap, while Belize herself only raised an eyebrow at him.

"Secret… secret?!" Algeria exclaimed angrily, throwing her hands up in frustration, and glared at the European. "France, this is serious, we don't know if any of us will come back if we're killed this time. Either you have a plan that will be effective and as foolproof as possible or-"

"I am serious, Algerie." France interrupted her with a more serious tone, causing Algeria to flinch. "You see, for the plan to work, most of you must not know what the plan is."

"So your plan is to tell us that you have a plan but not tell us about said plan so the plan will work?" Honduras asked curiously as she put on her thinking face and smiled brightly. "Ooh, that sounds really clever!"

"No… it's really not." Nicaragua grumbled grumpily.

"I like it." Costa Rica commented happily.

"Shut up."

"Merci, Honduras~" France thanker her gleefully, but then became serious again as he looked around. "I made sure mon petite Monaco remained in her room so she wouldn't overhear any of this… But my little sister is clever, I can only hope…"

France earned some puzzled looks from the others, but he quickly smiled again.

"Egypt, if I may have a word with you?" France requested.

Egypt raised an eyebrow at this, but hesitantly nodded, and the two walked away to talk in private.

Why did Belize have a bad feeling about this?

/ / / / /

"Why the heck did you think we'd be comfortable staying at the top of the Sphinx of Giza?!" Saint Lucia nearly screamed at the apathetic pooch trying to get some sleep, obviously refusing to acknowledge the girl's presence.

Anubis once again responded with silence, and his ears flopped a little.

Seychelles smiled tiredly at the extremely one-sided argument between Saint Lucia and Anubis, if she weren't still shaken by what happened, then she would have giggled. Saint Lucia was still kind of miffed at Anubis for taking them literally to the top of a giant sphinx, even though Anubis did save them from certain danger. She sighed and let her head hit the table.

They were safe, for now at least.

But she wondered if Egypt knew that they were in his capital. He wouldn't mind, would he?

/ / / / /

Seborga was up and ready for a bran new day! He already has plans to ask out three beautiful girls that live near him, and he's overjoyed that he's having more visitors than usual, and it was overall a beautiful today. He thought about it as he cheerfully skipped to the ringing telephone.

"Ciao~ Seborga speaking~" Seborga sang happily, but then his smile vanished when he heard sobbing on the other side of the line. "F-Feli? Fratello, is that you?"

"Oh, Romeo! It's awful!" Italy wailed in despair and sobbed even more. "It's horrible, terrible, and it's all my fault!"

Seborgo heard an annoyed "No, it's not!" and scratched his head. "What happened, Veneziano?"

"I KILLED FRATELLO!" Italy screamed, wailing even more.

Seborga blinked, and he tilted his head. "Huh?"

"Oh, for the love of the Kaiser- THE CHANDELIER KILLED HIM YOU IDIOT!" The rough voice of who could only be Germany yelled.

"Is that Germany, Veneziano?" Seborga asked curiously, and then smiled. "Ciao, Germany~"

"I-If only I were b-brave enough to face our fratello and calmed him down, then he wouldn't be squashed under a really pretty chandelier!" Italy lamented to no end, while Seborga tried to make out what his brother was saying, and nearly flinched when Italy sobbed again. "A really pretty chandelier that's now broken thanks to me!"

"I'm sure Germany can get a new one." Seborga cheerfully tried to console him, though he didn't understand half the things Italy was saying. "And silly fratello, Romano will come back!"

Italy sniffed, and his sobs calmed somewhat. "B-But it's still my fault! Lovi was right! I really am an idiota!"

"And you only realized that just now?!" Germany snapped.

"I'm sorry!"

"I'll forgive you if you actually do something other than wail and help me and Japan clean up!"

"B-But what if I get cut?"

"Then use bandages."

"But it'll hurt!"

And it went on for what Seborga could guess was about a minute or two before there was some sort of crash and the sounds of arguing were replaced with static. Seborga blinked and then smiled brightly as he hanged up the phone, deciding to return to his daily business.

His brother's so lucky to have a lot of fun adventures with such funny friends!

/ / / / /

"I am, like, totally having a lot of, like, second thoughts about, like, agreeing to this!" Poland shrieked girlishly at a ridiculously high-pitched voice while Hungary laughed like a madwoman as she blasted the car through the sky. "Vlad, what, like, heck were you, like, thinking when you totally cast that spell on the car?!"

"You think I'm happy with this?!" Vlad shouted as he tried to keep his small hat from falling off. "I thought that the spell would scare her and she'd demand that I'd undo at once but nuuuuuu, the hag instead uses it against me!"

"Then, like, undo it!" Poland demanded.

"And have us plunging our temporary deaths? Nu, thank you!

Hungary just laughed merrily. "Oh, don't worry, Feliks! This is just payback for that scrapped design of a Diabolik Lovers character thinking he could just suddenly appear and having you sing dozens of songs! In fact, think of it as payback for you singing non-stop too!"

Poland sputtered. "B-But I, like, totally have the voice, like, an angel!"

"No… you really don't…" Hungary deadpanned, but then brightened up again. "Anyway, only about a couple of hours to Paris!"

"I _really_ want to go to the bathroom!" Bosnia exclaimed in anguish.

/ / / / /

"I do _not_ approve of this." Egypt stated coldly as he gazed with narrowed eyes at an anxious France. "Not at all. If anything, I despise you for thinking it'll work and that Algeria will not chew you out for even considering such an idea."

"Which is _precisely_ why I didn't want her to hear this." France said, laughing nervously, then gazed at him sadly. "Egypt, I beg of you…"

"No."

"Egypt…"

Egypt scoffed and crossed his arms. "Truly, that is a foolish idea. The others will probably have a hard time forgiving me for going along with this. Have you thought of what Monaco would feel about your idea? She's a smart girl. She could help-"

" _Non_." France refused coldly. "I don't want her to get on the Order's bad side and have Haiti break his promise."

"Haiti could have lying for all we knew."

"PLEASE!"

Egypt glared at him before finally conceding defeat. "…Fine."

/ / / / /

How did it come to this?

Philippines, Malaysia, South Vietnam... Why? Indonesia didn't understand. Mostly because of the lack of answers she'd been given from Philippines, the entirety of the situation made little to no sense at all, and South Vietnam was alive.

South Vietnam... didn't fade away.

South Vietnam... He didn't die, he wasn't dead. Indonesia saw him with her own eyes and heard his voice with her own ears. South Vietnam... was alive. And if Indonesia weren't so upset and depressed by what Philippines did to her and East Timor, she would have cried tears of joy and ran right into his arms, overjoyed to see him still existing, still here with her.

But she didn't do that. All Indonesia did was stare at him in sheer disbelief, unable to believe what she was seeing, and watch him leave… again.

Indonesia desperately wished she could have said _something_ to him, anything, instead of just gaping stupidly. But could you blame her? She thought that he was gone forever, just about everyone thought that he was gone. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him, she tried asking Philippines, but he just ignored her, much to her dismay. Indonesia just wanted to talk to South Vietnam.

Especially since the last time they saw each other… The last time Indonesia saw South Vietnam before his "death… ended rather badly.

Indonesia truly couldn't do anything at the moment.

In fact, Indonesia did feel very useless right now. She looked at Malaysia sadly. And she really couldn't do anything for Malaysia either, despite what Philippines said about her supposedly being able to somehow help him, and she ended up feeling even more dejected.

All Indonesia could do for the prone form of her neighbor and younger brother before her was hold his hand with hers and pray for his recovery from whatever illness he had. It was the only comfort she could give him, and she hoped it would be enough.

East Timor crawled onto the bed and looked confusedly at Malaysia. "I don't understand what's wrong with Abdul."

Indonesia could think of several things wrong with Malaysia, but now was hardly the time to scold or criticize, and she sighed miserably. "I don't understand either, Tina. And Felipe isn't going to give us answers anytime soon."

 _"I DID NOTHING! He… he's… sick, and I need you and East Timor so he can recover. Well, he'll only need **one** of you, but, you know, just in case."_

Indonesia frowned at the memory of those words. What on earth was Philippines talking about?

But then Indonesia mentally trailed off when muttering and shifting reached her ears, and to her surprise and relief, Malaysia was beginning to stir.

What…?

She gasped and moved her chair closer to his bed and acting on her instincts as an older sister she became worried as Malaysia groaned and mumbled something incoherent as he placed his hands on the sides of his head. Indonesia gently put her hands on his shoulders, ready to comfort him. She could bombard him with questions later when he's feeling better, for now she'll help her brother.

Could it be that Philippines was…? No, it was probably a coincidence.

A smile found its way to Indonesia's face as Malaysia's drowsy eyes opened. "Ugh… I… Kirana, is that… you?"

Indonesia wanted to cry in relief, and she nodded as she smiled at him. "Yes, it's me."

"Wh… Where… Why… What are you doing here? Where am…" Malaysia murmured sleepily, trying but failing to make complete most of his sentences. "And where's Felipe…?"

"Shh, be quiet, don't panic." Indonesia lightly ordered him like a mother would. "You still look very tired…"

"Abdul!" East Timor exclaimed happily, causing Indonesia cringed and scowled at the girl. "You're okay!"

 _"Tina!"_ Indonesia scolded in a loud whisper.

"East Timor…?" Malaysia asked hazily, but then smiled. "What are you doing here, kid…? Well, this isn't the… weirdest thing that's happened since… I ended up in here. You'll… never guess who I just saw… I think am I going crazy."

Indonesia's eyes went wide. Could he be referring to…

"I think… think… that I saw South Vietnam." Malaysia then chuckled humorlessly, smiling sleepily, as if his head was still up in the clouds. "Crazy right…? But for some reason… a part of me feels… that he really was there, you know?"

"Abdul…" Indonesia began carefully but couldn't quite bring herself to speak those words.

But somehow, even if his state, Malaysia understood it as he stared at her in shock and sat up. "He's… he's _alive_?!"

Indonesia nodded wordlessly, and for a moment she worried this revelation might trigger some sort of mental breakdown from him, but much to her shock, Malaysia's expression relaxed, and he lied down again.

"Oh…" Malaysia said simply, accepting it usually quickly. "Would you look at that?"

Indonesia felt a little baffled at his behavior, and opened her mouth to ask. "You really-"

"You're really happy he's alive, aren't you?" Malaysia asked suddenly.

"I… that's… Actually I-"

"Of course you are, you've been praying to Allah for years to see him again, after all." Malaysia interrupted her again, and Indonesia frowned. She would have scolded him right then and there, but she was caught off guard by the smirk on Malaysia's face. "Did you manage to talk to him? Judging from your face, I'd say that you didn't. But I guess I'd also be too shocked to speak if I suddenly saw a long-dead friend back from the dead."

Indonesia felt a little of indignation at the way Malaysia was speaking to her, especially when he laughed, and her frown deepened. "Malaysia, why are you talking to me like that? You shouldn't address your own sister that way."

Malaysia only stared at her for a few seconds wordlessly with that same smirk, then he spoke again. "I guess you're also relieved that now that he's alive and all, you two can have that _talk_ you've been wishing for years."

Indonesia looked at him in bafflement because of her neighbor's out-of-character behavior, and Malaysia snorted.

"Don't act clueless, you know what I'm talking about." Malaysia said calmly with a more relaxed smile. "Confessing, I mean."

Indonesia gasped and paled as she covered her mouth in shock. Impossible! She never told Malaysia that-

East Timor looked back and forth between them, confused. "What's Malaysia talking about, Kirana?"

Malaysia laughed. "Eh, you're too young to get it, Tina. But if you must know, our sister-"

"Don't. Say. Another. Word." Indonesia said angrily, her hands shaking.

"Huh? Well, alright then, if you insist…" Malaysia muttered serenely and relaxed into his bed. "Although South Vietnam already loves someone else, so it's not really like you had a chance with him to begin with, anyway. Sorry, Ki-"

 _SLAP_

Indonesia breathed heavily as she glared at her shocked neighbor with a red mark on his cheek, her hand raised, filled with anger for what Malaysia said. But then after the adrenaline passed and noticed the frightened face of East Timor, she came back to her senses and she felt horrified at what she did.

"A-Adbul, I'm sorry! I didn't…" Indonesia trailed off when Malaysia blinked at her and then widened his eyes.

"Kirana?! Tina?! When did you get here?" Malaysia exclaimed in shock.

/ / / / /

Nigeria smiled as he easily landed on his feet just outside a village of the Yoruba in his country. It was a nice, boring but peaceful place where he'd often visit to calm his broken mind (heh, if only a little) and visit some old friends… family, to be exact. They should already be here waiting for him, he sent the message hours ago.

He giggled. Oh, it's going to be fun seeing his old caretakers again. When was the last time they had a reunion? Six, eight, ten months ago? They really should see each other more often!

They're wise, powerful personifications, even after all these years, and he depended on their advice. They're his teachers, they taught him magic, wisdom, how to survive. It's quite unfortunate for them that Nigeria turned out to be crueler than they intended, isn't it?

After giggling a bit more, Nigeria wiped some dust away from his national soccer uniform and licked his lips as he stepped into the place.

Once he did, he wasn't surprised in the slightest to see the inhabitants startled by his arrival or mothers quickly hauling their curious children away from his path. No, this was the usual reception in any village in The Federal Republic of Nigeria. But he was far from hurt, no, their fear pleased him so. They know what he was, how he was, and what he was capable of.

Nigeria smirked. It felt good to be so popular.

Eventually he reached a house he recognized, and grinned as he quickly sprinted towards it. Nigeria's hand reached out to open the door, shaking in pure excitement, and he stopped momentarily to control his breathing. When he got better control of himself, he swung the door open and his grin broadened at the familiar faces.

Nigeria happily walked in and danced around in glee until he reached the center of the room. Surrounding him were four people, each wearing the usual clothing corresponding to the group they represented

"Ah… It's been a while…" Nigeria whispered in delight, hugging himself. "I'm so happy that you're here…"

"Yoruba~." Nigeria grinned at a calm woman wearing a orange and yellow patterned blouse together with a shawl and wrap-around skirt and a wrapper on her head.

"Hausa~." He sang to a quiet woman wearing an elegant hot pink abaya with a veil that manage to reveal some locks of black, she had pretty black body painting that could be seen on her arms and had some jewelry on.

"Fulani~ You came too!" Nigeria laughed at a stoic woman wearing a black veil, blouse and skirt embroidered with red and green. "This is a surprise, you normally don't show up to these gatherings, no matter how much I beg you to!"

"And last but not least..." Nigeria looked behind him with a vicious grin at the man physically several years older than Nigeria wearing a cotton wrap, shirt, trousers and sandals standing against a wall with his arms crossed, staring at the nation coldly. "…Igbo."

"Adigun." Igbo said curtly.

" _Oh_ , you have no idea how happy I am to see _you_ …" Nigeria whispered darkly, with a grin so wide it could split his face in half, and he laughed.

/ / / / /

"So what exactly should we expect when Haiti arrives with his allies? How should we prepare?" Nicaragua asked, swinging her baseball bat around, and then her expression briefly became one of distaste. "I mean, I already personally experienced Sweden stabbing me, and he almost looked bored doing it…"

"A good question, but unfortunately we don't know exactly who Haiti will bring or even how many." Algeria said grimly from next to her brother. "I don't even know how my brother fights, but if he is anything like Nigeria and Cameroon."

Egypt gave a quick glance to his arm and the cringed at the memory of Cameroon gnawing on his arm, the pain, the blood, and seeing Cameroon enjoy it... Assuming Morocco was anything like his fellow Africans in the Order wouldn't be far-fetched, especially considering that those five seem to take much greater pleasure in causing suffering than the other members.

Nicaragua sighed. "Well, in that case, what can you tell us about the nations you already encountered."

"Guate's tough, and he didn't even use a weapon." Honduras remarked uncomfortably, twiddling her fingers while biting her lip, not fond of the memory. "He held his own pretty well against me and Belize."

"But in the end, he didn't stance a chance!" Belize said haughtily, smirking proudly and huffing her chest. "Sophia slammed his head against the wall! It was awesome!"

"But wasn't it thanks to Egypt that we won?" Honduras asked puzzledly.

"Si, but we did all the work." Belize said quickly, waving her hand dismissively while Egypt rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, from past experiences we can tell you this…" Algeria trailed off as she narrowed her eyes. "There's Switzerland, expert shooter like Finland, managed to nearly hit Mauritius from an unknown amount of distance. Saudi Arabia and Iran, not much to say there, but Egypt told me that the former had a whip. Haiti has magic, voodoo or hoodoo, right Egypt?"

"Right." Egypt nodded. "He's powerful, he can appear and disappear in and out of a room any time he wanted, and I recommend great caution if you happen to spot an old teddy bear."

"Teddy bear?" Costa Rica repeated.

"It's… unnerving." Egypt muttered, not really answering the question

"And then there's my brother and his band of friends… cannibals and sadists, all of them." Algeria explained in disgust, grimacing.

"I really have a hard time imagining a cannibalistic nation…" Belize remarked while trying to do a hand stand, and Egypt was relieved to see that she wore shorts under her skirt. "I mean, it's gross and evil, but I can't help but wonder… ugh."

"I feel that Rahim will be one of them..." Tunisia confessed rather hesitantly, and then looked away. "D-Don't ask me why though."

"I think so too." Algeria nodded grimly. "But we'll find out when they arrive, whenever that is."

 **I spent a long while researching about Malawi and the ethnic groups in Nigeria, fingers crossed I didn't get anything wrong! And I wanna thank FGLFFF for giving me the idea of Malawi. Please review!**


	35. The Brawl: The Arrival

**Thanks to AquaEclipse for reviewing. Now, on with the show!**

Igbo watched silently, as he always did and liked, and intently as he leaned against the wall with his scarred arms crossed, as Nigeria sang a haunting dark song. It fitted Nigeria's nature, no doubt, and it even caused Igbo's skin to crawl a little from the memories that it brought even though he had already heard it many times before. But the memories were there, and it did nothing but remind Igbo of his foolishness.

The boy intended to ask a favor from the gods, who seemed to favor him immensely for reasons Igbo cannot fathom, and it didn't help that Nigeria very rarely asked from them.

Contrary to Igbo, Nigeria was in a state of eerie peace. Smiling placidly with his eyes closed, as if he were peacefully asleep, so much so that one might forget about the darkness that filled the boy's heart.

 _Igbo was lying helpless on the grass, weak from the starvation of his people, bleeding from the mass slaughters and bombings. Pain was exploding in his insides, he could barely even crawl or even move. And his head… he winced. The pain was maddening…_

 _He heard footsteps crunching the grass and he ignored his anguish to look up, and he felt no surprise at finding Nigeria standing before him. No, what did surprise him was Nigeria's face, he wasn't smiling. It puzzled Igbo. He thought that Nigeria was enjoying producing carnage, but then seeing him before his eyes made Igbo realize that just like Nigeria was torturing him, Igbo unknowingly tortured him as well._

 _Nigeria was staring down at Igbo coldly, no trace of remorse, sadness or even anger anywhere in his expression._

 _Somehow, the malice in Nigeria's eyes became stronger than ever before._

 _"Consider this your punishment for attempting to betray me." Nigeria told him icily with all playfulness and glee having left his voice, then proceeded to lick the blood literally stained on his hands, but even then, he didn't smile._

 _"I… I… had no intention of doing such a thing…" Igbo managed to rasp out before coughing out blood. "You… are only causing pain to us both."_

 _Nigeria just stared at him, and pointed a gun at him. Igbo's world went into darkness as soon as Nigeria pulled the trigger._

Even after Igbo relented and Nigeria won, the damaged had been done. And Igbo felt that Nigeria's mind had become even more fractured. In the present day, the name "Biafra" was used mainly as an insult or taunt by Nigeria. A name used to incite remorse and despair in Igbo.

Hausa thought that the coming war will help repair Nigeria's mind. Yoruba thought that satisfying Nigeria's desires will eventually bring him peace. Fulani thought that the war will only help further corrupt him. As for Igbo? He thought that that England made worst decision of his life by making an enemy in Nigeria, and he felt bad for whoever will challenge the boy.

They had no idea what Nigeria was capable of.

/ / / / /

Despite how focused South Vietnam looked while piloting the aircraft, a lot of thoughts were going through his head at the moment, the majority of them less than bright.

He had tried to shove those thoughts away to the back of his mind, he tried hard, so he would be able to properly focus on his current task and not accidentally cause them to crash straight into a mountain, but it didn't take long for him to find that he just _couldn't_.

Guilt was tugging South Vietnam's heart at the fact that he suddenly revealed himself to Indonesia and then just left without so much of an explanation, he left her there as she was frozen in shock, and he did feel bad about that. He made a silent vow to make it up to her when he came back. Hopefully, Philippines will be more friendly than abusive.

It wasn't just his thoughts, his _desires_ kept rearing their heads.

While France may not exactly be the first nation on South Vietnam's target list, the honor goes to, needless to say, his stupid self-righteous sister, his former colonizer was still a close second and someone South Vietnam **_really_** wanted to hurt. South Vietnam's may have had a mostly quiet life under him, but that didn't mean he was happy, and France hardly did anything to make it up to him later, much less in the war.

"My, you sure are excited, aren't you?" A serene voice suddenly asked, South Vietnam's smile vanished, and he stiffened at the feeling of hot breath near his ear, and he looked to the side to find, as he expected and much to his discomfort, Morocco smiling at him within close proximity.

South Vietnam sweat-dropped and frowned in uneasiness, while Morocco kept beaming at him.

Morocco always, as he liked to put it, gleefully insisted that they as well as Cameroon and Haiti were bonded by their shared hatred of France and were actually the ones who convinced South Vietnam to join them in their revenge on France. Now, South Vietnam didn't dislike Morocco or Cameroon, but he'd rather not collaborate with them that much. Today was an exception because they had a common goal.

South Vietnam smiled sheepishly. "I guess so…"

"You should be, my friend. After all, you'll be revealing the fact that you were alive all along before a group of people." Morocco stated gleefully, smile growing just a bit, chuckling. "While they're not many, and your sister isn't there, it'll be a breath of fresh air, no?"

"Definitely." South Vietnam nodded, agreeing, and gave a friendlier smile. "And I can tell you're ecstatic."

Morocco gave a toothy grin. "Of course. I've been dreaming of this day for years, when we make France _pay_ dearly for what he did to us."

"Are we going to kill him?" South Vietnam asked curiously now that Morocco brought it up. The four of them didn't exactly have a date planned, they were going to wait for their leaders to give the green light. "Today, I mean."

"Hmm… no. I've been told that we're not allowed to yet." Morocco said nonchalantly, his tone sounding noticeably less cheerful and South Vietnam saw his smile falter.

"Why?"

"Prussia wants to see his friend just before we kill him."

South Vietnam widened his eyes at that answer, but then Morocco went back to his usual cheerful demeanor.

"But I prefer to focus on the bright side, which is that it'll allow us to prolong his suffering. And…" Morocco chuckled, and his grin became nearly feral. "It'll provide the _perfect_ opportunity to get your first taste!"

South Vietnam grimaced in distaste, the idea of trying out cannibalism never sat well with him. "We've already talked about this, Morocco…"

Morocco snickered mischievously. "Oh, I know, I know. Still, you're more than welcome to the feast if you change your mind later on."

"Thank you." South Vietnam said, sighing in relief, and went back to flying the plane but then Morocco set his hands on his shoulders.

"Please don't feel upset about my words, but no matter how much you like to be an affable and merciful soldier, you can't deny that you _crave_ blood as much as the rest of us." Morocco whispered softly, and South Vietnam tensed as he felt Morocco snake his hands. "You _want_ to commit war crimes against your sister, you're going to use your connection to your people to divide families and friends, you're even willing to use Agent Orange if it means that North will suffer."

South Vietnam didn't respond, only kept a blank face as he stared out the window in focus.

This seemed to amuse Morocco. "But don't feel bad. After all, we're all mad here, aren't we?"

After saying that sinister remark, Morocco removed his hands and apparently walked away. South Vietnam sighed in relief before the faint sound of footsteps reached South Vietnam's ears, and he found Hong Kong staring at him.

"Leon, what is it?" South Vietnam asked the teen, only to get no response, and he raised an eyebrow. "Leon?"

"Morocco creeps me out." Hong Kong said bluntly with his face as emotionless as ever.

South Vietnam smiled in amusement at that. "Leon, all the African Five scare you."

One of Hong Kong's thick eyebrows twitched at that, and South Vietnam grinned as he did best not to laugh at that.

"Not true…" Hong Kong grumbled, scowling. "Chris can be cool… Adigun doesn't have much sense of personal space but he… can also be nice to be around. But…"

Hong Kong's face suddenly got a little green, and South Vietnam felt incredibly confused when the SAR looked around in apparent paranoia or… fear? Before he could ask, Hong Kong gulped and leaned towards South Vietnam but only kept glancing behind him.

Eventually South Vietnam got tired of this. "Leon, why-"

"Don't you dare laugh at me because of what I'm about to say, because Macau did when I told him, and I had to punch him to shut him up, and I hate to do that to you." Hong Kong whispered harshly and glanced behind him one more time before gulping again. "Listen carefully. I…"

South Vietnam leaned closer. "Yes?"

"I _think_ Morocco has a crush on me."

It took a while for South Vietnam's mind to register the sentence and for him to fully digest what Hong Kong said and realizing that the teen looked dead serious about it. Once he did all that, South Vietnam opened his mouth then closed it and then opened it again. He couldn't find it in himself to speak, he just gaped for what seemed like forever, before he promptly burst out laughing.

"You're… you're joking, right Leon?" South Vietnam asked between howling laughter.

"No, I'm not!" Hong Kong snapped. "Have you seen the way he looks at me?"

"I'm sure Morocco wouldn't feel that way, you're still physically about sixteen, Leon."

"Of course I wouldn't! You may be cute, but you're too young for me!" Morocco called out.

"How can you even hear us from there?!" Hong Kong demanded.

South Vietnam grinned, but then it vanished when Hong Kong looked at him in the eye with something the ex-nation hasn't seen in a long while.

"So, you really are excited, huh? Even though you don't show it." Hong Kong muttered aloofly, and he then gazed down at the floor. "It's not Lien, but it's a start."

"It is." South Vietnam said uncertainly, and he frowned as he decided to get straight to the point. "Leon, are you okay? Do you need to talk?"

Hong Kong kept staring at the floor, his blank face still present, and then he hurriedly spoke the next sentence. "Chin up, don't lose your head out there."

And with that, before South Vietnam could even come up with a response, Hong Kong turned around and left. South Vietnam went back to the controls and then he smiled gratefully. That back there was Hong Kong's special way of saying _Be careful, I'm worried about you._

"Don't worry." South Vietnam murmured, gripping the controls tightly. "The last thing I want is to get killed before I become Vietnam."

/ / / / /

"…Turkey and Bulgaria are _what?!_ " Algeria exclaimed in pure disbelief, horror, and most of all, disgust.

Tunisia tried not to let that last detail sting too much as he flinched from his sister's tone and did his best not to shift in discomfort at the implied anger at the news that Turkey, a Muslim, was in a same-sex relationship. Although, Tunisia and Algeria already watched in displeasure Turkey drink alcohol several times, so he wasn't too sure if he should be surprised.

Then again, consuming _khumur_ was one thing, but no good Muslim would…!

Curiosity welled up inside Tunisia as he digested what Egypt told them and he fisted his pants. Wait, if the Order have been around for at least more than a century, did that mean that Turkey had been with Bulgaria that long? How did they manage to do that? Did… Did Turkey even care about Islam?

Despite that they were talking about their enemies, and about Turkey no less, Tunisia just couldn't help but feel a bit of admiration for the man.

Something about knowing that Turkey, a Middle Eastern, was in that sort of relationship, likely not caring about what nations such as Algeria will think or that he'll go to hell for loving another man, felt inspiring to Tunisia… He doesn't think he could ever do that…

Tunisia… wasn't a good Muslim. How he felt was unforgiveable. But still, he tried to redeem himself and make it up to Allah by not acting on his feelings and support his boss as they discourage and punish Tunisians who commit the crime of sodomy and or be activists for gay rights while ignoring how much it tortured him. It was for the best, he kept telling himself.

However, Morocco… A shiver passed through Tunisia's body and he rubbed his legs together, ignoring the feeling as he swallowed anxiously. _No_ , it's better than he doesn't think about it.

Meanwhile, the others were taking this information more lightly than Algeria.

"Huh…" Honduras murmured, and then dug her spoon into her ice cream as she put on a 'thinking face', which involved puffing her cheeks. "Turkey and Bulgaria…"

"As a couple…" Costa Rica said in thought as he stroked his chin like Honduras, looking as if he's trying to solve a mystery.

Several seconds passed before the two suddenly beamed simultaneously. "How weird!~"

Nicaragua only sighed at the display and face-palmed. "No comment."

"I gotta say, while the image of Turkey and Bulgaria dating is kind of wacky at first…" Belize began, tapping her foot and appearing to be in deep thought as she dug her spoon into the large bowl of ice cream. "The more I think about it, the less wacky it gets. I think we should wait and see exactly how this relationship develops and is like with our own eyes and ears before we jump to conclusions."

There was silence as everyone stared at Belize, who looked around baffled at the attention.

"What?!" Belize demanded, throwing her hands up.

Tunisia sweat-dropped and smiled awkwardly at France. "What about you, France? What are your thoughts about this?"

"I have… A-Actually, I'm not quite sure what to make of this." France stuttered uncertainly, looking rather anxious. "I support l'amour like I always did and always will, but I guess it's fascinating to know that our cold-blooded enemies are still capable of love, non?"

Tunisia didn't respond to that, and only frowned. He wondered if Morocco was capable of love…

"That doesn't matter." Algeria's voice stopped Tunisia from being able to ponder it more, and he found his strict sister looking _furious_. "Has… Has Turkey have no _shame_?! First he lied to all of us, nearly led us to our demise, and now it turns out he has been going against Islam for years?! After how much he…"

Despite it not referring to him, Tunisia shrank at Algeria's angered tone.

"Actually…" Egypt spoke up, looking no happier than Algeria was. "I learned from Saudi Arabia and Iran that they stopped being Muslim centuries ago. Although I don't remember well if they explicitly stated if Turkey also didn't care, I think it's obvious that he doesn't. It's safe to say the same can be said for Morocco."

Tunisia gaped at that new piece of information. Turkey, Iran, Saudi, Morocco…

"That can't possibly be true!" Algeria exclaimed in denial, shaking her head, and Tunisia felt worried. "Especially Saudi… After how much he…"

"Now that I think about it, didn't Saudi Arabia have closer ties with Morocco than you, Algerie?" France asked anxiously, scratching his head. "I know it's not very related, but it does explain a lot, non?"

"I think it makes sense, Sally." Belize chimed in after swallowing a mouthful of ice cream and waved her spoon around with a frown. "The New World Order doesn't look like they're doing this to please God or anything. I wouldn't be surprised, but I would be super pissed, if Guatemala out-right cursed God given what Spain did."

Nicaragua grimaced at the amount of ice cream and snatched Belize and Honduras's bowls away. "Vanessa, Sophia, enough with the ice cream already. Do you _want_ to get a stomach ache in the middle of fighting?"

"But it's really good…" Honduras whined, hands reaching out for the bowl.

France gave his signature laugh. "Well, of course it is! You'll find that my peoples' way of making ice cream is much better than-"

They all flinched when Algeria angrily groaned loudly and threw her hands up in frustration before storming off, slamming the door behind her. Tunisia paled and gulped nervously while France looked hurt. Tunisia hasn't seen her this upset since the Western Sahara argument.

"Oh dear… I didn't say anything to offend her, did I?" France asked worriedly.

Without answering France's question, Tunisia ran off after his sister. Algeria was probably just upset that the others weren't taking the issue very seriously, or even consider it an issue at all. Tunisia could understand, he was also felt very upset about it, and it unnerved him how he was manipulated along with his fellow Muslim nations. But right now was hardly the time to get very angry over this.

Tunisia managed to catch up to Algeria with no problem, and he found with the brooding expression his sister liked to have when things got very stressful or problematic for her on her face and standing near a wall with her arms crossed.

Algeria looked up to see him and then avoided his gaze, frowning. "Tch, I'm sorry, I must have looked so childish storming off like that over a small matter, haven't I?"

Tunisia gave her a comforting smile. "No, to me you didn't. I feel the same way."

"It's just… I… ugh!" Algeria snarled and rubbed her head. "They don't understand, maybe France, but they don't understand just how this changes everything! Think of the Middle East, brother! How do you think Emirates, Yemen or Kuwait will react to this? This is outrageous!"

"I think outrage will be an understatement." Tunisia muttered, blanching at the thought.

"Definitely…" Algeria muttered.

"At least it'll provide a very good reason for the Arabs to beat Turkey, Iran, Saudi and our brother, no?" Tunisia asked smiling in an attempt to cheer her up.

But Tunisia felt a little dejected when Algeria just scoffed and went back to glaring at the wall again, with Tunisia guessing that she was probably imagining that the wall was Morocco, if her expression was any indication.

In an effort to break the awkward tension, Tunisia asked a question he's been dreading to ask. "Khalida, is the fact that Turkey's gay upsetting you as much as him not being Muslim?"

"Of course it's upsetting me, brother!" Algeria answered immediately, causing Tunisia to flinch, and she turned to face with him an expression of distaste. "I respected Turkey! We were friends, I thought of him as a brother even! Despite his rude attitude, he isn't stupid, but I never ever took him for a filthy-"

The next word created a crack in Tunisia's heart, and he became as still as a statue. He felt as if a bullet had been shot through his heart.

Thankfully not noticing Tunisia's pain, Algeria began to rant. "Is my demon of a brother one too?! Oh, of course he is, he must be! My "real" brother wouldn't care for Allah. A monster like him would be just as lustful as he's sadistic and manipulative. I wouldn't be at all surprised if I found out that he often tortured Safiyya by doing such _acts_ in front of her!"

Algeria's not talking about him. She's not directing it at him, she would never say that about him. Tunisia's sister was just angry is all, it's normal for people to say things they don't mean when they're angry. He shouldn't feel hurt.

"Honestly, could they get _any_ more disgusting?!"

Tunisia began to tremble. She doesn't mean it. She doesn't mean it. She doesn't mean it.

Seeing his discomfort, Algeria composed herself. "I'm sorry you had to hear that, my anger got the better of me."

"I-I-It's alright, Algeria." Tunisia stuttered, forcing a smile and the tears back. "I just got startled by how angry you were."

"I know, I'm sorry." Algeria said guilty, looking down in shame.

Tunisia rested his hand on her shoulder. "Like I said, it's alright."

"Thank you." Algeria muttered quietly, but just loud enough for Tunisia to hear, and she gave him a grateful smile, he found himself genuinely smiling back. "W-We should probably head back down to the others."

"Actually, you go back, I need to use the bathroom." Tunisia smiled sheepishly.

"Alright then." Algeria nodded, smiling, and began to walk away.

After watching her vanish from his view, Tunisia's smile vanished, and he covered his eyes with his sleeve as he sprinted towards the nearest bathroom. He quickly locked the door and then he noticed his reflection in the mirror. Tears were spilling down his cheeks. Soon enough, Tunisia broke down and began to sob.

/ / / / /

DRC watched stoically as South Africa chatted, or rather was having a one-sided conversation, animatedly with an absolutely terrified and trembling Lesotho. He felt pity for the child, Lesotho had the misfortune of being surrounded by South Africa and having to depend heavily on him, and DRC saw that his comrade loved reminding the scared boy of that fact.

South Africa probably knew that Lesotho was too petrified to respond, but DRC easily knew that the rainbow nation relished the fear and helplessness of the child nation.

Things were finished here, there was nothing left to do, _finally_. Now all they were doing was seeing nations off. ROC's body was being taken to an "expert" Nigeria knew who could keep an eye on him. After seeing Western Sahara escape before he could make her pay for what she did, DRC was very eager to being able to take his frustrations out elsewhere. It may not be Belgium, but it'll be a start, and the practice will be useful.

Next to him, Liberia snorted. "Hah, Priceless! Lesotho looks like he's ready to piss himself!"

DRC stared at him coldly with a raised eyebrow, and the younger nation stopped his snickering.

"What?!" Liberia demanded.

South Africa knelt down and kissed Lesotho's forehead. "Be good, kleintjie~"

After singing that, South Africa laughed, stood up, and grinned as he cheerfully waved the still mortified Lesotho goodbye as he walked back to DRC, who stared at his fellow member until they were in close enough proximity of each other.

"There. _Now_ I'm done." South Africa announced with a satisfied smile.

"Yeah, that's great and all, but we're still missing Nigeria." Liberia pointed out flatly, putting his hands in the pockets of his shorts as he groaned exasperatedly. "So until he gets back from his session with his voodoo mom, we're-"

A puff of purple smoke prevented Liberia from speaking any further and DRC had to close his eyes and cough from inhaling it. Speak of the Devil, once the smoke cleared, DRC found a delighted Nigeria with his arms wrapped around South Africa, who grinned at his arrival.

"I'm back~" Nigeria sang, and he promptly burst out laughing.

Liberia coughed and glared at Nigeria in annoyance. "I hate it when you do that."

"Oh, don't be so whiny, Liberia~" Nigeria cooed and giggled as Liberia just rolled his eyes, then he pressed himself closer to South Africa as his grin broadened. "I hope I didn't keep you all waiting too long."

"Don't worry, you arrived right on time." South Africa chuckled, intertwining his fingers with Nigeria's, and he smirked. "We're all ready to leave, and now the _real_ fun can begin."

"How exciting..." Nigeria said softly, smirking back, and then he turned to DRC and Liberia. "Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's get you two to Algiers, I'm pretty sure Morocco and Cameroon are almost at their destination, so the sooner you break Algeria's capital, the better!"

As Nigeria stepped towards them, DRC motioned for him to stop. "Wait. Shouldn't you preserve your energy?"

Nigeria cocked his head to the side in slight confusion before he smiled mysteriously. "Oh, you don't need to worry about that. I have _plenty_ of power for today..."

/ / / / /

"Indonesia?"

"Singapore!"

Macau chuckled as the two female nations ran to each other. How touching, Singapore must be feeling overwhelming relief at seeing a friendly face, although Macau would say that he himself did a good job being both a pleasant host and captor. Wasn't it nice of him to entertain Singapore with his amusing stories of Hong Kong having to dress up as various magical girls after losing several bets against him?

He doesn't know why Singapore didn't even crack a smile, Hong Kong looked just adorable (albeit incredibly furious) in those costumes! Ah, but perhaps she was too shaken by his very detailed explanations of what happened in Spain and Belgium. Macau admitted that he... might have lost a little of self-control and ended up unnerving her.

Well... doing that proved to be very entertaining. Singapore herself wasn't much fun, and she kept refusing to gamble with him, and that was more than enough to bore him. But like he said, Macau was a pleasant captor.

True, he may have had to threaten her one or two times after she tried to escape and smother him with a pillow, but he'd say that everything turned out alright.

Macau's gaze went to Philippines, who decided to remain in the distance watching the two with an ominous expression. Macau couldn't help a smirk.

/ / / / /

"Why didn't Seborga believe me?!" Italy wailed as he cradled his brother's… corpse.

Japan shifted uncomfortably as he stopped cleaning. "Well, to be fair, all this may sound normal to people such as us, but when one fully analyzes and examines everything that has happened to us with Romano today, it becomes slightly unbelievable."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but it sounds terrible!" Italy sobbed.

Germany sighed and just went back to cleaning up the shards of glass scattered all over the floor and the pieces of his very expensive chandelier that broke off when it fell on Italy's crazy idiotic brother. Germany really liked that chandelier…

His boss and his chancellor were going to kill him, _again_. Not to mention Italy's boss wasn't very fond of Germany…

Germany also made the wise decision to take back all the dangerous items and weaponry that Romano stole so he could put it in a safer, more secure place where the idiot (Romano) won't be able to find them and try to use them to kill him, Japan and the other idiot (Italy). Even so, Germany had a feeling that Romano will still try to find some elaborate way to murder the three of them.

If he were a gambling man, Romano should be waking up any minute now. But honestly, Germany was exhausted, he hardly had any asleep from having to clean up the glass mess to Italy's endless crying. All Germany wanted right now was to rest. So really, the last thing he wanted and needed right now-

"LOVINO!" Italy cried out in absolute joy.

"Oh, fuck my life…" Romano groaned out weakly.

/ / / / /

Bulgaria snuggled close to his love, their hands joined together, as he had his eyes closed in bliss.

There was really no way to describe his happiness at seeing his beloved next to him, touching him, holding his hand, hearing his voice. The feeling was beautiful, that was all Bulgaria could say, and right now he was the happiest he's ever been now that he's together with Turkey and Lithuania, no more pretending or hiding. No one to keep them apart.

Lithuania may like to complain about their displays of affection love, but Bulgaria managed to catch a small on his best friend's face not long after he closed his eyes. Lithuania was happy for Bulgaria finally being on his darling's side again, even though he might never ever admit it.

Bulgaria was excited to see Lithuania kill Poland, and he wondered how Lithy would do it as he went over various possible scenarios. Will Lithuania slash Poland until he could rip out his heart like he did with Belarus? Will Lithuania stab him over and over and over and over and over again while keeping him alive? There were so many possibilities, and all of them were so wonderfully messy!

Bulgaria knew that there was a chance that his beloved or his best friend might get injured in the battle, but he wasn't going to let that happen, he wasn't going allow it to become a possibility. However…

Anyone who hurts them **_dies_**.

Bulgaria giggled.

/ / / / /

Belize really hated how Guatemala was smiling right now, and that he was even smiling at all.

She, along with her _good_ neighbors Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, all stood together crossing their arms and glaring, though in Honduras's case she had more of her sad face that Belize couldn't stand seeing on her, at none other than the most annoying lanky Latino in the whole wide world… Guatemala.

And yeah, like she mentioned before, the bastard was smiling right now. No, smiling would be an understatement. That lying psychopath had a grin so wide that stretched across his face that it looked painful to Belize, like it could split his face in half or something. He looked crazy, and just bloody happy to see them, including seeing Nicaragua and Costa okay. You'd think he'd be angry that they made it.

That smile's no good, even a moron could see that. Even though Egypt's said that Guatemala never once tried to escape or contact another member, but Belize just knew that this guy was up to something. Or maybe it was just Guatemala trying to get on her nerves, but either way, not good!

Oh yeah, it was also really annoying. Even more when Guatemala started laughing

"Nicaragua… Costa Rica… you're here... que bueno." Guatemala said happily as he laughed dryly, and he cocked his head to the side as his gaze went to Honduras and Belize. "Felicidades, you've doomed them, do you feel proud of yourselves?"

Honduras flinched at that stinging remark, but Belize wasn't affected by it and stuck her tongue out at him. "Nica and Costa deserved to know the truth, we saved them. Maybe you're just mad that we won without a scratch!"

True, they got their asses handed to them by Austria, Sweden and Finland _but he didn't need to know that_.

"You _lied_ to us." Nicaragua snarled at the bound nation.

" _You_ shouldn't interfere." Guatemala hissed angrily, baring his teeth. "We were kind enough to not go after you five, there was no point and you were all deemed good nations. But then you _idiots_ just had to get involved and mark yourselves for death."

"We _shouldn't_?" Nicaragua hissed, and she glared at Guatemala with more venom. "I'd rather die knowing the truth than-

"Don't you mean six?" Costa Rica asked suddenly.

Guatemala raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"What about Panama?" Costa Rica asked quietly, taking a few steps toward Guatemala, and he glared at him. "What are you planning with him?"

Guatemala widened his eyes for just a split-second before his face settled for a bored one. "What about him? We have no reason to hurt Panama."

"Tell that to the Caribbean!" Belize exclaimed furiously, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

"Actually, we did some reasons for that. See, the-"

"Don't change the subject, Guatemala!" Costa Rica shouted, and Belize and the others jumped from that, because Costa Rica never yelled. "One of your amigos told me that Panama knew about all this. Why?"

"Oh, come on, Costa. Even you know that's a rhetorical question." Guatemala berated, sighing as he leaned back into his chair. "America and Colombia, how could he _not_ have known about the plan? Panama knew, and kept his mouth shut."

"Why didn't Emanuel tell us?" Honduras asked sadly.

"Did you blackmail him? Is that it?" Nicaragua spat.

Guatemala only chuckled and grinned cruelly. "I'm not telling. This is just too entertaining to see, I wouldn't dare ruin it by telling you the truth. But if you're just dying to know, then why don't you get Egypt to take you to Panama's house and ask him yourselves, hmm?"

/ / / / /

Everything was looking great for Hungary.

Yes, everything was looking pretty good, including the view from below. Hearing Romania scream like a little girl really helped brighten Hungary's day. Poland and Bosnia seemed to be having the time of their lives too with how they're shrieking and hugging each other.

At first, things were rough as she struggled through her valiant quest to find Austria with how Bosnia knocked her out, Romania decided to come along to try to ruin everything, and how Poland sang what had to be the worst musical covers Hungary had ever heard in her entire life, but then things started to look up when Romania did something nice for once and gave them a fast way to Paris.

In fact, they just arrived!

Hungary's eyes sparkled as they flew over France's capital. Ooh, she was so excited! A small part in the back of her mind was worried of how the humans will react to seeing a flying car, but chances are they'll think it's a bird or a plane or something. Now's the time to get to the Eiffel Tower.

Great! Now, how does Hungary stop the car?

"Hey, jerk!" Hungary yelled over to Romania. "Can you land us somewhere?"

"What?!" Romania exclaimed, holding on for dear life.

"Stop the car!" Hungary yelled again.

"What?! I can't hear you, hag!" Romania yelled over the wind and Poland and Bosnia's screams.

Hungary's eye twitched. Was Romania trying to get back at her? She glared at him. "Listen, Count Jerkula! This is no time for you to start messing with me, so you better help me land this car or so help me…"

"HUH?! Seriously, had, speak up, I can barely hear- OW!" Romania yelped and scowled at a frying pan wielding Hungary as he rubbed his head. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!"

"LAND THE CAR!"

"Are you not speaking loud enough on purpose?! Hag, you- OW!"

And so, the squabble began… again.

/ / / / /

France would be lying, he would be lying so very horribly, if he said he wasn't worried. He sighed sadly as he ran his hand through his fabulous hair. Goodness, he was worried about a lot of things, such as the safety of his innocent little sister Monaco and the possibility of Haiti bringing along Cameroon and Morocco to France's home. He doesn't want Monaco to witness him getting hurt, although Haiti promised…

France does _not_ have a plan of attack against his vengeful former colonies, nor did he intended to come up with one. He hoped that he will be able to keep those three busy by allowing them to torture him, he did deserve it after all.

Monaco had already been instructed to hide in one of the guest rooms. Hopefully, Morocco nor Cameroon will get the idea of going after her, because if they do then no manner of apology will work on them according to Haiti himself.

Still, France will not allow them to hurt his little girl. He'd _die_ before he'd let it happen.

/ / / / /

Egypt always preferred to keep a cool head in these sorts of situations, he had mastered patience and endurance throughout the centuries, and he had gathered a lot of wisdom. So he had decided that he will wait patiently for the enemy to arrive, and he will be ready for them.

And after they were finished here, Egypt could go meet with Seychelles, Bahamas and Saint Lucia, all of whom he discovered were at his capital. He felt them and Anubis there. They should be alright there. He was very looking forward to seeing Seychelles again. And then perhaps they could go on to work on rescuing Mauritius, wherever he may be. There will be time for all of that.

"Where the hell are they?! We've been here waiting for hours!"

If only Belize shared his patience.

The teenage Central American was pacing endlessly around the sofa Egypt, Honduras and Costa Rica were sitting in circles, fuming and stomping as she did, all the while Nicaragua expressed Egypt's feelings about this behavior by sighing.

Belize has been at this for a while, too long in Egypt's opinion. Although he did agree on that they seem to be taking longer than he expected.

Was… Was that the sound of a car beeping?

Egypt nearly found himself dying at the hands of a heart attack as he stumbled back when the house suddenly shook, and a deafening crash was heard. There were shrieks and yells from the others present, and Egypt regained his balance to able to see what happened, and what he saw was… a car.

Egypt felt himself agape. Yes, there was a car stuck halfway in an odd position, almost in mid-air, through the wrecked wall.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

Now that he agreed with Belize.

The others present were also present, with baffled Belize having jumped into a puzzled Honduras's arms while a pale Costa Rica had a shocked Nicaragua in a protective embrace, however she angrily wrenched out of it once she realized that.

"What happened?!" Algeria exclaimed in alarm as she ran into the room with Tunisia and they both froze when they saw the mess. "Allah…"

"MON DIEU, everyone, what happened down there?!" France shouted with worry as he too burst into the room accompanied by Monaco behind him, and he went agape. "Why is there a car inside of my precious house?!"

Belize yelped and scrambled out of Honduras's arms to quickly pick up her sword. "Ay Dios, it's happening! Everyone get ready!"

Once Egypt fully registered what Belize said, he joined the others as they picked up what weaponry they managed to get and surrounded the car. The windows were stained with dust, so no one could see who was inside, but they were ready. Soon, the doors slowly opened one by one and out came…

A coughing Hungary, a furious Romania, a nauseous looking Poland and a traumatized Bosnia.

…What?

"This is your fault." Hungary said flatly, crossing her arms.

Romania waved some dust away and went on to scowl at Hungary. "Me?! I'm not the one who decided to drive like the madwoman you are and nearly get us killed! We're lucky that none of us are injured, hag!

"Can I go to the bathroom now?" Bosnia asked weakly.

"I have, like, dust all over my totally fabulous clothes!" Poland whined, but then noticed all the other nations holding weapons at them and shrieked. "What the, like, heck?! What are you guys, like, doing here?!"

After this, Hungary and Romania stopped their bickering and looked shocked at the other nation while Bosnia paled.

"I should be the one asking that question, thank you very much!" France huffed as he stomped angrily over to them.

Hungary didn't seem to forget about the situation and smiled at France. "France, perfect timing! Say, how many euros or Hungarian forints to take us to the top of the Eiffel Tower?"

Romania, apparently having realized what was happening and spotted Egypt, thwacked Hungary and bared his fangs. "Hag! Can't you see the Africans?! You guys have been missing for days! And why are they all pointing weapons at us?!"

Hungary glared at him for thwacking her but then glanced grumpily at Egypt and the others, then did a double take and gaped. "HUH?!"

"Don't forget about Central America!" Belize proclaimed proudly as she smirked and waved her sword.

"I… I'm confused… And I think the headache's returning…" Bosnia said uncertainly, gripping his head in pain.

"What the, like, heck is, like, going on?!" Poland demanded, understandably hopelessly confused.

"What's the point in explaining it all to you, Poland…"

No…

"Big brother?" Bosnia called out hopefully.

Egypt's eyes went wide at the familiar voice, and he turned around behind him to find, much to his surprise and anger, a smirking Turkey as the one who spoke. And accompanying him was a smug Haiti, and Lithuania, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, Cameroon, Morocco, Denmark and someone else hiding behind the Nordic.

"If today is where you'll _die_?"

 **Please review!**


	36. The Brawl: Fight!

**Thanks to Eternal Nexus Warrior, AquaEclipse and NadiaJA627 for reviewing. Fight scenes aren't my specialty, but still, I hope they're fine. Now on with the show.**

"YOU!" Egypt snarled hatefully at the sight of his old, now former, friend, feeling the fury he felt for the man return.

"Me." Turkey agreed with an amused grin, nodding. "How've you been?"

Turkey was here. Egypt already knew that he would encounter him sooner or later. Haiti more than likely picked him just to spite Egypt, knowing that he would be affected by the mere sight of the cocky nation. However, Egypt has wanted to have a talk with Turkey since learning of his involvement, he now had an opportunity for that, he could decide how much he will hate the man after that.

And they were talking about Turkey not that long ago… What were the odds?

Egypt was aware that it was uncharacteristic of him to display such anger, but he just couldn't forgive Turkey. All those years, letting go of what happened in the old days, something that proved to be difficult for one such as him, and forming a true friendship between them, only to find out much later that he was, for lack of a better word, duped.

The last time he saw the Turk was… yesterday… no? It was a small while ago, but with all that was happening it felt more like months. But the difference is that this was real, Turkey was physically present and capable of causing great harm.

"Great, another Viking…" Egypt managed to hear Belize mutter dryly and spotted her glaring daggers at Denmark. "As if the two who wiped the floor with us earlier weren't enough."

Denmark sneered at Belize, who, rather childishly, retorted by sticking her tongue out at him. Not exactly the best reply…

"Perfect." Nicaragua hissed angrily, holding up her bat in a position to swing. "I can get back for getting stabbed half a dozen times by his neighbor."

"I agree, Nica." Costa Rica rolled up his sleeves. "I'll help you out."

Nicaragua rolled her eyes but didn't comment on it.

Egypt was about to open his mouth, preparing to give a cold remark to Turkey, but stopped when he saw France's morose look and also noticed that the European's hands were trembling. It didn't take long for Egypt to figure out _why_ , France was staring at his former colonies.

"Haiti, Maroc, Cameroun…" France muttered miserably, the guilt and emotional pain all too visible.

"France, how nice to see you again, without the pretenses." Morocco remarked happily, the serene and peaceful air around him heavily contradicting his true nature and leaned with a darker smile. "I've waited too long for this."

"Rahim…" Algeria murmured bitterly.

"Oh, hello my dear stupid annoying sister… I figured it was time for us to meet again." Morocco said snidely, with a wide malevolent smile plastered on his face, which broadened even more when his eyes trailed a pale Tunisia. "What a _pleasure_ it is to see you again, Tunisia."

Tunisia blanched and took a couple of steps back.

"Are you… surprised to see us?" Morocco asked, malice lacing his tone. "Are you feeling shocked? Scared? Are the feelings of despair and remorse welling up?"

France swallowed and anxiously ran a hand through his hair while making sure that Monaco remained behind him. "You really don't know how much I've dreaded the day when I'd face you three…"

Cameroon scoffed at this, and he scowled. "You can't even begin to fathom the hell you'll go through."

"I told you I'd bring many friends, didn't I, you fool?" Haiti said mockingly, smirking victoriously at his former colonizer while holding a cigarette with two fingers. "Don't tell me that it didn't occur to you that I'd bring _them_."

France shook his head. "Non, I had a feeling that you'd invite Maroc and Cameroun… This was the perfect opportunity to come after me. But now that you're all here, the regret"

Morocco burst out laughing. "Oh, don't tell me that you're going to go on about how sorry you are. Do you _really_ think that'll change anything?"

France didn't answer, and Monaco worriedly tugged at his sleeve. "Francis…"

Algeria then decided to intervene. "Enough. Francis, ignore what my brother and his cronies say.

And with that, it seemed everyone was prepared, but then Egypt remembered the elephant in the room.

"Alright, what is going here?!" Hungary exclaimed as she limped next to Egypt, the latter glanced at her and after noting her holding her arm he realized that perhaps she didn't come out of that car as unscathed as she thought.

"Hey, Lizzy." Turkey greeted with the same nasty grin. "Gotta say… I think I speak for all of us when I say that we did not see that coming, not exactly how we thought you'd enter the picture, but that was hilarious!"

"What are _you_ doing here, you damn geezer?" Hungary demanded.

Turkey snickered. "That's a long and complicated explanation I'm gonna have to give you, but really, I could care _less_ about you right now."

"Sadik… big brother…" Bosnia panted, gripping his head in great pain, looking at Turkey desperately. "You… why are you…"

Turkey's expression softened for a much kinder smile. "Hey, Emir, I'm really sorry about the pain. Come on, I know just trick to help you, at least for a while."

Bosnia seemed to hesitate, but he began to move forward. Egypt was about to shout a warning, but fortunately Hungary blocked Bosnia's path with her frying.

"Uh, no. Emir, stay where you are. The rest of you, explain, _now_." Hungary ordered as wielded her frying pan with a menacing smile. "Starting with you

Hong Kong snorted. "Pssh, you have no right to order us around."

"Forget _him_ , hag! Dimitri!" Romania shouted, calling out his friend, and bared his teeth as Bulgaria. "There you are! Where have you been?!"

Bulgaria laughed a little and smiled sheepishly at his neighbor, a slightly disarming response, but it felt a quite… off. "Zdrasti, Vlad. I'm really sorry for ignoring all your attempts to contact me, I got busy and then I lost my phone when the van exploded…"

"…... _What_?" Romania gawked.

"Oh, I forgot that we were supposed to hang out that day, right? Or was it the next one…" Bulgaria muttered, looking almost unnervingly at ease with the situation. "Ne, that one can't be it either. Oh my, I was having so much fun pleasuring myself that I completely forgot! Ha, silly me~"

Romania remained dumbfounded and even slightly unnerved as Bulgaria continued with his ramblings.

"I… I don't understand." Bosnia said nervously, and then winced as his hands went to his head again. "Ah, why?!"

"I hate seeing you having to deal with these side-effects, I wish I could make it go away, I really do, but I'm afraid that you'll have to do most of the work, little brother." Turkey stated with a sad smile, and he clenched a fist. "But don't worry, I promise that I'll help you end it."

What?

"I'm serious. Someone better start talking and give me a very detailed explanation as to what's going on or I'll rage with my trusty frying pan." Hungary threatened, now looking more annoyed and frustrated at the lack of answers. "Well?!"

"Were you even paying attention to the entire conversation and threats and stuff?! Don't you get it? They're the ones responsible for all this mess!" Belize snapped, pointing an angry finger at the other group. "You know, Caribbean, Africa, Spain, Belgium? It's all them. Well, there's like dozens of other nations too, but they're some of the ones involved!"

" _What_ the _hell_ are you talking about?" Romania asked frustratingly.

Belize hit her forehead with her palm and sighed before making some gestures with her hands. "Ugh. _Them…_ bad guys. _We…_ good guys."

Egypt nearly wanted to roll his eyes at the rather rude and blunt explanation,

"And Turkey's dating Bulgaria!" Honduras suddenly blurted out.

That's… not very relevant.

This seemed to momentarily distract Hungary, being the "rotten girl" she was, and she seemed to begin to ponder on it.

"Alright, now _that_ is crazy talk." Romania remarked with a scowl. "If Dimitri, _Dimitri_ , ever felt the least bit attracted to Turkey, then I've had a centuries long crush on the annoying hag known as Hungary when she thought she was a boy."

"Oh, _I'm_ crazy?" Belize snarled, not taking kindly to the implication. "Have you _seen_ your own face when you tell your stories?"

Right. They needed to somehow convince them. This new development was rather troubling, but a good ending was possible, so all they needed to do-

"Tori!~"

Curses.

Apparently ignorant of the tense atmosphere, Poland "fabulously" waltzed, much to the horror of Egypt and any other nation present who knew the truth, to an irritated, no, murderous Lithuania. Can… Poland _not_ see the killing intent emanating from Lithuania?

"Terrific…" Egypt heard Lithuania mutter through gritted teeth.

Egypt noticed the hand Lithuania was using to hold his sword tighten its grip.

France immediately became nervous. "Uh, Poland, I really don't recommend-

"You _probably_ shouldn't-" Belize tried to warn.

"He's going to kill-" Algeria began to shout

"Oh, my, like God, Tori! You have, like, no idea how, like, worried I was!" Poland said loudly. "I was, like, so shocked when I saw you that I, like, totally froze! My mouth, like, totally, dropped to the floor!"

"…Is that so?" Lithuania asked flatly.

"Yeah, and I've been sending like, a gazillion voicemails to you, like, every day! What's the, like, deal, Tori?" Poland exclaimed, with Egypt only half-understanding the valley girl accent, and the oblivious blonde began to poke Lithuania. "Don't just, like, totally disappear on me, broski! It's, like, totally not cool. I'm, like, your BFF after all."

Bulgaria stifled a guffaw and covered his mouth to hide his laughter.

Lithuania sneered in distaste. "Don't you get it?"

Poland laughed haughtily. "Hey, and, like, what's with that face of yours? It's, like, so ugly but, like, at the same time it's, like so funny looking. I-"

" ** _SHUT_** **_UP_**!"

Poland's smile fell, and he flinched at Lithuania's harsh tone. But then the latter snarled and raised his sword…

"Polonia!" Honduras quickly reached out and grabbed the back of Poland's shirt, pulling him back before Lithuania's sword could slash him.

Lithuania hands trembled in anger, but he then smirked and began to laugh mockingly. "I wish you could see the look on your face right now, _it's hilarious!_ "

"Feliks!" Hungary exclaimed, rushing to her friend's side, and she glared at Lithuania. "Why did you do that, Lithuania?! Poland is your friend, he-"

Hungary was cut off by an amused scoff from Lithuania. "Friend? Don't make me laugh. I couldn't give a rat's ass about that traitor and bastard, I don't want anything to do with him, and I'm going to _kill_ him for everything he's ever done to me!"

That seemed to hurt Poland. "Y-You can't really mean that, Tori…"

"Why? Because I don't have the backbone for it? Well, Poland, let me tell you that you're right. There _is_ a side of me you don't know about, the _real_ me." Lithuania stated cold, and then he gritted his teeth as his head snapped towards Haiti. "Enough. How long are we going to just stand here and wait for them to figure it out? Can we start now?"

"Not yet, _duh_." Hong Kong said blankly, cocking his head to the side with the slightest bit of amusement in his eyes. "We're still not at the best part."

Hong Kong glanced at Denmark, and the latter nodded as he stepped out of the way from the hidden nation Egypt forgot about with all that was happening, then the city smirked and stepped aside as well. Egypt widened his eyes as a man with his face hidden with a conical Asian hat, and-

Egypt found himself unable to breathe and he felt the blood drain from his face. Wait, that uniform… No… no, no… it couldn't be…

The man lifted his hat, and France, Monaco, Hungary and a lot of the non-Order nations present gasped, those who didn't were simply too stunned to speak.

What was revealed was the smirking face of a nation with messy dark brown hair and golden-honey eyes nearly identical to a female nation's, the face of someone who ceased to exist years ago, who _shouldn't_ be here.

South Vietnam's smirk grew at their faces.

"Boo."

/ / / / /

Vilnius sure was lucky she didn't throw up during the entire trip to Paris, that Lithuania or any of his friends decided to open up the bag she used to hide or that she died of suffocation inside that tight compartment. Boy, her plan was pretty bad.

But at least her not so smart and well thought out plan worked, right?

Sure, she was tired, nauseous, dizzy, and dealing with jetlag, and she may have vomited on a few flowers, but other than that Vilnius was okay!

In fact, the closest she was to getting caught was when she accidentally squeaked when Bulgaria dropped the bag she was hiding in to the ground (that really hurt her back…), but thankfully it didn't really go anywhere.

 _"Tori, I think the voices are back."_

 _"Don't look at me, I'm not playing psychiatrist again!"_

Vilnius giggled as she ran through a Parisian neighborhood. She got some odd looks from the locals from seeing an eleven-year-old run around by herself, but Vilnius really wasn't thinking about that right now, she was focused in finding the right house.

Even some things were poorly planned, Vilnius did think _some_ things through. She found the address to France's house, it should be a big fancy mansion-like place, and she brought along one of those spheres that could take you to nearby places, so Vilnius could catch up with her brother and the others.

They should already be at France's house, and while they're all busy, Vilnius could sneak in unnoticed, try to find where the enemy was keeping Guatemala, and rescue him. Vilnius was confident that her skills her enough defeat someone if they try to stop her from reaching Guatemala.

Lithuania should be impressed with her if she managed to pull that off, right?

/ / / / /

As much as it pained Belize, and how hard she would kick England in the groin if he ever found out about it and smirked at her condescendingly with his smug prick face, she accepted that, yes, magic was real. It'd be stupid of her not to. Magic did exist, and it didn't necessarily come from pacts with the Devil, it came from this "magic touch" thing that Belize didn't really care enough to ask.

Yeah, so she admitted it, acknowledge it, and (mostly) accepted it. Belize even (grudgingly) accepted that Egypt's magical dog was an Ancient Egyptian god of death, and the fact that Egypt had a god of death as a house pet.

More importantly, and going into a more serious topic, Belize did accept the current situation she willingly got herself in, she didn't regret that, and everything else that's happening in the world. It wasn't easy, she only fully believed it when Guatemala suddenly arrived at her door, and Belize got her wits together.

But this… _this_ …

A nation coming back from the dead…

There's just no way…

Belize somehow managed to keep her jaw from plummeting all the way to the ground, but it still hung open, because what she's seeing was insane. Either at some point she hit her head so hard that she fell into a delusional coma, or South Vietnam's really back.

"Chinh…" France choked, astonished. "Is it… really you?"

South Vietnam's smirk became a kinder, sadder smile.

"But how...?" France muttered. "Viet- Lien… she said she killed you."

"Lien's wrong about a lot of things." South Vietnam remarked calmly, chuckling. "And you all made the mistake of forgetting about the body."

"Now this is just purely unbelievable!" Belize overheard Nicaragua whisper angrily to Costa Rica. "How can South Vietnam be alive? Magic or not, it's impossible!"

Yeah, but to be fair, this situation should also be impossible, but here they were.

"Bel…" Honduras whispered, looking at Belize worriedly while clasping her hands together. "Do you think that's really South Vietnam?"

No, Belize wanted to say, there's obviously no way. But Belize frowned and spoke the truth. "Looks like it."

"Chinh… I can't believe it… At that time… After Lien seized your capital… I..." France trailed off, and he smiled sadly as he pressed a palm on his head. "…thought you were dead. However, you seem to be very much alive and well."

South Vietnam's expression morphed into a furious, hateful one. "Yes, yes I am. No thanks to any of _you_."

France flinched from South Vietnam's bitter tone, and then Egypt spoke. "How are you alive?"

South Vietnam's cold gaze went to Egypt. "Thank America, he was the only one who cared. He came back because he felt guilty for abandoning me, and he picked me up after North left me to die. He took me to his house where I recovered, Haiti and a few others used their magic to save me and forced to stay in bed while my murderer of a sister stole what's mine. I'll never forgive her for what she did, the same goes for all of you."

"You think Lien was proud of what she did? Your death haunts her to this very day!" France yelled in despair, the poor guy looking devastated. "She lives every day with the guilt of killing her own brother!

"My sister… is an idiot." South Vietnam snarled coldly. "She always thought she knew what was best for the two of us, she thought I knew nothing. Lien didn't care what I thought or what happened to me, only for "what was best" for us."

"That's not true!" France begged, looking just about ready to tear up. "She loves you, always did and always will. How could you help Order overthrow the entire world?"

"America gave me a chance, he told me about this grand plan with the Order and told me that I could be Vietnam if I wanted. How could I say no?! I had a chance to make every single one of you _pay_ for leaving me to die. _I'm_ going to be Vietnam, I'm going to kill my sister, and she won't have anyone to save her at the last minute like I did."

France swallowed, a pained expression on him. "Chinh..."

"And don't think I forgot about _you_ making me your colony!" South Vietnam yelled resentfully, seething, causing France to flinch again. "Don't you _dare_ think that I've forgiven you for what you did. I'm going to help end you."

France seemed too hurt to respond.

South Vietnam sighed, rubbing his head, and looked at Haiti. "I've had enough. Can we please go now?"

"Of course." Haiti nodded, and then gave France a Cheshire-Cat like grin, one that made Belize want to punch him. "I hate that we have to leave so soon, but the four of us have some business to attend throughout your capital. I'm sure you'll know what I mean soon. Consider it the beginning of your suffering."

"Wait." France said, reaching out his hand. "Hennrick, what-"

And then they vanished in a puff of purple smoke. Belize would have found it funny or made some clever remark if their situation weren't so serious. She cursed when she found the spaces Haiti, Morocco, Cameroon and South Vietnam were standing on empty.

"They're gone!" Honduras exclaimed.

"How pleasant, where could they… France?!" Algeria yelled when she saw her former colonizer suddenly bolt towards the doors. "Where are you going?!"

"To find my little brothers, I have a terrible feeling I know where they could have gone, and I will go there to stop them. Big Brother France will be right back!" France said with a wink before running off. "Forgive me! Remember the plan, Egypt!"

Egypt gaped. "But the plan was-"

"Francis, wait!" Monaco quickly followed her older brother.

"Well, I'm going with you!" Algeria growled and ran after them.

"Salah!" Tunisia went after his sister.

And with that, they're three fighters short.

"There. _Now_ you believe us?" Belize scowled at the shell-shocked foursome, if they still didn't, then she'll _really_ get into a bad mood. "If you want answers, then stop standing there and-"

Belize yelped as she narrowly dodged jump-kick, and she found a threatening-looking Hong Kong in front of her.

"You still have to deal with us, remember?" Hong Kong reminded her.

"That's right!" Turkey smirked. "If you want to go help France, then you'll have to incapacitate every single one of us here, and trust me, we're not going to let you go anywhere."

/ / / / /

Honduras loved being a happy and optimistic nation. Sure, her home's having a lot of problems and her past has been far from pretty, she's perfectly aware of that, but she preferred looking at the bright side of things. Not letting all the drugs, cartels, gangs and having to carry a gun to protect herself almost every day sink her into despair.

She wasn't being a fake, she doesn't force herself to feel happiness, she just had a lot of energy and she liked being bubbly. Yeah, there were times she intentionally played the idiot, but it's mostly just for fun.

She liked helping put a smile on her fellow Central Americans' faces and brighten their day, Nicaragua especially needed it a lot lately. Honduras could tell that the three Africans needed it a lot too, and her efforts to light up the mood were usually met with success. She even saw Egypt smile! It was kind of small, but Honduras congratulated herself for this achievement. It's always nice seeing people smile.

But the smile on Bulgaria's face and the happiness coming from him just felt… _wrong_.

Honduras kept her face straight and a good hold on her gun as Bulgaria grinned at her as he dizzily circled around her, almost dancing as he did, and kept her guard up.

"How did you end up so broken?" Honduras wondered out loud.

"I wouldn't call myself broken, I consider myself liberated… I'm the happiest I've ever been thanks to my darling." Bulgaria remarked softly, seemingly absently staring into space while a hand went for his gun holster. "Why are you so unnerved? I'm like you, we both like smiling and laughing all the time, ne? Not to mention we both have a secret dark side~"

Honduras bit her lip and shook her head. "No, you're not like me."

Bulgaria curiously tilted his head to the side. "And why's that? Because I'm mad?"

"Si… but's it not just that. It's that… Oh, how do I explain this?" Honduras swallowed, anxiously scratching her neck. "You're detached, you've lost yourself. I don't think you're happy because you like being happy, you're happy because someone else is happy, and you feel that as long that person exists, your life will always be amazing, you _depend_ on them."

"Hmm… I understand your point, I think. Sometimes, even I don't understand what's going on with my head, but I don't care. All I care about is the Order."

"Did… Turkey drive you insane?" Honduras asked, then got laughter as a response.

"Da, I guess you could say that…" Bulgaria said nonchalantly, then quickly lifted his leg to scratch his… wait.

In the blink of an eye, after just a split second or two, she found herself grabbing a madly grinning Bulgaria's arm where his hand was holding a scalpel whose extremely sharp tip was not far from Honduras's eye. She just stopped him from stabbing her eye.

As Honduras fought to keep her grip, she noticed that the scalpel was already stained with blood, fresh at that, and her puzzled eyes trailed down to see some fresh bloodstains near Bulgaria's shoes.

This sight caused Honduras to widen her eyes. "You hid a scalpel in your shoe?! You must be bleeding!"

Bulgaria calmly shrugged, smiling. "Da, I think my foot is bleeding, but the pain helps me relax."

As Honduras digested that creepy information, Bulgaria was knocked to the floor by a blast of lightning.

"Alright, I'm sick of standing around." Romania hissed as lighting crackled in his hands.

Bulgaria groaned a bit before he chuckled and gave his friend a smile. "Finally decided to take part in the brawl, Vlad?"

"Sorry for interrupting, Honduras, but me and my friend here need to have a little talk." Romania growled, baring his fangs in anger as he glared down at his smiling friend. "I overheard what you said. So, you're really dating that annoying geezer? Since when?"

Bulgaria laughed a little as he held his arm. "Since the eighteenth century. During the days of the empire."

Romania wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Why the hell would you fall in love with _him_? I remember you hating his guts back when _we_ were part of the empire."

"Oh, I did hate him back then. But…" Bulgaria grinned, and he blushed. "Sadik really knows how to charm people. Little by little, without realizing it, he began to win me over. He's a lot more complex than he lets on, it sort of drew me into his web, and as a result I know him better than anyone else. Later, he left when I discovered about the Order, it was after that when I realized that I couldn't _live_ without him."

"…You have got to be kidding me, Dimitri." Romania deadpanned, shaking his head in disapproval. "From what you said, it sounds like Turkey deliberately manipulated you into becoming obsessed with him."

"I don't care that he did." Bulgaria said confidently, his grin becoming more psychotic. "What matters is that he and I are together."

"And why didn't you _tell_ me about any of this?!" Romania demanded, becoming more and more angry by the minute. "Did that bastard tell you to just throw our friendship away? Were we even friends in the first place?!"

"We _were_ , but a lot has happened since then, and my best friend is the one glaring at Poland right now." Bulgaria explained with eerie calmness, and he began to reach for something. "I'm sorry, Vlad, but our friendship ends here."

"Hold it!" Honduras shouted, and she successfully shot Bulgaria in the leg just as the latter grabbed his gun.

"Dimitri… I'm sorry you had to end up like this, I would have stopped Turkey if I knew, but I still can't forgive you." Romania growled, his hands lighted up with fire, and he snarled. "You lied to me, maybe even used me, so I have no reason to hold back."

/ / / / /

Alright… Alright, Nicaragua, you can't afford to get anxious now. Just focus on the task at hand and on not getting killed again. If she did then that idiot Costa Rica in his stupidity will get distracted as he tries to help her, and he'll get himself killed. Nicaragua did not want his annoying ghost to haunt her for the rest of her life.

Costa Rica's choice for a weapon was, a little sadly, a pipe he conveniently found on the streets. Not exactly helpful against an axe, but Nicaragua one's to talk. She's going to use a baseball bat. True, she's beaten up a good number of bastards with it, but she doubted it'll last long against an axe.

Denmark was, admittedly, very intimidating. Nicaragua actually missed the fake Denmark. But Nicaragua wasn't going to back out.

"Are you ready, Nica?" Costa Rica called.

"Just distract him for me you idiot." Nicaragua ordered, and couldn't help a fond smirk.

/ / / / /

Morocco with his usual serene smile plastered on his face calmly walked around the garden side of the Elysee Palace. To anyone else, important places with high-security would be quite difficult to break in. To them? With Haiti's special abilities? It was much easier for the four of them.

Morocco along with Cameroon were supposed to get rid of witnesses and possible nuisances, the two of them decided to split up, and he decided to go on a nice stroll while waiting to encounter prey as his larger friend went off on his hunt.

The North African hoped to find a Frenchmen soon, he was just starving, he craved blood and flesh. And now, now that they're in Paris… France's heart, where Morocco could finally begin to make him pay for what he did, his cravings only intensified. Morocco was practically in a state of euphoria.

His smile became a feral grin when he spotted a guard. Morocco wasted no time in quietly but swiftly running to the human, and his hands grabbed the guard's head.

"Bonjour." Morocco greeted cheerfully.

And then he _ripped_ the guard's head off.

Morocco chuckled in amusement as he watched the guard's headless body, with the neck spilling blood in all directions, stumbled and then collapse to the ground. He turned with a feral grin towards the head he was grabbing and proceeded to chew it noisily, moaning in pleasure.

Yes, this will be easy and entertaining.

/ / / / /

Hungary won't lie, Turkey seemed to be doing a pretty good job against someone with magic.

A small bead of sweat began its slow descent slow down her face. Her fingers kept a tight grip on the handle of her trusty frying pan as she pressed her mouth into a thin line. She was ready, ready to bash her enemy in the head, she wasn't nervous or anxious or anything like that at all. At least she was trying to.

She was still confused, she didn't understand exactly what was going on, maybe the reality of the situation still hasn't completely sunk in. Pretty much all Hungary knew was that she found the culprits she was searching for, there's a conspiracy, South Vietnam's alive and France still owed her a good explanation.

But at least Hungary found what she was looking for, and she could use this as a chance to find Austria's whereabouts.

However, she had an asshole to beat up first. Hungary sprinted forward and swung her frying pan, but she missed by a couple of inches.

"I was wondering when you'd join, Lizzie." Turkey snorted, and Hungary dodged an attempt to kick her. "

"Where's Roderich?" Hungary asked coldly.

Turkey laughed mockingly. "Oh, wouldn't you like to know…"

"Yes, which is why you're going to tell me, or I'll shove my frying pan's handle up your ass."

"Trust me, princess. You're better off not knowing."

Hungary widened her eyes, and she felt her blood boil. "What are you… What's that supposed to mean?!"

"It's… It's complicated, Hungary." Egypt told her, looking a little pained. "For now, focus on defeating him. Don't let him get to you."

Hungary was about to protest when Turkey suddenly appeared and headbutted Egypt, and she quickly took action by hitting him away with her frying pain before the bastard could do anything to the disoriented Egypt.

Fine. But she will know the truth.

As Hungary prepared for another swing, violent coughing caught her attention, and watched in horror as Egypt fell to the ground, spewing blood from his mouth.

"What the…"

/ / / / /

 _Wow_ , Hong Kong was a lot more annoying than Belize thought.

And by that, she of course meant that Hong Kong was doing a really _great_ job keeping her on her toes and leaving hardly a second for her to breathe as he tried to slice off her arms with those damn butterfly swords.

Oh, no, no, no, no, Hong Kong wasn't winning. No effing way. He was just tough… and annoying. Belize rubbed a bruised cheek and kept her glare on city who was regaining his balance after she awesomely kicked him in the shin. From the way Hong Kong was glaring back at her, she'd say the feeling of annoyance was mutual.

After staring at her hatefully some more, Hong Kong suddenly dashed, and Belize had to jump to avoid getting her legs cut as he swung his swords under her feet. Hong Kong then forced Belize to back away as he attacked her relentlessly, but thanks to a stroke of luck of luck

A small part of Belize regretted giving Poland her spare sword, though Poland would have been easily killed without it, she'd be doing a better job holding her own if she fought with dual swords cutlasses against Hong Kong's dual butterfly swords.

Then their weapons clashed with one trying to push back the other, Belize was smart, and she had good enough reflexes to react just before Hong Kong could, punching him right in the gut and sending the sucker to the floor. But before Belize could even congratulate herself or grab Hong Kong's swords, the latter got back on his feet and got back at her… by punching one of her breasts.

Belize shrieked in pain and stumbled a few steps back as she held her chest. "You punched me in the breast, you idiot!"

"So?" Hong Kong scoffed, then he quickly snatched his swords back up and spun as he attacked again. "I wasn't even aiming for that part!

"That's pretty low! Not to mention it hurt bad!"

"Why are you whining?! You don't have any!"

A tick mark formed on Belize's head and she gritted her teeth. "You don't _need_ to remind me that, you know..."

"Whatever." And then Hong Kong promptly pulled Belize by one of her pigtails and then kneed her in the face, causing the latter to fall to the ground.

"OW!" Belize exclaimed, and scowled up at him as she rubbed her injured jaw.

Good Lord, that hurt!

"You know, I was kind of surprised you were in on this, HK, but at the same time, I really wasn't." Belize began despite the pain in her jaw, and Hong Kong stopped, and she continued with trying to start a conversation until her jaw healed. "I mean, you were stuck under England and China's foot your whole life, right? That sucks."

"Yeah, it did. I had to put up with a patronizing senile old man, forced to watch as a delusional drunk westernized me, and not being able to do anything as Japan starved me and my people to death." Hong Kong explained flatly with a hint of bitterness and hate in his tone, and he sneered. "Things like that tend to push you to the brink after a while…"

"And let me guess, you're going to get China's land." Belize said sarcastically. "Oh, and fix the eyebrows, right?"

"Correct. Mongolia, Macau and I are all going to get our fair share of the old man's land." Hong Kong then grinned, in a very _off_ way… "China will _burn_."

"Sounds bloody nice…" Belize muttered.

Hong Kong stopped grinning and stared down at her coldly. "You know, it's too bad. I actually _liked_ you, and I would have considered asking you to join us if-"

"I wasn't sane?" Belize cut in with a scowl.

"I was going to say if you weren't so bound by morals, and if you hated England like I do." Hong Kong said through gritted teeth, but then calmed back into a blank face. "But that doesn't matter now, you're going to pay for interfering right now."

Now it was Belize's turn to grin. "Nope."

Then she uppercut him.

/ / / / /

"I'm surprised that you're actually taking this seriously." Lithuania remarked coldly. "Then again, I know better than to underestimate you."

Poland didn't respond, he couldn't really bring himself to. He really couldn't accept it. Lithuania hated him? What did Poland miss? Even though yeah, maybe, maybe he liked to drag him around a lot against his will, but Lithuania wouldn't hate him for that.

He was also a little nervous because of his rusty skill with a sword. Honestly, the closest thing Poland ever got to sword practice was when he and Hungary dressed up as knights and rode two of his ponies in a fabulous game of "The Legendary Pony Knights" where they had to rescue Ukraine and an angry Belarus from an evil pony-eating monster. But Poland used his actual sword skills there, so it should count…

Poland then remembered something.

 _I wish you could see the look on your face right now, it's hilarious!_

Didn't Poland say the exact same…

Poland looked up at Lithuania with a saddened expression. "Oh, Tori, you can't be mad at me because I laughed at you that day…"

Lithuania sneered at him. "No, Feliks, you couldn't be more wrong. Why, oh, why on Earth would I possibly resent you for laughing at my face instead of doing something helpful, like, say, save me after I begged you to as Russia dragged me away to my suffering?"

Every word was dropping with venom and sarcasm, and with every word, Poland felt more and more guilty.

"I… Aw, Toris, you know that I-"

"That you feel sorry? Maybe I'd believe you, if you actually changed!"

Poland swallowed and put on a brave expression, trying very hard not to let the words get to him. "Maybe we didn't always get along, but I still care about you Liet!"

"Don't make me laugh." Lithuania scoffed, and he got into a fighting stance. "And I don't care about you, not anymore."

"B-But-"

"From the beginning, when I personally met you when our leaders decided to form an alliance, I never liked you. You're selfish and self-centered, and you treated me like dirt." Lithuania began with pure bitterness, with his face scrunched up in disgust. "Yet somehow I tricked myself into thinking I actually liked you, that we were good friends."

"We are friends! Best friends!" Poland exclaimed. "I always thought we were."

"I **_hate_** you."

As the statement wounded Poland's heart, he almost failed to see his friend about to slash him, but he got out of the way in time. However, Lithuania didn't stop, and Poland's shoulder got cut.

"Feliks!" Poland heard Hungary call out to him.

"I'm fine, Lizzie!" Poland shouted back, and he ducked, nearly getting beheaded. "I, like, got this!"

"But Feliks, he was your friend!" Hungary shouted worriedly. "Lithuania wants to hurt you, but you don't-"

"Don't you, like, worry about it, Liz!" Poland winked, giving her a thumbs-up. "Did you two, like, totally forgot my history? How many times did you, like, see me go down and then get back at up again? Even if Toris kills me, I'll just rise back… like a phoenix!"

Lithuania smirked. "Oh, the irony…"

/ / / / /

While all the fighting was going on, Bosnia hid himself behind the sofa while he dealt with his recurring that returned with a vengeance, probably the worst one so far. The pain was practically unbearable, as if his mind was violently tearing itself apart. It began to get worse as the fighting on, even more as he watched Turkey fight Egypt.

In a way, Bosnia was fighting his own battle in his fracturing mind. It hurt like hell. There was one side, Bosnia's normal self, who was still confused and upset about all this, that was crying in despair. While the other side, which Bosnia assumed had something to do with his weird blackouts and personality change, shouted as it supported Turkey,

Turkey… why?

No! Turkey will not lose! You will not allow this to happen!

Bosnia trusted him.

Don't worry. He'll help you find it, he has faith you, he believes in you.

Was their bond fake? Weren't they family?

Of course we're family, he loves us, he's our big brother after all, and we were one of his favorites, remember?

Did he even care?

He does.

Did… Did Turkey really know what was wrong with him? Will he actually help him? Will the pain actually go away?

Obviously! After all, the truth sets you free, no?

Bosnia screamed.

/ / / / /

"I cannot believe that you ran off so recklessly like that again, especially after how _well_ it resulted last time." Algeria irately scolded the blonde European driving the car, crossing her arms, while her brother sat quietly next to her. "What were you thinking?"

"I apologize, Algerie, but I had to. If I am right about where Haiti and the others will go, then we must hurry, or else it could spell disaster for my country." France said grimly before making a sharp turn. "It's a good thing it's not far from my house."

"And how could you bring Monaco?" Algeria asked, glancing at said girl. "This will obviously be dangerous."

"Perhaps, but at least I'll be able to keep her safe." France looked worriedly at Monaco. "Still, please hide when danger appears."

"Oui, Francis." Monaco nodded.

"What exactly do you think Rahim and the others are planning?" Tunisia asked.

Monaco shifted in her seat. "You mean that you think they're going to do what they did to Belgium?

"I'm afraid so." France nodded solemnly.

Algeria cursed under her breath. "Of course. If my that demon and the others want to give you tremendous pain, what better way than to start by brutally murdering your boss and ever other important government off….

Algeria trailed off she felt a slight pain in her heart, and she winced.

"Algerie? Is there something wrong?" France asked from the driver's seat.

"N-No, it's probably just my imagination." Algeria shook her head, shrugging it off, and she narrowed her eyes. "Anyway, will the security-"

The pain struck again with a vengeance, this time excruciatingly worse, she found herself unable to breathe, and began to cough violently.

"KHALIDA!" Tunisia cried out in alarm.

"Algerie! What's wrong?!" France asked frantically

"Algiers… Something's happening there… I…" Algeria rasped out, then she choked and she coughed out blood into her hand. "What in the name of…"

/ / / / /

South Africa and Nigeria. flew together, side by side, as they bombed the city of Cairo.

South Africa impressed himself with how he managed to successfully charge up a large ball of dark energy and throw it at a district, grinning when he saw part of it it light up. Huh, he really was getting better at this. South Africa doesn't really have the offensive power Nigeria has, he was the healer, but now he had the power to cause carnage, if only for a little while.

Plus, he could fly! That Though not being a natural user did affect his power, South Africa didn't mind, as long as he could destroy and do the damage necessary, he's alright with it.

"Nice shot." Nigeria remarked, purring.

"Dankie." South Africa laughed, smiling sheepishly, then he looked down below.

"There they go…" Nigeria pointed out, chuckling.

South Africa scoffed in amusement. "It's just so sad seeing how pitiful humans can be. What cowards, all of them."

Nigeria smirked at the city beneath them, and South Africa saw a glint of mischief in his eyes. "How about we give them a head start?"

"Sure. How about on the count of ten?" South Africa smirked back, liking the idea.

"Perfect. Ten…" Nigeria began, his smirk becoming feral.

South Africa began to raise his hand. "Nine…"

Nigeria lifted his as well. "Eight…"

"Seven…"

"Six…"

"Five…"

"Four…"

"Three…"

"Two…"

"One." The two finished together.

And the city lit up even more.

 **I hope I've been doing well with these chapters. I've been feeling kind of tired for the past few weeks and I barely finish writing in the time I want, since lately I've been procrastinating a little. Please review!**


	37. The Brawl: More fighting!

**Thanks to Eternal Nexus Warrior and AquaEclipse for reviewing. Now, on with the show!**

As Vilnius cautiously peeked through a window, she gave a short fist pump at the sight of Lithuania fighting Poland. Her brother was winning! He'll finally show that jerk what-

Vilnius squeaked in alarm and ducked from view in fear as Costa Rica nearly crashed against the window, and she trembled a little as she gulped nervously. M-Maybe that's enough spying for now…

Still, she couldn't be happier to see Lithuania okay. Vilnius wished she could go help him or the others, but...

The other nations couldn't know about her, Lithuania would tell her again and again, She had to stay a secret no matter what or until the time was right. If the other nations discovered her, they could try to use her against her brother, and the last thing Vilnius wanted was for Lithuania to end up getting hurt because of her.

Besides, she didn't distract him from Poland...

She wasn't pretty sure _what_ to make of Poland, besides disliking him because her brother hates him, but Vilnius didn't know if she should hate Poland too. Vilnius knew her own history, Poland once took her from her brother, but it was before Vilnius herself was... made. Vilnius didn't get to go through the pain of being separated from Lithuania, but her citizens did, so...

What's she supposed to feel?

Vilnius shook her head and smacked herself, wincing when she did. No, no, stop getting distracted, Vilnius! You're here to rescue Guatemala! This was no time to get lost in your thoughts while he's stuck in there! Focus!

Okay... It wouldn't make sense to let Guatemala be in the same room as the fights, they'd probably keep him somewhere that won't be that easy to reach. The most logical and obvious place they'd keep him would be...

Vilnius looked up, holding her glasses, and blinked. One of those rooms above her, but which one?

She sighed.

Alright… Now to get up there.

Vilnius took off her backpack and after unzipping it began to search for something.

/ / / / /

"Hey, come back here, you speedy little cowards!" Liberia yelled over to the humans before bursting out laughing.

Liberia could honestly say that he was having a _blast_. While the bombers were off doing their work, since not _everyone_ had magical powers, he and DRC were off causing their own havoc in Algiers. Come on, it wouldn't be nice if they let the humans do all the work, would it?

What's he doing, one might ask? Well, Liberia hijacked the coolest (and undamaged) looking car he could find and now he's going on a thrilling joyride running over various humans!

Now _this_ was the sort of action he was waiting for! Torture was amazing and all, but wreaking havoc like this with no restraints, no limits, no rules was all kinds of fun. It's like the city was his own personal playground. There wasn't any need to hold back, because the goal of this trip wasn't just pleasure, it was to really hurt the nation they're in, and to do that they needed to tear this place apart.

Liberia really didn't know if too much damage would result in Algeria's death, but did he look like someone who cared? Morocco doesn't like her, but it's not like her ever said that he wanted her alive get revenge for annoying him so much.

Oh yeah, in other news, it looked like bringing the escapes back alive wasn't such a big priority anymore. There's still hell to pay, but according to South Africa death was an option if they really wanted to. Still, the six of them had an unspoken agreement that they wanted the runaways to be brought back alive for torture.

Liberia grinned as he swerved the car around a corner, and much to his delight, he found DRC again.

DRC was taking turns using a rifle gun and a rocket launcher, Liberia admired the way he looked. DRC had the look of a real hardened soldier in his eye, one that'll get the dirty job done no matter what with zero remorse, not the slightest bit of hesitation, and the guy didn't even flinch or bat an eye at the explosions and screaming. It's a morbidly fascinating thing to see.

This was nothing to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Despite the blank look on him, Liberia was sure the new member was enjoying this as much he was.

DRC managed to hear Liberia swerve his car to a stop and looked at him in surprise before settling for a face like what Cameroon gave him whenever he complained about South Africa and Nigeria… in front of South Africa and Nigeria. It was annoying seeing it on Cameroon and it's annoying seeing it on DRC.

"What?!" Liberia demanded.

"…You were driving." DRC deadpanned.

Liberia raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, so?"

"Aren't you supposed to be physically fourteen or fifteen?"

"Yeah, so?"

DRC sighed and went back to aiming his launcher. "…Nevermind."

Liberia rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, smirking. "Who cares about something like that? We're creating chaos! We shouldn't let some stupid rules get in the way of fun. Besides, it was just some harmless terrorizing."

"You could get yourself hurt, especially with how reckless you were driving through the city." DRC said flatly as he focused on a target through his sight, then fired before looking at Liberia unreadably. "What's more, what if one of my projectiles hit you or somewhere near you? I detest committing friendly fire, there's a chance I could have badly injured you."

Liberia quickly covered his ears, and then a few seconds later he heard a muffled explosion while DRC kept staring at him emotionlessly. After it ended, Liberia removed his hands to smile sweetly at DRC.

"Aww, you were worried about me?~" Liberia asked with a sickly-sweet tone. "You really don't have to… I can take care of myself!"

DRC snorted, and showed the slightest hint of a smile. "Perhaps, but in all my interactions with you, the real you, I've noticed that you tend to be very immature."

"I'm a teenager, what'd you expect?" Liberia asked, shrugging, then grinned. "Just get back to shooting while I run over some more people."

/ / / / /

This was probably the most pain Tunisia had ever seen Algeria be in since her civil war.

Algeria was a stern and tough woman, she liked to almost always keep whatever grievances she had and pain she was in to herself, adding to the fact that she didn't let many people get close to her. It was a bad habit of hers, much to Tunisia and anyone else close to his sister's dismay. She was strong, but stubborn.

However right now, it doesn't look like Algeria could hide it.

Tunisia's heart pained at the sight of Algeria writhing in pain as he held her in his arms, made worse by the fact she was crying a bit, it wasn't right. Algeria never cried. He doesn't even remember the last time she did. It just goes to show the pain a nation will go through when their capital's attacked.

Tunisia winced at feeling his sister crushing his hand but didn't comment on it.

"You can't possibly be thinking of leaving me here!" Algeria snapped fiercely before coughing again. "I need to help you stop Morocco! You need me to stop him. I know how he is, now that he finally admitted that he is a demon, and I can stop him. Besides, you can't possibly think that you can defeat all four of them on your own!"

France's expression became more guilt-ridden, and he rested a hand on Algeria's head. "Non, I cannot defeat them by myself, but I believe that I can stop him. Salah, please, you'll just have to trust me. You are in no condition to go."

"You won't be alone, Algeria." Tunisia reassured her, holding her hand. "I'll be here with you."

Algeria scowled up at him tiredly. "No, you will go with Francis, make sure that he doesn't get himself maimed to death."

"And risk him suffering the same fate?" France retorted.

"There's no way I'm going to leave you alone in this state, you're my sister!" Tunisia said firmly, narrowing his eyes. "I'm going to stay here with you whether you like it or not!"

Algeria's eyes widened slightly, and she rubbed them. "If you really want someone to look after me, then why can't Monaco do it?"

Monaco shifted in discomfort, and France frowned. "I'd rather not let Monaco out of my sight. And now before you say anything, I'm choosing to believe that Haiti will keep his promise, so please, Algerie…"

"That's…!" Algeria spat, spewing a bit of blood to the side, much to France's slight chagrin. "You don't understand, I'm not going to allow you to face them alone, I… France?!"

Tunisia saw Algeria become horrified as France pulled Monaco by the hand as they left the car, flinching as his neighbor began shouting at their ex-colonizer. France then turned around winked at them.

"À bientôt!~" France said cheerfully, and left, with Monaco smiling apologetically before following her brother.

Algeria growled and slumped into the seats, not the slightest bit happy with what just happened.

"That fool…" Algeria muttered.

"Well, it is France…" Tunisia pointed out fondly, smiling.

Algeria coughed again, and she cringed at seeing her hand coated in blood. "Still…"

Tunisia gave her a reassuring smile. "Khalida, rest, please."

Algeria narrowed her eyes at Tunisia, but a few moments later she winced and clutched the area of her heart in pain and then she sighed, giving up, much to Tunisia's relief. He wished he could provide some reassuring words, but frankly, it doesn't look like there's anything either of them could do to stop it, so all Tunisia could do was to comfort her with his presence.

Tunisia did understand Algeria's frustration, he felt a little guilty for not going to help France, and he was just as worried as his sister was, but he couldn't leave her. It was a difficult decision, but he. He doubted he'd be much help anyway.

Or at least that's what you're using as an excuse. A small voice in his mind whispered mockingly to Tunisia. You're afraid.

Tunisia frowned and shook his head fervently. No, that wasn't true! He wasn't a coward. He wouldn't use Algeria's condition as an excuse to not face Morocco! He's genuinely worried for her well-being, and no good brother would leave his sister like this all by herself. Morocco had nothing to do with it. Yes, Tunisia was scared of meeting him again, of having that topic brought up again, but it didn't have anything to do with…

…Did it? Was he… really using Algeria as an excuse?

"In my opinion, France was a fool bringing you two and his own little sister here, it wouldn't have made the smallest difference."

That voice just now, the one that spoke with an air of regality and fake politeness, made Tunisia's blood freeze in horror. No, no… please don't let it be…!

Tunisia saw his sister's face contort in shock, much to his dread, and he swallowed and forced himself to turn around, only to feel himself become pale. As he feared, standing several feet from them, with his hands and djellaba stained with fresh blood, smirk plastered on his face with reddish teeth, and eyes filled with delight and cruelty was his brother Morocco, looking ecstatic to see them.

Tunisia could even smell the blood and viscera from Morocco, and it made him want to throw up. That did explain the visible lack of humans in the area, but did Morocco and Cameroon really… all of them by themselves?"

"My dear brother… sister… Finally, the three of us again…" Morocco said happily with a relieved smile, which then became a smirk when his gaze went to their scowling sister. "Khalida, you're looking more awful than usual…"

"Shut it, _fajir_." Algeria spat, wiping some blood off her mouth. "You know what's happening to my capital, don't you? Of course you do, I can see it in your shit grin."

Morocco made an expression of mock surprise, feigning hurt. "Oh, Algeria, you can't possibly be accusing me of slaughtering your people, my attention is here, thank you very much. No, that would be the work of my fellow Africans."

Algeria widened her eyes. "What?"

"Oh, come on, you can't be that surprised." Morocco scoffed and sneered at them. "It's frustrating how we failed to get you all back. However, fortunately, it occurred to us that there were other ways to punish you."

"You're killing my people for petty revenge?!" Algeria screeched in fury.

"As frustrating you are, Khalida, none of us can't deny that you're strong, your military is proof of that." Morocco smiled and licked some blood of his fingers. "I figured you'd be a problem, so I suggested we'd target _you_ and weaken you by causing carnage."

"How… How could you?" Tunisia said in horror. "Rahim, she's our sister!"

Morocco tilted his head, his expression looking puzzled, before he burst out laughing. "Oh, Malik, you still don't understand? Do I really look like a person who'd care?"

Tunisia flinched at that statement, but Algeria only scoffed. "I figured as much. Now do you see, Malik?! Do you still want to try and reason with him and find out whatever convoluted reason he has for being a demon to understand him?"

"I…" Tunisia trailed off as Morocco laughed merrily.

"You want to understand me? Try to decipher my broken mind and find some answer to the question why? Why, I feel so flattered, Tunisia!" Morocco grinned in delight. "Good luck finding them though."

"It's just… I don't understand, how could you be so…" Tunisia trailed off as a certain thought hit him. "Wait, how come you didn't target me? My capital's alright."

"Why?" Morocco repeated before he swiftly walked forward, with Tunisia reacting too late, and grinned madly as he grabbed the latter's chin in a steel grip. "How could I hurt my precious, much more likeable, brother? I couldn't bear to see you hurt! Besides, I think deep down you know the _other_ reason why."

Before Tunisia could even try to mouth his mouth to respond, Morocco snaked a hand to Tunisia's back and pulled him forward, their lips smashing together.

It took a few seconds for Tunisia to register what was happening, but when he did, he screamed into Morocco's mouth frantically fought to escape his tight grip on the back of his neck or push him away, knowing that Algeria was undoubtedly witnessing this horror happen before her eyes, but Morocco was enjoying this way too much to even consider letting go.

Tunisia, much to his chagrin, could taste the blood in Morocco's mouth. It was metallic, it reeked of death, and he despised that. But still…

Just as he began running out of oxygen, Morocco suddenly pulled away, panting but had a sadistic smirk on his face while Tunisia regained his breath. Tunisia forced himself to look at Algeria, and he did his best not to flinch at her horrified expression.

"Ah, that was nice. Now then, shall we go?" Morocco chuckled as he snatched Tunisia by the collar and gave one last smirk to Algeria. "You must feel so helpless and useless, Algeria, lying there vomiting your bloodied phlegm and unable to do anything… Well, goodbye for now."

Then Morocco started to drag Tunisia, who quickly panicked.

"Fight, and Algeria will find herself in even more pain than she is now." Morocco warned, and his smirk broadened at seeing Tunisia stop. "Good boy, and don't worry, you and I are going to have a long talk."

/ / / / /

Even though Belize was currently stuck in a deadlock with Hong Kong, now that she a little more time to breathe and think about stuff, it was pretty hard to miss seeing Egypt vomit bloody phlegm, and as disgusting that was… really, really, _really_ disgusting… she got worried.

"Hey, brujo!" Belize shouted before grunting at being pushed back a little, but she pushed back.

That Asian asshole Hong Kong's really starting to get on her nerves, whether it's because their fight is practically going nowhere so far or… yeah, it's definitely that. Belize

"Brujo! What's the matter with you?!" Belize shouted angrily before going back to her clash with Hong Kong.

 _Seriously_ , what's up with Mister I'm-so-cool-because-I-give-Belize-heart-attacks all of a sudden? He's better not be dying or anything like that! Even though their crew's got the advantage in numbers, they're just doing alright. Belize wasn't sure if it was because a lot of them were rusty and haven't really fought in a conflict in a long while the Order's always practiced, but still, at least they're putting up a good fight.

"Rule number one on the battlefield: _don't get distracted_." Hong Kong hissed as he kept trying to push.

Belize growled at Hong Kong and they both put a to the deadlock by pulling apart, panting. "You're bloody tough for a city, you know that?"

"I prepared." Hong Kong said simply as he panted.

"Seriously?" Belize asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I had to, if I didn't want to useless in the future attack on England." Hong Kong said as he rubbed his own jaw.

"How? What drugs are _you_ on to nearly crack my jaw?" Belize asked with a snarky tone while rubbing the spot where Hong Kong kneed her.

Hong Kong scowled at her viciously, but then his lips formed a small smirk. "I'm surprised _you_ don't know. And if anything, I think _you're_ the one on drugs."

Belize flinched then quickly glared at him. " _Me_ on drugs?! No way? Look pal, I always stay far away from those gangs, hence one of the reasons I live away from the city, don't mistake me for one of those jerks!"

"Is that so? That's weird, you look like that type of person, and not to mention the corruption in your government…" Hong Kong went on, ignoring Belize's claims, and his smirk grew. "I'm curious, were you once involved with any of those things? Or does your boss just keeps things from you?"

"Hey, at least _my_ air smells nice, I have pretty sights that aren't just a bunch of buildings, and I haven't spent my entire life under someone's boot!"

Hong Kong's smirk vanished, and he snarled. "That'll change soon enough, and when that happens, I won't be a Special Administrative Region anymore. I'll have my independence, I won't be under anyone's rule ever again."

"You and Macau don't look very special to me…" Belize muttered grumpily under her breath.

"And unlike you, I won't have that _gweilo's_ old fossil as my head of state!" Hong Kong growled in seething rage, like he's been holding these feelings for a long while (go figure), and Belize saw pure hatred in his eyes. "I'll be a nation."

"To be honest I don't mind the old broad's title, she can't do jack shit to me and the other Commonwealths, case in point the state of my government. Besides…" Belize smirked, and she snickered mischievously. "It's hilarious seeing that brit pretend that his queen actually has any power over us."

Hong Kong gave a feral grin. "That I can agree with."

"Anyway…" Belize readied herself and scowled. "Let's get this over with."

/ / / / /

Never, in Egypt's life, had he experienced such a horrible sensation in his heart.

Despite the occasions of chaos or riots in the past, he had been fortunate to never have suffered a direct attack or been bombed at Cairo, his capital, his heart, and he thanked Allah for that. He remembered as a young boy seeing the pain his mother suffered after Memphis was taken, and her hoping that he would never go through that sort of pain.

His mother would cry as her fears came true.

The pain was utterly indescribable, he could only explain it as a combination of feeling his heart being fiercely burned, an extremely sharp claw slowly sinking its nails or talons, it somehow tearing itself apart from the inside, along with several other things. To say it hurt would be an astronomical understatement. So much that Egypt wanted to scream in agony, but he couldn't, he literally couldn't.

Blood kept spewing from his mouth as he coughed nearly non-stop. The floor was a mess, his robes were more than likely stained with his own blood, but that didn't concern him right now. That didn't matter.

Because along with the pain he heard them, as if he were there, the horrified screams of his own people.

This wasn't just some attack, or some bombing, his capital was being _destroyed_.

He felt someone grab his shoulders then turn him around, and Egypt found himself meeting the horrified green orbs of Hungary. The European woman appeared worried, and she shook Egypt a little before mouthing something that he couldn't hear because of the explosions and screams.

Hungary mouthed something again, looking more frantic. Why was she tending to him? She should be fighting Turkey. Why wasn't she fighting Turkey? That's right, she didn't know about Guatemala. Egypt had to tell her. If Turkey had no one to distract him he'll…

Egypt felt bile and blood rise up his throat again, and he managed to muster up enough energy to turn to vomit to the side.

"Wh… What?" Egypt managed to rasp out.

"What's happening to you, Egypt?!" Hungary exclaimed in worry.

"Cairo… I… someone is… destroying my capital… I can… hear the screams of my citizens…" Egypt coughed, unable to speak complete sentences, and then his hands shakily reached to grip Hungary's arms. "What could… is it even… bombs…?"

Hungary's eyes widened. "Your capital? Who's attacking you?"

"Oh, so _that's_ what Chris meant by 'helping out' …Huh, go figure." Turkey remarked in apparent surprise, before smirked. "Leave it to the Africans to come up with something so nasty, that's what you get for pissing them off."

Egypt glared at Turkey. "Who's... responsible for this?"

Turkey snorted and put his hands in his pockets. "The Africans, who else? You didn't really think they'd just leave you alone, did ya? No, those five would die before they accept letting their prey get away."

" _What?_ " Egypt snapped.

Turkey shrugged. "S'what happens when you get on their bad side."

After that remark, Egypt felt ire replace his confusion as he realized something. The Africans were attacking his capital, slowly destroying his heart, demolishing his city, joyfully slaughtering his people and feasted on their corpses as revenge for their nation escaping their grasp. Egypt's people were getting killed to satisfy the Africans' need for revenge.

"They dare go and try to massacre my people?!" Egypt snarled, and suddenly, the pain wasn't so incapacitating.

Then a horrifying realization hit him after he recalled a certain, terrible, detail, something that made his heart stop.

Seychelles!

"Let go." Egypt said coldly to Hungary. "I'm leaving."

"Huh?" Hungary blinked before narrowing her eyes and holding both his hands, much to Egypt's bafflement. "What do you mean you're leaving? You can't just leave at a time like this, Egypt! In case you haven't noticed, we're-"

Egypt scoffed coldly and wrenched his hands away, currently not caring about his impoliteness. "My people are getting slaughtered."

"I-I know! And I understand, I really do, honest!" Hungary exclaimed, and bit her lip. "But can it wait until after we beat Turkey?"

"You should listen to her, Goopy!" Turkey shouted over to them as he waved them goodbye… as he headed towards the stairs.

"No!" Egypt shouted as he hurled lightning towards Turkey, who dashed away from the door.

Egypt will just have to leave it to Anubis.

/ / / / /

This was a mistake.

Seychelles gasped as she heard another bang and pressed her hands against her ears even more, trembling, and buried her face in her knees. She was hiding behind the remainders of a wall, Anubis snuggled close to her in an effort to comfort her. Seychelles shot him a grateful look.

That, the explosions, banging and sometimes even screaming have been going on for a while, too long in Seychelles, and she desperately wanted it to stop.

Mauritius… Mauritius, where's Mauritius? Please come back! Seychelles couldn't take anymore of this, not without him with her. Where did they take Mauritius? Give him back, give him back, give him back!

It came out of nowhere. She, Bahamas and Saint Lucia were just lounging around, either taking a nap or playing a bit with Anubis, when the ground started shaking and an explosion was heard not too far away from where they were. It scared them. Anubis quickly directed them to a safe place to hide. Or at least he did when the three of them finally understood what he was trying to stay.

So three of them plus Anubis were hiding in the house's basement. Seychelles was surprised that Saint Lucia hasn't complained about it, but when the options were hiding here to safety or risk getting crushed or obliterated, complaining would be stupid.

"Is whatever place we go going to end up in us getting in danger?" Saint Lucia cried out in despair as Bahamas hugged her.

That might have been a slight exaggeration, but it was sort of true.

Anubis got the angriest Seychelles' ever seen him, to the point where it was scary. Anubis growled and angrily barked loudly at every explosion and every time the ground shook, he wasn't going to let the Order get away with this. Seychelles wished she could do something instead of just sitting around crying for Mauritius, she wished she could help Egypt somehow…

Egypt… God, she couldn't imagine the pain he must be in right now.

Seychelles made the mistake of wrapping her arms around Anubis just as he started glowing, she wasn't thinking, she didn't think that it'd have that effect! Okay, maybe it was obvious, but it didn't cross her mind that-

Seychelles flinched when Anubis suddenly growled and stood up, appearing alert, then she shrieked when she felt herself get forcefully pulled up by one of her pigtails. Seychelles looked up and paled at the sight of a man wearing a green soccer uniform and mad green eyes grinning down at her.

"Hello~" Nigeria sang gleefully.

/ / / / /

Alright, now Romania was getting _really_ annoyed.

Bulgaria just couldn't stay _down_. That psychotic little liar gets shot in the leg, he got back on his feet, limping, but still capable of running. He gets shot with lightning? He laughed. And all that only happened if either Romania or Honduras manage to land a proper hit.

Pain clearly meant nothing to Bulgaria, instead he, dare say it, seemed to relish the feeling. Why the hell would he enjoy it? Why? Why, why, _why_?! Did Bulgaria find all this hilarious? Just how much did Turkey fuck his friend in the head? Whenever he'll get the chance, Romania had every intention of going after Turkey and make him pay for what he did to Bulgaria, and he'll able to make up for not helping his friend.

Maybe if Romania saw the signs, if he noticed that something was odd, then he might've been able to help prevent Bulgaria from becoming who he was today. Bulgaria wouldn't have become Turkey's boy-toy, he'd be Romania's friend.

At this, Romania gritted his teeth in anguish and shot lightning at Bulgaria again, but he only managed to graze him.

"W-Wow…" Bulgaria laughed weakly, stumbling a little, and smiled. "You're a lot angrier than I thought you'd be…"

Romania bared his teeth. _"You think?"_

"Felix!" Honduras exclaimed in alarm and ran away.

Romania raised a confused eyebrow as he watched her go, then exclaimed loudly in his language when he narrowly dodged a scalpel to the forehead, courtesy of Bulgaria. Growling, Romania lashed out by hurling out a fireball.

Bulgaria giggled, smiling sheepishly as if he made a cute mistake. "Sorry for scaring you, but you really shouldn't take your eyes off your opponent, especially when dealing with someone like… me!~"

Romania scowled furiously. Alright, yes, it was a mistake, but that didn't bother him so much as the fact as the thought that Bulgaria scared him, which wasn't true. Last time Romania checked, he's normally the one who scared the other.

"Nu, nu, first of all, you didn't scare me, Dimitri." Romania began with an annoyed tone, grimacing. "You _startled_ me. I'm the one who's supposed to be scary."

"It's funny how our roles switch, isn't it?" Bulgaria remarked amusedly, arms outstretched as he walked around Romania. "I'm horrifying, right?"

"To be honest, it's more of a 'I'm scared of what you can do' than _that."_ Romania grumbled, and snarled as his hands lit up in flames. "I swear, as soon as I'm done with you, I'm heading right over to that geezer and I'll make him pay, then I'll hang his charred corpse on a-"

Romania found himself cut as he suddenly felt his air restricted. An enraged Bulgaria was choking him.

" ** _You… will… not._** " Bulgaria balefully growled almost in a non-human like way, his eyes flashing darkly with fury, all friendliness having left him. "Touch him, slander him and so much as even scratch him, and you **_die_**."

Instead of struggling, Romania just snarled and lit up his hands again. " _He's_ the… the one who… deserves death."

"I'll kill you with my bare hands if you dare try taking him away from me." Bulgaria spat hatefully, but Romania saw a brief glint of… fear? It doesn't matter. "Kill my beloved… and I'll wring Moldova's neck before your very eyes. Then you'll know the pain of losing a loved one."

Romania was already about to try to hurl a fireball at Bulgaria, but he widened his eyes at what Bulgaria said, and after his brain processed the threat towards his little brother, something in him just _snapped_.

"Dimitri… you…" Romania rasped out before suddenly hurling sending Bulgaria flying back with a ball of compressed lightning.

There's really no hope for you.

/ / / / /

Why couldn't those idiots have moved him to downstairs so he could see all the action?

Guatemala scoffed to himself and blew some bangs from his face. Well, it's not like it mattered anyway, he'll see it sooner or later… hopefully. What he really wanted was for someone to get him out of here to slam Honduras and Belize's heads to the ground, so they see how nice it felt, and finally go home.

The Americas' part was over, now they could live their lives in peace. They got what they wanted, Austria and Prussia fulfilled their end of the bargain and the Americas filled theirs, America, Brazil and Jamaica were practically the only nations still active.

It was over.

For them, at least.

Although Guatemala had considered choosing to remain active, even more now that Honduras and Belize chose to make an enemy out of them, but he decided that he was content going back to his house and rest in silence. But like he said, he had two annoying neighbors, now with Costa Rica and Nicaragua, as enemies, and he felt obliged to take responsibility and help dispose of them.

It was bad luck that he ended up in this unpleasant situation. Guatemala did not plan to get involved in a scuffle with Belize and Honduras, though he would dispatch them if they proved to be too troublesome… and they did.

In his time here trapped and bound, Guatemala spent the hours pondering whether he should kill Honduras and Belize as soon as he's freed. Yes, he wanted a little payback for defeating him that time, but he wasn't a sore loser. Besides, Honduras needed to live for El Salvador. As for Belize, Guatemala wasn't very sure if she was necessa-.

The sound of banging snapped Guatemala out of his pondering, and his senses became alert as he looked around to find the source. Was that Haiti or whoever he brought with him? If so, then why wasn't it coming from the door?

The banging became slightly louder and he narrowed his eyes in bafflement. Honestly, where was it coming from? Guatemala then widened his eyes slightly in realization and turned his head to look behind him at the window, and he ended up gaping at what he found.

"Vilnius?" Guatemala said in disbelief.

In a very odd yet unexpected twist, Guatemala's visitor was none other than Lithuania's pride and joy, his little capital Vilnius, who was waving her arms at him. Guatemala smiled in amusement, what a surprise.

After finally managing to get his attention, Vilnius's expression became nervous, almost distressed, as she then gazed at the door. The little girl didn't know how to get the door open from the outside. Guatemala pressed his mouth into a thin line. Well, that was problematic, and he was sure he remembered France locking it. Vilnius will just have to do it the old-fashioned way, she just needed to-

One of the glass doors promptly fell off as Vilnius held her sword, and the timid girl flinched at the loud crash. Well done.

"Hola, Vilnius…" Guatemala grinned slyly, turning his body to see the girl better as she struggled in his restraints. "I definitely wasn't expecting _you_ to be the one to rescue me."

Vilnius squeaked and scrambled to get to him. "G-Guatemala, I'm so glad you're here! Are you okay?"

"Just fine, nena." Guatemala laughed, then he smirked. "Is Lithuania aware that his little sister's rescuing me?"

"O-Oh, I-I-um…" Vilnius stammered at the question, her face becoming pale, and nervously shook his head. "N-No, he's not, he doesn't even know I'm here. I… hid in a bag on the plane."

Guatemala raised an eyebrow, not quite expecting that. "He doesn't know?"

"…No." Vilnius said quietly, gazing down in guilt.

Guatemala blinked, taking that fact in, then smiled. "…He'll have quite the heart attack, that's for sure. Anyway, do you mind cutting these off?"

"H-Huh? Oh, right!" Vilnius nodded as Guatemala held up his wrists, and quickly began to cut the ropes.

After the rope fell from his wrists, Guatemala sighed in relief and rubbed them, grimacing in distaste at the red burn marks on his skin and hissing at the slight pain. Tch, this was annoying, but at least he could use his hands. After Vilnius cut the ropes on his legs, Guatemala stood up, though he stumbled a bit, with her help.

"Gracias." Guatemala smirked victoriously. "I appreciate that you went through so much trouble for me, you have my gratitude. Now, if you excuse me…"

/ / / / /

"Like, come on, Tori, I don't wanna hurt you!" Poland protested stubbornly as he dodged a stabbing attempt.

"Really? Because I really want to hurt _you!"_ Lithuania snarled as he tried again.

Poland knew that he was probably being a moron. He wasn't doing anything to fight back or defend himself from Lithuania relentless attacks, but that was because of one simple problem, he didn't want to hurt Lithuania. Angry or not, Lithuania was still Poland's bestie. Poland doesn't think he could change that.

Plus, Poland couldn't be mad at him. This was kind of his fault here. Looking at Lithuania's hateful eyes and murderous expression, the result of having to put up with a ton of shit with Poland and Russia, he felt guilt and sadness. Poland felt tempted to pin the blame on Russia, who did a ton more damage than he ever did, but he didn't want to. Poland's actions led to Lithuania snapping.

"I'm sorry, Tori." Poland said sadly, remorse in his eyes.

"As if I care." Lithuania said coldly. "I wouldn't give a flying fuck if you broke down in tears right then and here, you're still going to die."

Poland sighed, laughing humorlessly. "Yeah… I know. But still… I want you to, like, know that I accept responsibility, you know? I'm sorry, Tori, I really am."

Lithuania only scoffed and scowled in disgust. "Of course you'd apologize once death's staring at you right in the face, hoping that'll doing so will make up for what you did. Selfish till the end, I expected as much."

"I just wanted you to know. Maybe in time you and I can figure things out somehow… and I can be a better friend, for real this-" Poland couldn't finish that sentence, because Lithuania's hand lunged at grabbed Poland's throat.

"No. Today, in this hour, you will die." Lithuania stated darkly, his eyes holding no light as he began to choke Poland. "I'm finally going to shut that goddamn mouth of yours for good, and I can live a little more at peace."

Poland grinned, despite everything. "Sorry, Lithy, but that's totally not possible. I'm, like, Feliks Łukasiewicz! Personification of the, like, totally fabulous land of Poland! No matter how times I fall, I'll just get back up because I'm a-"

"Shut up."

Lithuania raised his sword, and Poland felt a strong jab of pain in his chest, then felt the former retract his sword. As Poland's mouth spewed blood, he felt more pain in his ribcage and-

"Say hi to Belarus for me."

"FELIKS!"

/ / / / /

"No offense, Costa, but as much as I appreciate your annoying desire to "protect" me from harm…" Nicaragua said grimly as she set down Costa Rica in a closet. "It's obvious that I'm much more fit for this than you are."

Costa Rica, being Costa Rica, looked ready to object and opened his mouth to do just that, but Nicaragua shot him a scowl and he thankfully shut his damn mouth before he could do an overdramatic speech. This was not the time for that and Nicaragua was not in the mood. Besides, Costa Rica needed rest.

Nicaragua tried not to cringe or stare too much. Costa Rica's bravery, despite admittedly having saved her twice, resulted in Denmark dislocating his shoulder and slashing both legs, it was a sight that caused Nicaragua to freeze. Seeing Costa Rica get hurt made her really, _really_ angry, and Nicaragua got revenge on his behalf by giving Denmark a concussion.

It wasn't much, sure, but it was a small victory.

She took advantage of Denmark's disoriented state to pull Costa Rica away. Believe her, carefully dragging the idiot without hurting him as Nicaragua tried to find a good place for him to rest was a lot more difficult than it sounded. Nicaragua was a little surprised that Denmark didn't appear to be looking for them, but she was too worried about Costa Rica's injuries to dwell on that thought.

"Regina!" Nicaragua flinched and nearly swung her bat out of reflex, but relaxed when she saw it was a worried Honduras run toward her. "I saw what happened, is Felix okay?"

"Estoy bien!" Costa Rica called out cheerfully. "Ow!"

"The idiot got a shoulder dislocated, and his legs nearly got sliced in half." Nicaragua sighed, rubbing her head, frowning. "I'm fine, though I'm not sure I can take on Denmark by myself, and weren't you fighting Bulgaria?"

Honduras glanced worriedly at Costa Rica. "I think Romania's more than capable of handling it on his own, he'll be fine."

"The same can't be said for you." Denmark said gruffly.

Nicaragua snapped her head to find a pissed Denmark glaring at her and, much to her shock, a smirking Guatemala leaning against the doorway, unbound.

"You should have left a guard." Guatemala berated, and he cracked his knuckles.

 **I'm planning to make a couple of chapters for the purpose of going back to characters we haven't seen in a while and introduce new ones, I think it'll come after this arc. I'm looking forward to writing America again. Please review!**


	38. The Brawl: Brutality

**Thanks to Eternal Nexus Warrior and AquaEclipse for reviewing. Now, on with the show!**

Poland's bloodcurdling scream caused all the fighting to come to a screeching halt.

Whether it was Poland's pained screams or Hungary crying out her good friend's name in horror, everyone practically stopped what they were doing to turn around, even Turkey made no effort to take advantage of the distraction and remained staring at the scene with wry malicious amusement, even Belize and Hong stopped their little wrestling match to see what was going on.

Honduras and Nicaragua swiftly out rushed out of a door and into the room together, and they both, especially Honduras, paled at what they saw

Egypt had just finished adding to the growing puddle of blood on the floor when he heard it, and it both startled and surprised him enough to forget about his pain so he could look up and see what the fuss was all about.

He almost wished he hadn't.

A snarling, livid Lithuania had his hand burrowed deep in a large open wound in Poland's chest, the latter's frozen expression was a cross between shock and horror, the blonde European's eyes were wide as if the notion of death was unthinkable. Considering Poland's talent for survival and fame for being a self-proclaimed "phoenix", Egypt was sure it was a horrible shock.

And Egypt was sure that Poland just met his end. How did he know this? Well, the tape of Spain's brutal demise was still rather fresh on his mind…

Watching it unfold before his very eyes was somehow even more horrifying.

Lithuania continued digging his hand into Poland's chest, grimacing in disgust as he did so, apparently liking the process as much as Egypt and his companions did, as if he was searching for something, which was obvious was it was for those who witnessed Spain's death, and then suddenly stopped.

A smirk formed on Lithuania's lips.

"Goodbye, Feliks."

Then, without warning, without a word, Lithuania ripped Poland's heart out of his chest. Bulgaria burst into mad giggles while Lithuania cruelly smirked as he watched the body collapse to the ground, now lifeless with no hope of being revived... forever.

"Ce pusca mea?!" Romania cussed in surprise.

"HE DID IT!" Bulgaria shrilled in delight, laughing psychotically.

"Dios mio, not again!" Belize cried out while pulling her pigtails.

Hungary exclaimed something in her native language as she dropped her frying pan and went racing towards her fallen friend. Did she know that Poland's…? No… no, she did not… She was probably just worried for her friend is all… Hungary dropped to her knees and scrambled to Poland's side. She paled at the state Poland was and then furiously glared up at Lithuania.

"How could you?" Hungary said angrily, holding Poland's hand.

Lithuania paid her no mind and directed his attention toward the heart, the expression on his blood-stained face became apathetic, and promptly took a bite out of it.

Egypt heard Belize gag and he saw that the girl looked green and ready to empty her stomach. Hungary gasped. Bulgaria just kept laughing.

However, Lithuania seemed to somewhat share their sentiments and almost immediately gagged in disgust after swallowing, and glared at the heart, now with a chunk missing, with abhorrence and began to tear it apart piece by piece.

"Tch, you taste even worse than…" Lithuania muttered, barely loud enough for Egypt to hear.

After reducing Poland's heart to small meaty chunks, Lithuania threw them to the ground and stomped on them, grinding them with his shoe until he stepped back, finally finished, to pant and he stared at Poland's corpse with a strange glint in his green eyes. Lithuania took deep breaths and didn't say a word. But then, he suddenly began to tremble and his hands went to grip his head.

Then something unexpected happened.

He began to laugh.

"I… Aha… Hahaha… I can't believe it… I actually did it… He's dead." Lithuania said softly to himself, as if succeeding in murdering Poland was simply too good to be true, with an edge of insanity in his voice. "Poland's finally gone… He's gone… I finally shut that damn mouth of his…"

After he trailed off, Lithuania spent several seconds in silence, which felt like months in the tense atmosphere, before Egypt flinched when his laughter returned with full force, this time louder and more _deranged_.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I did it! He's gone! He's FINALLY gone! Haha! GONE! GONE FOREVER!" Lithuania practically laughed psychotically in glee, his sanity crumbling and thus, ruining his image as a calm and stoic nation. "And this time, he's never coming back~"

Every nation present in the room who wasn't a member of the Order, including Egypt, were horrified at this display of cruelty and insanity, and were either pale with horror like Hungary and Honduras, or were gaping in utter shock like Belize, Nicaragua and Romania.

Meanwhile every nation present in the room who was a member of the New World Order were far from being surprised or horrified. Hong Kong had a look of indifference like Denmark, but there was interest in his eyes. Turkey and Bulgaria, the mad couple, joined in cackling and laughing together with Lithuania. It angered Egypt, and he would have glared at them, if there wasn't a madman laughing.

"Lord, what the hell is _he_ on?!" Belize exclaimed in disbelief.

"I don't understand. What's he laughing about…?" Hungary asked no one in particular, a puzzled but shaken look on her as she stared at the mad Lithuanian. "What's… What's wrong with you, Lithuania? Are you mad? What difference does it make now that you killed him? Are you just going kill him again?"

Oh dear.

This added a bit of awkwardness to the tense and dark atmosphere, as it reminded Egypt and his group that Hungary, as well as Romania and Bosnia, had no idea that Poland had just met his true end, of the truth that yes, somehow, there was a way to kill personifications just like that. A truth that Poland himself discovered in the worst way possible.

Belize's eyes went wide, but then her expression became grim and she rubbed the side of her forehead in a sign of stress. Honduras appeared to swallow out of nerves, but her face showed pity and sadness for Hungary, and even looked close to tears.

Fortunately, or unfortunately depend on how you look at it, any attempt to word out the truth was foiled when Romania snapped at the mad couple.

"Would you two quit laughing?!" Romania hissed through gritted teeth and bared his fangs. "I don't get it. What's so funny about all this?! I don't know about any of you, but I'm lost!"

Turkey somewhat calmed his cackling to grin mischievously at Romania. "Oh… Oh, right… I totally forgot you're new to this whole thing, Vlad. I… hah! Wow, where do I start…"

"You can start by… Hah?"

Lithuania's insane laughter abruptly stopped, and his overjoyed expression became one of confusion and utter disbelief. "What…? Did… Did… Did he just… Did his hand just move? Did I just imagine it? No… no!"

In a fit of panic and anger, Lithuania cruelly shoved Hungary aside and snatched up his blood-stained sword off the ground and then began to repeatedly slash Poland's corpse.

"You're. Going. To. Stay. Dead. GOT IT?!" Lithuania roared as he slashed and slashed and blood splattered his face, but then two hands surged upwards and grabbed his wrists before he could deliver another strike. "Wh-What?"

"STOP IT!" Hungary all but screamed.

"Get OFF!" Lithuania snarled.

"NO! Haven't you done enough? Felik's dead, so just leave him alone!"

"I'll stop when I make sure that that bastard is-"

"But she's right, Tori..." Bulgaria's voice came softly as a pair of arms wrapped themselves around confused Lithuania's neck, and the lover of Turkey grinned. "No offense, but I think you're going a little over the brink of insanity, and that's coming from me! Trust me when I say that Poland is dead."

Some of the madness vanished from Lithuania's eyes as he looked back at the nation confusedly. "He... He is? Are you sure, idiot?"

Bulgaria laughed softly and patted Lithuania's head. "Da, of course I'm sure! You know I'd never lie to you, Lithy!"

"Really? He's really... gone?" Lithuania asked uncertainly, staring at his bloodied hands.

"Yup!" Bulgaria chirped happily. "He's on the highway to hell as we speak!"

"Really?"

"Really."

"He's dead?"

"Deader than disco!"

"And you're sure."

"As sure as my love for my beloved!"

Lithuania's expression softened, and he laughed tiredly, covering his eyes with his hands as he smirked. "Good… Good… Thank you, Dimitri."

Bulgaria giggled, giggled like a silly schoolgirl, and blushed. "Anytime, Toris."

"And remember, Lithuania, you already eradicated any chances of him returning." Everyone was surprised at the new voice, and much to Egypt's horror and disbelief, Guatemala walked out from the same door as Honduras and Nicaragua, smiling slyly. "Hence, why it's necessary to do that. Good job, by the way!"

No…

"Caramba!" Belize exclaimed in alarm then glared viciously at her former caretaker. "How the hell did you escape?! We put ropes and barricaded the doors and everything!"

Guatemala smirked and shrugged. "The answer to that question is between me and Tiny Tori."

"Wait, what?" Lithuania asked, apparently having regained most of sanity and was now very pale.

"I'll explain it to you later." Guatemala said nonchalantly as he held up a hand to silence him and smiled. "Do any of you have any other obligation to do here?"

"Not really." Turkey grinned.

"Then let's go."

After that was said, there was a sort of chain reaction. There was a grunt from Nicaragua as she stumbled, it turned out that Denmark was waiting behind her and had hit her on the head and took advantage of her dazed state. A gurgling scream echoed throughout the house as Denmark tore out her stomach with his bare hands. Honduras shrieked.

"Regina!" Costa Rica screamed in horror as just arrived limping to the room only to see Nicaragua's death, and glared at Denmark. "Hijo de-"

But Costa Rica never got to finish that curse when Turkey grabbed his head and smirked as he snapped his neck. Honduras screamed something in Spanish, like a horrified exclaim or an upset curse, and very nearly got her throat slit by Bulgaria, who soon became occupied with Romania. Despite her luck, Guatemala used the chance to grab her by the neck and slam her head against the wall.

An explosion was heard then scream erupted, who Egypt recognized as coming from Belize, who he saw was gripping her wrist where it was awfully burnt all the way to the hand, her stomach looked bad as well. Hong Kong was laughing and holding a firecracker in one hand.

Seeing all this chaos, made his blood boil.

An idea came to Egypt's mind. It may have lower him to their level, but he was too furious to even care in the slightest, and his resolve, and sudden lack of pain in his heart, helped him in being able to stand up and walk towards Hong Kong, who was busy smirking at Belize to notice him coming until it was too late. Egypt morphed his right hand into a talon while he used his other hand to turn Hong Kong, who was now puzzled.

It was definitely worth a try, and they deserved this.

"Wait a minute, what are you do- AGH!" Hong Kong screamed as Egypt dug into his chest, his screams immediately dying down after a second as the former tore through his lungs and managed to rip out his heart after about half-a-minute.

"HONG KONG!" Lithuania shouted in alarm and promptly kicked Egypt to the ground, and the European panickily snatched Hong Kong's heart from his talon and Denmark picked up the Asian's body.

Egypt would have tried to stop them, but a boot slammed on his head, and looked up to meet a _livid_ Turkey.

"You're gonna regret doing that, Gupta." Turkey practically snarled, angry for the first time since all this, and picked Egypt up by the collar. "That's a stupid risk ya took, you don't even know how it works. Now, you're going to pay."

Turkey flinched when something hit him from behind and the culprit was none other than a frowning Hungary. "Put him down, you bastard."

"Darling!" Bulgaria called out worriedly, clasping his hands together in a pleading manner. "We need to leave. Please, Hong Kong's…"

It appeared it was Bulgaria who convinced, as Turkey's snarl became a frown and he began to lower Egypt, but then instead dropped him when the man suddenly got struck by lightning.

"Ohohohoho, no you don't!" Romania sneered, gnashing his teeth ferociously. " _You_ are not leaving until I make you pay for breaking Bulgaria."

"Sorry, but that's going to have to wait, Vlad…" Turkey sneered and restrained an angry Bulgaria, then grabbed the latter's hand. "Until next time, you three!"

"Wait!" Romania started to chase after them but was halted shortly when Lithuania got in his way and punched him. "Gah!"

"Thank you for having me, amigo!" Guatemala shouted out mockingly as he fled with the others.

/ / / / /

Tunisia let out a small scream as he was harshly shoved to the floor right after Morocco opened the door.

His eerily calm brother took to forcefully dragging him along with a painful grip into the building while Algeria could only scream Tunisia's name and angrily curse Morocco's very name with all her strength, adding to Tunisia's guilt of not being able to stay with his sister. But at least Morocco didn't hurt her…

Once they got inside, Tunisia nearly threw up as he saw the results of Morocco and Cameroon's… _work_.

As Tunisia started to get himself up, he was abruptly pushed back down when Morocco stomped on his chest. Tunisia grunted and watched as his brother again slammed then dug his foot into his stomach, with the former crying out as he did so.

"Get off me, Rahim!" Tunisia exclaimed as he tried to push Morocco's foot away.

Morocco smirked and kindly responded by slamming his foot against Tunisia's stomach. Tunisia grunted and desperately tried to do it again, but the pain in his chest prevented him from doing so.

"Ah-ah-ah…" Morocco chided softly, wagging his index finger, chuckling at Tunisia's helplessness. "You will stay there, writhing beneath my foot, understand? Besides, I rather like seeing you under me…"

Tunisia could gulp nervously in response, feeling very, _very_ afraid right now.

Something Morocco seemed to notice as he smiled with faux-kindness, crooning. "Oh, no need to look so scared, my dear brother… I just want to have some quality time with you, Is that so bad? Does my true nature unnerve you that much?"

"Y-You ate them…" Tunisia stammered in horror, feeling his stomach turn as he recalled what he saw, and his eyes fixated on the blood on Morocco. "How could… The humans, their bodies were… ugh… You really are just like the others…"

Morocco grinned at his disgust and proceeded to lick the blood on his inner left forearm, humming in satisfaction. "I apologize but I, along with the others, developed rather enormous appetites after _years_ without a proper meal. Though South Africa cheated several times during the Apartheid, though in his defense he wasn't in the best state of mind at the time."

"Since… Since when did you become a cannibal? When? How? _Why?!_ "

Morocco hummed in thought, staring up at the ceiling. "Hmm, it's actually not as long ago as you think. I was already a young adult then when I had my very first taste of blood. It was a little after I met South Africa, Nigeria and Cameroon, they were all remarkably younger then, cute malevolent little things they were, and after witnessing them feasting on humans, I decided to try it out just out of curiosity."

 _"Just out of curiosity?!"_ Tunisia exclaimed.

"Yes, now don't interrupt me, it's not polite. Anyway, before I knew it, I found myself very… _fond_ of it. Very fond of it…" Morocco said sadistically, cheeks flushing and grinning as he leaned down to an unnerved Tunisia. "I gave _you_ your very first taste of blood… Tell me, did you like it? Did you feel pleasure as you tasted the metallic sweetness in your mouth?"

Tunisia paled and couldn't bring himself to speak as he saw the insane smile on Morocco's lips. The overwhelming aura of madness and bloodlust was downright disturbing, and Tunisia wanted nothing more than to run far, far, far away from Morocco.

"Well? Did you?" Morocco pressed eagerly. "Go on, I want you to share every detail. Tell me, I insist."

Tunisia gulped and managed to find his voice, gritting his teeth. "Wh-What do you mean _pleasure_?! I never liked blood and I never will! I'm not like you. Besides, how could I ever feel any sort of pleasure with you assaulting me-"

"Is that so? Then how come you didn't put up much of a fight when I kissed you back there?" Morocco cut in, scoffing and wearing a confident smirk when he saw Tunisia pale.

"I _did_ try to push you away!"

"Because Algeria was there."

"That hardly has anything to do with-"

"The moment I kissed you, a part of you was willing, accepting of my love, but it was crushed when you realized that our pathetic sister was watching, and you became terrified."

"What do you want with me?" Tunisia asked suddenly, desperate to change the topic or at least stall, and much to his relief Morocco went along with it.

"What do I want?" Morocco said, placing his hands over his hear, smiling peacefully. "I want a lot of things, actually. France's downfall, obviously, you already know that, as well as the fall of other Europeans. Indulge in the pleasures of blood and carnage and the flesh. Perhaps spend the rest of my days in the new world in my house with Abarshane, drinking tea."

Tunisia frowned, feeling slight annoyance replace some of his anxiety. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

Morocco burst out laughing and covered his mouth to hide his gleeful grin. "Oh, I know. But to answer your question, I want to help set you on the right path, as I stated during our lovely night together."

Tunisia felt himself blanche. "That… The dream was real?"

Morocco snorted, as if that was a stupid question, and smiled mockingly. "Of course that dream was real, you adorable idiot, and you know it was! Honestly, all this pretending of yours can get really grating sometimes! You should have known that the feelings were too real. Don't you remember the warmth? My love?"

"L-Love?!" Tunisia found himself stuttering in disbelief. No, what happened was far from it. "If I remember correctly, all you did was taunt me, had Abarshane trap me, had the nerve to accuse me of-"

"And if you remember correctly, you'll know that I said that I wasn't accusing you, because it that would imply you disgust me. And…" Morocco grinned and jabbed a finger with a razor for a nail into Tunisia's heart. "I _know_. I know whom your heart desires, what is considered a disgusting, atrocious sin by Muslims, _you_ are exactly who you help discriminate and torture."

Tunisia shook his head, desperately trying to deny it at those reminders. "N-No, I-"

" ** _Enough_**." Morocco growled, startling Tunisia into shutting his mouth, and his smile returned. "Seriously, I've had enough of this denial of yours. I thought you'd at least accepted it a bit more by now. Oh well, maybe it'll help if I just state the obvious…"

"No! Don't!" Tunisia pleaded, he never heard anyone say that sentence to his face before and he wasn't going to hear it now. "Don't say it!"

But expecting begging to work on someone like Morocco was foolish.

If it was possible, Morocco's grin became even more demented. Morocco was clearly relishing the look of fear and shame on Tunisia's face. He was obviously doing this for the enjoyment of reminding Tunisia of his own sins.

"Funny, how many of your homosexuals have you seen beg for mercy or forgiveness as they were dragged away to torment? How many did you help? No, how many did you rat them out to your authorities?" Morocco challenged, sneering.

"H-How did you-" Tunisia stuttered but was cut off when Morocco playfully thwacked his head.

"It's both amusing and annoying seeing you try to "redeem" yourself by delivering your own innocent citizens to a hell on earth." Morocco remarked and laughed heartily. "Why, you even sort of impressed me with your cruelty! Not even we, the African Five, would do such a thing! Although as someone who prefers the company of men I'm quite angry at you for that."

Tunisia flinched, and he was sure he looked like a kicked puppy. "N-No, you're wrong! I'm not cruel! Th-They were breaking th-the law, damning themselves to hell! They were my people, I had to do _something_ for them! It was the only-"

"Hush, my sweet confused brother, I'll fix that stupidity drilled into your mind soon enough and listen to my words." Morocco's grin broadened and became more twisted as he began to prod his finger into Tunisia's heart with every word. "You. Are. Gay."

Tunisia flinched at that statement, and he felt himself beginning to tear up.

"It's odd, you're odd, that even though you hate yourself for liking the same gender, even though you caused suffering to your own people, you know deep down in your heart that you want, almost need, someone to _love_ you." Morocco smirked and chuckled, licking his lips in a snake-like way. "But sadly… you have no one. No one to love you back to comfort you from the fact that you're a grave sinner. So, you've had to endure many years, with no love or comfort, with a secret that's slowly eating you from the inside."

After that very detailed explanation was spoken, his heart couldn't take any more, and Tunisia sobbed, tears pricking his eyes.

It's true. Tunisia's really pathetic, wasn't he?

But then Tunisia felt a hand gently caress his cheek, and he opened his eyes to see Morocco only centimeters from his face smiling gently at him, a far cry from his demented smile from just a minute ago. Despite knowing this, Tunisia didn't flinch away from his brother's touch, he's desperate for any sort of comfort, even from Morocco.

" _I_ can love you… I will love you… I can heal your poor heart…" Morocco offered kindly, smiling the sincerest smile Tunisia has ever seen since all this started. "I won't reject you, I would never do that to you. While Algeria and the others will treat you like the worst scum this world has to offer, I will be there for you to remind you that you're not."

Tunisia sniffed, and his resigned brown eyes. "What…? Why?"

Morocco smiled so kindly. "Because I can't stand seeing you suffering under these rules.

For a moment, just a moment, Tunisia felt extremely tempted by that offer. Morocco appeared to be sincere, so maybe Tunisia could…

Tunisia swallowed some tears and shook his head. No, no, he couldn't. That'd be incest! Worse than liking people of the same gender. Besides, Morocco was a wicked man. Tunisia couldn't forget what his brother had done to them.

"I see you're afraid of me…" Morocco muttered calmly, but still smiled nonetheless. "But don't worry, that'll change in a moment."

But just as Morocco moved, South Vietnam burst through the doors, and Tunisia's brother looked far from happy to see him. If how Morocco raked his nails across his hands was any unnerving indication.

 ** _"What… do you want?"_** Morocco growled in a near feral rage, obviously doing everything in his power not to go and strangle South Vietnam. "If you haven't noticed, I'm a little busy right now, Chinh, so unless France-"

"It is France." South Vietnam stated, narrowing his eyes. "He's here. I just wanted to let you know if in case you were interested."

"Oh, he is? Very well then." Morocco said cheerfully, leaving no trace of his earlier rage, and stood up while smiling at Tunisia. "Be a dear and don't leave this room, will you?"

And with that Morocco ran, or rather hurried in a dignified manner, out of the room. South Vietnam looked at him and gave what appeared to be an apologetic look before shrugging and shutting the doors.

/ / / / /

Monaco got startled when she found herself pulled into a corner by France.

So far today, she had been able to maintain her composure before and after the attack. She chalked it up to the reassurance that she will never go through that gruesome torment ever again. Of course, she may or may not have felt her blood freeze once she saw Haiti, but she quickly managed to calm herself and kept her cool throughout the encounter.

Although, Monaco nearly fell on her back once South Vietnam's face. Or to be more specific, when Monaco's mind, after much difficulty, managed to register the thought that she was seeing a dead nation in front of her, which since it was a fact that was mind-blowing it reasonably took a while.

Fascinating. Despite all the dreadful things this meant, as well as the repercussions, Monaco couldn't help but be intrigued by the concept. Anyone who shared her sort of existence should be, in her opinion. Such a thing as the resurrection of a nation was... astonishing, to say the least. If South had really died at the end of the Vietnam War, would separating the land bring him back? Does he need a piece of land to live?

So many questions…

But there this odd story Seborga once told her about the Roman Empire visiting Italy while the latter slept…

Monaco tried not to think much of it.

This was on an unrelated note, but Monaco missed Seychelles, however at the same time, she was glad that Seychelles wasn't here. Monaco may or may not have pressed Egypt for a lot of information, perhaps not in the politest way, but worry tended to do that. She felt relieved that Seychelles was alright, but still, it would be nice to see her.

Though perhaps, Monaco mused, it was for the best that Seychelles wasn't here. Her friend was safe, away from conflict, but Monaco had no doubt that Seychelles wished to be with Big Brother France again.

If only Seychelles knew of Monaco's situation.

Out of instinct, or perhaps fear, before she could properly analyze her options and the scenarios that could occur as she often did, Monaco dashed off to follow France. In all honesty, she did prefer to stay by France's side, she felt safer, and besides, he wanted her as close to him as possible.

Until they reached danger.

"Please listen to me, my little Monaco..." France began gravely, gently grabbing Monaco's shoulders. "This is where I'll have to leave you. Now, I know Haiti promised that no harm will come to you, but I still prefer you remain here to avoid… disturbing imagery."

"Oui, I understand." Monaco nodded, frowning. "But… will you be…"

"Honhonhonhon, why of course!" France said haughtily, Monaco saw through the obvious lie, but made no comment. "I told you that I will do my best to survive for the sake of you and the rest of the world!

Monaco wanted to tear up. "I… I know…"

"Oui, so chin up my cute little sister, and-"

"Big Brother France?!" Monaco said worriedly, but France held up his hand.

"I'm fine, I'm fine! Don't worry…" France trailed off as he coughed into his hand, and Monaco widened her eyes in horror when she saw blood on it. "Mon Dieu…"

Monaco paled at the implication. "Does… Does that mean that your boss is…?"

"I… I need to go, Lucille." France said shakily. "Please, stay safe."

And that was how Monaco watched her brother leave to confront the enemy. Thus, how she ended wandering around the entrance hall in circles, or at least her nose caught a foul stench.

There was really nothing else to do, she was left a little bored, but then Monaco quickly regretted that though when she gagged, as inelegant as it was, at what had to be the most horrible odor since England's cooking. Monaco pinched her nose.

Good Lord, what on earth was that smell?

Monaco sniffed, and out of curiosity, she followed the odor a few rooms down the hall. She couldn't pinpoint which one, but she got a good guess when she spotted one room with the door open, and she tip-toed toward it. She took a step or two into the dark room when she froze.

There were two people. One lying on the floor while the other was kneeling and hunched over the first person. It was Cameroon. Monaco felt her stomach churn and covered her mouth when she realized exactly _what_ he was doing to the human.

This seemed like a perfectly good time to leave.

Then as if the entire wide and magnificent universe suddenly hated her, as if karma decided to punish Monaco extremely unfairly for draining people of their money because of her love for gambling, ignorant of the consequences, the small principality's back hit the frame of the door with a very audible "thud."

Cameroon immediately stopped chewing and straightened up so fast that Monaco could have sworn she heard something snap, and he appeared to be frozen, as if trying to digest the fact that there may be an unwanted guest interrupting his… activities. Monaco hoped that he'll remain that way.

Well?! The logical, smart, impatient, _terrified_ part of Monaco's mind screamed at her. What are you waiting for, you idiot?! Go! GO! Run way while you still can!

But she couldn't, she wanted to, but she couldn't. Her feet were rooted to the ground in fear.

For a long while, which was actually about five seconds, there was nothing happening. No, nothing, zero. Monaco still had her back against the frame, not daring to move out fear that she'll make another sound, and Cameroon was still somewhat on the ground with his back straightened up. The only sound in the room was the rasping breaths from Cameroon.

She couldn't breathe…

No… Don't swallow…

Unable to bear the heavy silence any more, Monaco began to make a small move to step away from the door frame so she could run away, but then…

Cameroon's head began to slowly turn around, rasping and moaning as he did, and the principality queasily noted the blood all over his mouth and jaw. He appeared to be snarling, or just gritting his teeth, but appeared quite angry nonetheless. His eyes were unfocused, like… like… he was trying to regain his rationality or his train of thought, (he looked furious!) until they finally focused on _her_.

Cameroon growled, and Monaco's heart nearly stopped.

Monaco was sure she had never run away faster than she was right now.

Yes, perhaps it was for the best that Seychelles wasn't here.

/ / / / /

"Well, well, I honestly wasn't expecting you to be here, Seychelles." Nigeria cheerfully remarked just as Seychelles panicked and desperately tried to get him to let go of her hair. "Last I heard you were hiding in Central America with those two surviving Caribbean girls. Huh, what are the odds of us meeting here again?"

How could she not be? The last time Seychelles saw him, he was chewing Mauritius's shoulder and nearly attacked her himself after she pushed him off. Seychelles remembered feeling very frightened by the fury on Nigeria's face, she _probably_ got on his bad side. And Seychelles mentally kicked herself for that, though she didn't regret helping Mauritius, Nigeria really terrified her.

"L-Let go!" Seychelles pleaded and yelped when Nigeria pulled again.

"Nah, I've been wanting to torment you a little for a while." Nigeria shook his head, grinning mischievously. "Those two other girls wouldn't happen to be with you, would they?"

"Wh… What's it to you?" Seychelles demanded with a scowl, trying to sound brave.

Nigeria sneered but then Seychelles heard some rubble moving and she gasped when she saw a hand reach out from the rubble, and soon enough a man began to crawl his way out of the mountain of debris, looking in bad shape.

However, Nigeria just scoffed in amusement and raised his other hand. "Oops, looks like I missed one. Let's fix that, shall we?~"

Blood red fire erupted from Nigeria's hand and he threw it towards that pile of rubble, and it blew up.

Seychelles felt horrified at what she just saw, but Nigeria immediately turned to her with a smirk. "To answer your question, I'm not very happy that two powerless islands managed to outrun my little brother and destroy his wish of a mercy killing. I'm upset on his behalf."

"Y-You just-" Seychelles stammered.

"So, do you know or not?" Nigeria asked curtly, raising an amused eyebrow.

"W-Well, I'm not telling!" Seychelles stuttered and crossed her arms in defiance. She looked silly, didn't she?

"Eh, that hardly matters." A familiar voice said, making Seychelles blink as she looked around for the source, only to pale when she gazed up to see South Africa standing on air. "We'll find them soon or later, with or without your help."

Seychelles shrieked and quickly scrambled away just as Nigeria let her go, gaping. "You- You're flying! How… you… you're flying!"

South Africa smirked. "Obviously, you domkop."

"How?!" Seychelles exclaimed.

"None of your business." Nigeria said casually as he thwacked Seychelles, and he grinned at the frightened island girl. "What you should be worried about is that you have us to deal with, so I recommend you stay out of our way."

A realization hit Seychelles and she stared at the two in disbelief. "You two… Did the two of you do all this to Gupta by yourselves?"

"Ja, isn't it beautiful?" South Africa landed on the ground and spread his arms wide in glee at all the destruction surrounding them. "Buildings demolished, thousands of humans lives snuffed out as they cried out in agony. I speak for both of us when I say that we've _never_ felt more alive."

"But… But why?!" Seychelles cried out.

"The question isn't _why_ , Seychelles. The question you should be asking is… _why not?_ " South Africa shrugged with a sadistic smirk. "Ja, think about it. Why shouldn't we massacre humans that we don't care about in the slightest for our own amusement? Why not? Because it's wrong? Because people _shouldn't_ die for our pleasure?"

Nigeria joined next to him and grinned ferally. "Really, who's going to stop us?"

"Not those terrified Caribbean girls who clearly have no idea what they're doing."

"Not the runaways in France."

"And certainly not you." South Africa finished and raised his hand, only for a bark to stop him.

Anubis barked furiously, and he growled at the two nations. South Africa and Nigeria were surprised at this and put their guard up, knowing not to underestimate Egypt's pet. Soon enough, the three nations watched in shock as Anubis began to glow and grow in size, until he became a wolf-headed human towering over them wielding a scepter.

"Shit." South Africa said wide-eyed, but then he smiled. "Still, I do like a challenge."

"He will face the power of the spirits." Nigeria said as his hands lit up.

Huh, no wonder Egypt trusted Anubis could protect them, Seychelles thought as she watched agape.

/ / / / /

"WHAT?!" Lithuania bellowed at the stone-faced Guatemala, who already anticipated such a reaction and covered his ears. "MY LITTLE SISTER IS HERE IS PARIS?! AND SHE BROKE IN AND HELPED FREE YOU?!"

"Si, as I explicitly stated twice before…" Guatemala said flatly.

"HOW?!" Lithuania demanded.

Guatemala shrugged nonchalantly and smiled as he leaned back into the seat of the van. "She said that she hid herself in a bag and stowed away in the luggage compartment of the plane you all used to get here."

"WHAT?!" Lithuania screamed in horror.

"I'm not repeating that again, amigo." Guatemala muttered, and sighed. "Still, I owe Vilnius a lot for helping me out, and you should be happy that-"

"HAPPY?! HOW COULD I BE HAPPY?! MARI COULD HAVE GOTTEN SUFFOCATED OR SEEN BY ONE OF THOSE IDIOTS, THUS CAUSHING OUR TOP SECRET PROJECT TO-"

"Be quiet." Denmark hissed irately as he checked on Hong Kong, who's state was still uncertain, and Lithuania wisely shut his mouth.

"Aw, don't be so angry at Mari, Tori~" Bulgaria sang cheerfully to his upset friend while a smirking Turkey stroked his hair. "She just wants to help our little organization and make a better world. Besides, she's smart, and I'm sure she was very careful."

"I'm still going to ground her when I see her again." Lithuania grumbled into his seat, but then a horrible realization struck him. "Wait… Where is Mari?"

Bulgaria hummed in thought and then happily shrugged. "I don't know!"

Lithuania looked at Guatemala desperately, but the Central American also shrugged. "I think she said something about waiting on some other block or along those lines… I can't remember very well."

Lithuania's eye twitched and he face-palmed. "I'm surrounded by idiots…"

Denmark growled.

"Yes, except for you, Denmark."

/ / / / /

How could it have come to this?

France tried not to let the feelings of that thought show as he kept his glare at Haiti, said ex-colony of his was smirking proudly, as if saying that victory was his, as he had a foot on top of the _torso_ of France's boss. France's now dead boss. He swallowed and tried not to that bother him much.

France had just burst through the doors, past the bodies and the blood-splattered walls, to the office to find his boss, though he knew that he'd find something unpleasant waiting for him at the end. Haiti was obviously waiting for him. South Vietnam, Morocco and Cameroon were nowhere to be seen, but they were here, and when they'd learn that their precious big brother was here, they'll all come racing to torment him.

South Vietnam was certainly a twist France hadn't seen coming, not for a million years, and it only helped in instilling more regret and shame in him. Yet another mistake France had committed in his arrogance and greed. France was as happy to see South Vietnam as he was broken-hearted over seeing him with the enemy.

How will Viet… North Vietnam react when she discovers this? It'll break her poor heart.

"I… I see you've went and murdered my boss…" France said with a strained voice, clutching the area of his heart. "Did… Did you four accomplish what you wanted? Do to me what your fellow members did to Belgium? Torture me, I mean."

"Hmm, yes, but I have to say, it was kind of boring." Haiti remarked as he kicked the corpse, smiling in amusement while France narrowed his eyes. "I expected it to be more fun than this."

France raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Why is that?"

Haiti looked up at him and grinned slyly. "Because, Francis, we didn't come here to kill them. No, we all came here with the desire to personally torture you with our bare hands, no bombings or assassinations, just you."

"Then why kill my boss?" France asked.

"Because it was necessary. It'd be chaos if many members of your government suddenly turned up dead, wouldn't it?" Haiti asked gleefully and laughed at France's expression. "We want something to annoy you until we get to kill you. This is all part of our revenge."

"But Monaco will be left unharmed, right?" France asked worriedly. "You or the others will not hurt my little girl, right? Please…"

Haiti frowned and scoffed as he crossed his arms. "Yes, yes, none of us will hurt Monaco."

"Although if I were you, I'd be worried about myself." A regal voice remarked before France winced at feeling something pinching the back of his neck, the culprit being Morocco.

"Rahim…" France muttered in pain before exclaiming after Morocco clawed his face.

"Shut it, you pathetic dog. You don't deserve to call any of us by our human names." Morocco hissed hatefully, licking the blood on his nails. "Especially not after you tried to dominate us."

France rubbed his bleeding cheek and sighed. "I know…"

"You seem rather resigned." South Vietnam noted from behind France, the pointed bamboo stick in his hands stained with fresh blood. "Why is that?"

"I am ready to die." France said sadly, and to join his beloved Joan.

"No, not… yet." Morocco brandished his sharp razors for nails and began to bite them. "Prussia wants to see you before we finish you, which is unfortunately not today, I'm afraid. But, keep in mind that your end is nearing."

"Disobeying direct orders will not be tolerated." Cameroon said coldly as he went in front of France. "I will not allow it."

France widened his eyes at the mention of his old friend and frowned as he shook his head. "Non, tell that traitor that I don't want to hear any more lies he has to say."

Cameroon growled at him. "You will speak of him with respect!"

"He doesn't deserve respect, Roshaun." France said gently, which did nothing to calm Cameroon.

"And why is that?" Cameroon snapped.

"Because, Roshaun, Gilbert spent God knows how many years lying to me and-

"Oh… wait." Cameroon interrupted him blankly and he snarled at France. "I don't care."

And then he punched France in the stomach.

 **I couldn't help but add the Monaco and Cameroon bit for the sake of creating a darker atmosphere, and add some creepiness, and I was very inspired by Resident Evil's iconic zombie scene. I apologize if it was too disturbing for you guys "nervous laughter". Please review!**


	39. The Brawl: Cruelty

**Thanks to AquaEclipse for reviewing. Now on with the show!**

 **Warning: The following chapter contains a segment where torture happens with a lot of detail. It'll be kind of disturbing, so I recommend caution and bracing yourselves.**

Romania was _not_ having a good day… _obviously_.

He scoffed angrily as he lightly kicked a broken chair, just _one_ of the things that got damaged in the chaos, and he brought a hand up to his small top hat, frowning at the unpleasant situation he landed in. Why?

Well, for starters, right now it was pretty bad. Like, _really_ bad. _How_ bad exactly? Hmm, well, about most of the nations here that weren't mentally unbalanced were either dead or in someplace else therefore leaving himself, Egypt, Honduras, Hungary and Bosnia as the only nations left standing. The other group all fled to God knows where, while they're left dealing with the damage done.

As selfish it might sound, that actually wasn't the main thing on Romania's mind. No, what he just couldn't get off his mind and upset him to no end was Bulgaria. That idiot didn't manage to hurt Romania (hah! As if he could), unlike Honduras, who wound up getting several cuts.

It's over. They're not friends anymore, Romania failed to see how they could be after this. That's it. What's there to say? Lies were revealed, Romania and Bulgaria hurt each other with no hesitation on either side, they both threatened each other, and in response to Romania intent for revenge, Bulgaria threatened _Moldova_ of all people. How could Bulgaria do that?! He loved Moldova!

But apparently caring for Moldova like a little brother didn't equal caring about him, and Romania's innocent little brother could rot in hell because that manipulative, heartless, fucking piece of shit was much, _much_ more important and too good for the world to lose. If Romania hurt Turkey, then he'll pay the price by seeing Moldova suffer.

In fact, he bet if that idiot's so-called "beloved" ordered it, Bulgaria wouldn't hesitate to give both him and Moldova a slow and grueling demise. That liar definitely seemed twisted enough to do something like that to them, and the look on Bulgaria's face when Romania injured Turkey...

Romania groaned and slapped his own forehead. Ugh, _why_ Bulgaria? Why fall in love with Turkey? _Turkey_ of all people. Still, at least it wasn't Russia, now _that_ would have made Romania throw up. But why Turkey? It utterly baffled Romania that Turkey merely "charmed" Bulgaria into becoming his deranged servant. That bastard had to have driven Bulgaria insane so he could do just that.

Bulgaria…

"Hey." Romania heard the hag say, but he quietly growled to himself and ignored her. "Hey, Vlad!"

The use of his human name caught his attention, and he snapped his head toward her in annoyance. "What do you want, hag? I'm not in the mood to put up with you right now."

Hungary scoffed, and her unusually gloomy green eyes avoided his gaze. "Trust me, I'm not in the mood either."

Romania raised an eyebrow but then his expression softened somewhat at seeing the hag staring down worriedly at Poland's corpse. Ah, Hungary's been at that for a while, she seemed intent on remaining there waiting for Poland to wake up. He shot a glance towards the red spot on floor where the crushed pieces of the guy's heart were crushed, it looked quite gross, but it didn't bother someone like Romania so much.

Poland still laid unmoving on the ground, his eyes closed had been closed by Hungary, and the gaping hole on his chest was almost impossible to ignore. Yup, Hungary will have to wait many hours at least before Poland comes back, especially with his heart like that.

Speaking of what was done with Poland's heart, that was kind of weird and rather unnecessary, no? Of the various explanations that popped up in Romania's mind, the one that seemed most likely was that Lithuania wanted to stall Poland's revival for as long as possible, but even that didn't make much sense. Wait, did it even matter? Poland's going to come back...

So why did Poland look so… _dead_ to Romania?

"B… Bel, Nica and… Costa can't… help us right now." Honduras sniffed, but kept her face grim. "Bel died just five minutes ago, I don't think she could have been able to do much if she survived anyway thanks to her injuries."

"I'm… fine." Egypt responded with just the slightest bit of uncertainty in his voice. True, Egypt may not be vomiting blood anymore, but he looked worse for wear. "I sense that the attacks on my capital have stopped, but the damage done is still taking its toll on me."

"Will you be alright?"

"Yes, I think I will." Egypt nodded, looking down at his robes stained with his own blood in distaste. "Anyway, how about the rest of you?"

Hungary flexed her arm, giving a rather forced smile. "I'm okay. Still got a lot left in me."

"And you, Romania?"

"Other than the fact that one of my best friends just turned out to be a huge liar, tried to stab my eye and threatened Moldova, I'm just _peachy_." Romania grinned, which he was sure looked like he was gritting his teeth. "Oh, you meant physically! In that case I got no injuries."

The others looked surprised at how sarcastic and snippy he sounded. Romania hardly ever used sarcastic humor, it wasn't exactly his style, he preferred being positive, but he couldn't help it. He was very, _very_ pissed right now.

Egypt cleared his throat. "Anyway, back to more important matters, I think it's imperative that we try to find France."

"Si, I think that's…" Honduras trailed off and her hand went to her chest before she composed herself. "I... I think..."

"Honduras?"

Suddenly she burst into violent coughing and then stared wide-eyed at the blood on her hand. Honduras turned to look at them, her filled with confusion and horror, she opened her mouth to say something, but only a choked sound came out before she collapsed.

"Honduras!" Egypt rushed to the woman's side, kneeling to check what's wrong.

"What? What is it, Egypt? Is she alright?" Romania asked, though he mentally pinched himself for that question.

"She's dead." Egypt said in disbelief.

Romania widened his eyes. That's ridiculous, how could she be dead? Sure, Bulgaria did get her with his scalpel more than once but the cuts were hardly bleeding, not even close to being at risk of bleeding out.

Wait a minute... _He_ didn't get hurt by the scalpel, Honduras did, Romania felt just fine, but Honduras died minutes after getting wounded by Bulgaria. No one else tried to attack her and no one other than Bulgaria managed to hurt her. It's all starting to come together. Shit, that clever bastard. But wait, then how come Bulgaria wasn't affected? He had the damn thing in his shoe! You'd had to be an idiot to make that mistake.

Unless of course he drank some sort of antidote in advance or he's somehow immune to the…

"Poison." Romania growled, baring his fangs. "Bulgaria slathered his scalpel in poison. No wonder he was wearing gloves!"

Egypt's eyes widened slightly, and he pressed his palm against his forehead. "Of course…"

Hungary gaped at him and looked back and forth between him and Honduras. "Wh-What? But doesn't that mean that you-"

"Nu, Dimitri didn't get me, I'm fine, hag. You're still stuck with me whether you like it or not." Romania teased, in and the glare the hag gave him, and he sighed loudly. "Looks like it'll just be the four of us."

Hooray…

"I'm sorry, the _four_ of us?" Egypt asked with a raised eyebrow.

Huh? Hungary looked at Egypt with the same confusion Romania had and blinked. "Yes, me, you, Romania and Bosnia. Emir's not exactly a fighter, he's a little slow and he's not really in the best state to fight but we need to find out what's wrong with him!"

"But I don't see him anywhere."

"What?!" Hungary shrieked like a banshee, no, worse than a banshee and began to run around the room. "B-But how?! He was right here hiding behind this couch, I saw him!"

"I was kind of busy cursing at Turkey and Bulgaria to notice Bosnia getting dragged out." Romania said sheepishly, scratching his head, and he sighed at the look Hungary gave him.

Oh my God, he's going to get beaten up so bad.

But he wasn't going down without a fight. Romania scowled. "You know, hag, it's not like you were doing a fantastic job keeping an eye on him! Tell me, _what_ exactly were you doing while Bosnia was being taken?"

"I was helping Egypt up." Hungary spat, and an infuriating victorious smirk adorned her haggish face. "At least my reason was noble and understandable while you were basically throwing a tantrum!"

"A tantrum? Oh, that's rich! This coming from the hag who demolishes rooms with her frying pan whenever Czech sends you the wrong gay porn tapes?" Romania retorted venomously and felt himself smirk at Hungary's hilarious reaction.

Egypt looked positively mortified and scowled at Hungary while taking several steps away from her. Hungary flushed blood red and waved her arms frantically at Egypt.

"I-I-I do not! And you know my boss has cut off my supply for over ten years!" Hungary all but shrilled, and her frying pan hand twitched dangerously.

"Hence why you need Czech to send you the-"

"SILENCE!" Egypt barked, and the two immediately shut their mouths, he glared at them. "This is _not_ the time for petty squabbles. We three are the only ones still breathing and able to aid France. Now, I understand that the two of you are still rather baffled by the situation, I really do, and I promise that I will give you more answers later, but now is not the time for that. If Bosnia really was kidnapped, then I'm sure he'll be at the same place France is, because Haiti is more than likely to be there, and Hong Kong is in dire need of healing magic…"

Egypt paused, probably to make sure they were paying attention, and they were (Romania felt that he'd be cast into the Duat if he wasn't), then he continued.

"Therefore, we can kill two birds with one stone by finding France. So, I beg of you, because I'm stressed enough that my companions are out of commission, _please_ put your differences aside for at least an _hour_ so we can succeed." Egypt breathed out, panting.

Romania let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding and turned to Hungary, who bit her lip and nodded. Romania stared at her for a few moments before sighing.

"Da, da, okay. We won't kill each other, you didn't need to be such a drama queen over it." Romania muttered, getting a scowl from Egypt as a result, but he only grinned in return. "So, where are we going first?"

/ / / / /

 _Bosnia sat in a chair in the middle of a dark place, where the light was very dim, and the distance couldn't be seen, and the atmosphere felt grim, with his hands joined together, staring blankly at the figure before him, who was sitting in a chair like he was._

 _Bosnia had no clue how and when he got here or at what time he blacked out again, but in his foggy mind, he hardly cared about that. There's no need to worry about that, the gentle voice in Bosnia's mind whispered soothingly to him, and he obeyed without question. The fighting, his confusion about his big brother, none of that mattered right now. The only thing that's on his mind was the figure. It's what's supposed to be on his mind._

 _The figure was an identical copy of Bosnia. If he were his "normal" self, Bosnia would have gaped like a fish and had a large freak-out that involved loud swearing and throwing whatever object he could find at the smiling clone._

 _Heh._

 _"He" sat in his chair staring back at Bosnia with a vibrant smile plastered on his face, it made him look so kind… so real, and his eyes actually had life in them, they were full of it, unlike Bosnia's own always dull eyes. It was weird, it wasn't his eyes, but it felt... right? Was Bosnia was imagining it?_

 _"Who the hell are you?" Bosnia finally asked._

 _The copy's smile broadened at the question, and he tilted his head. "Can't you tell?"_

 _Bosnia felt his eyes narrow a bit at that response and shook his head. "Ne."_

 _The look-alike laughed, a high, joyful laugh that seemed innocent enough, but for some reason it made the hairs on the back of Bosnia's neck stand up._

 _"I'm you!" Not-Bosnia sang in glee._

 _"Fine. If you must know, da, the you right here **is** a figment of your imagination. The person in front of you isn't real in the existential sense, but I'm there. Although…" Not-Bosnia grinned and winked, as if Bosnia was supposed to know something. "… **you're** just as real as I am."_

 _"Okay… Now what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Bosnia deadpanned._

 _Not-Bosnia shrugged, smile still plastered. "Can't tell."_

 _"Why?"_

 _"Because."_

 _"Why can't you just tell me, you damn faker?! I'm lost enough as it is!" Bosnia snapped, having had enough of getting no answers. "I just want to know why I took a trip to Austria that I don't remember planning, why I suddenly black out and end up someplace else, why I tore a bunch of papers to shreds, why I attacked Hungary… Is that so much to fucking ask?!"_

 _Panting, Bosnia looked up and saw that the copy looked mildly surprised, but then his face softened into an enigmatic smile._

 _"Are you sure **I'm** the faker here?"_

Bosnia woke up with a start and swiftly sat up wide-eyed as soon as he woke up, panting, and rubbed his head. What... was that? What's it supposed to mean? That was... what? The fifth time he's had a weird dream or nightmare like that? Thank God the headache's gone for the most part at least.

Now... where the hell did he end up this time? He'd better not have hurt anyone again, hopefully.

He looked up drowsily, and he frowned. The world around him was blurry and muffled, but it was all slowly becoming clearer to him. And the sight that greeted him was none other than Turkey smiling down at him, and although not sure why, Bosnia felt very relieved at that fact.

"Sadik..." Bosnia muttered, rubbing his eyes and feeling a smile tugging up the corner of his mouth. "Is... Is that you?"

Turkey gave him his typical mischievous smirk and ruffled his hair. "The one and only. You were starting to give me a bit of a scare there, Emir. I got really worried when I found ya there like that, and from what I heard, you're the one having least worse time!"

"Oh, did I?" Bosnia said sleepily, laughing nervously. "Sorry about that."

"No need to apologize, little brother." Turkey chirped, smirk becoming wider. "Trust me, if you've heard half the stuff that's happened with Malaysia and El Salvador

Then it hit him like a bus.

"W-Wait, where am I? How did I get here?!" Bosnia asked, looking around frantically. "Oh no, I didn't black out again, did I?"

"That was a really delayed reaction…" A voice who Bosnia recognized as Lithuania muttered.

That was when Bosnia realized another thing: he and Turkey weren't the only ones here (wherever it was). A blank-faced Lithuania was sitting next to a grinning, who stared at Bosnia with a weird glint in his eyes. There was a mop of black hair in the far back, driving, they were in some van? Denmark was on the floor hunched over a limp body that…

Bosnia gasped, it was Hong Kong with a large wound in his chest, his eyes were closed, and the corner of his mouth was stained with a bit of blood.

Bosnia's discomfort must have been pretty obvious, because Turkey raised an eyebrow and glanced back then looked back at him with a grin. "Oh, don't worry about Leon. Lucky for the kid, he died while Egypt was tearing him apart and before getting his heart torn out, rookie mistake. Haiti should be able to fix him up… I think… I'm… not sure."

With that reassurance and the grimace Turkey had, Bosnia felt himself pale. "… _What?_ "

But then Turkey burst into cackles. "Hah! I'm just messing with ya, Emir! Once we get him to Haiti, he'll be good as new!"

Despite the scare, Bosnia found himself laughing along, albeit a little forced.

"That wasn't funny, Turkey." Lithuania deadpanned, face-palming with a groan. "Honestly, we're lucky that Egypt made a mistake, this is no joking matter. Also, Leon would kill you if he heard you poke fun at his death."

"I thought it was funny!" Bulgaria piped up.

"Only someone like you would…" Lithuania grumbled, and then narrowed his eyes.

As those two began to argue (really one-sidedly), Turkey snickered and then gently grabbed Bosnia's chin, who only felt baffled. "Now then…"

Turkey smirked, rather ominously, but despite that Bosnia didn't feel scared at all.

"Let's _talk_ , shall we?"

/ / / / /

"Wow..." Seychelles said in awe.

Anubis let out a deafening roar filled with rage as he slashed his... Seychelles was pretty sure according to a book she once read that it was called a "khopesh" …yeah, a khopesh! That's what it was! Anubis slashed around his khopesh at South Africa and Nigeria, who were having a very hard time.

Both of them were wounded, with Nigeria being the one in the worst condition, but they were still putting up a pretty good fight. Seychelles just wished it wasn't so destructive, she had to run away from some half-demolished buildings and piles of rubble more than once. Still, the fight was… pretty awesome.

"The souls massacred here for your mere amusement will not go unavenged." Anubis growled.

…Huh?

Seychelles felt her eyes go ridiculously wide. "…You can talk?"

"Only when I wish to, and I did not want to frighten any of you." Anubis said gruffly. "That girl kept testing my patience however."

Boy, Saint Lucia would freak out if she ever found out about this.

"That's… pretty cool." Seychelles said, gaping.

"Interesting, so you really are the god himself…" South Africa remarked, smiling up at the creature. "I've always wanted to meet someone like you from another culture. Tell me, just how many souls went to the underworld when we came here?"

Anubis glared at him. "Enough for you to deserve the punishment of death."

"And then what?" Nigeria scoffed, helping South Africa up. "You're going to weigh our hearts, and then after finding us too evil to be reborn, you'll feed us to Ammit the Devourer?"

Anubis growled disdainfully. "I do not need my scales to see that both of you are truly wicked of heart."

"Oh please, tell us something we don't know!" South Africa snorted, smirking. "We've only heard the "you're pure evil" spiel a hundred thousand times."

"I… sense no fear in either of you." Anubis noted, sounding confused. "Why is that?"

"We don't _fear_ death." South Africa gave the god a sardonic smile and licked the blood on his wrist before dark lighting crackled on his hands. "The only thing we're afraid of is that we'll die without accomplishing our goals. Therefore, technically, we don't fear _you_."

Anubis snarled. "You will learn to."

/ / / / /

Well, this felt very embarrassing.

Though Egypt had usual blank expression, his face was flushed red in embarrassment as he was forced to endure Hungary giving him a piggy back ride against his will. While he was impressed with her physical strength, as it appeared he was as light as a feather to her, but it didn't make his position any less awkward, at least for him. Hungary looked all too happy.

Since his injuries somewhat impeded him from being very active, Hungary offered to help him get to place to place by riding on her back. Egypt refused, but he quickly found out that it wasn't an offer, it was a statement. In a brief struggle, Hungary emerged victorious.

"Hungary…" Egypt began slowly, almost feeling too uncomfortable to speak.

"Yes, Egypt? You comfy back there?" Hungary asked kindly.

"Is this really necessary?" Egypt sweat-dropped.

"Of course!" Hungary chirped, much to Egypt's dismay. "You're too hurt to be doing such things like running like your life depends on it or dodging knives or bullets intent on murdering you in cold blood! You need rest, and you're going to get it!"

Egypt grunted when Hungary jumped. "I... don't see how I could rest in this position."

"Hungary, we are adults. This sort of thing is not appropriate and-"

"And you're hurt, and we need to find France." Hungary cut him off, snorting. "There's no time for that nonsense. This the best way I can think of to help you move around."

Egypt raised an eyebrow. "On the contrary, I think this is one of the worst ways to-"

"Don't worry, this isn't my first time with piggybacks!" Hungary waved her hand dismissively. "I used to give Italy piggybacks all the time when he was a cute little boy... and when we thought he was a girl, he loved them so much! Oh, and those times when I had to carry Roderich back to his house during the War of Austrian Succession. That jerk Prussia always horribly beat him up! Hmph! You should have seen their faces when I pummeled that bastard and lackies to the ground!"

"Hungary…" Egypt began carefully, and the European hummed in response. "You must know that-"

Egypt never got to say the rest of that sentence because the conversation ended when Hungary bumped hard into something, and a high-pitched squeak was heard along with Hungary's yelp. Egypt nearly fell off and held on tightly to Hungary (Why?!).

Then something tumbled down a couple of steps, with that something being a young girl, likely ten or eleven, who was currently face down on the floor after crashing into Hungary and hitting her head on a step.

Oh dear.

"Great job, hag." Romania sneered, holding his top hat, but wasn't amused. "You gave a little girl a concussion."

Hungary's face reddened, and she furiously scowled at her rival. "I did NOT, you stupid cosplayer! Oh no, I… I'm so sorry, miss!"

The unknown girl groaned softly as she struggled to stand up and rubbed her head. Egypt got down from Hungary and the two of them went to the girl to help her up. What was a girl doing in France's house?

"Are you okay? I swear, I didn't see you walk in front of me, and-" Hungary abruptly stopped, and Egypt could see why.

The girl bore a striking resemblance to Lithuania, almost looking like a small version of him.

The young Lithuania female look-like rubbed her head, the poor thing looking a bit dizzy, as Egypt and Hungary helped her up. The girl stumbled a bit and she blinked several times when she looked up at them. Eventually she regained her senses, but when she did her eyes went wide with horror and she pushed Egypt away.

"N-No, stay away from me!" The girl shouted in fear, backing away.

Surprised but still concerned, Hungary crouched down and offered a warm smile. "D-Don't be scared, young lady, please believe me when I say that I didn't mean to hurt you. Calm down and we can help you-"

"I-I d-d-don't need your help!" The upset girl stammered, in a failed attempt to sound brave, trembling and on the verge of tears. "You… You people don't know a thing! You don't get that you're ruining everything the New World Order worked so hard for! You're the ones who's making all this so hard! How could you want the world to stay horrible?"

Egypt was left stunned by this. The girl sniffed and shook her head, beginning to take some steps back before giving them a hurt look and running away to the door. She opened it, sniffed again and slammed it shut, leaving behind a deafening silence.

"So… does anyone what was that about?" Romania asked, just as lost as they were. "And was it just me, or did that kid look a lot like Lithuania? Seriously, she reminded me way too much from when Lithuania was little."

"I thought I was the only one…" Hungary said with a frown. "And how did she know about…?"

Egypt remained staring in the direction where the girl left, but then shook his head. "No. There's no time to dwell on it, we need to find France."

/ / / / /

France coughed and held his stomach in pain from where Cameroon punched him. Dear Lord, describing the boy as "strong" would be a tremendous understatement! France could very much feel the anger in that punch, he was amazed that none of his bones felt broken. Well, at least he's still got it…

"Oh, come on, _Francis_ …" He heard Haiti slur his human name mockingly, and soon enough France felt himself get pulled up by the collar of his shirt. "Don't tell me that _that_ was enough bring the nation of love to his knees!"

The other three chuckled in amusement.

"Cameroon wasn't even using a quarter of his strength, just how pathetic are you?" Morocco chuckled in glee alongside a smirking Cameroon. "Oh, wait. That was a rhetorical question, don't you think?"

More laughter came.

"What…" France coughed, painfully looking at one of his regrets. "What are you going to do with me?"

Haiti snorted and began searching for something in his pockets. "You'll see."

It was a doll of France himself. It about the size of his own hand, it wore clothes identical to the ones he was wearing, the hair was the same, and the only differences were that the eyes were buttons and that it had no mouth.

To say he was absolutely horrified would be an understatement.

"I played with dolls of you all the time when I was a little boy, remember? It was one of the few luxuries you let me have…" Haiti remarked in a tone of nostalgia as he held up the doll with his two hands, then he sneered. "No doubt due to your narcissism. My, I even impressed myself with how many ways I came up with to destroy them."

That cut deep. More than it intended. A memory resurfaced in France's mind from the early years of Haiti's life as a colony, the poor boy, only half-dressed with cheap clothing, looked flat-out miserable and spending days crying. France remembered the day when he first saw Haiti with a rather disfigured doll of himself, and he foolishly took it that he was growing on the little boy and will be more willing to proudly serve him.

What a fool France was.

Haiti must have noticed his hurt, because he smirked. "Ooh, did that sting? You might want to get used to it. But Francis, you should know that despite what I said, I always cherished these dolls of you. Do you want to know why?"

Knowing that he won't like the answer, he braced himself and frowned. "Why?"

"Because I knew that one day I'll be using it to give you **_hell_**." Haiti's smirk became feral, and he raised a hand. "Like now."

"What?" France demanded just as Haiti chanted a few words. "Hennrick, what-"

Then suddenly his voice died out, all of sudden he couldn't speak. No, it wasn't just that. France couldn't _move_. He was frozen. Why couldn't he-

"It's such a shame that we won't be able to hear you scream…" Morocco lamented with a sad smile before it morphed into something much sinister. "But then again, it'll help to add to your feelings of helplessness."

"Pin him by that wall." Haiti suggested to Cameroon, an ominous glint in his eyes. "It'll be easier for you and Morocco that way."

True to that first statement, Cameroon pulled France away rather roughly by the back of his shirt, and he would have let out a grunt if it weren't for his immobility. The strong nation shoved him against a wall and lifted him up by a few centimeters, with Haiti chanting another few words, and the African let France go, leaving him suspended against the wall.

"We're going first." Morocco purred and smirked as he beckoned Cameroon toward him, the two of them sharing a hungry gaze directed at France.

South Vietnam seemed to cringe a little. "Oh joy…"

If he could, France would gulp from how nervous and afraid he was feeling. He already knew that whatever his former colonies had planned, it'll be much worse than what France was imagining. All he could do was endure it, it was literally the only thing he could do in this state. _He's_ to blame for this situation, _he's_ responsible for their anger.

Morocco took a knife and his expression became very feral as he stepped toward France, to the point where he was practically trembling with excitement.

All this was because of France's own greed.

Morocco chuckled in delight and then promptly dug the knife into France's midsection.

Pain exploded in that area where Morocco cruelly twisted knife around to give him even more agony. France immediately wanted to scream from the how horrible the pain felt, but he couldn't get his voice out, no sound came from his mouth. He heard Morocco gleefully laugh, a high, loud, cold sound that didn't fit the man, no doubt at the twisted sight of France literally suffering in silence.

France desperately wanted to say something, either scream in sheer agony or tearfully apologize to his former colonies, but Haiti seemed to be way too happy with how he's hurting to even consider for a even second letting France go.

"How does it feel? To suffer in complete and utter silence, completely unable to say a word?" Haiti asked coldly, cocking his head to the side while hugging the doll to his chest. "

Morocco seemed to be now carving France's abdomen open, albeit slowly, cutting some organs along the way, and humming a pleasant song to himself as he did so. The pain still hasn't decreased in the slightest, Morocco made sure of that. France could see Morocco's expression becoming more and more deranged and hungry by the minute.

Cameroon was in a similar situation, as he stood silent as he always was, but he kept an unnerving stare at France's carved abdomen, and he appeared desperate.

Morocco continued carving France's midsection, and the latter screamed and screamed in his mind until Morocco stopped.

"Ah…" Morocco said happily, licking his lips and grinning. "That should large enough. Come, Roshaun, it's time to indulge ourselves with the pleasures of the sweet flesh of man yet again."

Cameroon nodded and walked to Morocco's side, where he regarded France with cold apathy. Cameroon blinked and then stared down at the large gaping wound on France's abdomen with an emotionless expression. After a few seconds of deafening silence, Cameroon flashed a feral grin and one of his hands lunged and went into the wound

Again, France tried in vain to scream. Again, France felt excruciating pain, only this time, if it was even possible, it felt worse. Cameroon's hand ruthlessly went through France's organs, searching for something and not caring for any collateral, or more likely he's doing it on purpose. France could _feel_ his organs getting scrambled and pushed aside.

Then Cameroon came to a stop…

And then he swiftly pulled out an organ, France's _liver_.

The pain that followed was unbearable, and France wished for nothing more than to die or at least pass out. He watched helplessly and in pure disgust as Cameroon and Morocco eyed the organ with hungry eyes and identical mad grins. They looked at each other and after Cameroon nodded eagerly, Morocco brandished his knife again and went to cut the liver in the former's hand in half.

It was disgusting. France wanted to vomit. How could they take pleasure from such an atrocious act? How could they eat their own kind? The feeling of nausea intensified when after the liver was divided equally between them, Morocco and Cameroon proceeded to eat their respective halves. Morocco chewed, savored it and swallowed it before letting a sigh of content and Cameroon gnawed and wolfed it down hungrily, the feral grin never leaving his face.

As for the other two nations present, Haiti licked his lips and grinned in delight at the repulsive display while South Vietnam refused to watch and had a frown on his face, appearing to feel queasy at the act.

Speaking of South Vietnam, the former nation's cold gaze went to France and his eyes narrowed as he made his way towards to his former colonizer.

"Alright, my turn." South Vietnam said darkly, his golden-honey eyes that were identical to his sister North's in everything except the anger and sheer bitterness in them, and he looked down at the gaping and bleeding wound. "Let's see… Using my stick might prove to be too fatal, so…"

South Vietnam threw his punji stick to the side and cracked his knuckles before doing what Cameroon did and dug his hand into France's wound.

Unlike Cameroon, South Vietnam intended to damage his organs. Never in France's life had he felt so violated, so brutalized and tortured in horrendous ways such as this. France's mind kept screaming "No more!" over and over again in foolish hopes that his former colonies will stop tormenting him, but he knew in his heart that they cannot be stopped.

"You feel how the pain is excruciating and unbearable? How all your sorrow and regrets well up at the realization of your mistakes make it even more hellish?" South Vietnam whispered coldly, staring at him bitterly. "I'm going to make sure Lien feels even worse than all that."

France wished he could go to North Vietnam's defense, he really did. Whether South Vietnam believed it or not, his sister spent every day grieving and drowning in remorse. Why

"Ah, Chinh, wait!" Morocco called out to South Vietnam, causing the latter to stop and retract his hand, and he looked at the grinning nation. "We need to leave his insides as undamaged as possible to save the best for last. If we break him too much now, his suffering won't be so prolonged, not to mention it'll take all the fun out of it _when_ we kill him."

South Vietnam raised an eyebrow before realization dawned on him and he nodded. "Oh right, of course. Do you still have it with-?"

" _Him_ , South Vietnam."

South Vietnam sighed. "Fine, do you still have _him_ with you?"

"I do." Morocco smiled, and he reached into one of his sleeves. "Come on, little one. It's time to play…"

Morocco slowly retracted his hand to reveal a small garden snake slithering on his wrist. He smiled and chuckled as the snake tickled his cheek with it's tongue.

"Do you like him? I found this precious little creature in the gardens. Adorable, isn't he?" Morocco cooed at the small reptile coiling around his fingers. "He's still young, and, ah, don't worry, he's non-venomous."

That barely did anything to reassure France.

"The poor thing was sliding in the grass, alone, with no friends or family, which is why I'd like you two to get to know each other." Morocco said softly, smiling and gently petting the snake's tiny head. "I think you two will prove to be… _inseparable_."

Morocco strutted again towards France with a malicious smirk and the snake still on his hand, and France watched in horror as Morocco leaned down then held out his hand with the snake… and stuck it in the open torso.

France felt horrified as he felt the snake slither into him. The pain was as unbearable as it ever was, he could feel the snake uncaringly slide and writhe inside of him, confused about the place it was placed into and scrambled to explore his insides.

He managed to hear Haiti's loud, mocking laughter over the pain. "Wi, that should do it! It's perfect! That little snake will tear him apart and eat him from the inside! But now I just need to add the finishing touch…"

France saw Haiti hold up the doll, and the Caribbean began to utter a few words with his hands working on the doll. Soon enough, France felt something happening with the wound on his torso… It was closing…

Did… Did Haiti heal him?

No, he realized miserably. The excruciating pain was still there, he still had no liver, and that accursed remained writhing inside of him, all Haiti did was close the wound. No… A terrible, mortifying realization dawned on France. Haiti just _trapped_ the snake inside of him. Haiti just made sure that France couldn't escape from his torture.

Haiti then snapped his fingers, and then France promptly fell roughly to the ground. He could move again, and now that he could, and with the snake writhing in his organs, the first thing he did was scream. France writhed around and hugged his stomach while his former stood over him proudly with sadistic smirks.

"You will lie there suffering sheer agony as that snake slowly eats at your insides." Cameroon stated callously. "A perfect start for your torment."

"I'm sure the little one will find your innards just _delightful_." Morocco chuckled, and his sleeve hardly concealed his smirk. "You know, if the little dear ever becomes hungry."

"If you want that snake removed, you'll just have to be cut open again, and then go through the process of regenerating your organs." South Vietnam stated with his arms crossed, and he cracked a smile. "I remember China telling me that it's quite painful."

"Until then, have fun with your new friend." Haiti grinned slyly and had the arm of the France doll wave goodbye.

Then they vanished in a puff of purple smoke.

/ / / / /

The first of them to react to the sight of France writhing on the floor was Monaco, who cried out her brother's name in alarm.

Upon arrival via teleportation courtesy of Romania, who was kind enough to do it himself, so Egypt wouldn't use up his energy, they quickly found France's car, and a tired Algeria with her hair disheveled not far from it attempting to go in herself. Apparently, much to Egypt's surprise, she was also suffering from an attack on her capital. Only unfortunately for her, it was still happening.

They found Tunisia wandering the halls, looking worryingly pale, staring silently into space while Monaco kept trying to get his attention. He was brought back to reality when Algeria called out his name, who embraced him in relief, but refused to explain what happened.

All of them heard screaming, and they wasted no time in going to find the source. When they did, Egypt had half-expected to find a bloodbath in the room, along with France's mangled and cannibalized corpse. However, he found none of that…

Only France writhing on the floor in agony hugging his stomach, screaming bloody murder.

"France! Francis! Calm down, it's me! You're going to be alright." Monaco tried and tried to calm France down, but the latter kept writhing in agony. "Francis, please! Listen to me!"

Romania looked around and noticed some bloodstains on the floor near a wall. "What the hell happened here? Shouldn't Haiti or any of the other nations you mentioned be here?"

Egypt rubbed his head, his gaze on the suffering Frenchman. "Yes, but it appeared they satisfied themselves enough. As for how they got out, well, Haiti has the power to teleport like you and me, so he must have done that and vanished..."

"Along with the others, including Morocco." Algeria finished bitterly, and then she kicked a chair, startling Tunisia. "Shit!"

"Monaco… Mon petites…" France rasped out. "Are you alright?"

Algeria scoffed, but the worry was all too evident on her face. "We're the ones who should be worried! I'm fine, but you're obviously not!"

France ignored that and asked another question. "And… the others…?"

"The others are out of commission, but they should be alright. The only casualty was Poland." Egypt explained, before he remembered that _she_ was also here.

"What?" Hungary asked raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean Feliks is the only casualty? The others are dead too."

"You mean you didn't tell her?!" Algeria hissed.

"There's a time and place for everything, but now wasn't the time to tell her." Egypt hissed back

Hungary looked back and forth.

"Tell me what?"

 **One more chapter to go before the arc ends. Please review!**


	40. The Brawl: It's been fun!

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, Eternal Nexus Warrior and a guest for reviewing. Now, on with the show!**

"I'm going to kill him." South Vietnam snarled.

It's official. South Vietnam hands trembled in very restrained rage that he's having trouble suppressing. Someday, somehow, sooner or later, he's going to find Egypt and tear his heart out for nearly killing Hong Kong. They were _lucky_ that it didn't work. Hong Kong was _lucky_ that he died before his heart got ripped out. The fact that it's thanks to luck horrified South Vietnam.

He couldn't let this go unpunished. He was sure that Mongolia, Philippines, North Korea and Macau would agree as well. No one in the Order will go what South Vietnam nearly went through. Egypt, and anyone else who's figured it out has to die.

"Hey, hey, hold on, Chinh. Gupta's not yours to kill." Turkey's voice coming from behind him reminded, likely smirking, stopping South Vietnam before he could come up with too many ways to eviscerate Egypt. " _I'm_ going to be one in charge of that if the plans change."

South Vietnam glanced back at with a hint of annoyance.

"What? No need to give me that kind of look, SV." Turkey's smirk widened a bit, before it became a frown. "I really do hope that you're not serious about that statement."

At this, South Vietnam scowled. "Egypt nearly _killed_ Leon, Turkey! He has to pay!"

"Puh-lease, there'll be plenty of chances for us to do that in the future." Turkey snorted, waving his hand dismissively. "Plus, we're lucky-"

"Exactly! We're lucky it didn't work! It's thanks to a stroke of luck and a couple of mistakes that we still have Leon with us! Don't you see?! Any of you?!" South Vietnam snapped, angrily gritting his teeth. "The reason Egypt attacked Leon in the first place was because he figured it out, and he wanted to use _him_ as a test subject and as payback!"

"As far as he knows, all that's needed to kill a nation is ripping out the heart, which isn't exactly the case." Denmark suddenly interjected, voice gruff and intimidating, and he glared at the two of them. "As long as the heart isn't ripped out when the victim is still alive or the heart itself isn't damaged, it won't work, _end_ of discussion."

And it indeed it ended, with South Vietnam's expression softening somewhat and turning his attention back to Hong Kong while Turkey shrugging and going back to snickering at the comedic scene composed of Bulgaria cheerfully patting a panicked Lithuania on the back while the latter hyperventilated into a paper bag. No one wanted to deal with an annoyed Denmark. _No one_.

"How is he?" South Vietnam bluntly asked Haiti.

Haiti hummed as he worked with the Hong Kong doll. "You'll be very happy to hear that's it's going better than I thought it'd be. I got his heart back into his body then closed the wound and now the damage done to his lungs and ribcage has vanished, so he should be waking up very soon, a few minutes I bet."

A smile its way to South Vietnam's face and he sighed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness… I can't thank you enough for this, Haiti."

"It's no problem, my sweet." Haiti smiled gleefully while playing with the Hong Kong doll. "He's young and deserves better than a cruel abrupt end like that. He has so much more to live for, and besides, I'd be devastated if I couldn't make that cute little face scowl at me anymore."

South Vietnam chuckled, and his smile widened a bit. "I mean it, thank you."

"You're very welcome. Now, if you excuse, I have to go help Lithuania find Vilnius." Haiti said cheerfully, and he stood up and then smirked at South Vietnam. "And maybe prevent him from murdering her in a fit of rage if I can."

Death… Well, it's understandably a touchy subject for someone like South Vietnam. He was fading away, nearly _dead_ when America found him. While his memories of the experience were a little blurry at best, he still remembered his feelings during that time. And one thing he clearly remembered was that he hated it. He hated it so much. Nothing about it was pleasant.

It was awful. His entire being began to be filled with dread and despair. He _felt_ himself beginning to cease to exist.

South Vietnam sat down and gently shook the city. "Leon… Are you alright?"

No response.

"Wake up, please."

Again, there was no response, but then Hong Kong groaned.

He did it once again, this with a mischievous smile. "Come on, Leon. Don't make me call Mongolia… no, Macau and tell him what happened. I'm sure he'd be worried sick for you and Haiti could help bring him here..."

"Don't you… _dare_ … get that… _moron_ over… here…" Hong Kong muttered threatening with a raspy voice, stirring.

Relief washed over South Vietnam, and despite himself, he began to laugh. He couldn't help it. He was just glad.

/ / / / /

Seychelles wasn't going to lie, not that she was a good liar in the first place, she felt _really_ scared. Even though Anubis was on their side, the good side.

South Africa and Nigeria were bad nations, right? Oh, of course they were, what kind of question was that? They, also Cameroon, Morocco and Liberia, were awful! They killed all those people, Egypt's people, and laughed about it! They took Mauritius… Well, it wasn't them, it was probably Haiti or someone else but they're the ones who want to… to… turn Mauritius into someone just like them!

That means that they deserved to suffer a horrifying death, right? Did it? No. In Seychelles's opinion, that would put the person doing it as the same level as them. Revenge and retribution were things that she never thought much about, but still topics she wasn't very comfortable discussing.

Superheroes (what little she knew about them), not counting anti-heroes, never tortured or even killed the villains they fought even when they kill their loved ones and caused a lot of death and destruction. It wasn't just following the law, they had a moral code that prevented from doing or wanting to kill their enemies.

Oh, she's totally just rambling now, wasn't she?

So, because of that, Seychelles didn't know whether to feel horrified at what she was happening before her eyes. Or even whether she should feel surprised, amazed or frustrated that neither South Africa and Nigeria looked the slightest bit scared or fazed by the undead hands that sprang from the earth to grab and keep them in place, in fact…

They looked kind of bored.

Nigeria stared blankly at the hands, and he stomped one, sighing. "How disappointing. We came all the way here to cause a massacre like we wanted to for years only to have our plans crumbling to dust thanks to Egypt's pet god. Just our luck"

"We were woefully unprepared for this." South Africa lamented, agreeing. "Even though there's no way we could've seen this coming."

"And not only that, nothing we do managed to hurt Anubis!" Nigeria groaned angrily. " _Why_ doesn't it work?"

"Well… he is the god of mummification." South Africa pointed out dryly before coughing. "It's kind of obvious that we have a big disadvantage."

Nigeria's eyes went wide, and his mouth hung open. "How did I not see that?"

"Enough." Anubis growled impatiently. "The thousands of souls here that you so mercilessly slaughtered are hungry for revenge and for your demise… _I_ will personally avenge them on Egypt's behalf and kill you."

Kill them? No... Wait! A gasp escaped from Seychelles's mouth. Anubis couldn't do that… could he? No way… maybe? Possibly? Did he have the power to do that? Did he know how to kill personifications? Or was Anubis just going to drag South Africa to the underworld, to hell? The thought made Seychelles pale. No! She couldn't let him take them! This was her chance to find Mauritius!

She's more than likely about to risk making a ton of spirits very, very, very angry… but…!

"NO! WAIT!" Seychelles shrieked and quickly scrambled to put herself between the two Africans and Anubis, flailing her arms around frantically. "STOP! STOP! DON'T KILL THEM!"

Anubis froze at seeing Seychelles in front of the two and reluctantly lowered his swords, sending the two Africans a glare before somewhat softening its expression in the form of its snarl vanishing and gave the island girl a quizzical look.

Seychelles resisted the urge to shrink away as she suddenly became the center of attention. She could _feel_ South Africa and Nigeria staring at her back. Yeah, she probably both looked and sounded stark raving mad because of her begging not to do anything brutal, but… but she had very good reasons for stopping him

"I'm sorry, but you… you can't!" Seychelles shook her head. "I can't let you do that!"

"Oh, don't tell me you're going to give us mercy? I know you're a nice girl, but this is just ridiculous." South Africa laughed, causing Seychelles to turn to see him smiling slyly at her before startling her when his smile became a snarl. "It's barely amusing. What information do you want to us to spit out?"

You'd think he'd be happier than Seychelles just saved him from dying in a horrifying way, didn't he say that he didn't want to die before getting revenge on England?

"That's very true, but mercy has always been something that's confused and irritated me my whole life." South Africa said distractedly, staring into space. " _Especially_ when it came to one of my human bosses in the past."

Seychelles squeaked. "H-How did you-"

"You said it out loud, didn't you know that?"

"I… oops."

Seychelles immediately expected South Africa to laugh at her, but he looked unamused. "Anyway, what do you want us to tell you? I do hope it's nothing important."

Well, here's goes…

"Where's Kelvin?" Seychelles asked shakily, sniffing, and oddly the response was immediate.

"He belongs to us!" Nigeria hissed, and he grinned unnervingly at her, causing her to back away. "And you'll never find him… Heh, not that you could even if you knew, anyway. We'll make sure you two meet again right after he sees things _our_ way!"

Seychelles widened her eyes and shook her head. "N-No! Please tell me where he is, just tell me! Give him back!"

"And why should we?" Nigeria spat, looking like gritting his teeth rather than grinning, and if it weren't for the hands restraining him, he would have pounced on her. "Let me guess, if we don't tell you, you'll allow Anubis to send us to the underworld? Oh… but you don't have the cruelty or the will to do that, do you? No… no… no, no, no, no, no, no… you don't."

The eerie tone made Seychelles gulp, the accusation caused shame to rise because it was completely true and caused her a few steps back while Nigeria continued.

"No. You're too nice, you obviously don't have the guts."

"I just want to have Kelvin back! I miss him! I can't stand the fact that I'm free while he's out there somewhere suffering!" Seychelles cried out, mentally adding _thanks to you_ , and she held back her tears. "He's… He's just an island like me! He won't be much help to the Order, s-so there's really no point-"

" _Wrong_!" Nigeria exclaimed loudly, causing Seychelles to flinch. "There _is_ a point! I saw potential, and how could we refuse the chance to make someone as pure as him just like us?! Aren't you the slightest bit curious to see the results of that?

"Enough of this." Anubis growled, leaning down with teeth bared in a snarl. "If you will not divulge anything of use, then I see no reason to spare you."

Nigeria only grinned toothily at the enormous snarling dog-headed god despite said god being only a few centimeters away from biting his head off, not the slightest bit scared or nervous about that tiny little fact. Then Nigeria closed his mouth and looked down, his dreadlocks covering his face. And then he began to tremble and… was he coughing or gagging? Whatever he's doing, it went on for a bit with Anubis growling in confusion, until Nigeria took a deep breath…

…and vomited a large snake right into Anubis's face.

Seychelles shrieked in horror while Anubis roared as the snake hissed and bit at him, trying to catch it and stop it from strangling him but the snake's too fast. Seychelles heard laughing from behind her, and when she turned around her eyes went wide with horror at the sight of the hands having nearly retreated back into the earth with South Africa and Nigeria now back on their feet.

"It's been nice while it lasted, but…" South Africa panted with a tired smile while Nigeria wrapped an arm around him. "…that's all for now. In the end it doesn't matter that Anubis intervened, we got what we wanted, and what's done is done."

With a mocking wave from Nigeria, the two vanished into a puff of purple smoke.

/ / / / /

"Tell me what?!" Hungary demanded for the twenty-fifth time.

But just like the past twenty-four times, Egypt pretended to be mute and refused to answer her.

Seriously, tell her what?! What's so important that made the whole room go into what Hungary guessed awkward silence and the others refuse to meet her eyes? She probably would have considered driving Egypt or someone into a corner and intimidate the information out of them if it weren't for France's situation.

Yeah, it was for the best.

Speaking of that guy, his situation was just awful. From what little Hungary gathered, and since she didn't want to press him for information when he was in so much pain, a group of four nations that composed of Haiti, Morocco, Cameroon and the miraculously alive South Vietnam immobilized France and tortured him along with somehow getting a small grass snake inside his organs.

It raised a lot of questions in Hungary's already confused little mind, but she wasn't sure if she really wanted an explanation as to how that happened.

Anyway, while they transported France back to his house, since despite Hungary's objections going to the hospital was 'too risky' and 'take too long', she kept demanding for answers on the way, but no one gave her any. No wanted to be the bearer of bad news, apparently.

Still, there's no way Hungary was going to give up.

"Okay, I got the last of the Central Americans' temporary corpses upstairs…" Romania announced as he came into the room, dusting off his hands, and grinned. "Now, I believe all of you owe me and the hag something."

" _Igen_! Like what's the big secret none of you want to tell me?" Hungary exclaimed, furiously swinging her frying pan around to emphasize her point.

"I was going to say, give us a long and detailed explanation as to what the hell's going on, but sure, that too." Romania remarked, shrugging, but he gave a pointed look at them. "You did say that you were going to explain everything to us."

"Can't it wait until Algeria comes back?" Tunisia asked anxiously. "Or at least until we know that France's going to be alright?"

"Oui, please do!" Monaco said in distress as she paced back and forth, the poor girl worried sick for her older brother. "We should be focusing on how to help Big Brother France. Didn't you see how he's suffering? That snake is tearing him apart from the inside!"

At seeing the look on Monaco's face, Hungary felt her relentless determination begin to crack before it crumbled into a pile of rubble and her arms fell to her sides. Guilt started to well up inside of her and she mentally deflated. Oh dear, Monaco's right. Hungary's just being an impatient jerk.

Romania's expression softened, and he was about to respond, but Hungary pushed his face away and sighed. "Oh, alright. First we help France, then you tell us everything we want to know. But I want answers, ANSWERS!"

"Thank you." Monaco breathed.

After that, a door opened and out of it came a scowling Algeria stomping into the room, looking beyond furious and oddly a little queasy if the color of her face was any indication, avoiding meeting anyone's eyes, then she pulled up a chair and sat on it with her arms crossed.

That, and from the tiredness in her face from the damage her capital suffered earlier made her look like she could snap at them at any moment.

"How is he?" Monaco asked worriedly.

"I swear, every time I think there's nothing that could make me hate my brother more than I already do, he always manages to surprise me." Algeria muttered bitterly.

"Great. And that means...?" Romania asked, raising an eyebrow.

Algeria gave him a pointed look. "That's it's a lot worse than we think. Morocco and the others did _more_ than just stick a snake inside of him according to what Francis told me, and it was brutal. So much so that I couldn't stand seeing him suffer, so I knocked him out."

"Algeria!" Tunisia exclaimed.

"I had to! He was in so much pain, Tunisia. I just put him out of his misery for a little while." Algeria defended, looking as happy about what she did as he was. "Hopefully we'll have reached a decision then."

"Algeria, what did you mean by it's worse than we thought?" Egypt asked.

Algeria's face scrunched up in distaste. "Those four pinned him against a wall and carved open his midsection with a knife, slowly and deliberately as painful as possible I'm sure, _that's_ how they got the snake inside of him."

Hungary grimaced at that fact. "They're really that cruel?"

"That would probably be an understatement…" Tunisia muttered.

"And that's not all, apparently he's missing his liver. Morocco and Cameroon ripped it out…" Algeria trailed off, face turning a little green, before forcing out the next words. "…and then ate it in front of him."

A hand went to Hungary's face as she widened her eyes in horror and disgust. That's couldn't be true, could it? Egypt's face scrunched up in distaste and he rubbed one of his arms while Tunisia paled and swallowed. Even Romania, the fanged creep, looked disturbed by that information.

"They… ate the liver?" Romania asked in disgust.

"The Africans in the organization are cannibals, bloodthirsty and sadistic, not to mention a little mentally unstable. Cameroon himself bit my arm…" Egypt said carefully, uncomfortable at recalling the memory.

"And Bosnia's with two of them…" Hungary deadpanned, and she buried her face in her hands. Great.

"Can a nation's liver… completely grow back?" Tunisia asked curiously.

"Oh, it can." Romania said darkly, surprising everyone present. "But it's a nasty process. I totally don't recommend it."

Hungary eyed him suspiciously. "And you know this… _how_ exactly?"

Romania shot her an annoyed glanced before narrowing his eyes as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "A certain boss of mine from several centuries ago was once bored because there was no one to execute or torture at the time, so he decided to use me to "investigate" the extent of my healing factor to entertain himself… Wow, you wouldn't believe how terrible the place smelled after that… and my blood…"

Romania trailed off and drifted away into his little world as he stared emptily into space while everyone else just stared at him worriedly. But that stupid vampire only… Wait, was he muttering under his breath?

Why did everyone vote against Hungary's idea to send Romania into a mental asylum, again?

Eventually, the Cullen's distant relative finally returned to reality and noticed that everyone was looking at him then smiled. "But then I'd always fix it. Ah, but that's hardly important. What does matter however is the fact that France's liver will fully grow back in about two to five days, no medication needed whatsoever, _and_ if you don't use magic to heal him."

"That won't do." Algeria shook her head, frowning. "Just because people like us can survive a few days without the whole liver, doesn't mean that it won't affect him in some way. The liver serves some rather important functions in the body, and there are unpleasant consequences when you don't have it."

"Also…" Tunisia chimed in. "We don't know if we'll get ambushed again later or tomorrow."

"Exactly, Tunisia." Algeria nodded. "Francis must be healed as soon as possible, and the snake has to go too _before_ it gets hungry, but the only the way to do that is too…"

Oh.

"He'll have to be cut open up." Monaco finished, her tone filled with dread, and she plopped down to the sofa dejectedly. "You'll do what they did and cut his abdomen open with a knife then find the snake and take it out."

Egypt looked at her apologetically. "Monaco, there's-"

"It's… It's alright." Monaco interrupted, her expression hard to read. "All I want is for Big Brother France to be alright. If this is the only way to help him, then I don't have any objections, but… who's going to do it?"

Everyone turned to look expectantly at Romania, who raised an eyebrow at the attention and looked at them in bafflement. "What? What are you guys looking at me for?"

No one said anything. They all just stared at him, and Hungary quietly snickered at Romania's expense.

"What?!"

"You said that you'd always manage to magically regrow your organs."

"And you're the one who likes to go around happily sharing stories involving knives and guts." Hungary added with a small smirk, ignoring Romania's "I do not!", and adding. "So you should have plenty of fun playing surgeon, unless of course you're willing to let France continue to suffer…"

Romania growled at her. Yeah, yeah, Hungary's attitude was a little uncalled for, and this wasn't the time for teasing, but as selfish as it sounded she felt that she needed a bit of cheering up. It'd also help lighten the mood a little, right?

"Hey, don't go trying to guilt-trip me, hag! I don't have any problem helping him grow his liver back, but cutting him open to take out that snake is a big no-no!" Romania snapped, and he growled. "Besides, I'm not a surgeon! Why can't Egypt help?!"

"Healing magic has never been my specialty." Egypt said curtly. "And I know nothing about how to restore organs."

Romania groaned, but then he saw the look on Monaco's face and he sighed in defeat. " _Fine_. If I'm the only one here who can help the guy, then fine. But, you, Tunisia, are coming with me."

"H-Huh? Me? Why me?" Tunisia stuttered.

"Because I need an assistant, and someone to help me cut up France open. And, well, ah, because." Romania said simply, shrugging, and pulling Tunisia away with him.

Hungary snorted at the scene. No doubt Romania's going to have a lot of fun with that, she cringed.

Egypt nodded, face blank. "Alright."

"Alright what?" Hungary asked.

"I'll tell you the 'big secret' that I'm hiding from you."

Hungary widened her eyes. "R-Really?"

"Yes. I think you more than a right to know." Egypt said emotionlessly.

Hungary blinked, and she leaned towards him. "I'm listening."

"I apologize in advance for my bluntness, but I see no use in hiding this fact from you anymore." Egypt said a little anxiously, grabbing at his sleeves. "Please understand that I had to refrain from telling you this, so you wouldn't be too distraught to help us find France. I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what?"

"About Poland."

"Huh? Oh, don't blame yourself for that, Egypt. I'm not mad at you or anything, and I'm perfectly sure Feliks won't-"

"He's dead, Hungary." Egypt cut her off. "He's dead, and no matter how long we wait he'll never come back."

That took Hungary aback and she flinched, before she narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about, Egypt?"

"Lithuania actually permanently killed Poland."

Hungary scowled at him and shook her head. "I don't believe you."

"It's true, Hungary. As hard as it is to believe, the organization Turkey and Lithuania are a part of somehow found a way to permanently kill nations." Egypt explained with a bit of dread on his face, as if he knew that it wouldn't easy to tell her. "From what I gather, you need to rip out the heart like Lithuania did with Poland. I attempted to do the same with Hong Kong, but I'm not quite sure if it worked…"

Oh dear… What sort of bullshit did that old fart and the others fill his head with for him believe that this so-called 'New World Order' is as big and powerful as they think they are? But Hungary wasn't mad, she'll help him out.

"Egypt, sweetie…" Hungary began with a confused smile, using the same careful tone she used to a child Italy whenever he thought that Holy Rome will come back. "We all know that you can't just simply kill a nation just like that. I've never ever heard about something like that, and Magyar didn't either."

Egypt raised an eyebrow, not liking her tone. "And I'm older than you, and neither me nor my mother have ever heard anything like it. But Hungary, if what you think is true, then tell me, why did Lithuania brag and laugh that he killed Poland?"

Hungary laughed, kind of forcing it a little, and bit her lip. "You can't be serious. Did you see how Lithuania was after he 'killed' Poland? He was insane! Like, Russia-level insane! In fact, about more than half the nations with him were insane!"

"Oh, stop making excuses, Hungary." Algeria spat, gritting her teeth at her with her arms crossed. "You and Poland didn't believe us when we told you about Turkey and the others being dangerous, and it took Lithuania nearly slicing Poland in half for you to believe us. The idea of killing a nation like that may be insane, but so is everything else that's happening!"

"Is that why you left Poland over there?!" Hungary pointed angrily at where Poland was lying on a couch. "Because he was a 'corpse' so you didn't know what to do with him?!"

"Yes! I'm sorry, but this is truth, Hungary!" Algeria shouted, scowling at her. "The same thing happened to the Caribbean nations, that's why their homes are doing less than alright now, only Bahamas and Saint Lucia survived and they told us how they escaped! Africa is the same as always because we're all still alive!"

"Nations can't die while their government is doing well, and last I checked, Feliks's doing well enough!" Hungary retorted.

"Wha- You just completely ignored my point!"

"Unless their corpses are found, you can't prove that!"

"You-!"

"Both of you, QUIET!" Egypt roared angrily, causing the two female nations to shut their mouths, and he turned to look at Hungary. "Hungary, please go and take a look at Poland."

"Huh? What for?" Hungary asked, baffled.

"So you can see that his wounds aren't healing." Egypt responded grimly.

"His heart was torn out of his body!" Hungary shouted at him, though she felt a little bad for lashing out, but she couldn't stand hearing this nonsense. "I-It's obviously going to take more than an hour and a half for any big progress to happen!"

"Perhaps, but you remember the exact state he was in, don't you? You did spend a while by his side before we left." Egypt reminded her calmly. "If it looks like it's healing, then you'll have proved us wrong, and he will come back.

Hungary blinked a few times before she nodded and went over to Poland with an annoyed scowl and leaned down for a closer look. Damn right she'll prove him wrong. He's right about one thing: Hungary did remember how Poland's chest was before they left, so it'll be easy to…

Wait a minute.

Hungary's eyes went wide. No…. No, no, no, no, it couldn't… Her eyes had to be playing tricks on her, they had to be…

The hole on Poland's chest where his heart got ripped out was completely the same, the only change was that the blood dried, it wasn't closing. Poland was still limp and not breathing at all. He's even starting to look pale…

Nothing changed. Poland's… dead…?

Hungary didn't even notice the tears that started spilling down her cheeks or how her body was trembling by the time her mind fully registered that fact. When it did, her hands went to her head and she screamed in horror.

Poland's dead! Hungary screamed again as she raked her nails across her arms, and she screamed and screamed and screamed. Her friend, one of the closest she's ever had, and possibly her best friend, was gone. Him, who'd jump back on feet after every tragedy that came his way. Him, who survived the Holocaust, and managed to smile widely after that… gone. Just like that, _gone_.

Now sobbing and weeping, Hungary blindly went and grasped the nearest body, which happened to be Egypt's. The African wasn't sure what to do, but he knew she was devastated, so he awkwardly returned the hug

"Poland's been through so much… His past haunted him a lot more than you think, you know…" Hungary remarked to Egypt, she wasn't exactly sure why she was telling him this, but she felt that she had to. "Germany put him through hell during the Holocaust… He'll never forget it, and I'd comfort Feliks whenever he had nightmares…"

Hungary unintentionally dug her nails into Egypt's back, but he didn't flinch or shove her away.

"Why did he do it?" Hungary asked miserably, wiping the tears with her sleeve, then gritting her teeth in anger. "Why did he do it?! Did Lithuania have any idea how much Poland cared about him? During our whole journey together, Poland would never stop talking about how worried he was about Lithuania, didn't he care about that?"

Egypt didn't respond. He probably didn't know how.

"Why, Egypt?" Hungary demanded in despair, and anger began to well up. "Why?! I'll make Lithuania pay for what he did… I'll find out how he did it and I'll do it to him! I'll make him regret killing Feliks. I'll force him to realize how much Poland did care about him and…"

Hungary trailed off, and she sobbed again.

"I'm sorry." Egypt whispered.

"I… I can't take it… it hurts…" Hungary wept, sniffing. "I don't know… if I'd want to live… if I find out the same thing happened to Roderich…"

Egypt's embrace tightened.

/ / / / /

Tunisia shuddered as he walked out from the room where he and Romania has just finished getting that small snake, who had decided (in a very disgusting sight) to make itself at home by hiding in France's small intestine, out of France. Now Romania was working on France's liver and had dismissed Tunisia. Although the experience was gross, Tunisia couldn't help but feel a little bad for the little snake when Romania killed it.

But other than that, even though it was for France's sake, Tunisia had a terrible time and completely lost his appetite for the time being. He even felt slightly tempted to go the bathroom to throw up for a minute there. Allah, he couldn't believe that Morocco found the sight of an abdomen carved open delicious.

But… it was over now, Tunisia sighed in relief. In his opinion, he's been traumatized enough for today. He swallowed and rubbed his eyes, then when he opened them again he nearly flinched when he found Algeria not far from him.

"How did it go?" Algeria asked, worry evident on her expression. "Is France going to be alright?"

Tunisia paled and quickly nodded. He hasn't spoken much to his sister, which may have been his fault for avoiding her a little

"Was it… that bad?" Algeria asked, and there was just the slightest bit of amusement on her face.

"Please, don't laugh." Tunisia pleaded, trying not to gag at the memories.

"I'm not laughing."

"But you found my suffering funny."

"I did not! I'm better than that."

"Of course you are."

They both laughed a little and Tunisia felt a little better, but still felt less than happy around Algeria. Yes, Tunisia did remember clearly that Algeria

"Are you mad at me?" Tunisia blurted out.

Algeria stopped smiling once he asked that question, and she raised an eyebrow. "Mad? Why would I be mad at you?"

Tunisia didn't respond. How disgusting was he?

"Tunisia?" Algeria called out.

"Morocco kissed me, and I couldn't stop…" Tunisia gulped, mentally correcting 'didn't want to'. "…I couldn't stop him. I tried to shove him away, I really did! But Rahim's somehow a lot stronger than me, nearly broke my wrist when he dragged me away too, and-"

"Stop right there, Tunisia." The stern voice of Algeria said, and Tunisia closed his mouth, then she looked at him baffled. "What sort of person do you take me for? Why would I be angry at you for failing to stop Morocco from assaulting you? If anything, I was worried sick when he took you away!"

But you would have if I said I liked it, wouldn't you? Tunisia thought with slight bitterness.

Algeria continued while smiling sadly. "I thought the worst after you got taken. I thought Morocco and Cameroon would tear you apart and eat you alive then present me with your corpse as punishment for escaping and for me convincing you to do the same. I thought they were going to torture you, I even thought that they might kill you."

Tunisia nearly wanted to cry here and there, but he stopped himself and forced the feelings, not willing to get his hopes up just yet.

Tunisia scratched his neck anxiously. "But…"

Algeria snorted, but her expression was still severe. "I'll admit that I was shocked when he did… that to you, but never angry at you. I don't know what would give you that idea but believe me when I tell you that I was just worried about you. I know you're better than that, and you should too."

Algeria had no idea how wrong she was.

"But there's one thing that worries me." Algeria stated, and Tunisia tensed. "You looked… very pale when we found you, like you've been through something horrifying. I… I won't press you for information if it's true, but… Rahim, he…"

"What about Rahim?"

"Well, did he…" Algeria swallowed and stared worriedly at him. "He didn't try to rape you, did he?"

"NO!" Tunisia exclaimed in horror, maybe a bit louder than necessary, but the thought terrified him. "He made some advances, but that's it. He didn't hurt me!"

Algeria sighed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness... Then there's nothing to worry about then, no?"

Tunisia shook his head, despite how much he wanted to bury his face in hands. "No, I don't think so."

/ / / / /

Bosnia stared at the sharp silver knife in his hands in wonder as he made his way back to France's house, running his finger on the tip, and touching the tip of it several times.

The knife was a gift from Turkey when Bosnia was about to leave. At first Bosnia felt a little baffled when Turkey showed it to him, and the thought of carrying that knife around with the incident with Hungary still fresh on mind made him nervous.

 _"Oh, no, no, no, Sadik." Bosnia shook his head, scooting away, and he felt himself pale. "I'm sorry, but I can't take it. I-I've been blacking out lately, and I do disturbing things then I don't remember a damn thing about them. I… I'd really rather not risk hurting…"_

 _But Turkey only smiled. "Don't worry about it, Emir. You won't go around butchering everyone with knife right now. Come on, just trust me on this, okay? Besides, it'll really help with that headache of yours…"_

And then…

Bosnia stopped for a few seconds, and he blinked in confusion. That's odd, he couldn't really remember…

He couldn't really explain it, but he felt a weird sense of comfort wash over him whenever he held the knife, however at the same time, he felt an increasing sense of paranoia and a strong urge to keep it with him all times the closer he got back to Miss Hungary and the others. But, it didn't worry him. Bosnia was just worried that he'll get a frying pan to the face for just up and vanishing.

He may not remember what he did at Austria's house, but he did the remember the pain. Bosnia cringed.

Hopefully Bosnia will also be able to go back to his house soon. The Yugoslavia nations reunion party is in a few days, and Bosnia wants to be in a good mood instead of being frustrated of having his wife Herzegovina scold loudly in his ear nonstop for hours. Maybe Croatia could help him out… Then maybe they could work together to put fleas in Serbia's hat again.

For some reason, at the thought of his fellow Yugoslavs, his grip on the knife became tighter.

/ / / / /

Vilnius felt like curling herself into a ball then crawl away into a hole to hide at the way Lithuania was looking at her right now.

The capital felt very relieved when Lithuania and the others found her wandering the streets, but then she almost wished they didn't, because the first person to greet her was her her brother who looked like he wanted to kill her. Not before nearly crushing her in a hug while he cried in relief, of course

Lithuania never hit her, he'd never! In all her years living with her big brother, Lithuania had not once abused Vilnius in any way. Not even when he had one of his breakdowns he never lashed out at her. Sure, yeah, maybe he neglected her a little sometimes, but she knew that he loved her.

"What…" Lithuania finally began, seething, and Vilnius could hear the amount of self-restraint he was using to not yell at her. "…the hell… were you thinking, Mari?"

Vilnius gulped, and she looked around anxiously, a part of her hoping that someone will come to her rescue, but her chances didn't look great. It also didn't help that everyone was _staring_ at her… Why did everyone have to stare at her? Don't they know that it was making her feel worse?

"Tori…" Bulgaria said softly, but he got ignored.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Lithuania screeched.

"I'm in big trouble, right?" Vilnius asked miserably.

"Oh, definitely." Lithuania said darkly, but then he cringed when he got a certain look from Bulgaria, and he sighed. "But still… You did help us Guatemala… And none of the other nations saw you so…"

Vilnius tensed at that last part, but then she relaxed when Lithuania pat her head.

"I guess… it wouldn't be very… fair… if I didn't thank you for your help. So…" Lithuania took a deep breath and gave her a shaky smile. "Thank you and… good job."

That was more than enough make Vilnius smile wide and run towards her brother to wrap her arms around him in a hug. "Oh, thank you, Toris! Thank you!"

"You do know you're still going to be grounded for a year, right?"

/ / / / /

America stared up blankly at the ceiling. Sleep eluded him, resulting in him lying there in his bed doing nothing for hours and probably some bags under his eyes, he could feel them. His eyes felt so heavy… God, he really wanted to sleep. He knew why couldn't.

Oh, he knew _perfectly_ why.

America scoffed, and he turned to the side. He turned again, gripping his head, and then he gave up. Sighing, he got up from his bed and left his room.

He shot a quick glance to a room he passed, then after curiosity got the best of him he peeked through the door and felt a smile on his face when he spotted Molossia, Ladonia and Kugemugel sleeping soundly. America then left.

Though it was dark, America could still see his surroundings and where he was going, so a light wasn't necessary. He made his way to a room in his house where there were several framed photos of himself with other nations on a wall. But he didn't even glance at them, one already got his attention.

It was one of the bigger ones, one (and the only one) that had a picture of America together with England, France and Canada huddled in a hug, smiling, laughing... Of course, America had the biggest smile of all.

"Turned _my_ brother against us, huh?" America whispered bitterly. "Took advantage of his weaknesses and made him forget what you did to us, what you did that made our countries become what they are today… what I had to become to… I hate…"

He clenched his trembling fists tightly, so much that he dug his nails into his skin.

"Well…" America began, and he chuckled emptily. "You can keep Canada, my fucking twin brother, I mean it. He meant nothing to me the day he chose a foreign man who corrupted us over his own flesh and blood. But it's a little unfair, don't you think? I wish I _had_ brothers… I think it's about time for _you_ feel that sort pain too, don't you think?"

He punched the picture, and the glass shattered.

 **This wraps up this arc! Then after this, we'll FINALLy go to the reveal part. Still at a loss what to call the next arc though. And to be honest, I'm not sure if I want to go with the next arc next chapter, or make another flashback chapter. Please review if you can.**


	41. Revelations: Memories

**Thanks to Eternal Nexus Warrior and AquaEclipse for reviewing. Alright, this is the first chapter of the Revelations arc. Think of this as a sort of prologue, because we still haven't completely moved on from the Brawl arc. Now, on with the show!**

South Africa was snapped out of his dazed trance and back to reality when he was suddenly hoisted back by Nigeria to stop him from falling to the ground and kept an arm wrapped around his shoulders, he blinked a few times before the world stopped spinning and he was met with a shocked Liberia and DRC. South Africa gazed tiredly at his surrounding, they were in… some abandoned and slightly damaged house?

"What the hell happened to you two?" Liberia asked with an expression that would have been hilarious if it hadn't been for the situation.

"Nice to see you too, Liberia." South Africa snorted.

South Africa laughed, not for any particular reason, not because he was tired, he was just _frustrated_. Why did his mind have to go back to Madiba? His laughter quickly became coughs, and instead he grinned, though something told him that it looked more like he was grinding his teeth.

"We… ran into some trouble with one of Egypt's gods." Nigeria explained sheepishly, breathing carefully. "Which nearly ended with me and Chris getting dragged into the underworld to suffer eternal punishment, but luckily we managed to escape."

He finished that last past cheerfully, and the looks on DRC and Liberia's face made him want to cackle, which was what Nigeria did.

"But as high as mighty that dog is, he easily got caught off guard with that snake trick of mine." Nigeria laughed, then smiled and stuck his tongue. "Though can you blame him?"

Liberia face-palmed and groaned. "I have no idea what any of that means…"

"Dog? You mean Anubis, Egypt's pet?" DRC said in surprise, narrowing his eyes. "I always felt that something was a little unusual about that dog… Is he really that god of the afterlife from Ancient Egyptian mythology?"

Liberia, with his palm still against his face, separated some fingers so he could stare at DRC in disbelief. "What? No way. I believe in spirits and magical pets, but an actual god? Egypt has a god as a pet?"

"Anubis referred to Egypt as his master, grew over nine feet tall, made the hands of the humans we killed rise from the earth to tear our limbs apart and drag us down with them." Nigeria explained in deadpan, then grinned. "I'm _pretty_ sure he is a god."

"Interesting…" DRC muttered, and he scowled. "But that information worries me."

"Terrific." Liberia said sarcastically, scoffing. "Egypt has the god of mummies and the dead on his side, that's marvelous. And considering how many people we've killed… horribly… which means Anubis can just summon the pissed off souls of the thousands of people we've killed. Just. Great."

"Aw, don't get depressed, kleintjie. I'm sure we can find a solution for that later…

DRC looked at them up and down and he frowned. "We can share stories later. For now, you two need to rest and recover. Can either of you use healing magic, even a little bit?"

"I don't neither of us have the energy to do that." South Africa said bitterly, then winced. "Do we really look that bad?

Liberia shrunk and avoided their gazes. "Well…"

"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer. Come on, you two need to lie down." DRC said blankly, and helped Nigeria drag South Africa and set him down on a bed. "You too Nigeria, you can use the bed over there. We can wait until you two heal."

At that last word, Nigeria perked up and gasped. "Heal, of course, that reminds me! This is the perfect opportunity to start teaching you about healing magic! Chris is the expert, I'm sure we could teach you how to do it while you try to heal us!"

DRC looked thoughtful about that, and he gave a small smile. "I'd like that."

South Africa smiled, despite how tired he felt. Well, things ended in way they didn't expect, but they won anyway, even though the fun was kind of cut short. So there's really no point in feelings that frustrated. Hey, maybe he could use this time to wonder why he was thinking about Nelson Mandela.

Sometimes, specifically whenever he began to commit yet another of his "evil deeds", South Africa would wonder whenever Madiba was rolling in his grave at the fact that the peaceful nation he shed sweat, blood and tears for to get rid of its sickening system and unite the diverse people of his land to create a nation of peace has been ruined by his successors. And that the rainbow nation will go down in history for being one of the nations that destroyed Europe.

Mandela wasn't like the others, oh no, no, no, no, no one could compare to him. That man knew, he pieced it all together, that crazy wrinkled old bat. Mandela had already heard about his nation's reputation, and South Africa's love for violence.

Yet he tried, oh, that poor idiot Madiba tried to convince his nation to give up his vengeful, sadistic, cruel ways. But South Africa was born like this, raised like this, encouraged to be like this, so he was beyond redemption now. This was who South Africa was, and no one was going to change that.

But boy, was Mandela persuasive. 'At least please, I beg of you, stop despising your European blood' he said, 'So your divided mind can heal and you can think clearly, so your people can move on to a better future' he said. Words couldn't express how close South Africa was to killing him for insinuating that he had even a single drop of European blood in his veins.

Although… South Africa sighed. He was very thankful for what Mandela did. South Africa really wasn't in his best state of mind back then and unifying the nation did help in him thinking more clearly and rationally. The years under the Apartheid took a toll on him.

Not that there's anything that senile old man could do about it anyway, South Africa snorted. Nelson Mandela's dead. The personification of South Africa's the one who ran everything, he always did and always will. That's what he'd constantly say to Mandela, but the old man would always succeed anyway, only for all of his hard work to crack then come crumbling down when his successors took office.

As delightful as it might sound for someone like him, South Africa felt no sadistic joy at all.

He felt nothing.

/ / / / /

Hungary had run off and locked herself in one of the guest rooms for several hours so she could mourn Poland's death. Everyone agreed that it was best that they give her some space and leave her alone until she's ready to talk. It was impossible not to feel sorry for her. Her crying and screaming could be heard all over the house, along with the sounds of some objects either breaking or crashing to the ground.

Everyone was either frustrated or upset, but Hungary was undoubtedly the one who's most affected. It was safe to say that they've _lost_ this battle, in more ways than one. Guatemala has been rescued, Egypt and Algeria's capitals were bombed, Poland's dead, they failed to find France in time to stop his former colonies from torturing him.

At least they've managed to find Bosnia, or rather, Bosnia found _them_. Either way, it at least got Hungary out of her room for a few minutes. However, Bosnia claimed to have had few memories of what happened.

So imagine Egypt's surprise when he opened the door after furious knocking and saw a sniffing Hungary with her eyes puffy from crying, looking at him with what could only be described as a determined expression.

"You have to help me take Feliks back to his country."

Egypt blinked. The request came so suddenly, along with Hungary's presence, that he couldn't quite understand it. He stared at her silently with his usual blank expression for several long seconds, before he raised an eyebrow.

"Pardon?" Egypt said, baffled.

"I said, you have to help me take Feliks back his country, please." Hungary said miserably, wiping away some tears with her sleeve.

"Yes, but would you care to elaborate?"

Hungary bit her lip and sniffed again. "I just... I-I was thinking, while I was in there crying, about... about Feliks and... there's no way I'm going to let his body stay there because none of you know what to do with him, because he's a lot less important than... whatever is it you're all thinking..."

Egypt frowned at that. "Don't think that none of us care about what happened to Poland, Elizaveta."

Hungary looked at him in surprise at the use of her human name, before she bit her lip again and looked down. "I... I know. I'm sorry, but please listen to me, _please_. I... heard that you have magic, and you can teleport and stuff like Romania can, right?"

"Yes, that's correct." Egypt nodded. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I want you to take me and Feliks back to his home, so I can give him a proper burial." Hungary said sadly, wiping some more tears away. "It's the least I can do for him."

Egypt's expression softened. "I'm sorry, Hungary, but we don't time to organize and attend a funeral-"

"It doesn't have to be a funeral!" Hungary exclaimed, startling Egypt, and she looked ready to cry again. "We can just bury him outside his house, pay our respects and then go back! It'll take two or three hours at most!"

It still didn't completely convince Egypt. While it did provide the perfect solution for the corpse and would help Hungary, he still felt reluctant to leave the group. Also, though he wasn't quite sure, Egypt was concerned that he may or may not have made a few new enemies due to what he did to Hong Kong. Worse if the Asian city actually did die...

So, because of that, Egypt was worried that South Vietnam, Turkey, or some others nation might suddenly break in and either slaughter him or another member of this group as revenge.

"If you know that Romania can do the same, why didn't you ask him to help you?" Egypt asked.

Hungary crossed her arms, frowning. "I... I really don't to be with that jerk right now. I'd rather have who I _like_ and who won't provoke me into a fight in front of Feliks's corpse."

"I see..." Egypt said, though he doubted Romania would act disrespectful and heartless like that.

"Please…" Hungary begged, tears making their way down her face. "If not for Feliks, then for me."

The amount of sadness and desperation on her face was succeeding in making Egypt feel guilty for being reluctant, and it made him realize that he should help her. Now that he thought about it, the chances of an attack were very low...

Egypt nodded. "Very well."

/ / / / /

 _It's not fair._

 _The silence was unbearable. A small Hong Kong kept his gaze down at his pathetic bowl of soup while his hands balled into fists under the tablecloth, refusing to look up or speak a single word, there's no way he was going to speak that bastard's language. He didn't need to look at those three here to know that they're all staring at him. He could feel the man glaring at him._

 _"Hong Kong…" England began carefully, obviously doing his best to restrain his anger. "I've already explained to you… numerous times… that using that language here is not allowed. You're already learning English at a good speed…"_

 _You think it doesn't torture me using that language?! Hong Kong wanted to shout. Speaking that opium addict's language disgusted him, after that bastard got addicted thanks to that stupid drug, China was never the same. China let himself get ruined._

 _"Look at me when I'm speaking to you, you brat!" England spat._

 _Hong Kong winced at the harsh tone, but he refused to look at him._

 _"Hong Kong, where are your manners?! It is not proper for a gentleman to ignore others when they are speaking to you!"_

 _It's not fair. It's not fair!_

 _"I'm not going to tell you again!"_

 _Gritting his teeth, Hong Kong snapped his head up and he saw how they were looking at him. Canada, who so far since he got here gave Hong Kong the impression that he was England's concubine, was looking at him worriedly and there was a hint of disapproval in his eyes. America, Canada's twin brother who dressed like a cowboy, got independent from England (Hong Kong envied him so much) and was dining a little far from his family, was staring at him curiously._

 _Why was he looking at him like that?_

 _As for England? Well, he was furious, and his scowl looked ridiculous with those eyebrows of his. Hong Kong suddenly felt conscious of his own eyebrows and he tightened his fists so much that it hurt. Despite England's imposing aura, Hong Kong glared up at him defiantly._

 _However, England's expression softened somewhat, and he spoke calmly but coldly. "Hong Kong, while it's understandable that it will take a while for you to accept this change, I'd prefer it if you stop this rebellious streak of yours. Besides, this is for the greater good. You'll find the West is much more civilize-"_

 _A plate smashed on the floor, and Hong Kong ran off._

 _"HONG KONG! COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!"_

 _It's not fair. It's not fair… not fair… not fair not fair not fair not fair notfair notfair notfair notfairnotfairnotfairnotfairnotfairnotfairnotfairnotfair…_

 _Hong Kong sobbed and struggled to hold back his tears as he trembled in the corner of his bedroom, the one England made just for him. Eventually, he couldn't suppress his despair, and the tears came down like a waterfall._

 _Opium… Imperialism… That accursed English bastard… Hong Kong hated him so much. Look what England did to China. Smoking opium like there's no tomorrow, getting high every day, he's probably high right now! He was even smoking when he came to see Hong Kong off to England!_

 _Now Hong Kong's here, here trapped in England's massive house so the gweilo could personally brainwash and "civilize" him. Hong Kong's going to be westernized against his will, shoved into European culture and ways… He had no choice!_

 _"Hey. Hey, you!" A voice called out to him, making him flinch, one that Hong Kong recognized as belonging to America. "Howdy, there you are. Are you alright?"_

 _"Go away." Hong Kong snapped and curled himself up in a ball._

 _"Trust me, Hong Kong. Locking yourself in here and crying won't help you." America said grimly, resting a hand on Hong Kong's shoulder. "I know that from personal experience…"_

 _"I don't care. Go away!" Hong Kong snarled, shrugging America's hand off. "Tell England I'm not coming back."_

 _"England didn't send me, he's too busy venting in the dining room with Mattie trying to calm him down, I came here of my own free will." America said nonchalantly, not at all bothered by Hong Kong's rudeness. "And don't worry, I'm not telling him."_

 _Hong Kong wiped some tears and blinked as he looked up at America and found that he was smiling sadly at him. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with your brother?"_

 _America's expression darkened, and he glared at the door. "Canada's not my brother, not anymore, the same goes for England. The reason I went after you, the reason why I even came all the way here after I swore that I wouldn't set one foot in Europe until I could get my revenge, was because of you."_

 _America's tone suddenly went from calm and even a little cheerful to bitter and hateful in a matter of seconds, which unnerved Hong Kong, as the blonde seemed so happy and cheerful around his brother and England. America seethed, and he gripped his right wrist while clenching his fist before he took a deep breath and smiled sincerely at Hong Kong._

 _"But I'm not angry with you or anything, that'd be silly." America shook his head and he took off his hat with a pained expression. "I… I know what it's like to be under England's rule, what Canada's too blind to see. I hate England for destroying my life and helping shape me into the nation I am today. I was miserable as a colony and I felt powerless to stop anything England did. But as you've heard, it is possible to escape England, I'm the proof. While I can never go back to being who I was, at least I'm free and my own nation."_

 _While Hong Kong felt surprised and even appreciated what America was telling him, it didn't help in cheering him up, and he scowled while. "What does it matter? I'm not like you. I'm just an island, I can't rebel. I'll never be a nation."_

 _America stared up at the ceiling in silence for a while, then smiled down at Hong Kong. "You couldn't be more wrong."_

"I can't believe I let Egypt almost kill me." Hong Kong hissed, snapping himself out of daydreaming and clutching the area of his heart while glaring balefully at nothing. "I can't believe I just stood there doing nothing! I should have known he'd try to rip my heart out the moment I saw him walking towards me with that talon!"

South Vietnam smiled sympathetically and patted his shoulder. " _None_ of us knew that he'd try to do that, Leon. It caught all of us by surprise."

Hong Kong scoffed and hugged his knees. "That doesn't excuse the fact that I messed up."

"Again, it wasn't your fault, and honestly I doubt you could have defended yourself by the time Egypt grabbed you." South Vietnam tried again to reassure him, but Hong Kong just frowned, and the former sighed. "I don't mean that in a bad way. The same thing probably would have happened if Egypt decided to target Bulgaria or Lithuania."

Hmm, probably. And speaking of Bulgaria and Lithuania, the latter was still reprimanding a very anxious Vilnius for sneaking out of her house and into their plane and listing all her punishments while grounded while the former just patted Vilnius's head to comfort her.

"…and you're also going to be under twenty-four-hour surveillance by the wolves and I'm going to confiscate your sword until further notice and you won't be allowed to visit Prussia's Gilbirds and there won't be training for the next four to six months and…"

Hong Kong stared at them blankly and then sighed as he turned back to South Vietnam. "Fine, I guess you're right, but not a word about this to Master, Macau and the others."

"Why? I'm sure they wouldn't be disappointed with you for what happened." South Vietnam raised an eyebrow.

"It's not that and you know it!" Hong Kong snapped, before leaned back into his seat and flushed while crossing his arms. "If they find out that I almost got killed in this mission, they're not going to let me on any missions."

"You do know you're not supposed to, right? Haiti said that your heart needed-"

"I know what Haiti said, but I'll spend a longer time inactive if they find out." Hong Kong said anxiously. "So you better not tell them."

"I'm not sure if I feel comfortable-"

"Don't tell them."

"But-"

"Don't tell them!

South Vietnam stared at him unreadably then a smile spread across his face and he chuckled and nodded, before ruffling Hong Kong's hair, turned away and stood up to walk towards Haiti, leaving behind a confused Hong Kong.

/ / / / /

Malawi wasn't sure what's the point of this assignment South Africa gave him.

He sprinted forward, careful not to make a single sound that could give away his position or step on anything that could generate a loud sound and continued following Senegal as the latter went down to the path towards small dirty beach.

When South Africa told him to go follow Senegal back to his land and spy on him, then report what he's seen, Malawi felt puzzled.

It was late; thus, it was dark, too dark. Malawi cussed under his breath after he nearly tripped over a rock, hissing. Way too dark. It also didn't help that this town, Saint Louis if he remembered correctly, didn't have any lights or anything to light up the place. He bumped into a few boats and almost fell on his face into mud five times now. It's so damn dark!

That, or maybe he's just clumsy.

Why was Senegal here? Now that Malawi thought about it. This wasn't anywhere near his house, no, Senegal's house was in Dakar, his capital. You'd think that Senegal would go straight to his house to rest from what happened and speak with his boss. What business could Senegal have here?

Whatever it was, South Africa probably knew or at least suspected what it could be but needed someone to go investigate while he took care of other business. While Malawi doesn't think of himself as an expert in spying, he knew how to hide, he had to, and he had every intention of giving South Africa the information he wanted.

Senegal didn't seem to know that someone was following him, he didn't even glance behind him or anything, which was a good thing, that meant that Malawi was doing a good job and he didn't to worry about- Why did he stop?

Malawi stopped in his tracks and his eyes widened in slight fear after he saw Senegal's abrupt stop. Oh no… did he mess up? But how? Malawi hasn't made a single noise as far as he knew… right? He stood still, waiting for Senegal to turn around, but instead the other nation just stood there. But then suddenly Senegal made a strangled yelp and held his stomach as he fell to his knees, coughing.

Malawi flinched and gasped when this happened, but luckily Senegal was too busy coughing, hacking and gasping to have heard anything. Then Senegal shakily got back up and ran off to the river.

Malawi blinked, and then quickly began to follow Senegal before he could get too far, and then the former hid behind a boat and watched as Senegal stumbled and fell on his knees again. What's wrong with him? Was Senegal getting sick?

Though it was dark, Malawi could tell that Senegal was in pain, a lot of pain. Was he choking? No, it didn't sound like it. Malawi frowned. He felt bad for Senegal, and even felt compelled to try to help him, but that would mean going against South Africa's orders. Luckily, a human working by the boats saw Senegal's state and went over to him. Malawi heard a few words spoken, probably in French, likely trying to get the nation's attention.

But Senegal seemed to be unresponsive, until...

Malawi gasped.

/ / / / /

 _Back then, the only thing America could ever do to England when he was colony was glare at him when the damn corrupter wasn't looking. That, and curse him in his mins in every single way he knew. America would pray to whatever gods he knew to make England's sink deep in the ocean, where no one could hear him pathetically scream for mercy as he's torn apart by the underwater panthers._

 _That way, America could be finally left alone, justice would be served. But no, England always, always, always, always, always came back, bringing gifts from somewhere. America didn't want gifts, he wanted to be at peace, he wanted his mother. Why… Why couldn't England just die?!_

 _But even when he was left alone, which was most of the time, he's still miserable. It's pathetic how America just couldn't be happy. Every human he befriended would just age, move on, forget about him, wither and **die** like Davie did… He had no one to take care of him, to be there for him. America had to do it himself. Still, it was lot better than being England._

 _For as much England thought of him as a little brother, he hardly knew America. If he did, he'd be able to see America's true feelings._

 _America glared at England's back as he finally boarded onto his ship back to his home and did the usual cursing and wishing in his head, though it never worked, he would hope in vain that by a stroke of luck England's ship does sink. This time America was more angry than usual. Why? Because he's not going to be alone this time no, thanks to England finding out that he's been sneaking to meet with the natives, America's going to be taken care of by two of England's **brothers**._

 _As if one European wasn't enough._

 _"Holy hell! England found himself a wee dote!" A voice loudly exclaimed, and America yelped when all of a sudden he found himself lifted off the ground and crushed into a tight hug. "It's a miracle, I say! A miracle!"_

 _"Wait for me, ye damn idiot!" Came a booming voice from behind America's attacker, and laughter followed. "Good God, I think you're terrifying him, Patrick! And killing him, aye, yer definitely killing the poor lad."_

 _The attacker scoffed and thankfully set the terrified America back to the ground, and he looked up nervously a young ginger haired man smiling at him. Then another man came, a little older, who had red hair and was grinning at him. Both of them had very thick eyebrows... just like England's..._

 _These were his brothers._

 _"Hello there, lad!" The red-haired man greeted loudly, his mischievous grin broadening. "Yer America, right? England probably told ye of us, but if he did, everything he said was horse shit, he's the git, not us. I'm Scotland, yer soon to be favorite uncle, brother or whatever you think of England, but I guarantee that I'll yer favorite."_

 _England will never be America's brother or father._

 _The red-haired man, Scotland continued laughing and talking. "And this here is me little brother Ireland! Yer soon to be least favorite uncle or brother or whatever the hell you think of England! He's fun, but he's a bore compared to me!"_

 _"Oh, shut up, ye big moron. And stop cussing, he's just a boy!" The ginger haired man grinned widely, and then turned to smile warmly at America. "Don't mind my lump of a brother, he's just drunk, very, very drunk."_

 _"No, I am not!" Scotland squawked indignantly before he promptly collapsed to the ground._

 _America couldn't help but laugh, and a foreign feeling blossomed in his chest, joy? He hasn't laughed in years, not counting the times he faked for England._

 _Ireland stopped laughing at his brother and smiled at America again. "Don't worry bout him, it's not the first time it happened. Anyway, you mind telling me your human name, lad?"_

 _"Ta- Alfred F. Jones." America responded quickly, mentally kicking himself for almost saying his **real** human name._

 _"Ooh, what does the F stand for?"_

 _"I… It's a secret."_

 _"Hmm, alright. We all have our secrets." Ireland nodded, and then suddenly he frowned._

 _America flinched. "Wh-What is it?"_

 _"I know ye feel must feel pretty lonely, with my wee brother not being there for you most of the time." Ireland said solemnly, giving him a sad smile. "Must be terrible, having Arthur suddenly swoop in and change everything, then have him being yer only company. It's pretty admirable that yer still all bright and happy, least according to France."_

 _America stared up at Ireland in disbelief and he felt anger boiling up inside of him. How dare these Europeans assume what he's feeling?! They don't know him. Besides, he doesn't need Ireland's pity, much less from a European!_

 _"Don't be stupid, Patrick. Look at him!" Scotland barked, having gotten up, gesturing towards America. "Ye can see in his pretty eyes that he feels sad and alone. I'm surprised the lad still likes our brother after everything! Unless ye aren't fond of him after all._

 _"I… I…" America found himself speechless._

 _"Aye, I ain't fond of him either." The red-haired man grinned and laughed loudly as he ruffled America's hair. "Neither of us are, but he's our wee brother, so we have to look after the lad and all that shit."_

 _"We have to, lest we risk our mam's ghost haunting us for the rest of our lives" Ireland said jokingly, but then his expression became blank. "Would be nice if Arthur respected us and treated us better, then maybe we wouldn't give him such a hard time. Well, it won't be forever, because I'm going to get independent someday."_

 _Scotland scoffed, and his smile became a bit forced. "Oh? And when's that, little brother?"_

 _Ireland shrugged. "No idea, Allister. Maybe when our wee brother's empire starts to come crumbling down, and we know that's definitely going to happen."_

 _"Aye, no doubt about it." Scotland nodded gravely. "Hopefully I'll be able to support ye."_

 _"But that day's still far, farm from today, and we spend months stuck on a smelly ship just to talk about that!" Ireland suddenly grinned again and reached out his hand to America. "We came here because we wanted to meet ye, America. And yer gonna find us much more fun than our uptight brother."_

 _Scotland patted America's shoulder. "We'll do our best to be yer family."_

 _America stared at the hand uncertainly, feeling reluctant to take it, but then he glanced up at Ireland and Scotland and saw their smiles, and he hesitantly took it._

"Shit…" America muttered as he stared he looked at his bleeding hands in disdain.

Wow, he really got carried away... and he was stupid to just ignore the damage broken glass could do. Yeah, that was pretty stupid of him. But America just got so fired up after destroying that last picture that... he wound up destroying all the others too... in the quietest ways possible of course. He hasn't forgotten that the micronation trio were still peacefully asleep not far from him.

As satisfying as it felt to tear all of them to shreds, super strength or not, the broken glass still cut his hands and now they were a bit of a mess. And speaking of messes, America's going to have to clean that all up... America sighed. Maybe it wasn't necessary to wreck all those pictures of himself-

No. No, no, no, the young man in those photos wasn't him, he's fake, he's not real, never was. America waited centuries to tear him apart with his bare hands and bury him once and for all. He hated that person. Which was why he had to get rid of every trace and proof that he once 'existed', America let out a dry laugh.

"Okay..." America muttered, joining his hands together. "Let's fix that..."

America closed his eyes and concentrated, as well as muttering a few certain words under his breath, and then after about a minute, he opened his eyes again and smiled when he saw that the cuts on his hands were gone, leaving behind only the blood. He may not be as powerful with voodoo as Nigeria or Haiti, but he still shouldn't be underestimated.

America sighed, and was about to go to a bathroom to wash his hands, when he heard knocking from his front door. He narrowed his eyes. Who could that be? He wasn't expecting any visitors, and it certainly wasn't anyone outside the Order, since he would have sensed them in his land. So who had the genius idea of trying to get him up at this hour?!

He sighed again, and he stomped towards the door, grabbing a gun just in case, and he swung it open with a furious expression. " _State your business_."

Only meet to meet with a surprise.

"Hey, hey, hey, man!" Jamaica exclaimed as he backed away with his hands raised in surrender. "What's with all the anger, brother?! I'm your neighbor, not a burglar!"

America widened his eyes at the discovery that it was Jamaica on his door, and he lowered the gun. "Jamaica? What the hell are you doing here at my house this late?!"

Now Jamaica looked confused. "What? You don't remember, mon?"

America resisted the urge to snort at the verbal tic and narrowed his eyes. "Remember what?"

"You know, the plan?"

"What plan?"

"That plan, brother. The plan you and I planned to begin today, or I guess it's tomorrow, but-"

"Jamaica, it's about midnight or one in the morning, and I don't know if you can tell, but I'm _really_ tired right now." America growled, and his hands twitched. "You're like a brother to me, so for your sake and mine, _explain_ why you're here in the next ten seconds or I'll-"

"The plan that we'd use your private jet to fly to Ireland's house so you can talk the guy into joining us! Don't you remember, man?" Jamaica exclaimed, raising an eyebrow. "We went over it five times yesterday, and you've been looking forward to this for days!"

…Oh. That's right, he and Jamaica agreed that they'd leave for Ireland together early morning… which was right now.

America groaned and face-palmed. "Oh, shit, I completely forgot about that. Sorry, Jamaica."

"Don't worry about it, Al." Jamaica waved it off, then cringed. "Besides, you do look pretty awful, brother. Family issues, mon?"

"How can you tell?"

"I know you, Al." Jamaica said knowingly, then he stared in confusion at America's bloodied hands. "No idea what's the deal with that, though."

America sighed and hid his hands behind his back. "It's just blood, I'm fine. Just let me wash my hands, tell Molossia about this and grab my keys then we can leave."

/ / / / /

Philippines could only just stare in utter bafflement at what he was seeing.

Here he was, at the _exact_ location in Vietnam where North Korea told them to meet him, but instead of finding the braided teenager, he instead found a wounded and gagged Laos tied to a tree with a note pasted on the ropes… with no sign of North Korea anywhere in the area.

Next to Philippines was Macau, who was only staring at the sight with mild surprise, and who acted by calmly walking over to Laos. Macau didn't even bother to acknowledge Laos and instead took the note from the ropes then then regarded it for a short second before walking back to Philippines.

Philippines snatched the piece of paper from Macau's hands and began to read it. North Korea definitely wrote this, it's got his handwriting, now why could he have vanished? By the time he finished reading the note and got his answer, Philippines didn't know whether he should be shocked, upset or just burst out laughing. Either way, Philippines should have figured that North Korea would have done something like this sooner or later.

"Well…" Macau chuckled while Philippines just stared at the note in disbelief. "It looks like Hyung got impatient."

/ / / / /

They buried Poland in the backyard of his own house. Hungary was the one who carried him there for every step of the way and she instructed Egypt to find a shovel in the garage then start digging up a hole while she worked on making a cross and finding "a hot pink glitter vampire coffin with rhinestones that Romania got him for his birthday".

It was silent in the area, very silent, the wind was the only thing that could be heard. It _felt_ silent, it was the air and the atmosphere felt grim. Not to mention there was an absence of people or noise from the neighboring houses not far from here. Egypt wondered, did the humans here, Poland's citizens, somehow sense the death of their nation? Did they all feel an inexplicable feeling of loss and sadness?

What'll happen to Poland, the country, was anyone's guess. Egypt didn't have the slightest idea, but he knew that no country could function without their personification, so if he had to guess, was that when the silence and mourning ended, the country would descend into chaos.

After over an hour or two, Egypt had dug up a hole big enough for the coffin to fit in, Hungary had made a cross and carved the name Feliks Łukasiewicz on it. Hungary stuck the cross and rested Poland inside the coffin and she helped Egypt get it into the hole, sobbing and crying as she did so. Egypt knew he should say something to comfort her, but he didn't have anything.

When the time came to put all the dirt back, Hungary picked up the shovel and was about to hand it to Egypt, but then retracted her hand and glanced at hole anxiously, almost as if she's afraid that Poland wasn't dead after all and that Egypt was going to bury him alive.

"Hungary." Egypt called softly, but Hungary only bit her lip and avoided his gazed, causing him to narrow his eyes. " _Elizaveta_."

Hungary teared up and handed him the shovel, sobbing. " _Please_ get it over and done with."

And so he did, with Egypt wiping a bit of sweat off his face after he got the last of the dirt back into the ground and burying Poland, and Hungary cried and cried, even screaming in grief. She was practically inconsolable.

This will not be the last time Egypt will see Hungary cry. There's still the matter of Austria, she'll find out about it sooner or later, and it'll break her heart. Egypt doesn't think he had to worry about Hungary joining him, that'd be ludicrous, and she had a right to know the truth.

"Elizaveta."

"Hmm?" Hungary said, looking back at him with a curious expression. "What is it, Egypt?"

"I…" Egypt trailed off, and he glanced at the grave then at Hungary's watery eyes, then he shook his head. "No, forget it. It's nothing."

/ / / / /

 _The Ottoman Empire, or Turkey as he's also referred to, was in fact, as shocking and hard as it may be to believe, not quite happy._

 _Yes, he was the personification of an empire that had territories in Europe, Asia and Africa, yes, he lived a luxurious life, blah, blah, blah, yes, yes, he got it. It's nice, fun, and all… But... he didn't have much control over said empire. That and another little fact rather soured the pride he felt._

 _It was a twisted and insufferable never-ending cycle. The nation influenced the people, but the people could easily influence them too, which could cause the nation to influence them and so on. It's annoying, really. Turkey hated that cycle with every fiber of his being. Nations, particularly empires and/or Europeans, tend to do three things: either not care, embrace it, or just try to be the most influential._

 _Spain, for example, embraced it and happily did whatever his king/queen asked of him (along with his greed influencing his people). France didn't care just as long it wouldn't ruin his 'glamorous' empire. And England, while he obeyed his king's command without question, still did the best he could to make sure his retarded plan for world domination would succeed._

 _As for Turkey? None of the above. He wanted to be the one in control, he wanted to be free to think about his ideas and views without fearing that his people had a part in making them appear in his mind. He refused to be under the unknowing control of his humans, he wanted his mind to be free of their influence, but his efforts never seemed to completely succeed._

 _It's such a shame that none of Europe seemed to share his opinions, they're all dull and uninteresting as well... No, that's not true, that Austria in the west was different, he's very interesting, and most of all, that man knew how to break their influence. And one time when they met in secret, Austria told Turkey how to do it._

 _It improved Turkey's life greatly._

 _But alas, Turkey still felt rather empty. The suffering and despair of others, though, the sadistic pleasure he derived from watching his enemies or any resistance in the territories be crushed into his boot, that at least gave him some sort of happiness. He also appreciated Bosnia's loyalty and unwavering kindness towards him, as well as his strange friendship with Austria._

 _Said last nation told him that it might do Turkey good if he found a lover. Turkey snorted at the idea, heh, who in the right mind would love him? However, that gave him an idea, the possibility of someone loving a person so much that they're driven to obsession and madness and would do anything for said person intrigued him. It would probably be nice to have someone like that._

 _It'd be interesting and amusing if Turkey had someone like that. **Especially** if it were one of Turkey's own territories. Yes, that would be amusing. _

_And so he sorted through his options, it certainly helped that most his territories have now grown up. Turkey immediately crossed all his female territories off the list, he couldn't quite stand women, and he went over the others. Who would be the easiest to manipulate and the most desirable for him? Who could he manipulate to not care about the gender?_

 _Let's see... Romania's too stubborn and the boy would rather jump off a cliff... Bosnia's loyal but he was also a younger brother to Turkey... Tunisia liked men but he was a tad too young for Turkey... Greece could work, it likely would but the cat-loving boy still hated him for killing Byzantine, his last caretaker... Egypt was a good candidate, he was a lonely child, and Turkey was originally going to choose him, but..._

 _Turkey just couldn't suppress the smirk forming on his lips as he watched the frowning Bulgarian fiddle with his hands over the table and his gaze towards the window, occasionally shooting a glance at him and grabbing at the collar of his shirt. Bulgaria was the best choice, and he just happened to be among the ones who least gave Turkey a migraine. Also, Bulgaria was adorable._

 _And Bulgaria was beginning to crave his company. Granted, it wasn't that easy, Turkey was obviously at first treated with cold remarks but then after many days of treating Bulgaria with kindness and teasing him a little, he finally began to open up. Bulgaria didn't really have any friends outside of Romania, so he felt rather lonely, which helped greatly for Turkey's goals._

 _All Turkey had to do was to plant the seed of obsession in Bulgaria's heart, and he will have him soon enough._

Geez, poor Vilnius.

Turkey grinned at recalling those memories, it's amazing how they've all come for so far thanks to those two. He'd probably be stuck under the control of his corrupt boss, completely unaware that there was a plan to make this world worth living in. But anyway, seriously, the poor kid…

Prussia and Austria wouldn't be this harsh with Vilnius, in fact, they'd probably disapprove of Lithuania's needlessly harsh punishment.

Now, speaking of those two, Turkey wondered if they would let him and Bulgaria go on a little "trip". You know, a little romantic murder spree to weaken their enemies before they could come together. It'll be fun! Turkey doesn't remember the last time he and Bulgaria ever tortured and killed together as a team. Oh, or better, get rid of them one by one! He heard Italy's place was very pleasant this time of year…

 **Yeah, I know not much happened in this chapter, and the reason was because I wanted to add backstory to some of the characters and have stuff happen instead of just writing a flashback chapter. I don't think I'm gonna write another chapter this though... Oh well, I can go back to more characters in the next chapter. :) Please review!**


	42. Revelations: On My Way

**Thanks to AquaEclipse and Eternal Nexus Warrior for reviewing. Now, on with the show!**

Now it was Egypt's turn to feel devastated.

He felt just that the moment he and Hungary landed on his capital and saw the sight that greeted him. Egypt had realized, just as they were about to leave, that he still hadn't went and found out if Seychelles and the others were alright after what happened in his home. He had forgotten in the midst of everything happening, but he still berated himself for it.

Once he did realize that and his mind properly registered that fact, he became nearly consumed with worry for the girls. Surely Anubis would protect them from harm to the best of his abilities, but Egypt had no idea if the Order knew the truth about his trusted friend, but how could they have figured it out if they did? No, that was impossible…

Egypt felt a little guilty for taking Hungary with him in her current state, the woman needed rest and comfort more than anything.

Hungary had barely uttered a word as they prepared to leave, though her reasons were understandable, and she looked worse for wear, again, for understandable reasons. Her eyes were red from crying, she kept sniffing about three times every minute, and she looked exhausted, emotionally exhausted to be exact. However, her expression went from saddened to horrified once they arrived in Cairo.

Egypt's house was unscathed, the same could be said for the surrounding houses, but the rest of the are wasn't as unscathed as he had hoped. Against his better judgement, he went to see how bad the city was hit, and it was... slightly worse than he thought.

Hungary's mouth hanged open in horror, and she glanced at Egypt, then at the ruins, then back at Egypt. "Oh my… I figured that it must have been awful from how much you were in pain... but still... I didn't it'd be this bad."

Egypt's hand felt the debris on the ground, his face pale as a ghost. "This… I-I…"

"Who could have done this?" Hungary asked quietly, looking around, probably for any sign of life. "I mean, who would hate you so much to do this to you?

"Don't you remember what Sadik said? The African Five did this. No innocent soul spared, this definitely looks like their handiwork." Egypt stated with a hateful scowl, feeling his blood boil with hate. "At least one or two of them are responsible for this."

Hungary tilted her head. "The African Five? Which-"

"South Africa, Nigeria, Liberia, along with Morocco and Cameroon whom you saw when you arrived." Egypt explained slowly. "I already explained to you and Romania how those five really are, didn't I?"

"Oh…" Hungary said, biting her lip. "Right. Still, I can't believe they'd do this just so you wouldn't be able to help us. There are tons of other ways to stop you like… like… getting Haiti to use his magic to freeze you or even just knocking you out! Why go through the trouble and kill innocent people?"

"I highly doubt they did it just for the sake of _distracting_ me." Egypt said in distaste, grimacing. "I'm the reason me and the other African escapees were able to escape Africa, so naturally, they hate me for that and intend in making me suffer the most if we runaways ever get captured. This... was their way of getting revenge and pleasuring themselves in the process, my punishment."

Hungary looked shocked more than anything. "But how could they go this far? I think it's unnecessarily brutal and evil to punish you like this for escaping.

"Well… what did you expect?" Egypt asked bitterly with a humorless laugh, grinning nastily at her despite everything. "They had no issue massacring nearly the entire Caribbean, murdered Spain in cold blood, and butchered the Belgian government for unknown reasons. What makes you think they'd have a problem with doing _this_?"

Hungary flinched at his aggressive tone, and she even looked a little alarmed by Egypt's smile, he probably even looked a little insane.

"But… But this is…It's just that..." Hungary struggled to form the right words and she bit her lip again. "I'm sorry, it's just that I thought... hoped that I'd never see war horrors like this after the twentieth century."

"Didn't we all?" Egypt laughed dryly and gripped his head. Gone, gone, his people are gone, crushed under debris or killed by the bombs. They're dead, one quarter of the population of his capital… gone. "But it'll never end, will it? No… it will never end…"

"Are… you okay, Egypt?" Hungary cocked her head and reached out a hand to comfort him.

A hand that Egypt ended up slapping away, he hissed. "I'm not even going to bother dignifying that with an answer."

"Monsieur Egypt!"

Egypt snapped out of his mad train of thought when a familiar voice called out his name, and he snapped his head and felt overwhelmed with relief once he saw Seychelles jumped down from some wreckage with his dear dog Anubis following close behind her, barking as he dashed towards him.

Seychelles was unharmed, thank the gods for that, but her blue dress and pretty face were dirty. She looked over the moon to finally see him, after what happened who could blame her? It was very unfortunate that she had to go through that. Why did she have to…

Anubis barked in joy and panted as he stopped in front of his owner and Egypt smiled and petted his head. He noted the regret and sadness in the god's eyes.

"It's alright…" Egypt breathed, giving a reassuring smile. "I'm sure you did your best…"

"Th… there you are!" Seychelles exclaimed in relief, laughing weakly but joyfully as she caught up to them. "We were going to wait back at your house, but then Anubis sensed that you were over here, so we… and now you're here! You have no idea how happy I am about that…"

Egypt smiled sadly. "And I'm glad to see you're safe, Seychelles. I'm sorry that you and the others had to see all this destruction."

At the mention of the attacks, Seychelle's face fell. "Oh, Gupta, I'm so sorry about-

"It's… please don't mention it. Where are Bahamas and Saint Lucia?" Egypt asked as he looked around, wanting to change the topic.

"Oh, they're…" Seychelles trailed off and she finally noticed Hungary, who looked a little puzzled, behind Egypt, and the island girl tilted her head in confusion. "Is that Miss Hungary? What are you doing here?"

"She, along with Romania and Bosnia, have joined our group." Egypt explained. "We told them everything, and they're more than happy to help us."

"But… how? When?" Seychelles asked, still confused.

Hungary smiled a little forcefully. "It's a long story…"

Wanting to get rid of the awkwardness, and get more answers, Egypt asked. "So, what about Bahamas and Saint Lucia, Michelle?"

"…Huh? Oh!" Seychelles jumped and pointed behind her. "They're over there."

Egypt turned to where Seychelles pointed and saw Bahamas helping Saint Lucia down to the ground, both were also unharmed. When Bahamas saw him, she briefly stared at him in surprise before smiling weakly and waving at him as she walked towards their little group with her neighbor. Saint Lucia didn't appear to share Bahamas's happiness.

"I can't believe I played dress up with a mummy death god…" Saint Lucia muttered in utter shock.

Bahamas hummed and patted her head in comfort. "I think you should feel so scared, Luce. Anubis could have dragged you down to the depths of hell, but he didn't, so you really don't have anything to worry about.

"You're not really helping, you know that?" Saint Lucia stuck her tongue out at her, and then scowled when she turned to Egypt. "Hey, you! Why didn't you tell us that your dog was a big and powerful death god?"

Egypt blinked. "I didn't want to alarm you, and I didn't want any of you to think I was mad."

"Are you kidding me? I wouldn't mind knowing that. In fact, I'd love it if you told me that so that I wouldn't have pissed off your god by putting him in a dress!" Saint Lucia screeched angrily and hid behind Bahamas while staring at Anubis in suspicion. "Now thanks to you, I'm probably doomed to spend an eternity in hell!"

Egypt laughed, for a brief second or two, a genuine laugh. It made all his restrained grief and rage just a little less unbearable. He loved these girls.

"Anubis isn't like that, I'm sure he isn't!" Seychelles tried to defend the god dog. "After I went with him to the city-"

"You did what?" Egypt asked, gaping.

Seychelles paled, and she fiddled with her fingers anxiously, as if she's having a difficult time how to explain. "It's... I... I... It was a... spur of the moment thing? I didn't exactly... give it much thought... and I kind of regretted it as soon as I did it…"

"You should." Egypt muttered.

"But I'm okay, nothing and no one tried to hurt me, honest!" Seychelles exclaimed, beginning to panic a little. "Not even South Africa and Nigeria! They didn't even try to capture me!"

Egypt's eyes went wide. "South Africa and Nigeria?! They were here?"

Seychelles nodded, holding her arms. "Uh-huh, just the two of them. They're the ones who did this to your capital, and they laughed about it... though at this I guess it's not very surprising at this point..."

Egypt's eyes narrowed, at least he knew who exactly was behind it, but then his expression softened as he realized something. "Michelle… don't tell me you did it because you were hoping to find an Order nation ask them about Mauritius's whereabouts…"

Seychelles suddenly found her shoes interesting. "Maybe…"

"Well?" Egypt asked, and Seychelles's face snapped back up. "Did you find anything?"

Seychelles shook her head, sniffing. "No…"

"Oh." Egypt said, feeling dejected by that information, and when saw the expression on the island's girl's face he quickly tried to change the subject. "And I assume that Anubis transformed into his other form and fought those two?"

"O-Oui." Seychelles nodded. "

"Really?" Egypt said, feeling his shoulders slump in relief. It's about time the Order lost members, and those two deserved it. "That's very good to know. Now South Africa and Nigeria suffer in hell where they belong.

Seychelles shook her head. "Actually…"

It took several seconds for what she meant by that to sink in, but when it did, Egypt gasped. "They got away? But how?!"

"Oh, uh… umm…" Seychelles wringed her hands, looking uncomfortable. "Nigeria… he, uh… vomited a snake on Anubis's face."

"Pardon?" Egypt asked, astonished, while Anubis growled.

Seychelles scratched the back of her head. "It's a… long story."

/ / / / /

"So, Al, mon, I was wondering…" Jamaica suddenly drawled. "I know you've probably been asked this before, and you're a smart guy, I know you probably already have some backup plan just in case…"

"But?" America asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"What if we're wrong, man? What if deep down Ireland does care about that pussyhole?" Jamaica asked darkly, the contempt in his voice obvious. "How are we supposed to convince the guy if that's the case?"

America's hands tightened their grip on the wheel.

"I know Patrick, the bad blood between him and England's still very strong on his side, even though on the outside it may not look that serious." America explained to him, before his mind flashed to some fond memories with Ireland. "All he needs is a bit of encouragement and reassurance, and he'll trust me. We sympathize a lot with each other. Plus, he himself told me that _I'm_ his favorite nephew."

He said that last part with a bit of pride in his voice. Though America was well aware that technically "that guy" was Ireland's favorite nephew, not him, that fact gave him happiness nonetheless. Ireland was truly like an older brother to him. Scotland was fun and amusing, but he somewhat preferred Canada instead of America, which admittedly irked him.

But it's fine, that's fine (no it wasn't). Scotland could keep caring for Canada, it doesn't matter (IT DOES), at least it helped in making him stop whining so much (no no that goddamn traitor attention whore doesn't deserve it). Besides, Scotland was less likely to join them, right? America could try but it was too risky (I just want to have them with me again).

And the important thing was getting Ireland. Yeah... All that mattered was getting Ireland, America could... finally decide what to do with Scotland later...

Jamaica hummed in agreement as he inhaled from his cigarette (much to America's annoyance), then exhaled. "Cool, breden. Maybe Ireland could spy for us, man, be our mole. No harm in having another one."

"Yeah, we could definitely use one in Europe." America agreed.

"And what if _can't_ get Ireland on our side?" Jamaica inquired, raising an eyebrow in concern. "What then? Do we force him? Take him to the room?"

That possibility has crossed America's mind, despite how much he preferred to believe that Ireland knew better than to try protecting his slime of a brother's life, and he has delved into the possible solutions and actions that could be taken more than once. Taking Ireland to the room if he refused to join them… was an idea that tempted America.

But no. America shook his head. No… no, he won't do that to Ireland. Not like that, it wasn't right. If Ireland's going to be his brother, then it'll be out of his own free will. America's heart wouldn't take it if he sent Ireland to endure the torment in there.

"No." America blurted out, shaking his head fervently. "No, no, no, no, no, no... that won't be necessary. Ireland will join us willingly, I know it."

Jamaica didn't look completely convinced, but he thankfully didn't question America's judgement. "If you say so, Alfred."

The rest of the ride was spent in comfortable silence, except for Jamaica smoking his weed and filling the whole damn car with the smell of it. Christ couldn't Jamaica open a window?! If he could, America would snatch the cigarette from Jamaica's fingers and throw it out, but _no one_ messed with Jamaica's weed… no one. Asking him to stop was also out of the question…

But luckily, they soon (finally) arrived at their destination and America could see his plane from afar. America quickly got out and made his towards the plane, eager to get this show on the-

America's whole body tensed when he felt someone poke his right shoulder. At first he thought it was Jamaica, since he's the only soul within five feet of him, but then he remembered that Jamaica was standard behind on his _left_. America immediately assumed the worst.

He gritted his teeth and whirled around to meet the attacker, ready to clock that bastard's- What the hell was that guy doing here?

That thought ran through America's mind as his eyes widened and he stared in surprise at a blank faced Norway, who had no visible reaction to America nearly accidentally punching a hole through his stomach, and the star-spangled nation face-palmed and groaned. What now?

Then a small smile began to form on Norway's emotionless face. "It's very nice to see you too, Alfred. Is that any way to greet your family?"

"Norway, why are you here? I almost clocked you back there." America asked exasperatedly

Norway raised an amused eyebrow. "What do you mean? I clearly remember you accepting my offer to help you in this little mission of yours, or have you forgotten about that?"

America was about to demand what the Nordic meant by that, but then the memory hit him. Shit, Norway's right.

God, he needed sleep…

"Yeah, I forgot." America hissed, mentally berating himself for it.

Jamaica looked back and forth between them. "You didn't tell that Norway was coming, man. Are you sleeping ok?""

"You do look rather drowsy…" Norway remarked with a hint of worry in his voice.

"That's doesn't matter." America said quickly, and he narrowed his eyes at Norway. "Why would you want to help us again?"

"Why, because you're a brother to us!" Norway smirked broadly. "You're powerful, I don't have any doubts about that, your skills with what magic you have is impressive, again I don't doubt that, I just think it'd be wiser if a nation with an extensive knowledge and skill with magic went with you. Each of the UK brothers are talented, and they shouldn't be underestimated."

"True…"

"And sorry if this is off topic, but is there anything or anyone else you forgot about, Alfred?

America raised an eyebrow. "I don't think so. Why?"

Norway grinned and pointed up at the sky behind America just as he began to hear something. "That."

America turned around as the sound became louder, and he widened his eyes at the sight of a helicopter flying towards them. What in the… wait. As the helicopter got closer to the ground, he noticed that someone was standing at the cabin door.

"No way…" America breathed as a smile slowly made its way to his face, and he wanted to burst out laughing.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me, mon…" Jamaica muttered and then sputtered as his long dreadlocks got caught in his mouth.

North Korea's grin couldn't be wider. "Hello, my dear capitalist fool! I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to be coming with you, whether you like it or not!"

/ / / / /

"…And that's what we were doing for the past few days, Lovi!" Italy cheerfully finished his long… VERY long story about what really happened, while Japan snored as he slept face down on a couch with Germany struggling to keep his eyes open. "Doitsu was scolding me for flirting with his beautiful bellas before you came and chased us to his house!"

Romano kept his distrusting scowl on them. "Let me get this straight… You're not fucking with me, right? So you and the potato bastard aren't fucking each other?"

A vein bulged in Germany's head, wishing that Romano didn't put it so crudely. "Nein... we never did, and we _never_ will. I don't know what gave you that idea, but you were very wrong."

"You two aren't dating... and never ever will?" Romano raised an eyebrow, apparently not quite believing him.

"Again, nein." Germany responded with an irate tone, just wanting to get this mess over and done with.

"You don't have any intention on dating my idiot fratello."

"Are you even listening to what I'm saying?"

Romano narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Germany, as if checking for any signs that the other nation was lying or trying to hide something, and this went on for longer than it should. God, Germany was tired… how long has it been since he has last slept? Eight… ten hours? A day? And what time is it?

Then Romano finally stopped glaring at him and then grumbled something under his breath

"THAT FUCKING CARNIVAL BASTARD LIED TO ME!" Romano roared, shaking the entire house and sending Italy running to Germany and causing Japan to fall off the couch. "I'VE BEEN HAD! HOW COULD I BE SO DAMN GULLIBE! I WASTED HOURS OF MY GODDAMN LIFE TRYING TO KILL YOU FUCKING BASTARDS! IN FACT, THE ONLY GOOD THING THAT CAME OUT OF THIS DAMN MESS WAS THAT I FINALLY GOT SOME PEACE AND QUIET FROM THAT TOMATO BASTARD!"

Italy screamed and waved his white while hiding behind Germany, Japan shot up from the ground and looked around in a dazed panic, still disoriented, while Germany just covered his ears and groaned. But then one detail stuck out to him.

"Carnival bastard?" Germany repeated, confused. "Which nation is that, Romano?"

"C-C-Carnival b-bastard is what Lovi calls Brazil." Italy meekly responded before cowering behind Germany again Romano punched a wall.

"Si, apparently that bastard Brazil thought it would be fucking hilarious if he tricked me into thinking that you two idiots were fucking each other." Romano snarled, gritting his teeth. "Gah, I can't believe I was so stupid, STUPID!"

"I can..." Germany muttered.

"Shut up!" Romano barked, and then promptly began to bang his head against the wall. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid-!"

"E-Er, Romano-san?" Japan nervously chimed in, trembling slightly. "I think you will get a horrible concussion if you continue banging your-"

"I said SHUT UP!" Romano turned and growled at them, his forehead bleeding, before going back to hurting himself again. "I. Can't. Believe. I'm. So. Stupid! Stupid damn carnival bastard tricking me into nearly killing my idiot fratello and his stupid bastard friends. Damn it! If I'm going to kill the potato bastard, it won't be because I was tricked into doing it!"

"Not to you caused massive property damage in my house…" Germany added, grumbling, glancing at the broken chandelier not far from them. "Which you're going to pay for by the way…"

Italy yelped when the house shook, and he ran towards his brother to stop him. "L-Lovino, please, stop! I forgive you for almost killing us in horrible terrible ways! We all do! Y-You shouldn't go and hurt yourself! It's not right!"

Romano abruptly stopped just before his head could hit the wall again, then he slowly turned to face his brother with a scowl. "…You know what? You're… right for once, Veneziano."

"I am?" Italy asked in surprise.

"He is?" Germany asked incredulously.

"He… is?" Japan tilted his head.

"I am!" Italy exclaimed in joy.

"Si, I shouldn't waste even more of my time in the potato bastard's dump when the goddamn carnival bastard it still out there with all his body parts still attached." Romano said darkly, cracking his knuckles with a twitching smile. "Like you said, it's not fucking right. Instead of breaking my damn skull, I should go break his!"

Italy's smile vanished, and he began to tremble. "U-Umm… Ve?"

"Well, I'm out!" Romano barked, wiping the blood of his forehead, and stomped towards the exit whose door he had blown off earlier. "I don't care what you bastards do, as long as it doesn't involve fucking my fratello, I'm going to be busy with revenge. Smell ya later, bastards!"

And with that Romano ran off at the speed of light, leaving a large trail of dust behind.

Japan swallowed and then looked up at the ceiling in thought. "At least this tale of horror has ended with us still alive and unharmed. Now we can finally prepare to go to the G7 meeting tomorrow without worrying about Romano."

"Honestly, Japan, WHY DON'T YOU TELL US THESE TYPES OF THINGS SOONER?!"

/ / / / /

"Michelle?"

"Lucille!"

The first nation Seychelles saw after Egypt took them back to Big Brother France's house was a gaping Monaco, and she was almost immediately overcome with emotion. Seychelles laughed in pure relief as she ran and hugged Monaco tightly, nearly wanting to burst into tears of joy right there.

Although it wasn't a long time since she'd seen Monaco, it felt like it's been forever since they last saw each other.

"There you are, young lady. Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?" Monaco scolded lightly, but then she laughed too. "You don't have the slightest idea how happy I am to see that you're back. Are you alright? Oh, look at you, you're all dirty!"

Seychelles smiled sheepishly. "That doesn't matter, I'm fine! And I should be the one asking that, are you okay?"

Monaco nodded, smiling tiredly. "Oui, I'm alright. I've just been worried sick about you, and so was Francis."

"Speaking of Francis, where is Big Brother France?" Seychelles asked, worried, and looked around. "Gupta told me what happened, is he okay? I know he's not going to die, but is he really alright? Is he feeling any better?"

"Calm down, Michelle. Oui, Francis is… making a good recovery, but he still needs a lot of rest." Monaco said calmly, but Seychelles could see that she tensed. "Let's get you all cleaned up, shall we? We don't want Francis having a heart attack as soon as he wakes up, do we? You two girls as well."

"H-Hang on, Lucille!" Seychelles protested and squeaked as Monaco began to tow her away

"I can also tell that you all need rest and good sleep too, understandable, given the time you spent all by yourselves. Don't worry, you're much safer now, and-"

"MONACO!" Seychelles shrieked, and Monaco screeched to a stop.

"Oui?" Monaco asked, confused.

"I… I'd like to talk a bit with Egypt. There's still some things I want to ask him." Seychelles said exasperatedly, glaring at Monaco, and she saw that Egypt looked surprised.

Monaco looked back and forth between them, but a spark of realization appeared in her eyes and she smiled knowingly. "Ah, of course, forgive me, Michelle. I'll just… go and show Bahamas and Saint Lucia where the bathrooms are. Let me know when you're finished."

Then Monaco left, along with a giggling Saint Lucia and a winking Bahamas, much to Seychelles's dismay. But she quickly forgot about that when she walked towards Egypt, feeling a little nervous, and she did her best to not make an awkward smile.

Oh dear, what should she say first?

"I've… missed you." Seychelles said, rather lamely in her opinion, with a shy smile.

"And I you." Egypt said, nodding, though he didn't smile Seychelles could have sworn she saw red in his cheeks.

"I'm sorry, I know you're probably very tired, especially after what happened to you and I'm sorry that we couldn't stay…" Seychelles shuffled her feet nervously, clasping her sweaty and dirty hands together. "But can we… talk? If you don't mind of course!"

"No! No… I… I think would I like that." Egypt stammered, much to Seychelles's shock, and he gave a small smile. "I'm sure it would help me feel a lot better."

"Really?" Seychelles's eyes sparkled.

"I would never lie to you."

"Hmm…" Hungary hummed, stroking her chin, and Seychelles completely forgot that the European woman was there. "I've never considered this ship before…"

Both Egypt and Seychelles sweat-dropped.

/ / / / /

 _The next day..._

To say Belize wasn't happy would be the understatement of the century.

When she woke up, came back to life to be exact, there were tons of questions running through her mind and she didn't really the answers she got. Belize died, she already knew that, and was the third one to revive after Costa Rica and Honduras, Guatemala, the jerk, got away… so they pretty much lost.

Belize felt forced to suck it up and not blow up about it, since there was still Nicaragua to worry about and that was a lot more important, and it might be a little childish. But the fact that they lost Guatemala pissed her off. She kept these feelings bottled up even after Nicaragua woke up and during the ride to the airport.

Until finally, she exploded.

"I still can't believe it!" Belize shrieked in rather childish rage, flailing her arms about. "We lost! That old jerk got away, France got hurt, brujo and Sally's capitals are a mess, and we lost! WE LOST! Like, badly!"

"Not to mention a lot of us got temporarily killed…" Costa Rica sighed, rubbing his now healed neck. "Ay, it still kind of hurts."

"Speak for yourself, burro, you weren't already killed just hours earlier and you only got your neck snapped! At least _you_ didn't have your stomach ripped out!" Nicaragua snarled, holding her abdomen, then calmly glanced at Romania. "Thanks again by the way."

"No problem." Romania grinned, tipping his hat.

"You know what? It's my fault. It's totally, 100% my fault! I shouldn't have just stood there in shock like a moron when that skinny, bushy-browed jerk throw a firecracker at me!" Belize exclaimed angrily, looking at her now healed but still slightly scarred hand. "And I shouldn't have been stupid to fall for that old trick!"

Man did that hurt. Belize got too distracted by the fact that Guatemala was walking free and wondering whether she should go after him or stick to fighting Hong Kong, that the Asian asshole threw a small firecracker at her. Belize caught it in her hand just in time before it could hit her face, but that was the smug bastard's plan.

Next thing she knew, there was a BOOM and Belize felt her chest and right hand get burned. Then about a minute or two later of burning pain, Belize died.

"Don't be so upset, Bel. No one blames you for being taken by surprise." Honduras tried to reassure the grumpy Belize and put her hands down on her shoulders. "We all were! Look at me, I had no idea that Bulgaria poisoned me when he caught me off guard!"

Belize looked up at her, puffing her cheeks. "You do know that doesn't change the fact that we lost, right?"

"I know." Honduras chirped.

"So why the smiles, Sophia?" Belize asked grumpily.

Honduras shrugged, smiling like she often does. "I think it's a lot better to look at the bright side of things. Sure, it's a bummer that we lost, and that Poland got killed. But even without Guatemala, we still have plenty of evidence to prove that incriminates the nations in the New World Order, and when we prove it, we'll finally have the even ground."

Belize give it a bit of thought, then sighed. "I guess you're right…"

Honduras's smile widened a bit. "Si, and besides, we'll get him next time, right? And I'm sure you'll get to have a rematch with Hong Kong someday."

"Definitely." Belize smirked, cracking her knuckles. "And when I that day comes I'm so going to break both of their-."

"Romania, please, is the leash really necessary?!" Bosnia cried out in alarm as he struggled to get said leash off his neck, to no avail.

Romania smiled a toothy grin and shrugged. "Sorry, Bosnia, but last time was the last straw for the hag and even I'm getting scared about whatever's happening with you. We're not letting you go anywhere without adult supervision."

"I'm not a child!" Bosnia exclaimed, flustered, and he turned to Hungary. "Elizaveta, please, there has to be another way!"

Hungary was sitting in a chair, staring at the ceiling with a sad expression, before she snapped out of it when Bosnia called her name. "H-Huh? Er, sorry, Emir, no can do. I'm going to risk you wandering off or getting taken again."

Belize felt bad for Hungary, heck, everyone did, it was impossible not to. Belize could understand how she felt. Even with all her energy and determination, Belize would shut down if Honduras or any one of her good neighbors bit the dust like that. Worse since she saw it happen before her own two eyes…

At Hungary knew the truth now.

Soon the big guns will too and then everyone else, if everything goes well. Belize slumped back into her chair, and spotted Seychelles and Monaco fussing over France, who's looking better than yesterday but still could use some rest. Poor guy…

Then Belize's eyes went to Egypt, who stood away from all the activity in a corner, watching the Caribbean girls play with Anubis. Belize shot a glance towards her neighbors, with Nicaragua and Costa Rica now arguing with Honduras being the mediator, and shrugged then waltzed towards Egypt, keen on asking him about something.

"Hey, Egypt!" Belize chirped, getting the Arab's attention.

"Oh, Belize." Egypt nodded in greeting. "May I help you?"

Belize shook her head, and put her hands on her hips, grinning. "I just wanna ask you something. I'd done it a lot earlier if you weren't too busy building up your relationship with Seychelles."

Egypt flushed, and he narrowed his eyes. "And what would that be?"

Belize's grin vanished, and her expression became serious. "I also avoided bringing this up because I could tell we were both tired, and it might be a little sensitive. Well, here goes… I heard that after Hong Kong killed me, you got back at the tyke by… ripping out his heart…"

Egypt's expression darkened, and Belize frowned as she tilted her head then continued.

"Apparently, from what Algeria and Honduras told me, you figured that that's how you kill a nation from what we saw from… what happened to Spain, so you killed HK." Belize said quietly, biting her lip anxiously. "Why did you do it? And is it true? Did you really… Is Hong Kong… gone?"

"I'm honestly not sure if I succeeded, a part of me tells me that I didn't." Egypt said grimly. "As for why? I wanted to retaliate, I was tired of them winning so many times…"

"Sounds like you regret it."

"…I do."

"How much? Like, on a scale of one to ten?"

"About six or seven. I know they deserve it… but it still felt… wrong."

"Like you were stooping to their level?"

"Exactly."

Belize crossed her arms and thought about it. "Well, I'll be honest, I'm not sure what to say to you, brujo. I appreciate that you went and avenged little old me, but I'm not exactly happy with how you did it. If you ask me, I don't think we should permanently kill any nation, but if we don't and we win anyway, what are we going to do with the nations in the Order?"

Egypt stared down at the floor. "...I don't know."

"Yeah, me neither." Belize snorted, and then she playfully punched his arm. "So how about we see what the higher-ups, the G7 I mean, think what we should do? Then we'll a find to do the opposite of what they want later."

Without waiting for Egypt's response, Belize turned around and walked away.

Hopefully it won't end with us becoming monsters like _them_.

/ / / / /

DRC paced around the room he was in, frowning and muttering some chants that Nigeria taught him, so he could memorize them, with his hands in his pockets. There's nothing else for him and Liberia to do here in Algeria, the fighting should be over by now. In fact, it'd be a lot better if they leave, but not until at least Nigeria has the energy to teleport all of them to Switzerland's, and DRC's ally still needed a bit of rest.

To pass the time, DRC's mind went to a topic that he's been thinking about for a while and that he's considering bring up to the other Africans. Now he has more time to mull it over, but the fact that it'll involve breaking a dear promise haunted him.

"What are you thinking about?" South Africa suddenly asked from his bed with an innocent enough smile.

DRC returned the smile with a sardonic one. "I'd ask you the same question."

What could they _all_ be thinking about, DRC wondered.

DRC never quite 'knew' them well even before all this began. He preferred solitude except for occasional gatherings and/or visits to ROC or Angola, but even then, he liked his solitude. But that was before he was invited to join the Order, he had a home now, and he found that he liked the African Five's presence. But even so, they were all still a mystery to him.

Cameroon especially, and that was coming from someone who was often stone-faced himself. Liberia had the behavior of a teenager, albeit highly sadistic, but despite his age DRC knew that the boy was clever. Morocco was an enigma, he's always serene and polite with everyone, but there was often an obvious darkness in his tone. Nigeria was expressive and excitable, but he was far from stupid and he came up with cruel ways to torment his enemies. South Africa was the leader, and the words DRC would use to describe him would be 'cunning', 'mysterious', 'shrewd', he likely spent a large portion of his time coming up with plans.

It'll still take him a while to understand them, DRC reminded himself. But he was patient, and he was looking forward to knowing them better. He's already developing a sort of partnership with Liberia and an understanding with Nigeria.

"Hmm, good question. Not a lot of people ask me that, you know." South Africa remarked, and DRC could have sworn he heard a hint of nostalgia. "Though I don't really blame them, my mind can be a disturbing place."

"So what _do_ you think about?" DRC asked.

South Africa's smile became a sly grin. "I like to think about a lot of things… Not just blood, guts, gore and the complete and utter destruction of England as a lot people like to think, though they all hold a special place in my heart. For example: I often ask myself… do I want proteas or bush lilies in the upper left part of my backyard?"

The sentence was so unexpected and silly that it made DRC snort. "You can't be serious."

"I am!" South Africa laughed, not a cackle or psychotic laugh, just normal laughter. "It's been driving me insane for days! And ja, I like flowers."

"At this point, nothing surprises me anymore." DRC deadpanned.

"Oh, I disagree! I promise you that there's still a lot of things in our little organization that'll surprise you." South Africa smirked mischievously, laughing. "Ah, but that's a story for another time. It's your turn, what are you thinking about?"

"I think I have another African in mind, a friend of mine, that would want to join us." DRC stated bluntly, getting straight to the point. "It would do him a lot of good."

That certainly grabbed South Africa's attention, and the rainbow nation grinned widely. "Oh? Is that so? Who is this friend of yours? Is it ROC?"

DRC couldn't help but narrow his eyes. "Non, it's Central African Republic."

Central African Republic, or CAR for short. A lanky, pitifully skinny and slightly pale seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy. Short black, unkempt hair, wears clothes too big for his thin but durable body, empty dark brown eyes with bags underneath. Not a lot of nations in Africa liked to approach him, and for understandable reasons. CAR was like DRC, they were both suffering from instability and violent conflict in their lands, however, in his opinion…

Central African Republic's situation was worse.

CAR suffered from a large variety of things, but he was known in Africa for being among the worst, if not _the_ worst of them all in terms of conflict and violence. CAR was almost the lowest human development, he's the worst country in which to be young, and was even the world's hungriest country for several years straight, and he still was if DRC remembered correctly.

As a result of… everything he suffered, he's a bit of a recluse and quite unstable himself. CAR had a reputation for having sudden violent fits of rage or just act hostile towards everyone for no reason, then be calm again.

But there's more. CAR has a secret, a very _very_ dark secret, one that he trusted DRC could keep for the boy's sake.

South Africa's eyes went wide. "CAR? He's actually on our list for potential recruits, but he's way too paranoid and short-tempered, it'll be difficult for us Order members to gain his trust. Do you know how to convince him?"

DRC nodded, and he folded his arms. "I do. We're friends, we sympathize with each other a lot, I'm one of the few who can approach him without receiving hostility. I know you're also helping him, but there's another reason why I think he needs to join us. Listen carefully, because I'm breaking a promise, even though it's for his sake."

South Africa raised an eyebrow and he slowly sat up. "I'm listening."

"You know how CAR's always starving, right? How hungry his people are?"

"I do. Why?"

"Because it has a lot to do with what I'm about to tell you."

 **I wonder if anyone can guess what the secret is... It's disturbing, I'll tell you that. Anyway, I finally have NK appear again! I've wanted to work on the relationship for months! Please review!**


	43. Revelations: We have a lot to talk about

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, Eternal Nexus Warrior and a guest for reviewing. I'm sorry for the delay, the last couple of weeks have been pretty rough on me, and I had to change a lot of stuff with this chapter because I wasn't happy with how it was. Well, I hope it makes up for the wait. Now, on with the show!**

"My, now that was an exciting story…" South Africa remarked as he stroked his chin. "Very interesting as well. I honestly never heard of anything like that before in my life, and the possibility didn't even cross my mind."

DRC averted his gaze for a moment and scratched his head. "Me neither. Imagine my surprise when I found out why their bodies were like that, it gave me quite me a shock, and I don't get surprised very often. He didn't give a damn which side he targeted, no matter their stance or who they fought for, the people CAR got his hands on got…"

He trailed off, and South Africa could tell that he looked slightly disturbed by the memory.

"He couldn't tell friend from foe?" South Africa asked, tilting his head.

DRC narrowed his eyes. "CAR doesn't know who he supports and hates half the time."

"Ah, right, right…"

"But then after he saw me, he came back to his senses and he was horrified about what happened." DRC went on, pulling at his glove. "CAR was terrified about what his boss or any other leaders would do to him if they found out what he did. I guess it's a good thing there were no survivors… or that there was much left."

"Did he feel better afterwards?" South Africa asked, curious.

DRC frowned, and shook his head. "Not that much, according to him."

South Africa widened his eyes. "Not that much? But wasn't it an entire village along with the soldiers that-"

"Oui, it was, but apparently it wasn't enough when you're burdened with the hunger of your people." DRC said grimly. "Like I said, I'm not even sure how he… perhaps… But even so, I noticed that, strangely, he looked slightly less tired, he had a bit more energy and strength than usual."

"Did he now?"

"He did." DRC nodded, and he looked at him hopefully. "So do you think you can help him? Can he join us? I can talk to him, he'll listen to me, it won't be that hard."

South Africa hummed in thought, and a mysterious smile spread across his lips. "Poor, poor Central African Republic… so scared, so starved, so young, so sad and _alone_ …"

He smirked.

"Let's _change_ all that, shall we?"

/ / / / /

Liechtenstein stared at her cup of tea on the table, seeing the dejected expression on her reflection on the surface.

Switzerland's been gone for a while now… again. It's been like this for quite a worrying number of times since Liechtenstein arrived here, to lean on her big brother for comfort, and maybe, if needed, cheer him up. It occurred to Liechtenstein that Switzerland was likely stressed about a possible war and how to remain neutral if a war did break out, so…

It'd be good for them both if she visited, Liechtenstein had concluded a couple of days ago in her house, and the chances of anything happening to her, a tiny nation with no military, were slim if Switzerland was nearby.

And that way, Switzerland won't spend every day worried sick about her, that something might…

Liechtenstein's eyes widened fractionally as something dawned on her.

Now that Liechtenstein thought about it, it struck her as a bit odd that Switzerland hadn't called her ordering that she go to his house for her protection. In fact, he didn't call or go stomping to her house, guns in hands, to check on her even once! Yes, that's really odd. In the past, Switzerland would tell her to go to his house just because there's a small chance that there's going to be a thunderstorm.

Switzerland had a reputation for being very, almost extremely, overprotective of Liechtenstein. Everyone knew that.

But over the past week, the Caribbean went deadly silent, Miss Belgium's Parliament and Royal Family were brutally massacred, Spain went up in smoke and went silent too, and now recently she heard, when she stumbled into a news channel while watching Switzerland's television, someone bombed the capitals of Egypt and Algeria.

And despite all that, Switzerland never tried to check up on her, not even once.

How odd...

Liechtenstein felt kind of dejected and even a little hurt that he didn't, but then again, Switzerland was very busy... he was probably too busy working to see what's going... and maybe he was going to see if she's alright, but it later it slipped his mind...?

Was it her? Liechtenstein thought with a horror on her face, her small hands fisting the skirt of her dress. Was she unintentionally causing Switzerland stress by being here?

"Hello, Lili." Switzerland greeted as he suddenly entered the room. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, bruder." Liechtenstein responded, though she wasn't being entirely honest.

Something flashed across Switzerland's face, it almost looked like guilt. "If… If you want we can have tea together after I'm done with work, or whatever activity you prefer."

Liechtenstein smiled. "That would be very nice, bruder."

"I'm glad to hear that. Well, I'm going down to the basement again, so I'll be gone for an hour or two."

"You've been going down there a lot lately…" Liechtenstein said softly, making the concern in her voice evident.

Switzerland abruptly froze, and while Liechtenstein couldn't see his face, something told she touched a nerve. "A lot of the materials I need are down there and I… I really am busy, Lili. I'm sorry, but orders are orders, and I intend on obeying them."

It probably should have ended there, but Liechtenstein tilted her head in confusion. "But bruder, if most of the things you need are down there, why don't you bring everything up here? It'll save you the constant trips."

For a split second she could have sworn she saw Switzerland tense, then he slowly turned to face her with his face flushed. "I-I… I hadn't thought of that… Scheiße, how the hell did I not think of that?"

Liechtenstein giggled, which made Switzerland avoid her gaze in embarrassment. "I think all this hard work is starting to affect you, Vash. Why don't you take a break?"

"I'm _fine_ , Lili." Switzerland said sternly. "I'm almost done with work. Just wait a little longer, will you?"

Liechtenstein couldn't help but feel a little anxious under Switzerland's gaze, for some reason, and she looked down at her cup of tea again. "J-Ja, I will. I'm sorry for being selfish, Vash."

"But still I'm... I'm sorry for neglecting you." Switzerland said a little awkwardly. "I'll spend more time you later today, I promise."

"Danke." Liechtenstein smiled, and Switzerland returned it with a slightly forced one, then after he turned around, she suddenly remembered something. "W-Wait, bruder!"

Switzerland flinched and whirled around to face her. "What is it, Lili?"

"Have… Have you been getting hurt a lot lately?"

"What?" Switzerland asked, baffled.

"It's just that… sometimes in the day, but more in the night, I think I hear a bit of… screaming." Liechtenstein explained nervously, and she was pretty sure she saw Switzerland pale. "It's very muffled and hard to hear, but I'm very sure it wasn't my imagination, and it always happens when you go off to do your work."

For a long while, Switzerland remained silent. "Screaming, you say?"

"Ja, it is, or at least I'm sure it is…" Liechtenstein clasped her hands, which she only just now noticed were clammy. "It sounded like they were in horrible pain too. I've wanted to ask you because I didn't want to bother you, but now I'm getting very worried. Why didn't you tell me that you were hurt? I could've helped you, Vash."

"I don't _need_ help." Switzerland hissed, and Liechtenstein flinched.

"B-But why? It wouldn't have been a-"

"I said I don't need help." Switzerland snapped with a harsher tone.

"I… I don't understand." Liechtenstein sniffed, fists clenching her dress as she fought back tears. "Why are you so angry with me, Vash? Did I say something wrong?"

The anger on Switzerland's face vanished and he paled, as if he just realized he was being rude to his sister, and he sighed. "J-Just… Just don't worry about me, Lili. I'll be fine, just need a little privacy is all…"

Liechtenstein wasn't so sure.

"I-I-In the meantime, if you're feeling that lonely, why don't you call one of your friends?" Switzerland abruptly offered as he turned around and walked away. "Belgium will appreciate your kindness and comfort, and Hungary might help cheer you up."

Liechtenstein perked up just as Switzerland left the room. He's right. Why didn't she do that sooner? How come it didn't cross her mind? Liechtenstein could certainly use Hungary's cheerfulness or Belarus's comfort or advice.

Maybe they could help her figure out what's wrong with Switzerland.

Let's see… Who could she call? Liechtenstein wondered. Moreover, who should she call first?

/ / / / /

America was a bit of a lone wolf, he treasured his solitude, though he didn't mind having (good) company over in his house or occasionally visiting some of his real friends. It's what he wished when he was a boy, to be alone, to let him run free in the woods and play with the animals, for the Europeans to _leave_.

Revenge was his main wish. After he gave a slow and painful death to England and made his precious empire collapse, America would retreat into the woods, in other words 'disappear', maybe establish an extremely fearsome reputation for himself before that so no one other European would also try to do what England did. America could fix the damage done in his home. Things could back to normal…

Then America would spend the rest of his days alone, waiting for the day when he'll die, when he'll see Mama Gaho again.

At least, that was the plan the enraged little boy America was at the time came up with. It wasn't until decades to a century later that his so-called 'ultimate plan' was pathetically and extremely stupid, short-sighted and just completely ridiculous.

They'll **_never_** leave him alone.

It's impossible.

But even as he realized this and watched his naïve little brother _die_ , something dawned on him while he doubled over with laughter as Ireland cackled victoriously over a drunk and almost immobile Scotland and while he laughed good-naturedly along with Jamaica, Brazil and Mexico.

When he met Prussia.

When he met North Korea.

Exactly… America will never be alone.

He found out, not long after he became a part of all this, that being friends with like-minded individuals, nations who don't have England or France's annoying qualities and a cussing and brit-hating alien felt… better than spending days brooding in his house.

 _"So you're the famous United States…" An amused foreign-accented voice remarked. "I've always been curious to see what you're like. I've learned not to trust China and Japan's opinions of Western nations."_

 _America's eyes widened as he finished bandaging his wounds and looked up to find a long-braided teenager smirking at him. "And you're one of the Koreas, north if I remember correctly, the new guy. Welcome to the Order, by the way."_

 _"I'm represent the northern part, yes. And Thank you." North Korea nodded, still smirking. "It is a pleasure to be here."_

 _"How's it going so far?"_

 _North Korea hummed in thought. "It's… strange seeing everyone behave differently, even the opposite, of what I've heard they're like or how I've seen them."_

 _America chuckled. "Yeah, it's like that for all the rookies."_

 _"I **still** can't believe that Macau and little bushy-browed Hong Kong are on your side too." North Korea laughed sheepishly. "And according to Leon, you're the one who came to him and offered him the chance for revenge."_

 _America smiled at the mention of the younger boy. "That's right. How's Leon doing, by the way?"_

 _"Still injured and a little starved, but he's recovering." North Korea informed him, then he smirked again. "Anyway, can we have a little talk?"_

 _"Sure, why not?" America responded absentmindedly, checking his bandages._

 _"I heard what you did to Japan." North Korea said gleefully, nearly making America flinch. "I **felt** what you did, I even had a few flashes of what happened. I saw and felt it because of thousands of Koreans were there working as forced labor, and a several thousand of them died in both Nagasaki and Hiroshima."_

 _America frowned, feeling a tug of guilt. "And let me guess, you want-"_

 _He was cut off by a sudden burst of deafening laughter from the Korean. "Hah! Don't misunderstand, America, I'm not angry or upset with you for what you did. I'm well aware it was the only method to prevent more bloodshed and make Japan finally surrender. Oh, trust me, I'm far from angry, quite the opposite in fact…"_

 _America blinked, and his jaw dropped a little. For a moment he thought he heard wrong, but the laughter and smiles that the Korea guy's giving him were genuine. Was this kid insane like the Africans? Oh God, please don't tell him that he accidentally created a psychopath. Radiation doesn't cause insanity… right?_

 _"I **love** you for what you did."_

 _America's jaw completely dropped, not believing his ears, and he even felt his face flush._

 _Yeah, this was definitely a psychopath._

 _"H-How? Why? How?!" America exclaimed, losing his composure. "You just said that thousands of your people **died** in the bombings, and many more are probably going to suffer the effects of the radiation. How could you say that… something like that?!"_

 _At least North wasn't upset or anything. It took America a while to earn Mexico's forgiveness after 'that' incident… But still!_

 _North Korea's smile didn't falter, if anything, it broadened. "Easy. While it's true that my citizens are among the casualties and that I did feel a moderate amount of pain as a result, we've went through worse things thanks to Japan. Also, I quickly realized that if the pain I felt was a little unpleasant, Japan must have been going through **hell**. I could even **feel** his torment."_

 _Some of America's apprehension and disbelief slowly began to dissipate, but he still felt that-_

 _"I was also told that Japan's currently in some hospital, suffering from, horrible, terrible, agonizing burns and radiation poisoning, being tortured every minute." North Korea grinned even wider as he said that, then he scowled. "That man tried to destroy me and my brother as a nation, forced tens of thousands of our men to support him in the war and many of my women and girls to become 'comfort women' for his soldiers, he laughed at our suffering. Then, you came and bombed him, and the effects and destruction will plague him for years to come."_

 _North Korea stepped forward, expression softening into a warm smile._

 _"How could I not love you for that?"_

 _America blinked several times, speechless, and then despite the torrent of feelings inside of him, he smiled weakly. "Heh, that's a first. I didn't anyone would be over the moon as you because of what I did."_

 _"Not only that, you got justice too." North Korea grinned, chuckling. "The bombs, all the radiation, you made Japan pay for attacking you and dragging you into the war."_

 _America's face scrunched up in distaste. "Yeah, doesn't mean I'm proud of it though. Makes the 'hero' act I'm playing harder to endure."_

 _North Korea's grin vanished, and he cocked his head to the side, frowning. "You may feel that way. People might see you as a monster for what you did, they might say that you only did it to intimidate the Soviet Union, but I say that the people who do are foolish. That was probably the best way to end that nightmare, and you took it, getting justice for me, yourself, and everyone else who suffered thanks to him. Japan needed to be punished for his crimes, regardless if it affected Korea."_

 _North then turned around to leave, but not before giving America one last smile._

 _"Besides, even if it's an act, you certainly are a hero to **me**."_

"If you want to ask me something, just say it, Jamaica." North Korea snapped.

America blinked and quickly glanced to the back of the car where North Korea was glaring at Jamaica.

"You sure that your club ain't gonna miss ya, man?" Jamaica asked, inhaling from his cigarette. "Or be pissed that you suddenly ran away without permission?"

North Korea gazed at Jamaica through narrowed eyes. "For the last time, it's nothing to worry about. Besides, I left them a little note explaining what happened, where I'm going and why I did it. And considering I haven't received any angry calls from Philippines…"

Jamaica raised his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay… Just wanted to be sure, man."

"Are you that repulsed by the idea of me accompanying you?" North Korea asked, raising an amused eyebrow.

"Nah, I just worried that you'll get all cuddly with Al." Jamaica said, shuddering. "I'm no fan of that, man. If you two start getting all lovey and stuff, I might need to open a window."

North Korea sneered. "If we can put up with your speech impediment and constant smoking, then you can put up with love."

"Hey, I don't have a-"

"You too, _stop_." Norway ordered with a threatening tone, and the two immediately stopped. "You don't want to distract our driver, do you? Besides, we're almost at Ireland's house, so you might as well start mentally preparing yourselves, especially you America."

"We'll be fine, Lukas." America insisted, sighing. "Are _you_ sure you'll be okay against Ireland, Lukas? If things don't work out, I mean."

Norway just smirked. "I know a lot of Ireland's tricks, no small thanks to England, I'm not that worried about being overpowered. We should still be cautious though, Ireland can be very clever and stubborn, but I don't really doubt that you'll be able to convince him, Alfred."

"Thanks."

"By the way… Alfred?"

"Yeah?"

"You _do_ know you're driving on the wrong side of the road, right?"

"...Shut up."

/ / / / /

France had better have legitimate evidence.

China didn't understand why France insisted on having the meeting here in Opium's capital instead of the fool's own house. He'd much rather stay in France than in England, but reasons unexplained France just kept insisting and insisting and he wouldn't hear any of China's complaints.

China angrily thought this to himself, grumbled it out loud actually, as he dragged his things along with his panda into his hotel room. Yes, this better not be some joke or turn into a pointless meeting discussing whatever nonsense France has, but China's still willing to hear what he had to say, for the sake of his land and people.

If it'll help him find what's wrong with the world these recent days.

China was already in a bad mood, the reason being for issues and problems happening in his country along witnessing the anger of his boss about said problems. China understood how he felt, he was on the verge on flying into rage himself, but it wouldn't be mature of him.

As for what these issues were... well...

Why did China's family have to be so difficult to control?

There's dissidence happening in Hong Kong and Macau, even Macau, rather relentless and constant dissidence. It appeared seemingly out of nowhere as well. It felt light and not worth his attention at first, but just as China left his country, it almost immediately became a lot more problematic and chaotic.

Now, China honestly wasn't that surprised that there were protests in Hong Kong, the boy and his citizens always had a troublesome rebellious streak, but he thought the number of protests was going down, not up. And he couldn't believe his ears when he heard that it was happening in Macau too. Macau was supposed to be the obedient one! And now suddenly, his people are screaming for the death of the People's Republic of China.

Which brings him to how the humans in Hong Kong and Macau were 'protesting' and disrupting the peace.

The situation in Macau was… less severe compared to what's happening in Hong Kong. There were protests of course, but for what exactly? Independence and the destruction of Mainland China. The protests composed mainly of rabid screaming, but they quickly turned violent.

There was an extremely surprising and alarming number of people participating in these crimes. The humans went chasing the people of Mainland China in the region, no matter who they were or why they were there, in a murderous rage. The Macanese also went and broke into government buildings, breaking things and setting rooms on fire. Basically the humans attacked anything and anyone Chinese.

What could have provoked them to…?

Yes, there's obviously casualties. Unfortunately, the majority were China's citizens while a very low number were Macanese citizens killed in self-defense.

As for Hong Kong… Well, according to reports of China's own people stationed there, many of whom were shaken and pale upon recounting what happened. There the protests for separating from China, but unlike the past public demonstrations where there only about a hundred participants or less, it seems that most if not almost the entire city was taking part in them. The protestors almost immediately went violent.

More alarmingly, China's humans mentioned seeing even secondary school students leave their schools to loudly and angrily protest with signs and the like, but even they weren't immune to the madness, with a few teenage boys reportedly nearly beating a person from the Liaison Office to death and a group of girls throwing firecrackers at certain buildings.

It was all, for lack of a better word, chaotic.

To the point of, according to one report, of some ungrateful fools burning a Chinese flag in Hong Kong. There were also a couple of reports of humans from Macau smashing or destroying portraits and pictures of China's boss.

Good wise ancestors did the human populations of Hong Kong and Macau get infected with rabies?!

Not even Taiwan was this extreme!

And to make things even more alarming and confusing, the police in both SARs weren't doing a single thing to stop them! China's people tried, his boss even tried, but they were all ignored and even kicked out by the officers. This wasn't good. The police were always the ones who took care of the protesters, if they refused to help…

Well, at least there were still the military garrisons stationed there, they were alert, combat-ready and very well trained, but most of all, they were China's people, so he won't have to worry about a military coup d'état.

His boss was even sending more troops to the regions to assist the garrisons and rescue civilians from Mainland China.

China only heard about most of about this after he took off, and he would have quickly returned to his land to put those two brats straight and demand if they were involved, if France hadn't literally begged him not to go back when China called to inform him. No, he wasn't joking or exaggerating, one of those immature Westerners actually begged him for something.

But despite how much China enjoyed that, it didn't erase his concern. Yet, France kept begging, then China finally relented. China reminded himself that his boss was a wise and clever man, he could trust him to handle the situation while his nation's away.

And at least Hong Kong and Macau were just small dots on the map of China.

"Privet, comrade China!"

"AIYAAAAHHHH!" China screeched like a scared little girl, and nearly ended up dropping to Panda. But as always, Russia just smiled. "Russia, where on earth did you come from, aru?!"

"From behind you, obviously. Silly China…" Russia laughed cheerfully, much to China's dismay.

"Hardly, but if what France has to say is true, then we can finally apprehend this group." China sighed, rubbing his head. "Although I would appreciate it if the meeting didn't take long, I have important business to attend to at my country."

"Really?" Russia blinked. "Will comrade China be alright?"

China frowned and waved his hand dismissively. "Of course I'll be fine. I'm concerned, but it's hardly an emergency."

Yes, that was a bit of a lie, but China has an image of order to keep up.

Russia smiled again, though it looked slightly twisted. "If you say so, China."

"A-Anyway, I hope I'll be able to return soon." China stammered, suddenly feeling Russia's aura. "I sort of need to check on some members of my family.

"Oh, I know how you feel, comrade, I really do." Russia's expression suddenly became saddened and the aura vanished. "I really want to visit Baltics and my sisters in house, check to see they're alright, but my boss kept me busy and now I must go to meeting with friends."

China frowned. "Well, Belarus is very frightening and she's a good fighter. I wouldn't be surprised if she scared any attackers away from your land then stabbed those who stayed with those knives of hers."

Russia cringed, an extremely rare sight unless it involved his litter. "Da, Natalya is strong and scary, but even she can't take on… say, an army."

"I feel sorry for the fool that does try though…" China muttered. "I have a very hard time believing that anyone would be foolish enough to provoke you through your sisters."

Russia quickly brightened up. "Oh! You're very right, Yao! No one would be stupid enough to anger the Russian Federation by even giving his sisters a single scratch on them. Da, no one could be that stupid. Thank you, dear friend! You helped me feel better."

China raised an eyebrow. "Er… you're welcome, aru?"

/ / / / /

While everyone else went on with their business talking about this big meeting after the plane ride was over, Hungary kept her distance and barely spoke a word, they gave her some space, which she was grateful for, even Romania stopped insulting or provoking her ever since he learned about Poland, which she was also grateful for.

Poland's… gone.

Hungary couldn't help a humorless snort. She still had a hard time wrapping her head around that… fact. It's just that- Well… the whole nations dying/getting killed thing wasn't a foreign concept to her. Magyar, her old mentor and a close relative of hers, _his_ death still somewhat haunted her. Except in Magyar's case Hungary just woke up one day to see he had faded away, while in Poland's case…

It happened right in _front_ of her. She _saw_ it happen, and she would have stopped Lithuania, stopped him from ripping out Poland's heart, if she'd known about the consequences. No, she should have stopped Lithuania even if she didn't know at the time. Hungary should have intervened in the moment Lithuania started hurting Poland…

She shouldn't have just stood there, frozen in shock, and then watch Lithuania laugh and laugh like a crazed serial killer as he bragged about killing her best friend…

She should at least have done what Egypt did and retaliate by doing the same ripping heart out of body thing to Lithuania.

Granted, Hungary's never ripped someone's heart out with her bare hands before, she always thought it was it was a too cruel and gruesome way to end an enemy. Also, frying pans weren't exactly known to be used to rip out anything.

But she should've still done something…

Surprisingly enough, revenge didn't occupy most of her thoughts. Don't get her wrong, Hungary did have every intention of finding Lithuania and making him pay for what he did to Poland, to make it up to her old friend for failing to help him. But she's too stuck in a state grief and misery to even bother thinking up ways she could pummel shoot strangle stab maim bludgeon kill kill butcher kill.

Yeah, she really couldn't… Didn't stop some murderous impulses from appearing once in a while, they're there, while not strong, they're there. They didn't help her feel better in any way.

Everyone kept throwing pity or sympathetic looks at Hungary, even that damn bloodsucker, and about half of the whole group, Seychelles, Honduras and Tunisia to name a few, even walked up to her at one and said something along the lines of "I'm sorry for your loss", "I know how you feel, I really do," and "Chin up, they're _all_ gonna get their day of reckoning soon."

It helped her feel a _little_ better.

Another thing that's on her mind, but she hasn't thought deeply about, was that something's off. There's definitely something the others, or at least Egypt, were keeping from her, some big secret. Hungary bet her frying pans that maybe it was what Egypt wanted to tell her back at Poland's house, but then decided against it.

It's just like how they avoided telling her that Poland's dead. There can't be another big secret, can there? Hungary thought that that would be the end of it when she officially joined the little group. What's the point of not telling her?!

What's so big and overwhelming that they'll her that Poland will never come back, but not that deep dark secret? Come on, weren't they all supposed to be a team?!

"I swear, if this doesn't come up during that meeting, I'm gonna have to beat the answer of them." Hungary grumbled.

/ / / / /

Mauritius was undeniably in a horrible position right now with all the psychological torture and stuff, he hated that he's stuck here, he hated that he had no idea what's happening in the outside world or how Seychelles and the others were up to right now. He'd ask but he didn't want to risk being lied to.

Still, didn't stop him getting curious about his surroundings, or about the nations with him. Sure, the Africans piss him off and scare the hell outta him, but Mauritius couldn't deny that he was (a little!) curious about them, though the answers probably won't be pretty.

Switzerland finally noticed the island's staring, and he scowled. "What? What are you looking at?"

"You look… kinda stressed." Mauritius pointed out carefully, and crankier than usual he added mentally, since the last thing he wanted was to piss off the man who apparently had the power to either drive him insane or turn him into someone else, someone evil.

Also, he did NOT want to go through the water torture again.

Please, God, not the water torture...

Switzerland didn't respond right away, and the Mauritius couldn't help but flinch from the pointed look he was given. "Really? I haven't noticed. I'm not in the mood to talk to you."

Mauritius frowned. "Well, you don't have to be so snippy about it."

"I can be 'snippy' if I want." Switzerland snapped.

Mauritius was about to fire a retort, but then he realized that it probably wasn't a good idea to get into an argument with Switzerland. Like he said, he's in a horrible position right now and pissing the guy off was a big no-no. However, he still felt tempted to do it, because GOD was he bored. Like, really bored.

When most of the anxiety, nervousness, fear and anger at being held captive and bound in a chair passes, you're left with frustration and boredom, because there's really nothing a prisoner could do when they're _tied up_.

At least Switzerland gave him food and and kept him hydrated, though it wasn't out of kindness. But he really have to give him the same red metallic drink that Morocco forced him to swallow? It still had a weird taste.

And why did Switzerland looked at him like he's an idiot when Mauritius asked what it was?

Eh, he'll figure it out later. Mauritius wasn't too worried.

Whenever Switzerland left him alone, all Mauritius could do in the meantime until he came back again were stare at the walls, try to figure out what all the German scribbles on the board mean, try to guess what could be on all those papers on that desk, struggle in vain in his bonds,

Still, it's a lot better than being in the same room as the Africans. Mauritius would take boredom over them any day.

/ / / / /

Indonesia ran her hand through her now slightly disheveled hair as she stared gloomily at the sleeping forms of Malaysia, Singapore and East Timor on their respective beds. They both looked like they were having a good sleep, she was happy for them, she just wished she could do the same.

She really, really, really wished she could. That way she could drift off into a world where everything and everyone was alright, and Indonesia didn't get her heart shattered into a million tiny pieces.

How _could_ they sleep after everything that happened to them? Indonesia wondered to herself. It surprised her that they weren't up like she was with their minds trying to find some reason or explanation in all this madness.

But to be fair, the explanations were rather simple. East Timor's a child, all the trauma left her emotionally exhausted. Singapore was forced to spend an uncertain amount of time under the watch of a mentally unstable Macau, so of course she would feel immense relief to be with people she could trust and that she could finally rest somewhat easier. In Malaysia's case, whatever sickness he had kept him very tired and weak, though Philippines later told her that they had to use drugs on him to calm him down.

At first Indonesia felt upset and wasn't fine with the idea, but then she saw more of Malaysia's… 'issues' and she admitted that maybe it was for the best.

The archipelago nation's frown deepened, and she turned to the to the other direction on her own bed, where she could vaguely see the rest of the room. For a prison, the room the three of them were shoved into was actually… surprisingly very pleasant.

This room, their room, was one of the many in a huge traditional Asian mansion, while other prisoners were kept in other rooms according to Philippines. Located in which country? Well, Philippines refused to answer her, but Indonesia's managed to come up with a few guesses.

But pleasant or not, this place was still a prison.

At least there were a large assortment of books, all coincidentally about topics that interested her, to entertain herself as well as a television and even a few gaming consoles.

However, entertainment was the one the last things on Indonesia's mind. She was much more worried about her family's safety… and their emotional and mental health.

Particularly for her neighbor and younger brother, Malaysia just kept baffling and worrying her to no end. From sudden mood swings, memory loss, unconscious self-harm, suddenly feeling excruciating pain, to just staring at Indonesia or Singapore in an eerie way with an ominous glint in his eyes.

Whenever Indonesia asked why he did that, she would always get the same response…

 _"I don't know."_

Indonesia's not giving up though. She'll find out what's ailing her annoying but worrisome brother.

Suddenly, the room's door opened, and Indonesia's eyes widened as she quickly sat up in alarm to see which escaped mental patient came to torment them.

She felt surprised, but at the same time not so shocked, to find Philippines leaning on the door frame, his face staring at her with an unreadable but cold expression.

Indonesia tensed. "Fe-"

Philippines's expression morphed into one of intimidating rage and he held his finger in front of his lips, clearly warning her to stay quiet, causing Indonesia to shut her mouth, then pointed at her then gestured behind him.

Come with me, he's trying to say.

Indonesia bit her lip and glanced at Malaysia, Singapore and East Timor, who were all still sound asleep, then back at Philippines, who was starting to look slight impatient. Well, she'd much rather not make Philippines angry… Indonesia frowned and nodded, albeit hesitantly, while rubbing her eyes and left her bed then quietly walked towards Philippines.

Philippines's expression softened into something resembling a small smile upon seeing this, and when she got closer, he gestured her to follow him and Indonesia reluctantly did.

"What do you want?" Indonesia snapped, now that they were at a considerable distance away from the room.

She expected a snarky response from Philippines, but instead he calmly looked at her. "There's something I want you to see, it might do you a bit of good, and it'll give you some answers to some questions you have in your mind."

Indonesia shot him a puzzled look, but Philippines didn't bother to elaborate on that.

/ / / / /

Ireland's house was situated in the countryside, a little far away from towns, probably so he could be left alone at peace. America always thought it was a nice house, and all the countryside surrounding it was nice too. He had fond memories of all the times he visited here. Now, if America's right, Ireland should still be inside his house.

Some small part of America couldn't help but feel nervous, something he hasn't felt in many years, and he felt angry at himself for that. He prided himself on being calm, always having a plan, and confident that everything will work out in the end, so losing his composure was very out of character for him. He's also concerned about Ireland's reaction to all this, what if he already knew?

America tended to let his guard down when it came to Ireland, so…

What if he actually…

So what if Ireland _did_ know? America thought to himself with a frown. If he did know, he would've tried to do something about it, or have confronted America years ago. Or at least, that's what America thought he might have done… if Ireland had any real attachment to England.

Not like England would have believed him anyway.

America's probably overthinking all this.

America quickly glanced behind him at Norway, Jamaica and North Korea. A very weird combination in other nation's eyes, while not unusual for the Order. It'll definitely raise a lot of question, especially concerning Jamaica and North Korea.

America shook his head and took a deep breath, then when he was finished he rang the doorbell.

The door opened to reveal the merry ginger-haired Ireland, then green eyes widened and then a smile spread across the European's face. "Alfred? That you, lad? What a surprise, I really wasn't expecting a visit! What brings you here?"

"Hiya Patrick!" America greeted with the best fake cheerful loud voice he could muster and grinned. "There's like this whole important business stuff we gotta talk to you about so can we come in?"

Ireland blinked. "We?"

Then Ireland noticed that America wasn't alone.

The Irish man looked to the right and smiled at Norway. "Oh, Norway, lovely to see you."

Norway only stared blankly, apparently preferring not to make a verbal response. That did nothing to dampen Ireland's cheerful mood, however, and he turned to Jamaica, who was of course smoking his weed.

"Jamaica, ello, lad! Nice to you, lad." Ireland greeted happily, looking rather unsurprised to see a Caribbean. "I've been worried we lost ye!"

Jamaica raised a confused eyebrow, an understandable reaction.

Ireland then looked to the left where North Korea was staring at the Irish man coldly. "And… North Korea for… some reason. Sure, why not? Come in, come in lads, just don't smoke so much in here, Jamaica, alright?"

Ireland gestured for them to come in, only a little confused as to why North Korea's here but didn't seem to dwell on it.

"Thanks, dude!"

"Alright, mon."

"Hmph."

Ireland chugged down a bottle of beer, and then turned to smirk at the group.

"This is an odd combination." Ireland remarked, though there wasn't suspicion in his voice.

"So?" Norway said blankly, raising an amused eyebrow.

"So? If I remember correctly, I'm drunk, not high." Ireland snorted, and prepared to take another jug before he froze and widened his eyes "Unless... some damn bastard thought it'd be funny if he put something in me ale... Ah, crap. What if someone _did_ bloody put something in me precious ale?"

America couldn't help but snicker. "Uncle Seamus, dude, you're totally fine."

"I don't know, it did taste a wee bit odd, but whatever…" Ireland smiled and set his feet on table. "So what's this whole important business stuff that you came all the way here for? I'm all ears, lads."

America tried not to press his mouth, so he mustered a rather forced smile. "Trust me. We have a **_lot_** to talk about."

 **I'm not gonna get rid of the Ireland thing this time. Please review!**


	44. Revelations: Finally

**Thanks to AquaEclipse and Eternal Nexus Warrior for reviewing. Now on with the show!**

"You really didn't have to do this, Gilbert…" Vilnius said nervously, fiddling with her hands anxiously as she avoided the older man's gaze. "I… I knew I'd get grounded for what I did, s-so I don't really mind…"

Prussia was a man who hardly smiled, a real smile and not a forced one, unless it was in the presence of Austria, Germany, or any other being close to him. However, with Vilnius he found it much easier, even finding that he couldn't quite help it. He supposed that was the effect of Vilnius's purity.

It was more than that…

Prussia helped create life, helped create people like them without needing to go over the extremely complicated process nations were usually born or created. It was his idea to… And the capital's existence helped bring Lithuania some much needed joy and comfort after the nightmare that was the Soviet Union finally ended. It's probably because of those reasons that Prussia also felt such happiness with the girl….

In the beginning Prussia highly doubted their chances of success and wasn't too willing to get his hopes up, but he wanted to do something for Lithuania, to show Prussia's gratitude for enduring the pain with him.

Bulgaria had reunited with Turkey, that was the greatest gift one could give him after his suffering, but Lithuania didn't have a lover and he left the USSR a much more bitter and darker man than before. Lithuania may have been free to converse with America and other nations without needing to suffer Russia's wrath, but he didn't have anyone to properly heal him.

In all honestly, he worried and half-expected that Lithuania might raise his little sister to be as hateful and bitter as he was, but Prussia had never been gladder to have been wrong. Vilnius grew up to be pure.

Prussia smiled down at the young girl, then his hand went and softly nuzzled her hair. "I know, but the punishment Lithuania intended for you is still… extreme, in my opinion, especially since you helped the others out."

"A-About that…" Vilnius slowly smiled, albeit slightly anxiously. "Thanks again."

"No problem."

Ah, yes, Prussia heard all about the proposed punishment for little Vilnius, mostly because Lithuania recited all to him and explicitly told him all of the 85 things the girl was not allowed to do or that will be taken from her. It got... very dull and tedious by the time Lithuania got to punishment number 28.

With each one more ridiculous than the last.

Feeling pity for Vilnius, Prussia ordered Lithuania to reduce the year-long punishment to a mere two weeks, but his good friend wasn't too happy about that. Luckily, Prussia had Denmark and Cameroon to threaten him into obeying.

On the topic of Lithuania, Prussia looked to the side, where he spotted Lithuania sitting in a chair and staring at the window with a solemn expression. It's what he's been doing for the past hour and needless to say, it worried Prussia. Lithuania looked quite grim and even angry for someone who just killed one of the people they hated with all their heart.

"Toris." Prussia called out, then continued once he got the other's attention. "Have you visited the Baltics? I heard from Dimitri that you haven't seen them since you were picked up by Haiti. Why don't you go see them?"

Lithuania's eyes widened fractionally at the mention of his brothers then they narrowed again. "I'm… not in the mood to see them."

Prussia couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "And why's that? I think they could use some reassurance from you, and it could be your chance to make amends with them before it becomes too late."

"I… I think I'm going to stay _here_."

"Did something happened earlier that upset you?"

"No."

"Did you get into an argument with Dimitri?"

"No."

"You're not upset that Dimitri-"

"No." Lithuania responded through gritted teeth, now annoyed. "Now please, leave me alone.

Prussia frowned at that, while Vilnius looked back and forth between them worriedly. Oh dear, so even she of all people didn't know what's aching her brother's heart?

"I-I'm sorry, Gil…" Vilnius said sadly. "He's been like that since he got here, and he's not telling me why. I asked Dimitri, but even he doesn't know what's up with him…"

Prussia doubted that.

/ / / / /

Ireland was just having a simple, ordinary day, drinking Guinness and the like, a rather uneventful one. In other words, it was _boring_.

But, Ireland you intellectually challenged git! What the holy hell were you saying?! Wishing for something eventful to happen to you should be one of the last things you should be doing, you damn wanker! Or did you forget about everything that's happening lately?

Well, no, no… he's well aware of all the incidents, thank you very much.

Truth was, despite all the worry, paranoia, anger and whatnot going on about in Europe, Ireland found himself not feeling a lot worry, not for his people at least, they're safe. North's anxious and Wales's worried. Scottie shared his stance too, however, so they didn't spend their time pacing their rooms freaking out with their hair disheveled like England.

It actually earned him a harsh reprimand from England, something with the words 'wanker' and 'daft', which Ireland (with great difficulty) ignored and let it slide for once.

And how supportive my wanker brothers were! I can't believe they accepted this sort of behavior from and just stood there not even paying attention to a word I was saying!

You do realize they have their own people and country to worry about too, right?

Maybe it was him being foolish with his devil-may-care attitude, maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it's because he may or may not know a thing or two that Ireland's brothers (except for sometimes Scottie, he might have carelessly blurted out something or two) have no idea about. Yep, it's definitely the alcohol… Oh, and that last thing he mentioned.

Aye, it's a little secret he's kept to himself for about a century or two, one that miraculously didn't break him or cause him to bang his head against a wall. Just how exactly Ireland discover this deep dark devastating secret? Well, it's certainly not extremely difficult to figure out if you had the pleasure of meeting that kid and manage to win him over by giving him love, edible food, and teaching him how to make a drunk Scottie put on a pretty pink dress and dance like a bloody idiot.

Ireland promptly burst out laughing at the memory. Ha, good times!

Then Scotland gladly returned the favor a few days later when Ireland got too drunk and that grinning red-headed git pulled down his pants **_right in front of America._** One of the most embarrassing moments of his life…

Thank God he didn't make him take everything off…

You're drifting off-topic, you git! Get on with it.

 _Fine_.

Long story short, England ordering Ireland and Scotland to go on a long trip just to babysit his cutie pie colony was probably the greatest thing little brother's ever done. It suddenly made all the seasickness and the ship not having enough ale to last half the trip all worth it.

Anyway, during their fun stay in the colonies and the ones after, Ireland noticed a few… suspicious things, even when he first met the little chipmunk face-to-face, and so did Scottie. For example, if America actually did practically worship England, then it's a little odd that he laughed instead of getting upset whenever Scottie ranted about little brother.

But Ireland, you insufferable, ungrateful, prat! How could you have not told all this to your bro-

Oh, shut up, imaginary voice of England! Ireland already tried to warn the others… numerous times. It's England, for fuck's sake. As far as he's concerned colony America's an energetic angel that thought the personification of the British fucking Empire was the greatest thing to ever exist. And post-revolution America was an ungrateful, ignorant, intellectually challenged git. So, it's not like that little twat would believe him anyways…

Apparently little brother didn't have time for Ireland's ''hyperactive imagination'. The others weren't much help either. North didn't believe a single word of it and Wales didn't take any of it seriously. They all gave Ireland a hard time afterwards. Only Scottie believed him for the most part because _he_ was there with America too, he also saw the signs, but even with his support nothing got done.

And it was horrible timing too. Ireland just had to get his epiphany during the Seven Years War with little brother all grumpy with France and Spain and later with his government getting close to bankruptcy…

Ireland had to endure the consequences for years. Name-calling, mocking… and _that_ incident… Oh silly Ireland with his alcohol induced imagination and delusions, eh? That git with his nightmares of conspiracies and murderous colonies… **_Classic_** _!_

You know what? Maybe they didn't deserve to know the truth…

You're a git for not trying hard enough! You could have tricked America into unknowingly revealing himself to the others, you could have used his trust in you to your advantage, you-

"Oh, shut the hell up!"

Ireland blinked and quirked an eyebrow as he stared at the empty bottle he's holding, he sighed.

"Maybe I _am_ going mad…" Ireland muttered grimly to himself.

But anyway… despite his lack of concern, Ireland's not going to let his guard down anytime soon, he's no git and he's NOT daft as a bush as little brother kindly called him earlier. While Ireland's confident that he at least scored some points with America and that nothing terrible will happen to Ireland's country, he's a bit worried for Scottie. So he'll be ready to rush and help him if he had to.

Of course, there was also a part of Ireland that suspected that something will happen to _him_.

So when Ireland opened his soon to find his good ol' nephew before his eyes, he almost immediately knew that something was up.

Ireland wasn't blind to the fact that he didn't sense any person of their status entering and/or waltzing around his land today, or that he wasn't notified of such a visit. He's also aware that little brother went off to a little G7 meeting in London… only America wasn't invited for reasons even England didn't know about. Ireland had _the_ tiny feeling that something just might happen to him.

Jamaica's also there for some reason, which explained why Ireland could smell a bit of weed when he went to the door, along with good ol' Norway, shit. Did they bring him so Norway could defeat him in some magical duel in case things went ugly? Ireland wanted to curse, he left most of his charms upstairs, where Scotland was.

Dammit...

Those were good charms! Scotland's probably already got his disgusting vomit all over them. AGAIN.

But Ireland digressed.

If all that wasn't incriminating enough...

North Korea's with them.

North... Korea.

And standing right next to America without scowling or sneering for being in such close proximity to the 'capitalist, imperialist fat pig'. Now that's alarming and suspicious, and after all these years Ireland's finally going to get to the bottom of it.

But first, whiskey! He really needed it to calm his nerves, especially with the possibility of America and North Korea working together, _especially_ that. Not too much though, he didn't want to risk spouting out something stupid and have his beautiful green landscapes be reduced to be a wasteland via nuclear warheads.

After snatching a bottle of that good stuff Ireland got comfortable in his leather chair, he looked up and grinned at America before drinking up. Alrighty, on to business…

"So, what's this "important business stuff" that brought you lads all the way here?" Ireland asked casually.

"Well, dude, we-"

"Alfred." Ireland cut him off, deciding that he wanted this over and done with, and his cheerful personality and tone vanished to be replaced with a cold one. "Knock it off."

America's eyes went wide with shock and Jamaica scowled at Ireland. "Ey, why did you interrupt-"

"That goes for you too, lad." Ireland interrupted again, then glanced at North Korea and Norway. "And you both too I think. Just end this bloody act already and tell me why you're really here, lad."

"Wh… What?" America said quietly, becoming pale as a ghost.

America did not expect this to happen at all, it's all over his face, and Ireland frowned. "I'm not like Arthur. I was your babysitter, remember lad? And unlike little brother I paid _very_ close attention to you. I know that you actually hate England with a bloody fury and you're smart, really smart, which should be obvious considering you're a superpower. I noticed that you get along surprisingly well with Mexico despite all the issues, you glare holes into Iggy's back whenever he left for his ship. And…"

Here goes… no going back…

Ireland looked coolly at North Korea. "You brought North fucking Korea. So, be a lamb and cut the shite act and tell me why you're really here."

It's almost hilarious the looks the lads had after Ireland spouted all that out, and he would have burst out laughing like an idiot if he wasn't being genuinely serious.

America sighed put a hand on his face for a few seconds then he removed it and smiled weakly. "I knew I wouldn't be able to completely fool you, uncle Patrick."

Ireland couldn't help but smile sadly, acting out of old instincts to comfort the boy. "If it makes you feel any better, Al, I didn't really think there was anything fishy going on until about a month or two later."

"Heh…"

"You were still working on your acting, weren't you?"

"Yeah… At least the smiles looked genuine for the most part, right?"

"Aye, but I could tell your smiles when you were with me and Allister were real."

"I… kind of had a bad habit of letting a bit of my guard down around you…" America admitted, scratching his head while his face flushed red.

"Aw, did I grow that much on you?" Ireland grinned, honestly feeling glad that it's confirmed that the kid really did like him.

"Unfortunately." America sighed, then gave another weak smile. "Alright then, you figured it, good for you."

"Good? Try going through life, especially in the world meetings, with that information. It's painful, I tell you, painful." Ireland grimaced, but then he frowned again. "But anyway, tell me, what's going on, lad?"

America took a deep breath, and he narrowed his eyes. "Fine, here's the truth. I… the four of us here… we're members of an organization made up of dozens of nations who've fooled the world for years, like you've suspected. The goal? Create a new world order and get justice. The latter's our priority right now…"

Ireland raised an eyebrow. Justice, huh…

"We're here on orders yes, but mostly because Alfred here kept insisting." Norway explained as he put a hand on America's shoulder, smiling (it looked bloody creepy). "He really loves you, did you know that? It's actually thanks to you that he managed to trust us, and in turn convince his neighbors to trust us as well."

"Yeah, mon…" Jamaica agreed, nodding as he blew out some smoke.

" _He's_ the one who came up with the idea." North Korea pointed out and smiled nastily. "You should feel so lucky that he's fond of you, it'll spare you a lot of pain and anguish."

Ireland sat up straight. "What idea?"

America tensed and he wringed his hands a bit. Dare Ireland say it, the American was nervous. "I… I-I'd like you to join us. You're honestly family to me, I really do care about you, so I don't want to see you hurt."

"Flattered that you feel that way…" Ireland took another swig and raised an eyebrow. "But what exactly makes you and your leaders think I would want to join ya?"

"Because you'd get justice, revenge." America responded immediately, giving him something akin to a pleading look. "While it's not as strong as mine, I know you don't have any real love for England. I know you'd probably tried to warn him years ago, and you suffered for it at his hands. A lot of us want revenge against a certain someone, and we're going to get it. I'm going to knock England off that high pedestal of his once and for all, then I'll finally won't have to live with the burden of being a superpower. Don't you want payback?"

"You seem pretty confident, lad. But how do you know you'll actually succeed in this revenge mission.

"We have ways. and I think you'll find that we have several nations with a strong nuclear arsenal, including North here."

"And I promise you that they are fully functional." North Korea said proudly.

Oh my…

"Come on, uncle, join us." America offered, no, pleaded, and there was a look in his eyes that suggested he's expecting cruel and harsh rejection. "You won't have to deal with any family drama, we'll make England pay for what he did to us, for treating you like an idiot.

Well… This was certainly a lot to take in…

Ireland hummed in thought crossed his arms, pondering all this information dumped on him. Alright, if he heard correctly, then it went like this. There were more than a few nations involved in this scheme, just like he thought. They have plans for the world, just like he thought. And America wanted to basically destroy England, just like he thought.

From the sounds of it, something told Ireland that this organization sounded powerful and very prepared, if all the previous incidents have been any indication. There's definitely going to be another world war, so if Ireland decides to become their enemy, he's doomed, the same could be said for his brothers. America already had a reputation for being _terrifying_ when serious, so if he actually intended to destroy someone…

And as for the whole revenge thing… Ireland would be lying if he said that it wasn't very tempting. It'd be fun teaching little brother a thing or two for mocking his older brother after he so nicely despite everything tried to warn him. Ireland wondered if it would be too much if he asked if they could get rid of Northern Ireland, reclaim what's rightfully his.

Ireland leaned forward. "Sounds interesting, Al… but just to be very clear this is making England pay revenge?"

"Ja, though you'd have to get in line." Norway remarked with an amused tone. "But you'd play a big role in it."

"As in take England down from that high throne of his revenge?"

"Yes." America nodded.

"Destroy his country and everything he worked so hard and long for revenge?"

"Yes."

"Hmm…" Ireland stroked his chin. Now that's an interesting proposition.

"I… we won't hurt you if you say no." America said hopefully.

"Then why'd you bring him?" Ireland gestured towards Norway.

"In case _you_ attacked us."

"Are you still mad at me, Patrick?" Norway asked innocently, a tone that sounded eerie and wrong on him, tilting his head. "Do you want to hurt me? Answer truthfully."

Ireland's eyes widened fractionally. The raids didn't even cross his mind when he saw Norway, and he had no idea it'll come up. Aye, Ireland could say he's a little bitter over that, but he so often forgot he had those feelings because he wouldn't be who he was now if it weren't for Norway, and Ireland's very proud of who he was. Besides, some good things came out of it…

Better having learned it from them than little brother, Ireland thought. Therefore, Ireland found out a few centuries ago that he couldn't quite stay mad at them, and he appreciated that the Norway and fellow Nordics eventually became sane and human, or at least he thought they did… But anyway, in conclusion, it was a learning experience.

"Hmm, not really, Nor." Ireland shrugged. "I didn't like it, but whether I like it or not, I owe you."

"That's only half-true and you know it. It may not be as much as I thought, but I know there's some pent-up feelings in you." Norway remarked with a frown. "Now, I'll ask again. Do you want to hurt me?"

Ireland raised an eyebrow. "Why do you care so much?"

"Because I don't hate you, I like you actually, and I want us to have a genuine good relationship."

"Huh."

"So please, answer, I speak from experience that you'll feel much better afterwards."

…Alright….

 _BAM_

Norway grunted and was sent a few steps back after receiving a punch courtesy of Ireland, and America quickly sprang up in alarm to catch him before he could possibly fall. Jamaica looked so surprised, but the blank-faced North Korea only looked a little shocked.

"There's your answer." Ireland deadpanned, rubbing his hand, which admittedly felt a bit sore.

Norway groaned and rubbed his jaw, though he hardly looked fazed, then he smiled. "That's it?"

Ireland smirked. "You sure better hope so, mate."

It was the only thing Ireland could think of, and it's one of the easiest ways to get anger, so he chose to do that. Huh. Nor's right, Ireland does feel better. He supposed he kind of always wanted to punch Norway, and how he got his wish.

"You okay, Lukas?" America asked.

Impressively, Norway laughed joyfully. "Ja, ja, I'm fine, Alfred. Honestly, you obviously know it'll take more than a punch to cause me a great deal of pain, don't you? You know me better than that."

America snorted, and promptly made Norway sit back down. "Yeah, but I still _care_ about you."

"More like you still underestimate me, but anyway…" Norway waved his hand dismissively, and smirked at Ireland. "So, what do you say? Yes or no?"

America smiled, not a weak one this time, and reached out his hand for Ireland to shake it.

Ireland bit his lip hard.

He remembered his troubles during his colonial days leading up to struggling in his attempts for independence, the look of contempt and arrogance in England's eyes, the bitterness in North's eyes, the verbal abuse Ireland suffered after his attempts to warn them and even presented some actual proof while Scotland patted his back in comfort. All of it.

But it wasn't just that. Looking into America's desperate eyes, Ireland suddenly recalled the angry and lonely little kid glaring holes into England's back, helpless to do anything and hating that he's all alone in a strange and cold new, the shock in his eyes when he saw Europeans sympathize with him. The little colony laughing and cheering during Scotland and Ireland's drinking contests…

Ireland also remembered the little thing clinging onto him while asleep. A grown version of the colony comforting Ireland after that incident as the tears kept flowing and doing everything he could to make his uncle feel better.

You're also family to me, Alfred. I hope you know that.

Old habits may die hard, call it his mam instincts, but dammit, Ireland won't let the wee dote land himself in disaster in the hopefully unlikely scenario where everything fell apart.

Besides, if you ask him this was also the smart decision. If Ireland joined them, other than making England pay for what he did, he won't even have to worry about suffering any attack and his people will be safe. Two birds with one stone! After all, it's his duty as a nation to keep his nation safe, no?

Aye, Ireland's just doing his duty.

England will regret the day he laughed at Ireland's words.

Ireland smirked mischievously and shook his head. "I say aye, I'll join your little club."

For starters, America looked beyond shocked and his mouth hung open, and Ireland couldn't help but laugh a bit. Then, America became so happy that it almost (almost!) made Ireland's heart break.

"Alright, Patrick, what the bloody hell was that?! Did ya break something?" The pissed voice of Scotland shouted from upstairs and was followed by loud footsteps before the man himself showed himself. "I swear, if this is payback for…"

Scotland trailed off when he saw what's in front of him.

"Hey there, Scottie! Perfect timing! Nice to see your hangover's over!" Ireland grinned. This is turning out to be the best day ever! "Wait till ya hear this! I promise you're gonna love it!"

/ / / / /

Macau sneaked through the rooms, seen by no one, and even if they did catch a glimpse of him, in a blink of an eye they would end up lying on a pool of their own blood with their heads mysteriously detached from their bodies or just paralyzed with no visible wounds at all.

Wouldn't want to risk this _lovely_ place to reek of blood so much, now would we? Besides, it'll be such a bore cleaning it all up afterwards.

It's _such_ a pity that Hong Kong couldn't go out and have fun in his own home so they could torment China from afar. It would've been much fun. But Mongolia and South Vietnam weren't going to let him go to dangerous places after what happened to him for the time being, despite Hong Kong's anger, and he still needed to recover.

But perhaps, Macau thought, since he's out here doing whatever he wants to his heart's, he could also go and seek out Egypt so he could rip out his heart for revenge. It was the least Macau could do for the little city. He could go, torture the man, give him a slow death, _then_ rip out the heart. Now as for whether Macau will kill him permanently... well...

Macau giggled sheepishly to himself, his cheeks slightly flushed. Oh, how embarrassing. You see, he's having a bit of a silly dilemma about that decision. Egypt had given them a lot of trouble and his little group's responsible for disrupting their plans and now for revealing them much earlier than intended, therefore causing future operations to be much more difficult and the stakes to be raised…

But that's just it. The stakes were getting raised, and Macau loved it, that meant that things will get more interesting and more challenging. But if they die, then the victory of the game will be secured for the organization once again and Macau's willing.

Hmm, maybe he'll decide when he actually goes to Egypt's location, wherever that was.

Well… Macau chuckled amiably. That didn't particularly concern him too much. After all, he lived for the thrill of the game and nothing _excited_ him more than situations where his chances of winning were highly low.

And his chances of escaping this place _were_ highly low.

This was the military garrison's headquarters after all, and if Macau's right then reinforcements from the People's Liberation Army. Now, as confident Macau was of his own skills, he knew that the PLA and the garrison would be very problematic, and there weren't any Macanese citizens for him to influence. All he could do was cause trouble on the inside and wait for soldiers from his allies to successfully infiltrate China.

Macau's widened eyes slightly as bullets hit the wall next to him, narrowly avoiding hitting his head, and he heard yelling in the background. Oh, there they are. He was starting to wonder if they left this place empty. He should have known better.

But…

Outmaneuvering a few of them, Macau cartwheeled away, kicking one or two of them in the face in the process.

There _was_ another way to impede the military and cause enough chaos for the pesky soldiers to be dispatched…

Macau swiftly delivered quick jabs to the man's pressure points, blocking many flows of qi, and kicked him down to the ground. He should be dead in several hours at most. Sensing someone behind him, Macau whirled around and threw one of his fans at the attacker's face.

Thank goodness these people weren't trained to defend themselves against steel fans and the Touch of Death… or that these ones weren't wearing armor.

The man screamed, and Macau quickly pulled it out just as a bullet hit him in the shoulder.

Didn't stop them from being pesky though. But anyway, as he was saying, there was another way to make things easier for him and Hong Kong. It would reduce the number of deaths on their side, save themselves a lot of trouble and destruction, and cause trouble _and_ pain for China…

What was it exactly?

Macau sliced another soldier's head off.

Political assassination, what else?

/ / / / /

Western Sahara gently closed the door behind her and sighed as she looked around her house. Well, she's back home…

What now?

Setting her bag on a chair, Western Sahara sighed and collapsed on her sofa, burying her face in her hands. What should she do now? Where to start…

Khoisan was kind to her as he always was, happily allowing her to stay for a while and rest, and Western Sahara didn't know how to thank him. He gave her some helpful advice and saw her off, with him making her promise to visit him if anything like this ever happened again. Although she worried for his safety if he interfered, she appreciated the reassurance.

For now, Western Sahara will do as he suggested.

She'll live, she'll try to move on with her life. She'll go enjoy her new status as an independent nation instead of deciding to spend every day locked up in her house, slowly dying inside with each passing day. Western Sahara will not let Morocco break her.

Which was why she'll rest some more for the time being, and then maybe go out. Western Sahara had some human friends she hasn't talked to in a while, maybe she could hang out with them and talk about their new independence. She could also visit her other friends who shared her situation. She had no doubt that a small get-together will help all of them and give them a little hope.

And then perhaps… as suicidal and foolish as it seems… she could go and settle things with DRC. He may have made the horrible mistake of joining them, but Western Sahara at least owed him that much.

Who knows? Now that she thought about it, she's seen Nigeria experiment with witchcraft and sorcery, perhaps he…

No… could he possibly… No, even he didn't have the power to…

Even Nigeria couldn't have the power to bring the dead fully back to life, could he?

/ / / / /

Egypt wordlessly watched with his trademark blank stare, through a small opening in the door, where he could see most members of the G7 seated, with the only nations missing being the Axis Trio. Well, he wasn't quite sure if it was quite right to call them that instead if the G6, since America wasn't supposed to come for obvious reasons, and China and Russia weren't members (with the latter's membership suspended).

China's there with his arms crossed, as well as a grumpy expression that was characteristic of him, looking both concerned _and_ displeased. Egypt wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but it appeared that the old ancient looked a bit frazzled, and it looked like he's trying very hard to hide it.

Russia sat next to him unsurprisingly, with his usual smile plastered on his face, and he didn't do much else or even say anything other than just sit there and _smile_.

In another chair, his presence likely unnoticed or forgotten by everyone else, Canada sat quietly with a slightly depressed or sad look on him as he hugged that bear of his to his chest. He barely uttered a word since he greeted his former caretakers and sat down, either due to feeling he won't be heard or because he's upset and confused why his brother wasn't here.

Egypt hummed in thought, and he gave a small frown.

"What the hell is America doing here?" A girlish voice hissed in his ear, nearly causing Egypt to jump, and he was greeted with the odd sight of having next a smiling Honduras to him and giving a scowling Belize a piggyback ride.

"W-What?" Egypt hissed back in annoyance and confusion, miraculously managing to keep his voice down.

"That guy over there, you lackwit!" Belize snapped, as if it were obvious. "He's a dead ringer for America!"

Egypt stared at her, until he finally realized that they were talking about, and he resisted the enormous urge to groan. Luckily, Seychelles spoke before Egypt could utter a rude remark and offend the girl.

"Um… that's not America, Miss Belize. It's his twin brother Canada." Seychelles gently corrected the younger girl, slightly flustered from the scare. "You know, the quiet nation who turns invisible sometimes?"

"What are you talking about? That guy looks _nothing_ like Panama!"

Egypt wanted to either hit his forehead with his palm or bang his head on the wall, but he still didn't want to be rude. How could one mistake…?

"Not to mention he's not one of the G7." Belize whispered with her face scrunched up in confusion, then she squinted her eyes. "Although, now that I look at him, he does have the same 'shy, forgettable' vibe from him as Panama's, don't you think Sophia?"

"Si, and they both wear glasses too!" Honduras chirped, apparently not having a single problem or complaint about Belize's weight, then she suddenly gasped in horror.

Belize yelped as she barely managed to keep herself from falling off. "What? What is it, Honduras?"

"What if America made a scientific breakthrough and he's created an entire army of evil clones?!" Honduras fretted, sounding dead serious and pale as a ghost. "Worse, what if the army turned against him and killed him, and that clone right there's actually here to spy on us while they plan to take over the world by…"

Egypt then hit his forehead with his palm.

"This really isn't the time for jokes…" Egypt muttered to himself.

Then, Egypt flinched, Seychelles gave a small shriek and Belize fell off Honduras's back when the main doors suddenly burst open with none other than the Axis Trio running out of it, looking like they all just ran a marathon, with Italy fainting shortly thereafter.

"There you are! Where the bloody hell have you three been?!" England demanded furiously. "We were supposed to start a half-hour ago!"

"S…Sorry, England-san… We… got into some… unfortunate complications…" Japan rasped, desperate to regain his breath, and he leaned against the wall. "We… also forgot that… we were supposed… to go to a meeting…"

"Romano trapped us in Germany's house!" Italy added meekly.

England stared at the trio then shook his head and grumbled, then France spoke. "Speaking of Romano, where is he? He did know that he's also supposed to come to this meeting, did he?"

"Oh, my fratello's too busy swimming all the way to Brazil to exact horrible revenge on him for tricking Lovi!" Italy answered sadly, curl dropping slightly. "So I don't think he'll want to come… or that he'll care."

…What?

But then Germany intervened before questions could be asked. "That's not important. What's important is the meeting, so I trust we can start now?"

"Ah, oui, that's correct." France nodded, anxiously straightening up his tie while the remaining nations went to their seats, and he sighed. "Thank you very much for coming on such short notice. I know I owe you all an explanation."

"It better be a good one, frog." England grumbled, crossing his arms. "This is no laughing matter, and we must solve this crisis as quickly as possible."

"I agree with the Opium for once. The only reason we agreed to this is because _you_ claimed to have discovered important, so spit it out already." China demanded, in a cheerful mood as always. "Some of us were busy, so don't waste our time.

"Ch-China, come on, I think you should give France a chance. I know he wouldn't joke about something like this." Canada said rather quietly as he tried to be supportive, but as with many times he was ignored.

"Da, I would very much like to know what you have, friend France, so I can then go check up on my sisters and the Baltics." Russia said cheerfully, and his aura showed a little. "So tell us, comrade, what did you find?"

"Us."

There they made their 'dramatic entrance' as Belize liked to put it, though Egypt failed to see the so-called epicenes behind it, then it was a moment of shocked silence before the reactions happened as followed:

"Bloody hell?!"

"WHAT?!"

"Ve?"

"Nani?"

"Eh?"

"HUH, ARU?!"

On the other hand, Russia was delighted by this reveal. "Ah, comrade Algeria! I'm so happy to see you are well. You worried me so much when you suddenly disappeared like that and didn't answer my calls!"

Algeria returned the smile. "Hello, Ivan."

"Frog, what the bloody hell is the meaning of this?!" England demanded, his voice becoming an octave higher. "How… How did you… HOW?! Since when did you… HOW the fuck did you find the Africans?!"

"It's a… very long story, Arthur." France laughed nervously.

/ / / / /

Any normal person, or human to be exact, would spend every minute walking in Central African Republic soil and especially out nearby the villages riddled with paranoia, fear or stress. One would never know when members of an armed group or even just a killer mad with bloodlust or desperation could suddenly jump into your path out of nowhere and hack you to death with their machetes.

Everyone, every human here always had to keep their guard up, whether they were a soldier or a civilian. This was a dangerous place, communities kept getting attacked or wiped off the map. One really needed to watch their step here.

South Africa however, as well as DRC and Nigeria for that matter, instead walked through the wilderness on the path leading to CAR's house with _none_ of those feelings.

South Africa could speak for himself and Nigeria when he says that despite their countries's reputations for being rather unsafe' or even 'dangerous' according to some people, they always go wherever they want in their homes without fear or worry of getting mugged or murdered. They could influence their people to steer clear from them, to move along.

Which reminded him, South Africa should tell DRC about that power, it would make the man's life easier.

While it's not like any of them stood a chance against them it can get a little... annoying sometimes. Although once in a while they wouldn't exert that control just to have a bit of _fun_ or punish them (but both pretty much had the same result).

So far, things have actually been going well for them on this little journey. They've only been jumped once, and it took less than a minute to get rid of the person, so Sputh Africa was able to spend a large amount of the trip admiring his surroundings.

It's such a tragedy, that a country with beautiful nature was a hell for countless humans here.

"Stop." DRC said suddenly as he stopped in his tracks just as they neared a house that should be CAR's, and raised his hand.

"What? What is it?" South Africa asked.

DRC furrowed his brow and looked at the simple house with a worried look then looked back to them. "I think it's probably best if you don't go any further. Knowing how alert CAR is, he's probably heard that someone is coming."

"So? Does he think we're part of rebel group who came to get him?

"Oui. Gabriel is... paranoid. The groups are always searching for him to get him on their side, so he's scared of them, hence why he chose to live in solitude." DRC explained carefully, frowning. "However, it doesn't stop his fits and he has a couple of rifles in his disposal to get rid of intruders, so accidental deaths are common."

DRC narrowed his eyes and pulled one of his gloves.

"If we just continue on, then I guarantee you that in a few seconds later CAR will burst out the door and gun us all down. But, as soon as he discovers it's me, he'll be harmless." DRC said as he walked on without them, then he stopped and looked back at them. "Also, no offense, but if he sees you two first, then he won't hesitate to kill us."

"None taken." South Africa smiled wryly

Turning back to the small house, DRC took a deep breath.

"Gabriel!" DRC shouted at the house. "Gabriel! Gabriel, can you hear me? It's me, Dikembe, your friend! I... I've been worried about you and I wanted to see how you're doing. Are you alright? Can you please come out?"

As DRC waited for a response, nothing came, only silence. So, he tried again.

"It's alright, Gabriel! No one from the Seleka or anti-balaka are in the area, I made sure of it! I promise no one will hurt you!"

Several seconds later, the door of the house opened, and out came the pitifully skinny form of the personification of the Central African Republic, with a red bandana covering his mouth, a machete in hand and his dull sunken eyes lighting up once he saw his friend.

"Dikembe…?" The young man rasped out, and South Africa's sure that underneath the bandana he's smiling. "Is… that… you? Are they… You're sure they won't come for me?"

DRC smiled shakily. "Oui, it's me.

"Oh, thank god!" CAR exclaimed in joy and ran to him. "I'm so happy to see you, Dikembe. I-I wanted to call you but the warlords, they… my boss's really angry with me for surredering myself to South Africa and the others…"

"It's alright, CAR. I won't let them hurt you and take you away." DRC said with little doubt in his tone that he meant every word it. "I promise."

CAR looked overjoyed at that. "Oh, thank you! But…

Then CAR's gaze went to the smiling pair of South Africa and Nigeria, with the former cheerfully waving, and the younger nation froze.

"D-D-Dikembe…" CAR stammered, pointing a shaking finger at them.

"Hello there, CAR!~" Nigeria sang with a mischievous tone. "I know it's only been… what? A day or two since we let you all go, but it feels like months already!"

"Wh-What a-are they d-doing here?" CAR stuttered, gripping the sleeve of DRC's uniform and hiding behind him. "How did you find me?"

South Africa grinned and pointed at DRC. "He helped us."

CAR snapped his head towards DRC, his eyes wide with shock a hint of betrayal. "You… you _brought_ them here?"

Probably sensing a fit of fury coming, DRC paled and raised his hands up in surrender. "Oui, I did, but before you say anything please listen to what I have to-

"YOU BETRAYED ME?!" CAR suddenly screeched in a fiery rage. The fragile and frightened CAR now replaced by the angry and violent one.

DRC flinched, and began to panic a bit. "N-No! I would never do that!"

"Now, now, CAR…" Nigeria began with a sickly-sweet tone and a grin. "Calm down, like DRC said, no one will hurt you and please believe us when we say-

"SHUT UP!" CAR roared, surprising even Nigeria, and he snapped his head to glare venomously at DRC. "YOU LIED TO ME! YOU BROUGHT THEM HERE! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME? I TRUSTED YOU!"

"They're not going to hurt you!" DRC yelled at him. "We're here to talk, this is for-

"LIAR!" CAR roared again, and South Africa had to grimace. Goodness, did CAR want the anti-balaka to find him? "THAT'S ALL WHAT YOU ARE! WHAT ALL OF YOU ARE! A LIAR! LIARS! LIAR! LIAR LIAR LIAR LIAR LIARLIARLIARLIARLIARLIAR!"

Then, CAR lunged.

 **I was going to go into more of the G7 meeting in this chapter, but it resulted longer than I thought, sorry. At least I got to write more about Western Sahara again. Please review!**


	45. Revelations: You Gotta Believe!

**Sorry, there was a mistake and I get the wrong document uploaded, but here's the right one!**

My, this escalated quickly…

CAR's sudden mood change into a violent paranoiac fearful and angry at everyone around him was very expected, but they still wished to avoid dealing with him in that state. While South Africa held a morbid interest for watching the insanity of other nations, see how they function in their broken state and try to decipher their perception of reality… CAR could be especially hard to deal with during his fits.

South Africa had a few slightly amusing but still alarming memories of several peaceful African Union meetings proceeding smoothly until CAR suddenly jumps onto the table, yell curses in French or Sango and then pounce on the nearest Muslim African nation… or just some random nation that his mind mistake for an enemy.

It took about an hour or two to finally calm him down.

So, as one could conclude, it'd be difficult to convince CAR or even have a proper conversation with him listening and thinking clearly if he's too busy trying to kill them.

The moment South Africa deduced that CAR was about to attack them, he prepared to go and put him down, but it turned out to be unnecessary. With a calm but slightly anxious look, DRC's survival instincts kicked in and went and simply snatched one of CAR's thin arms, the one that held the machete, and then promptly shoved him to the ground.

CAR yelped the moment his back hit the ground and DRC used this as a chance to quickly pick up the machete.

The skinny boy grunted and screamed in anger and frustration as he desperately tried to get up, but his weak body made it very difficult to do so, and as a result he could only thrash around and try to lift himself up only to be rewarded with pain. It all resembled a child throwing a tantrum, which helped make the sight even more pitiful.

"THAT'S MINE, DIKEMBE!" CAR screeched deafeningly. "GIVE IT BACK! I NEED IT TO KILL YOU! GIVE IT BACK SO I CAN BEHEAD YOU!"

South Africa only stared at the scene with cold indifference. It's weird, really. It's really rare that he felt any sort of sympathy for anyone outside of the organization, he normally just saw their conflicts and issues as bumps in the road to greatness or things that made their conquest easier. If it wasn't the sweet feeling of sadistic pleasure or satisfaction, then he sometimes felt _nothing_.

But… looking at this broken shell of a nation screaming and crying, it stirred an emotion South Africa wasn't very familiar with.

It's just so… so…

So… _pathetic_ , pitiful.

It's so pathetic that it wasn't even funny. It's depressing.

"Gabriel, stop." DRC said through gritted teeth and gave a quick look around. "Do you _want_ for any of the groups or your country's armed forces to find you?"

"SHUT UP! I'm not going to listen to a single word coming from a traitor!" CAR spat as he very weakly barely got on his knees, glaring up at them. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you three! I'LL KILL EVERYONE WHO-"

"ENOUGH!" DRC raised his voice, becoming worried by the minute that some group will hear CAR's crazed screaming and find them. "You're not thinking clearly, Gabriel. Calm down so we can have a proper conversation and I can explain why we're here."

But CAR was having none of it, though the bandana only left his eyes visible, South Africa knew that his expression was murderous. "Ha! I know why you're all here, Dikembe. You three are out to destroy me. You're taking advantage of the disorder in my country to take it for yourselves. Well, guess what?! YOU WON'T HAVE IT! THIS IS **_MY_** HOME! I WON'T LET-"

That does it.

Having enough of this madness for once, as well as annoyed that they're not getting anything done, he walked up to CAR while he was raving and ranting about his paranoid delusions and slapped him hard across the face, sending the young skinny man to the ground once again

CAR cried out in pain and alarm as he tumbled down. DRC's eyes widened and moved to help him up, but Nigeria stopped him. South Africa watched as CAR curled up in a ball.

"I'm sorry…" CAR said softly.

Ah, there's the frightened, fragile and submissive CAR they all knew!

DRC gave a small sad smile. "It's alright, Gabriel. I'm glad you've come to your senses."

"If… I-If you're all really here to destroy me, please… do it." CAR breathing, almost sobbing in his despair, lying down in defeat. "I won't put up a fight, I promise."

Nigeria tilted his head. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"You know why." CAR said miserably, the sobbing becoming more evident. "I give up. I can't… I don't want to live with this pain anymore. I'm a disaster, I'm weak, and I can't even trust my own mind. I've been waiting for someone like you to come for years. Please, kill me, and end this conflict once and for all."

"So… you actually want us to destroy you?" South Africa asked in amusement, how intriguing. "All these grasslands and forests, your diverse fauna, every single man, woman and child, regardless if they're soldiers or civilians, wiped off the map? You really want that? All your pride and hard work gone for the sake of your selfish desire to not suffer any more?"

"I… No… No… it's not selfish… My people… they'll be put out of their misery too…" CAR said like he was trying to convince himself more than South Africa and then shook his head. "What does it matter to you anyway? I'm probably the easiest target on the map, that's why you picked me, right? I told you, just end it! I don't want to live anymore. I'm poor, I keep switching back and forth, my government has little control, the fighting just can't seem to end, and… and… and…"

CAR cried, and his hands suddenly went to hug his stomach, then his head snapped up.

"I'M JUST SO HUNGRY!" CAR roared in frustration, and he clutched his abdomen tighter. "Do… _any_ of you _know_ what's it like to spend your every waking moment with your stomach empty and twisting around inside? To feel pain at every movement you make as your body wastes away? What it's like to get sick every month because you're too weak to resist them?"

At the lack of responses, CAR's eyes narrowed, and he threw up his hands in frustration.

"It's pure agony! Not even Chad or Sierra Leone can understand what I go through every day! Why don't _they_?! WHY?! I…" CAR trailed off once he finally realized the way he was acting, and he shrank. "…It's not fair. But that doesn't matter now, I just want all of this to end!"

"Is that so?" South Africa drawled.

CAR bristled, probably getting a bit irate. "Yes! Now please, do it! Do it any way you want, I don't care, just end this!"

"Nee, we won't."

CAR's writhing stopped, and he trembled as looked up at them, he had the look of a kicked puppy. "B-But… why-"

South Africa grinned nastily and ruffled the younger nation's hair. "We didn't come here to cause you any sort of harm, CAR. That was just your paranoia speaking. Trust me, destroying you is the last thing we want."

"Then… why are you…" CAR tried to ask but was shushed.

"Shh, be quiet you idiot. We don't we have a talk in that little house of yours? I think you'll love what we have to say."

CAR gulped and looked to DRC for guidance, who merely nodded, and then back at them, eyes full of uncertainty.

"A…Alright…?"

/ / / / /

It took a bit of effort to get the unknowing nations to calm down after that pleasant surprise, but Egypt felt happy to say that they managed to get things under control so they could get on with the explanations.

"Our grand tale of woe began… what? Five, six days ago? A week? Eh, whatever, the story began at different points for us. For the Caribbean girls it began when they were ambushed in Saint Lucia's house. For the Africans it began when they arrived at the AU union. You get my drift." Belize shrugged, the nonchalance in her voice felt forced. "It's all hard to explain…"

"Why don't we start in chronological order? Starting with what the Bahamas and Saint Lucia saw." Algeria suggested calmly, then gestured for said girls. "Bahamas, if you please, explain what happened to you that day. And for the love of Allah, please save the questions and screaming until after we all finished explaining."

Bahamas bit her lip and fisted her skirt at the sudden attention, but reluctantly did as she was told. "B-Barbados and I were at Lucy's house, decorating for a party, everything was fine. We had no idea what was happening to our neighbors u-until Trini… and then Barbados started to get suspicious, Lucy was skeptical… and I… so…"

She stopped for a moment, face becoming pained. Saint Lucia began to look devastated as well.

"Before we could even delve into it further, we heard knocking at the door and DR's voice, who's the one Trini warned us about and… and then we panicked, we… w-we we didn't trust him. We were about to go through the… b-back door then…" Bahamas trailed off, stammering, and swallowed hard as

For the first time since England got here, his expression softened a bit. "Bahamas, Aiyanna, are you feeling-"

"N-No! No! I'm fine… just fine… I-I'll just… continue…" Bahamas cut him off rather loudly and chose to avoid meeting the sympathetic or worried gaze thrown at her. "Haiti appeared out of nowhere, thanks to his voodoo or something apparently, then DR and Jamaica, Jamaica was there too, they broke the door down and then started talking about killing us since we're not needed and that _they_ need the land… _our_ land, to get stronger." surrendering

"Wh-What? Jamaica?! Why would any of them-"

"Let. Her. Finish!" Belize hissed at Canada, and the shy nation shrank a little into his seat.

"A-Anyway, they told us a bit of what was going on, and that everyone else except for us were… well, _gone_." Bahamas finished sadly.

"What do you mean, gone?" Germany asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Exactly what it means. They're gone." Saint Lucia piped up after not having uttered a word since they revealed themselves.

"You mean, they've gone and went to get pasta?" Italy asked innocently, and many nations either sighed or groaned at the stupidity of it.

"Just… gone."

There a moment of tense silence so the meaning of that statement could sink, but it seemed that they didn't get it, and Bahamas got impatient. "Then they tried to kill us, but Barbados tackled one of them and bought us enough time to escape to Belize, where we met up with her and Honduras. That's… how both of us got involved."

And with that, Bahamas retreated a few steps back to escape from the attention.

"Well..." England began, frowning, and fortunately not laughing or mocking them, which was a good sign. "Thank you for your testimony, Bahamas. I'm... not quite sure what to think of that story of yours. However, I won't deny that I think that the emotion was genuine, and I know it's not like you two ladies to just suddenly tell tall tales."

Even though it's only implied that he believed them, both Bahamas and Saint Lucia smiled in relief.

"Oh, thank you, thanks so much, England!" Bahamas beamed and clasped her hands in joy.

"Yes, yes, whatever..." England muttered and drank his tea, presumably to hide that blush of his.

"That doesn't mean we all agree that you're telling the truth, aru." China snapped, causing the two girls' happiness to dissipate. "We need proof."

" _But_..." Germany said, glaring at China. "As outlandish as your claims are that your neighbors suddenly decided to go on a destructive conquest through the Caribbean, it would make sense considering the strangely unharmed states of those nations you mentioned who attacked you.

Canada bristled. "But-"

"See? We are telling the truth!" Saint Lucia said.

"Yes, that would explain it..." England agreed, stroking his chin in thought. "But what on earth could have possessed Jamaica and the others to do that to their own neighbors and family? The last time I saw Jamaica, which wasn't that long ago, he was behaving normally like always."

"That's because he duped you, Brit!" Belize barked.

"What happened to Barbados-san?" Japan asked, a slight frown on his face.

Bahamas's expression became pained again, and she gazed down at the floor. "I don't know, but I... we think that he's gone too."

There was another moment of silence before Egypt decided to speak up.

"Now, before any of you can begin throwing questions at us or shout or even scream, please allow for us Africans to explain our side of the story." Egypt stated with a clam and clear voice, his hand raised, and he glanced at his friend Algeria. "Algeria, if it's alright with you…"

"Yes, thank you, Gupta. Alright, this is what happened to us…" Algeria took a deep breath, crossing her arms, then frowned darkly. "My brother and I arrived at the meeting in South Africa, all was normal, until my… _brother_ Morocco came up to us. I was expecting a thinly-veiled insult as always, but he was strangely cheerful that day and he didn't throw a single rude remark or anything of the sort at me."

Algeria's face darkened, and she snarled.

" _That_. That was moment I realized that something was horribly wrong." Algeria stated bitterly and then scoffed. "Tunisia thought I was being paranoid, but true to my suspicions, when we all arrived the meeting began, obviously. But then it all went horribly wrong. Five Africans, South Africa, Nigeria, Liberia, Cameroon and my brother blackmailed most of the continent to sign a contract of sorts, revealing their true selves in the process."

"True selves?" Germany repeated, sounding slightly skeptical. "What do you mean by that, Algeria?"

Algeria's frown deepened. "They're sadists, Germany. Those lively and kind-hearted nations you thought they were? They never existed. In reality, those five are cruel, ruthless, bloodthirsty. They find extreme pleasure in the suffering of others, especially Europeans, and in _gore_. I saw Cameroon chomp on Egypt's arm, among other things. Believe it or not, those five are cannibals."

"C-C-C-Cannibals? There are c-c-c-cannibal nations?" Italy stammered, and once he got an affirmative nod, he yelped and then literally jumped into Germany's lap. "AH! No, no! GERMANY! Please protect me from the scary cannibal nations!"

A vein bulged in Germany's head as he tried to push the Italian off. "Get OFF me, you dummkopf!"

"N-No offense, Algeria, but that sounds rather far-fetched, don't you think?" England asked nervously, his face suddenly going pale. "I-I-I mean _cannibals_? Really?"

"Da, these are quite the outlandish testimonies you're making, comrade Algeria." Russia remarked, his usual smile still in place. "Don't get me wrong, I'm very willing to believe you, since comrade Algeria wouldn't lie to Mother Russia, but South Africa is also a good comrade."

"Yes, I agree with Russia!" China exclaimed, then cringed for a moment when Russia's smile broadened. "South Africa is a good ally of ours, if you have the nerve to accuse him of-"

"I highly doubt that South Africa ever… No, I'm _confident_ that South Africa never cared for both of you, or anyone else in this room for that matter. You were just assets to him." Egypt cut him off, scowling slightly. "I think he wanted to get close to stronger, influential nations for the sake of his own ends and nothing else."

Russia's aura decided to make itself known, and several nations shivered and cringed. "That's quite the accusation, da? How could you say that comrade Chris was deceiving all of us this entire time? Exactly what reasons would he have for doing such a thing and risk Mother Russia's wrath? Why did those five and those Caribbean nations 'trick' us as your comrades claim?"

Egypt blinked. He didn't feel intimidated, at least not that much, he never felt the urge to cower and hide in whatever hole he could find like most nations liked to do when in Russia's presence. So, he wasn't afraid to respond.

Egypt frowned and grabbed at the collar of his robe. "Perhaps you should save the questions until Algeria's finished."

"You better not be dodging-

"A-Anyway, back to the story." Algeria interrupted anxiously, and she quickly regained her composure. "They explained they were fooling us for years. Tunisia, Egypt, Mauritius, Seychelles and I, we were among the few who refused to go along with their demands and we later met up and we decided to escape the country together. However, Nigeria and Cameroon ambushed us, apparently Nigeria had more skill in voodoo than he let on, and we fought. But Egypt managed to teleport us all to safety."

"They ended up in Paris, and they then went to my house. I did what I could for them." France continued, with Monaco nodding in the background.

"And you actually believed them?" China said incredulously.

France narrowed his eyes. "Of course I did. My poor little brothers and sisters appeared at my door shaken and wounded, how could I not believe them? They're not the sort of people to play cruel jokes. But anyway, I took them in and they explained to me what happened. I couldn't believe that Gi…"

France gave a very quick glance to Hungary and swallowed.

"I couldn't believe that my former colonies were lying to me, to all of us for all these years, but I trusted their story. I then started to make plans to gather all of us here. But then a few days later at night, Haiti broke into my own house and attacked Mauritius, then ran away as soon as the rest of arrived and we gave chase. Égypte and I went ahead with the others following, but then it turned to be a trap. To keep it short, we were in a standoff, but then Égypte saved his amies once again, except…"

"Pardon me for interrupting frog, but I just have one question…" England spoke up as France trailed off, and he looked around in puzzlement. "But you said that Mauritius was with you, correct? Where is the bloke?"

Egypt saw Seychelles stiffen and it was France who answered. "He… Kelvin was kidnapped by Haiti and Switzerland. There was a mistake, an accidental one, and Mauritius was taken."

"He was _what_?!"

"Switzerland?!" Germany shouted, overlapping with England's shouts as he stood up furiously.

"Oui, Switzerland was there." France nodded. "I saw him with my own-"

"That can't be!" Germany exclaimed in a combination of rage and disbelief. "Switzerland is always neutral! Joining a side of a war goes against everything he stands for. Besides, what the hell would be his reason for being a part of all this?"

"Germany, s'il vous plaît, sit down!" France pleaded.

Gods, if this was his reaction to learning of Switzerland, then Egypt wasn't looking forward to watching Germany's reaction to Prussia and Austria. And not just him, they all have to be prepared for Hungary's wrath and grief, if she didn't murder Egypt first.

"My turn! Here's where we Central Americans come in." Belize chirped, waving her arms to get everyone's attention, and she crossed her arms. "Honduras and I were just sheltering Bahamas and Saint Lucia, who already told us what happened to them, when suddenly POOF! I suddenly have four Africans in my living room, one of which pretty much died from bullet wound and stained my carpet."

Egypt tried _very_ hard not to flush in embarrassment.

"I was shocked of course, but most of all, really confused, but I gathered my wits and agreed to wait for answers until after Egypt woke up." Belize breathed and gave a quick glance to Egypt that probably told him that he owed her big time. "And boy did he take a long time to wake up."

Egypt sneered slightly. It wasn't that much… was it?

"Eventually Egypt did wake up, and when he did, we all went to his room and-

"And by that you obviously mean that you got tired of waiting and kicked the door open with that sword of yours in hand to harass a man who just came back from the dead."

"Shut it, Algeria." Belize snapped, then she furrowed her brow in thought. "Now where was I? Oh, right, we all went to the room and then the four of us finally got answers. We believed them, mostly thanks to Bahamas and Saint Lucia, but before we could discuss it further, someone unexpected appeared at my door! It was my jerk of a neighbor Guatemala! Sophia and I tried to play innocent, but he saw right through it, so we fought. You should've seen it. Honduras got him good!"

Honduras smiled sheepishly, though her smile was noticeably less cheerful than usual. "Aw, thanks, Bel…"

"Everything looked all well and good for us, we had Guate tied up and bound, until we saw that he had a disk with him. We put it in, and it turns out it was a recording." Belize said grimly, grimacing as she no doubt recalled the contents of said recording. "What we saw was… horrifying."

"What did you see, Belize?" England asked,

"Well… we found out what happened to Spain." Belize responded, trying but failing to not sound shaken. "It wasn't pretty."

"Really?!" Italy exclaimed, perking up and eyes lighting up in hope, which made Egypt feel pity for him. "You know what happened to brother Spain? Where is he? What happened to him?"

Egypt expected a blunt response from Belize, but the young nation was frozen in horror as she watched Italy stare at her with teary worried eyes, and the girl probably realized that she couldn't bring herself to break his heart. So instead of just answering, this came out of Belize's mouth.

"I-I, well, he, we saw th-that…"

"Ve? You saw what?" Italy asked, tilting his head.

Belize swallowed and desperately tried to appear calm. "We... er, we all saw, on the TV, uh, the disk was about..."

"Antonio's dead, Angleterre." France forced out when Belize couldn't, his hands covering his face. "And I do not mean temporarily. He's dead, murdered by his own former colonies."

Now _that's_ when the chaos began.

What happened next was a storm of screaming and yelling filled saying that the notion was preposterous, that it was impossible, how could such a thing be possible, denial, among other loud, deafening things. Italy could be heard wailing as well. It was hard to decipher what everyone was saying, and it was loud to the point that Egypt had to tune them out.

And it wasn't just them the G7 (or was it now G6? America hasn't officially left...), most of Egypt's companions were taking part in this torment too in the form of arguing with several nations. Bahamas was having a bit of an argument with Canada, but it seemed more polite and less angry than the one Algeria and China were having.

Eventually, of course, Germany restored order as he always did.

"I know what I saw, Angleterre, and Guatemala was all too proud of it." France said in distaste, responding to a shout of denial from England, scowling. "Evidenced by how they had Brazil, another accomplice of theirs, record the entire event for their own amusement."

"Er, Germany-san, Italy-san…" Japan began nervously, a bead of sweat falling from his forehead. "Please correct me if I am wrong, but didn't Romano-san explain, rather crudely, that _Brazil_ was the one who tricked him, and thus caused him to leave Spain?"

This caught Egypt's attention. "What about Brazil?"

Germany gave him a sidelong look, and Egypt could have sworn his face as turning red. "Not long ago, South Italy came stomping to us and chased us to my house while accusing us off... ridiculous things. He was furious, caused extensive damage to my house and he probably would killed us all if a chandelier hadn't crushed him."

…Is that so?

Belize snickered. "Ha! A chandelier really fell on him?"

"This is no laughing matter, Belize! But yes, a chandelier did fall on him, and yes, he died." Germany said with his embarrassed blush becoming more noticeable. "However, we found out that it was all just a big misunderstanding, and he claimed that Brazil tricked him."

"That's silly. Why would Xavier do that?" Nicaragua asked.

"My fratello went to stay at Spain's house a few days ago…" Italy explained quietly, twiddling with his thumbs. "I think he left before Spain… and I don't know if he even heard what happened, but he did mention Brazil…"

"Hold on, Feliciano." France said. "What are you saying?"

"Ja, he did mention Brazil." Germany agreed, nodding. "I don't suppose any of you know why he would so such a thing?"

"Brazil could have done it so Romano wouldn't be in the way when he and his neighbors took care of Spain." Egypt offered, it seemed like the most plausible reason to him.

"If Brazil was involved then it also could explain why Portugal hasn't been answering my calls…" England muttered, then groaned and rubbed his temples. "But… no… Oh, God save the Queen this is too much to take in…"

"We're getting off-track! If you're all going to keep interrupting me, I'll summarize it for you." Belize said with a bit of irritation. "Yes, we saw Spain tortured and killed by his own colonies, and we were all furious. After that, we split up with me and a few others going to pick up the other Central Americans. We have no idea what happened to Angel, I don't think you want to know what we found, but we found Regina and Felix. Guate got rescued after most of us gathered in France's house, Hungary and some other nations showed up and joined us, and we got attacked by a group of nations. And here we all are."

Belize told that very brief (but woefully inadequate) recounting of their adventures rather quickly, most likely as a result of her impatience and irritation, so while Egypt felt glad that he managed to catch all that, he saw puzzled looks on several nations.

"Also, what Belize forgot to mention… which was something _very_ worth mentioning…" Monaco spoke up for the first time in a while, frowning at Belize. "Was that at a certain point, France's president was assassinated, and when Big Brother France found him, he was immobilized and tortured by his former colonies."

"What?!" Canada squeaked, his voice going up a few octaves.

This caused shock among the G7, and England's widened and looked at France. "Is that true, frog?"

France flinched at the question and his hand unconsciously went to his abdomen. "Oui, Angleterre, it's true. I felt a… disturbance in the resident of my boss, I went there with a few other nations, and after splitting up I went to the office where I found Haiti standing over my boss's corpse, grinning and laughing in glee. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by my three other vengeful ex-colonies."

"Why didn't you mention this before, papa?!" Canada squawked, and many nations either flinched or gaped, as if they just realized who he was or that he was also here.

"It… I didn't think it was that important, Mathieu." France said while pulling his tie, his calmness sounding a little forced. "Besides, I'd really rather not remember what those four di-"

"Why?! **_Why?!_** What did they do?!" Canada exclaimed, his face filled with panic or worried. "And why didn't you tell me this happened?"

"Like I said, I really prefer not to remember..."

"And… who… exactly attacked you?" Germany asked very slowly, preferring to change the topic to stay on track. "The entire group who you say ambushed you, I mean."

Canada was well aware of this attempt, and he seemed ready to shout his protests, but a look from France shut him up.

"You sure you really wanna know?" Belize asked uncertainly.

Belize tensed and looked back at the others for approval, Egypt nodded and the others did as well, and the young Central American swallowed then looked back at the G7.

"We were all in France's house waiting for the enemy to appear, and then after Hungary's flying car crashed into the living room-"

"Flying ca-"

"Not important." Hungary, Romania and Bosnia all said quickly at the same time.

Belize's mouth twitched slightly but she remained serious. "After it crashed, suddenly this group of about… nine nations I think, they appeared and attacked us, though the former French colonies ones disappeared pretty soon after they arrived. They were, and please don't interrupt me, Denmark, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Haiti, Cameroon, Morocco, Hong Kong-"

"WHAT?!" China screeched, standing up from his chair like Germany did before. "PREPOSTEROUS, ARU! You expect me to believe that Hong Kong had a part in this-"

"YES!" Belize shouted, the younger nation becoming more and more fed up with being interrupted. "Hong Kong's in on this too! Whether you like it or not, it's true! I'm the one who fought him, you know, and we talked a bit while trying to kill each other. He hates you, a _lot_! The same goes for Japan and England! He's _never_ forgiven you three for what you all did to him."

Japan flinched as if struck, England suddenly became pale and China looked offended as he often did. "Ridiculous! Hong Kong wouldn't do that even if he wanted to!"

"Then why do you look so tired, China?" Algeria asked.

"Now that I look at it, you do look quite weary, China." Japan noted worriedly. "Have you been sleeping well? You look like you're under a lot of stress."

China looked at everyone, then sighed in defeat. "Fine. The truth is… for the past couple of days, I've dealing with sudden uprisings in Hong Kong and Macau. The citizens have become violent, officials and spies of mine have been killed. I haven't been able to reach those two, aru."

"And why didn't you mention this earlier?" England asked, looking quite grumpy.

"I wanted to see what France had to say first."

"Hong Kong and Macau are doing this out of their own free will, China. Both are members of the same organization." France said, and he swallowed nervously before forcing out the next part. "…They've all been fooling us for years."

"A group of nations putting up a façade while conspiring to take over the world…" England wondered out loud as he stroked his chin with a raised eyebrow. "Now, where did I hear that before? Seriously, I swear I heard of an idea like that before from someone…"

Where? Egypt wanted to ask.

"Alright, time out, PLEASE!" Germany barked, and the stressed European rubbed his temples as he tried to remain calm. "Now, I'm sure there are a lot more details you wish to share with all of us, but so far all we have here are testimonies instead of actual proof. I'm sorry, but we need solid proof before we can go about believing your claims-"

"But we're telling the truth!" Honduras protested.

"Quiet, please. As I was saying, I think us six would like at least some proof first, right?" So, do any you have any way of getting said proof?"

"We do, in fact." France said, flashing a small but proud smile. "Hear us out…"

/ / / / /

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit…." America cursed over and over as he spied through the security cameras at the G7 meeting which he obviously knew nothing about. "This is not good. This is not good. This is NOT good at all. If this meeting proceeds smoothly then it spells bad news for us. We can kiss our advantage of having the element of surprise goodbye."

"I warned you it might not be pretty…" Ireland frowned, and his face contorted into a slight sneer as he leaned into the monitor. "Are you connecting the dots yet, Artie? Is it all starting to make sense to you? Are my words echoing in your mind? They are, because I fucking told you so!"

"And so far, it does look like it's going well for them." Norway agreed while ignoring Ireland's bitter/mad rambles, nodding gravely, but he maintained his composure. "However, betrayals of close ones _can_ be met with denial… even with the truth in front of them."

America only groaned to confirm to Norway that no, he wasn't ignoring him, and he let the guy continue.

"Also, I feel compelled to remind you that while it may be going 'smoothly' for them, you forget that they're still just testimonies, not actual proof." Norway reminded him coolly. "And any actual proof they can use are many miles away from them."

"But they're going after the proof, Lukas!" America snapped through his gnashed teeth. "And there's three magical nations there with the power to teleport!"

"Ja, so do I, little brother." Norway chided him softly, a small smile forming. "And so do Haiti and Nigeria. We'll just inform everyone and organize a little 'cleanup', then any corpse or recording will be gone before they even arrive."

"Yeah, that'll work..." America said thoughtfully.

"We should also feel grateful that Scotland was kind enough to share the details of this meeting."

Yeah, thank Gaho for Scotland...

While not entirely in board with the idea of joining and preferring to remain neutral for the time being, Scotland was still bitter and was more than happy to tell them all about a G7 meeting happening in London, address and all. Uncle Scottie may be neutral (for now) but America couldn't express how overjoyed he was that he helped them still.

Scotland also didn't hate him, which nearly made America cry tears of joy.

But he digressed. At first, America couldn't believe that there was G7 occurring without his knowledge. Hell, he's surprised that it didn't manage to reach his ears.

It's not like America would be stupid and go if they _did_ invite him. It'd be suicide.

No doubt France ordered him to not to say a word about the meeting to America. He wondered how much France had to make Canada swear that he wouldn't say a word to his twin brother, since in America's opinion it's not like his neighbor to not contact him and ask him why he wouldn't be invited to a meeting.

Yeah, France must have burned that order into his mind _hard._

"... And you saw what happened, Alfred." Norway suddenly turned to him during his conversation with Jamaica. "I'm sure that even with proof, Canada will continue to defend you vehemently. And you know well that denial just happened to be one of England's specialties, right Ireland?"

Said nation scoffed. "Don't I know it.'

America didn't feel very reassured. Don't get him wrong, he wasn't scared of the G7 or anything like that, in fact, it's quite the opposite. The only nations he was concerned about were Russia and China.

"So, in my opinion, we, especially, Ireland, shouldn't worry about-"

"Are you kidding me?" America snapped, hands clutching his head in frustration. "Those guys love playing the 'it's all America's fault' game, so it won't take that much effort to convince them that I'm guilty as charged. China and Russia will gladly jump at the chance to take me down. In fact, I think the only thing I have going for me is that they'll all think I'm too stupid to be a mastermind. Oh, and that England and Canada thing you mentioned."

"I'm gonna go make a few calls. Ask Gil if the East Asians can start carrying out their invasion plan with China and have the Nordics plus Toris wreak havoc in Russia, anything to keep those two disoriented. Get rid of them early if possible." America said off-handedly, as he started dialing. "Then when I'm done, _we_ can get rid of the evidence."

"And maybe…" North Korea grinned nastily as he leaned close to the monitor. "If we can, we can start to get rid of them one… by… one."

/ / / / /

"Don't waste his time."

With that blunt and quickly spoken order from Philippines, Indonesia was roughly shoved into a room and the door got slammed shut before she could even turn around to face him one more time. In her drowsy state, she could only narrow her eyes and glare at the door, as well as mutter a few slightly rude things in her own language.

Honestly, she doesn't think she'll ever understand her neighbor anymore.

Indonesia already asked herself multiple times throughout the trip and during her stay here in this prison if Philippines really did care about her, but the answer always remained frustratingly ambiguous for her. Philippines did say what he's doing was nothing personal, and that he did care about her and East Timor, albeit a lot less than Malaysia. She could also just ask him…

But she supposed she was scared that Philippines might laugh at her in her face for asking such a 'stupid' question, thus breaking her heart once again.

One would likely say that the answer _was_ obvious, and that she's clinging onto false hope. Philippines didn't care, despite what he said, actions speak louder than words, after all. But still… maybe… Ugh, she was being foolish.

"So, are you going to just keep standing there or going to leave me again?"

Indonesia froze, but she didn't dare turn around.

As much as it pained her, she didn't.

She already saw him once before, it gave her a massive shock and near heart failure, but there's still an idiotic part of her scared that it was just a hallucination, like Vietnam… North Vietnam sometimes claimed to have. If it was all just an illusion, courtesy of Philippines to torment her for no reason, and she looked back and saw nothing… She didn't want to give herself false hope.

No more heartbreak, no more… Please, no more…

Still, Indonesia felt tempted to at least respond, even if it's only to hear his voice one more time, and maybe see if 'he' will listen to her. But talking to an illusion, and pretend all her mistakes were fixed just because it accepted her apologies, probably wouldn't be good for her mental health, would it?

But when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder, she reacted by looking back in shock.

Her first thought was 'How in Allah's name was this possible?'

He's… real?

Standing there behind her, wearing the exact same uniform the very _last_ time, during the war, she saw him right there with a kind smile. Just as handsome as ever. South Vietnam still had the same messy dark brown, almost black, hair. His golden-honey eyes were the same, they were just like his sister's, only warmer.

Indonesia didn't know what to say, and she could only stare at him in wonder.

South Vietnam actually looked amused at her reaction. "You look surprised, Kira. Something wrong?"


	46. Revelations: Freaking Out

Indonesia, somehow, managed to miraculously not gape like a fish at the very sight, or rather _person_ , in front of him.

"S-South… You… I-I how…" Indonesia stammered. "You're… here. I thought I'd never seen you again. H-How is this possible?"

If she weren't so paralyzed with disbelief, she would have smacked herself for saying something as stupid as stating the obvious to _him_ of all people. Of course he's here, Indonesia, you idiot. You saw him not long ago! Even though really shouldn't be here, because last time Indonesia checked (North) Vietnam was still a unified country.

And she clearly and painfully remembered hearing the news that South Vietnam met his demise when his capital fell.

Indonesia _tried_ to get some of the rampaging questions out of her, form some words so she could figure out how this, _this_ supposedly dead ex-nation in front of her currently staring at her with something akin to concern, but what came out were just stutters and even croaks. She couldn't it. Her emotions were a jumbled mess at the moment, she was even finding it hard not to hyperventilate.

One of the biggest regrets of Indonesia's life, the man she felt deeply for, was now standing living and breathing before her very eyes. As if Allah suddenly took pity on her and brought him back to her so she could make amends, and maybe have the future she wanted for them both. Her reaction's understandable, no?

"How?" Indonesia exclaimed, resisting the strong urge to pull her hair until it came off her scalp. "Just… HOW?!"

In a way that was so typical of South Vietnam, before… before the war _changed_ him for the worst, before all death, destruction, and desperation broke his mind, he _laughed_. It wasn't a forced laugh, a mocking one, or even the broken cackling she heard that day. It was just normal, good-natured laughter.

"Funny, I thought you'd be happier to see me again, Kira. I'm hurt, really." South Vietnam said jokingly. "Maybe Felipe's right, you ARE becoming a stick in the mud like Singapore."

Suddenly the tension in the air just vanished, and Indonesia felt herself turn bright red at the remark, stuttering. "I-I am not a stick in the mud! …Am I? Wait, no! I'm not! I assure you that I'm just as fun as I was forty years ago! In fact, I'm even _more_ fun than before!"

South Vietnam raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't comment on it, and Indonesia felt the need to defend herself further.

"I am, I mean it!" Indonesia insisted.

South Vietnam tilted his head slightly, then there was a small smile on his face, but Indonesia wasn't fooled for a second. She knew South. Politeness and possibly consideration for her feelings seemed to be the only things stopping him from bursting into laughter.

Indonesia gasped, and her mouth dropped in horror. "You don't believe me!"

"No, no, I do!" South Vietnam exclaimed, grinning in glee.

"No, you don't! You're laughing!" Indonesia accused.

"S-So? That doesn't mean I don't believe you!"

"Yes, yes, it does! Why is it so hard to believe that I can be fun?! I do a lot of fun things in my home!"

There was a bit of a light blush in South's cheeks as he smiled awkwardly. "I'm sorry, but, uh… from what I hear, recent news from your country says otherwise."

"Chinh, come on!"

South Vietnam laughed again, harder, and then, eventually, Indonesia found herself laughing too. Despite how grim her situation was, all her worries and sadness seemed to fade away thanks to her old precious friend, and she found herself feeling happy for the first time since Philippines tried to gut her. Being here talking and laughing was a dream come true.

It almost seemed to be too good to be true.

She missed this. She missed _him_. If there's one good thing that's come from all this, it's that he's here with her.

Once she finally realized she was becoming emotional, it was too late, and the tears were already spilling from her eyes.

"Kirana?" South Vietnam called out, sounding concerned. "Are you-"

Normally, she didn't hug a lot of people or even did it a lot, not even when she visited good friends of hers, it wasn't proper, but the only exceptions were family like East Timor. However, she rashly decided to throw all that out the window because it's South Vietnam, and she rather boldly ran towards him and nearly tackled him to the ground in a tight hug.

Then, much her to embarrassment, she may or may not have begun sobbing.

South Vietnam clearly wasn't her to have done that, and he looked to be frozen in shock for a while before he slowly and awkwardly returned the embrace. Indonesia could understand why, she's surprised herself, but still, she wasn't feeling an ounce of guilt. But to her surprise, after a about a minute it was South Vietnam who pushed her away, albeit gently, but it still left her a bit shocked.

Oh, she should've known. South Vietnam was about as fond of physical contact as his sister was.

Eager to forget that happened, Indonesia came up with something to talk about.

"But seriously, Chinh, how on earth did you… come back?" Indonesia asked, and then shook her head. "No, were you even dead in the first place? Lien said that…"

Indonesia trailed off and had to flinch at how fast South Vietnam's face darkened at the mention of his sister. The snarl that was forming on his face was very disturbing, and just looked wrong, it was eerily similar to the look he gave her when she left him, and Indonesia felt alarmed at the anger in his eyes.

"That's right. I never faded, I almost did, but I didn't. For all her hard work and resolve to get rid of me, she failed _pathetically_." South Vietnam remarked, the hate all too evident in his voice, and suddenly Indonesia worried that not all of the old South Vietnam came back.

"Then, how did you survive?" Indonesia asked anxiously. "No, never mind that. How are you even _alive_? Is it like Prussia?"

South Vietnam's snarl vanished in instant and he looked at her sheepishly, of all things. "No, not like that. Trust me, I don't think you'd believe me if I told you. And even if you did, you'd probably shun my existence or something like that, given how 'unearthly' I am now."

Shun him? Be disgusted of him? He couldn't possibly be serious, could he? How could he even _think_ that she'd do such a thing to him, after spending decades tormented by her guilt?

No. _No_. No, no, no, no, no, no, no... no, no, **_no_**. Indonesia was not about to leave him yet again, never again. She doesn't think her heart could bear it if she did. Even if this was the first real conversation, they've had in four decades, even if it might sound brash, Indonesia's not going to abandon him, her boss be damned (pardon her language).

"Shun your… existence?" Indonesia repeated slowly, as if it was one of the repulsively unbelievable things she's ever heard, which it was. "What makes you think I'd do that?"

South Vietnam frowned, and his attention suddenly went to his hands, as if he still couldn't believe that's he alive. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I can fully trust anyone who-"

"Chinh, listen to me." Indonesia said with narrowed eyes. "What happened the day with you and me, there wasn't a single day where I didn't think about what happened and I've regretted it for years. You can't imagine how devastated I was when I heard what happened to you, and not only because you 'died', but because you vanished before we could make up."

Indonesia looked down in guilt.

"I'm not going to walk away from you again, I don't think I can."

South Vietnam's eyes widened fractionally for several seconds at the mention of the 'incident', and he didn't look very convinced.

Indonesia widened her eyes in shock. "You're not… still mad at me for that, are you?"

South Vietnam frowned. "Well, not anymore. I forgave you not long after the war ended, actually."

"Oh." Indonesia said, inwardly sighing in relief "I'm very glad to hear that."

"Wh-Why don't we catch up? I'll gladly answer all your questions."

Indonesia smiled warmly. "I'd like that very much."

/ / / / /

Philippines stared through the hatch with a neutral, except for _maybe_ his mouth twitching when Indonesia boldly went and hugged South Vietnam, and he might have almost snickered at the look on South Vietnam's face when she did that. Then, he gave a sardonic smile and closed the hatch before walking away.

It was pity and even regret on his part that led him to agreeing to bring Indonesia to meet with South Vietnam. That, and the fact that with Indonesia gone Philippines could visit Malaysia.

Still, Philippines didn't regret doing this for her.

Although…

The archipelago wasn't entirely sure if South Vietnam was the slightest bit of aware or even suspected that Indonesia loved him, he'll admit that it didn't occur to him to just ask, but he knew very well that South Vietnam's still deeply in love with Thailand, so much that he might ignore any other nation's possible feelings for him. No one outside the group knew of the affair they had.

Philippines also wondered if Indonesia will get crushed and get her heart broken again when South Vietnam proudly proclaimed his intentions of causing another Vietnam War and shared all the gory details of how horrible North Vietnam's death will be.

"It doesn't take a genius to know that this will end in a tragedy for her."

/ / / / /

Central African Republic swallowed a lump in his throat as he tried to hide his trembling hands.

It wasn't that he was scared… Alright, fine, he did feel scared, but it was a habit at this point. He did feel terrified the moment he spotted South Africa and Nigeria, but that was before the idea that they might be the ones who finally put him out of his misery popped in his mind. CAR had no desire to live in the era of another empire, especially not after France, and he realized that destruction's the better option.

Frankly, things don't seem to be getting that much better in his country. Granted, Séléka and anti-balaka's influence are non-existent compared to years ago, and those two's voices didn't torment him as much anymore and they very rarely ever screamed at each other now, the other voices were still trying to control thought. But…

He still felt very dejected that he wasn't going to be killed, way more than he should, but still something kept making him want to live. Perhaps it was the survivor part of him that kept motivating or even forcing him to survive despite everything, or maybe it was one of the militia voices in his head getting the better of him.

It was probably the latter.

"Gabriel."

CAR snapped out of his thoughts and flinched, then looked at DRC, who was looking at him expectantly.

"Y-Yes?" CAR stuttered.

DRC nodded his head, but before CAR could even open his mouth to ask, he felt someone suddenly grasp his shoulders, and he gasped.

Then he heard Nigeria laugh and coo. "Oh, relax, CAR, we're not going to hurt you. We told you, we just want to sit and have a little talk, with zero bloodshed. Come on, would it hurt to spend some time with your fellow Africans?

"Th-That remains to be seen, I think." CAR said anxiously while tightening his bandana.

Nigeria laughed (more like cackled like a hyena) again, for no reason, and CAR concluded that Nigeria didn't really know how to make people feel reassured.

"It's really no wonder you and DRC are good friends, when one examines your respective histories. You two truly understand each other." South Africa said with what CAR supposed was a gleeful tone. "In fact, if I remember correctly, France modeled you, Ubangi-Shari as you were called back then as a colony, after Leopold's Congo Free State, right? And in more ways than one, what with the terrible treatment of workers, exploitation of private companies, and a good portion of the population declining due to diseases.

DRC noticeably bristled and gritted his teeth in suppressed anger at the mention of his old name and the cruel Belgium king, as he often did whenever they were brought up. CAR felt his own bitterness well up at the mention of those horrible factories.

His people were forced to work for the companies and for the French, harvest coffee, rubber, among other things, and for what? Nothing. They weren't paid for their hard work. But they had to do it, many of their families were being held hostage, and… and…

"You got your independence in 1960, just like almost all of your fellow French African colonies did, after you finally had enough of France's neglect and abuse." South Africa explained with a dark grin, and CAR swallowed nervously. "However, what followed after your independence was something that was described as 'decades of misrule and lawlessness', but that's probably an understatement, no?"

CAR sniffed, tell him something he didn't know. He had no clue why he was suddenly being told about his own history, which he'd much rather not think about or even remember, but he decided to listen first.

"Not much changed, except for the fact that it only all went to complete hell a few years ago, with the Seleka and anti-balaka." South Africa "Only then, did you become what you are today… skinny, bitter, paranoid, sick, somewhat mentally ill, _hungry_. So, very, very, very **_hungry_**.""

"Why are you telling me all this? I remember my history." CAR asked, while trying to ignore the growling from his stomach.

"To show that we completely understand why you had to do what you did." South Africa stated, and after briefly flashing a feral grin, he stuck out his tongue like a snake. "You were dying, poor thing, so hardly _anyone_ would blame you for devouring that entire village."

CAR let out a sound like a squeak and he felt himself pale. How did they… He looked to DRC, who despite his usual blank face, looked slightly guilty. "You… you mean you told- you promised that you wouldn't tell anyone!"

He trusted that DRC, possibly his only true friend, one of the few nations who understand what he's going through, wouldn't tell anyone what he did that day! If CAR's boss, no, if anyone found out what he did, what he felt…

DRC gritted his teeth and avoided his gaze. "I _know_ that, and I'm sorry, but-"

"You promised!" CAR cried, and he felt one of the voices reassert their control over him. "First, you betray me, let your friends strike me, now you broke your promise and you're going to let them use my secret against me?!"

" _But_ this is for your own good, Gabriel." DRC reassured him while giving him 'the look', which helped frighten the voices into submission. "As a matter of fact, I'm the one who proposed the idea of approaching.

"This was your idea?!" CAR shrieked.

CAR shrunk back into his chair, feeling a little embarrassed for his outburst. "What do you mean, 'for my own good'? Dikembe, I'm a lost cause, just accept it. If the UN don't want to risk any more men or aid workers on me, then I might as well just get nuked so I can finally be free of this awful place. Besides, why would _they_ want to help me? Why are you even with them in the first place?"

"Blood and conquest aren't the only things they want, Gabriel." DRC said. "Oh, believe me, it's more than that. You want to know why I decided to join their group, the New World Order? I joined them not only because they'll clearly win, because there's no point in opposing them, no. I joined because they're going to help us fix ourselves and they promised me Belgium's destruction, finally make her suffer the way _I_ suffered. I'm doing this for **_revenge_**!"

"And you can get revenge too." Nigeria said cheerfully. "That, and _more_."

"We have an offer for you." South Africa grinned. "Would you like to finally fill up that stomach of yours?

/ / / / /

Turkey was really enjoying this sight in front of him, almost more that he should.

Said sight was his dearest lover grinning widely while holding up an incapacitated Vatican City by her long brown hair with one hand and her neck with the other. Both of her arms have been broken, with some bleeding here and there, but nothing very agonizing. That didn't bother Turkey, however, no, he's just glad that he could finally put her down.

Vatican City, or the Papal States as she went by back then, was a _nightmare_ during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Now Turkey's aware he did a lot of evil things during his time as the Ottoman Empire, but even he would say that for all Papal States' preaching that he and people like him were scum, beyond the salvation of God, she sure as hell was no saint either.

Part of his reasons for going after Vatican City was revenge and a bit of spite, yes, but Italy also incentive _some_ good incentive to get over his fear and come after him.

But he digressed…

Vatican City squirmed under Bulgaria's grip, and desperately clawed at her neck to get him to let go of her, but she wasn't aware that pain and pleasure were the same thing in Bulgaria's mind. He laughed at her efforts, and he tightened his grip.

Eventually, Turkey decided that they've procrastinated enough. "Bulgaria, enough. Let her go."

Bulgaria immediately did as he was told, and Vatican City collapsed to the ground, rasping gasping for breath.

"I'm not going to waste time telling you why we're doing this, there's no point. The point is that you're not needed." Turkey shrugged, giving her a cruel mind. "That's all you need to know, and we'll have to do something about your government."

That last remark caused Vatican City to pale.

"That's sweet of you, being worried about that old man instead of yourself, but don't worry." Turkey waved his hand dismissively. "We won't kill him. Again, there's no point, he's old. But he _will_ be the last pope."

Vatican City cried out, or at least attempted to, something in what Turkey guessed was Italian, glaring at him with hate.

After a few seconds, he gleefully decided to add. "Oh, and if you're hoping for Switzerland to come save you, then forget it, he's on our side, and he won't even bat an eyelash once he hears what happened to you."

 _He_ only loved one nation.

Vatican City's eyes widened in horror at that, and she shook her head in denial. She tried to cry or scream, but she still couldn't speak well, and she coughed.

"All in all, Beatrice, you're just another brick in the wall, a cog in a machine. So, for that reason, I'm going to hate to tell you this but…" Turkey trailed off, then snickered and smirked. "Oh, wait, that's not true, I'm _really_ looking forward to telling you this, Vatican!"

Turkey's hand reached out and swiftly grabbed her neck.

"You will die."

/ / / / /

While Italy skipping around, trying to cheer himself up from Germany's absence, he suddenly a cold shiver up his spine and a horrible feeling come over him. It wasn't pain, but he couldn't help but think something very, very terrible just happened. But what? Where? How? _Why?_

And it wasn't just that bad feeling. He didn't know why, but he felt… sad, grief. Something very sad happened to someone Italy knew. Like someone important to him just went away forever. It was the same feeling he got when… when…

When Grandpa Rome died.

"Italy-kun, is something wrong?" Japan asked as he caught up to him, worry in his features. "You look pale, are you feeling alright?"

"No…" Italy said quietly, sniffing and feeling tears prick his eyes. "I'm not."

/ / / / /

Romano was just resting in a plane towards Brazil, so that he could go there and rip out that bastard's dick for what he did, it was boring, but he tried to entertain himself by coming up with all sorts of ways he was going to make the carnival bastard pay.

But then suddenly, he got a bad feeling. At first, he thought it was type that told you something shitty was about to happen, but then he realized it's instead like something shitty just happened right now. Now, what the fuck happened?"

"Dammit, why am I…?" Romano muttered in annoyance as he tried to hold back the tears.

He failed miserably, and soon enough, he broke down and sobbed.

/ / / / /

Over time, Switzerland began to realize that yes, perhaps Mauritius was right, he _was_ becoming agitated.

But Switzerland couldn't help it, the matter of Liechtenstein was stressing him out more than it should. It _shouldn't_ be stressing him this much, dammit! But it's Liechtenstein, Liechtenstein of all people, so of course it's stressful. This was starting to become a problem, no, Liechtenstein was starting to become a problem.

His little sister was starting to get both worried and suspicious of him, which did not bode well for him at all. Switzerland doubted that Liechtenstein would go behind his back and investigate herself, unless she was really worried about him.

Alright, now he'll admit that Cameroon was right, mostly because that man wasn't here to berate him. Liechtenstein was distracting him, causing him problems. Normally whenever Switzerland had a problem, he'd either just shoot them or find a smart way out of it, usually the former. But he couldn't shoot Liechtenstein. She was innocent and knowing her she probably already blamed herself for his agitation.

A dark part of him deep in his mind, the part that represented his devotion, fanaticism and callousness, wished that he could.

Ever since the Africans left his house, thank goodness for that, Switzerland's been keeping his end of a deal (because he never broke a promise, or it at least if it's from his colleagues) and made that island drink blood instead of water whenever Switzerland brought him rations. It's repulsive, but he'll admit that it's rather amusing how Mauritius hasn't figured it out yet.

Switzerland was appalled when those four gave him the bottles filled with blood. They're really trying to make up for decades to centuries of no blood or human flesh. But despite his opinions on such tendencies, he agreed on the condition that they won't come back until it's been three days.

Allowing him to continue in peace.

"To summarize it…" Switzerland began as he stood before the island, crossing his arms. "You're nothing like those five… or six from what I've heard. "

Mauritius looked up at him, frowning in annoyance. "I kind of know that-"

"However…" Switzerland cut him off and continued as if Mauritius hadn't spoke, and something akin to a sneer or a smirk began to slowly spread across his face. "Those are just observations, comments, it hardly means anything. I wanted to remind you that that won't keep you safe. _Goodness_ will not make you immune to what I have in store for you."

Mauritius flinched from his sudden change of tone.

"Do you know why those five want you so much?" Switzerland asked, and without even waiting for an answer he continued. "They want you because they want to prove something. They want to prove that anyone, even a peaceful, kind nation is more than capable of becoming just like them."

Switzerland's smirk grew just slightly.

"I already have a very good idea how your mind works, therefore helping me choose how I'll pry apart that head yours and fix it." Switzerland's hands twitched as he spoke. "Strong rays of light create dark shadows, I'll have you know. Remember that."

If there's something that'll ease his agitation, it's picking apart and putting them back together in a new form.

/ / / / /

"You don't sound very confident, Roderich." America remarked as he paced back and forth, being careful not to crush the phone from how hard he's gripping it with his hand.

There was a sigh from the other end. "Yes, that's correct. The problem is that in my opinion, and I apologize in advance for this, but it's not likely we'll succeed with this plan of confiscating anything incriminating us."

America stopped his pacing. " _What_?"

"Disposing evidence might not help us that much."

"What the hell do you mean it's too late?" America exclaimed, angry with that he was hearing. "Lukas and Patrick can-"

"Which reminds me, I almost forgot to tell you, but congratulations with Ireland. But anyway, the truth will come out, we can't avoid that."

"Oh, to hell with that! I'm not going to risk the future of _your_ organization because you think it's too late to do anything about the problem!" America all but shouted, and he could hear Norway face-palming behind him. "Why the hell can't we get ri-"

" _Listen_ to me, Alfred." Austria hissed though gritted teeth, and America froze. "A cleanup won't guarantee safety for us, and you know that. Even if we get rid of the corpses, destroy any footage with incriminating evidence of our actions, and silence the witnesses, they still have evidence we don't know about, and they'll use that evidence to expose."

What evidence? America wanted to ask. And if they didn't know about it then how did he-

"And for that reason..."

America raised an eyebrow.

"You and your companions can either attempt to track down of the groups, follow them, and dispose of before they get their hands on it without revealing yourselves, or…" Austria trailed off, taking a deep breath. "…you can start helping to thin out the UN. Personally, I think you should go with the latter. Since the discovery of our group is very likely to happen at this point, we should at least reduce their numbers before they all gather or gather more followers for our side if possible."

America had to agree with that.

"Or you could split up, complete both objectives. By doing a cleanup we can at least delay the inevitable, and by getting rid of future nuisances we can guarantee ourselves an easier battle to win. Either way, the Asians will start their invasion and South Vietnam can start reclaiming some of his land, the Middle Easterner can start overthrowing governments. Good luck."

"Thanks."

Then the call ended, America decided to ignore the look Norway was giving him, and. After spending an estimated five minutes pacing around the room while trying to decide where they hell he could start, he turned to Jamaica.

"Hey, Jamaica…" America said as he rubbed his temples. "You told me that you and the others buried the corpses, right?"

Jamaica seemed almost insulted by the question. "Yeah, mon, me and others wouldn't leave their bodies there to rot like that. We gave them all a proper burial, man. You have my word on that."

"Good." America sighed in relief.

Proof, proof, let's see, the Caribbean's corpses were already taken care of, so that left Spain, but according to Austria, Sweden was already on it. Well, what else did they needed to get rid of? There's the disc Guatemala got from Brazil that he supposedly gave to Belize, but someone else was already on that too, the same goes for the footage in France.

Poland…

America's eyes went wide and the amount of sheer rage and frustration in him nearly ended up obliterating the wall next to him, causing a rather funny shriek from Jamaica, but America couldn't care less about that, he just couldn't believe that he could be so stupid! The corpse! He forgot all about it! He knew that Lithuania got his wish, but it didn't even cross America's mind that…

If… If they brought the corpse to the G7, then they'd have proof about the nations getting killed, they wouldn't deny it with _that_ proof. But they didn't bring Poland's corpse to the meeting, which begs the question…

Where's Poland's lifeless body in the first place?

It's suspicious that it wasn't brought or mentioned in the meetings, so where could it be?

Maybe they buried it? Hungary would at least want that for her friend.

He had a bit of hard time believing that Hungary would allow her friend's corpse to be dug up if Poland was given a funeral, even for her side's cause. Hell, he doubted any of them would be okay with desecrating a grave.

And if that's true, then what could America do now? Norway could go check and see if his theory about Poland was true. As for America himself?

Well, Hong Kong and Macau could probably use his help.

/ / / / /

Germany hoped he knew what he was getting himself into.

Overall, he was very skeptical of the story he was told. A centuries-old conspiracy? Facades? Cannibals! It's madness! But, as nonsensical as it may sound, Germany wasn't willing to dismiss their claims. It was their only lead, the testimonies came from nations who vanished, or 'held hostage' as some of them said, and it could mean something, despite Russia and China's opinions of all this.

It may also be due to a combination guilt and fear on his part. If… if this was all true, and it was only a matter of time before World War III broke out, then Germany will vow to do anything he could to prevent that. There must _not_ be another world war.

Ever since World War II, Germany had resolved to make sure that what he did in that, the terrible, unforgiveable things he did and caused, would never be repeated or be topped by something much worse.

So, with that possibility in his mind, it encouraged Germany to talk the rest the G7 agreed to let the other nations go and collect evidence, on the condition that at least one member accompanied them. The group were quick to agree with that demand.

Italy, unsurprisingly, was too scared to go, afraid that the cannibal nations might find him, capture him, and roast him alive tied to a stick above a bonfire. And of course, he was immune to reason, so, unsurprisingly, he stuck to Germany's leg crying for him not to go so that he'd be there to protect him.

Thankfully, Japan was kind enough to offer to stay that _he_ could protect Italy from the 'cannibal nations', and fortunately, Italy felt safe enough with him.

Other than Italy and Japan, France stayed due to not having completely recovered from his injuries, Canada also stayed because he was worried about France, Bahamas and Saint Lucia stayed because it could be dangerous for them, and Bosnia (who was looking a little sick) also decided to stay behind, though oddly Hungary made Japan promise he would keep an eye on him, for whatever reason. And Nicaragua and Costa Rica also decided to stay.

And now Germany's here just near Belize's house, a little dizzy because of the teleportation, accompanying the group composed of Honduras, Egypt, Hungary, Seychelles (who despite Germany's protests was very eager to go along) and Belize herself. Oh, and Egypt's dog. His name was Anubis, wasn't it?

Once they arrived, Belize wasted no time in running off in direction of her house, while the rest of them followed her with Germany in the lead, determined not to let anyone out of his sight. Hoax or not, he will get to the bottom of this, but he must keep his guard up. If the Americas were really…

Wait. America. They forgot about America.

"Hey, Egypt…" Germany began, looking at said nation standing next to him.

Egypt blinked and turned to him, face blank. "Yes, what is it?"

"I didn't have the chance to ask France this, but do you know why America wasn't invited to the meeting?" Germany asked, scratching his chin. "France said that he's too busy helping his people deliver aid to the Caribbean and searching for Puerto Rico, but that didn't sit right with me. Did France lie?"

And if so, for what reason?

Egypt's face darkened, and he remained staring at him for an unspecified period of time, which made Germany feel slightly uncomfortable. He looked like he was pondering whether or not he should say anything, or how he should phrase it. Then, he finally spoke.

"Yes, Germany, France did lie." Egypt answered bluntly. "But he had good reasons, I assure you."

Germany narrowed his eyes. "And what would those be? Why not invite America? Despite his personality none of us can deny that we need him."

Egypt raised an eyebrow at him. "Isn't it obvious why, given what we told you?"

Germany opened his mouth to say that, no, it wasn't obvious, but then the terrible realization dawned on him.

"WHAT?!" Germany shouted as he blindly punching the wall of the house, ignoring Belize's angry shrieks. "You mean America-"

Egypt nodded, only slightly surprised at the outburst. "Yes."

"But that's-"

"Insane, yes, but only at first." Egypt calmly remarked while scratching his dog's ears. "But it begins to make sense the more one thinks about it. Would someone with America's amount of power and history of wars _really_ be that oblivious and cheerful?"

Before Germany could think of a response for that question, he felt someone put their hand on his shoulder and saw that it was Hungary.

Hungary offered him a sad smile. "I know it's hard to believe, Ludwig, but we're telling the truth. But I understand, I didn't believe it either at first, and it took a bunch of fighting and… and… Poland's death for me to completely believe everything."

Germany's eyes went wide with shock. "Poland? What do you mean…"

"Feliks is gone, Ludwig."

Before Germany could even ask for details, another voice intruded.

"We have a problem." Belize announced as she walked back to the group, looking irritated while Honduras giggled next to her.

"What's wrong?" Egypt asked.

"I don't have my keys." Belize stated blankly.

…What? WHAT?!

That statement caused a bit of a delayed reaction from Germany, mostly because he couldn't believe what he just heard. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR KEYS?!"

Belize frowned at him in annoyance, then she scratched the back of her head as she flushed in embarrassment. "Remember that part of the story where me and a few others went to find the other Central Americans? Well, I sort of didn't bring my keys along because I wanted to leave the girls with the keys and I wasn't really expecting our trip to go awry…"

After decades of dealing with the likes of Italy and Prussia, Germany developed a habit. Said habit was palming his face in sheer disbelief at how disorganized nations could be.

"Can't you just pick the lock?" Seychelles asked.

"Nope." Belize said bluntly.

"You don't know how?"

"Yes, of course I know how to pick a lock!" Belize snapped, then she puffed her cheeks. "It's just that the lock is a really tough deadbolt, which can't be picked. I know because I tested the lock myself."

Germany groaned into his hands. He _really_ picked the wrong group to accompany.

"Why couldn't you get a normal lock?" Hungary asked exasperatedly.

Belize scowled furiously at the idea. "With _my_ level of crime? No way! I wasn't risk having people break into my house! I already have barely enough money to live a normal life as it is! And guess what? Ever since I got that lock, my house hasn't been broken into _once_!"

"Umm, I don't... think... that's… quite true, Miss Belize." Seychelles said nervously. "I remember hearing a door open before Anubis took me and the others to safety, and Egypt mentioned seeing two nations in your house when he went to check up on us."

Belize looked absolutely mortified. _"They broke into my house?!"_

"And that's not the only time!" Honduras said cheerfully. "Remember that time the entire Americas threw you a surprise party in _your_ house?"

 _"You broke into my house?!"_

"ENOUGH!" Germany shouted so order could be regained. "Alright… we can't open the door or pick the lock, but you've helped in getting into her house, right Honduras? How did you and the others do it?"

Honduras hummed and pointed at the windows. "We used a ladder to enter through the windows!"

"But we don't have a ladder." Egypt reminded her.

"No, but we can compromise." Belize said confidently and patted her knees. "Alright, who has the most upper body strength? I think we only need, three, four of us to either sit or stand on top of the other in order to reach the-"

 _CRASH!_

Germany jumped in alarm, and he whirled behind him to see a smiling Hungary and an open but broken door. His mouth twitched just slightly at the sight, but the small amount of amusement was overshadowed by the irritation caused by the fact that she made a mess. Behind him, Belize shrieked.

"There, I kicked the door open. Problem solved." Hungary declared proudly, and she turned around. "So, where's the disk Belize?"

Belize stomped her way towards Hungary while muttering about how the woman owed her money and went inside with her, with Honduras happily skipping behind her, Egypt nodding to Seychelles and the pair going in together, and it occurred to Germany that he should follow them inside.

But just as he was about to do that, he felt someone cover his mouth.


	47. Revelations: The Reluctant Benefactor

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, Eternal Nexus Warrior and seenlee93 for reviewing. Before we start I want to announce that the next chapter will take a little break from the plot so I can focus more on character interactions and development, something I've been wanting to do for a while. Now, on with the show!**

Bloody hell did America love to pace.

Ireland sweat-dropped a little as he watched the young man he swore to protect pace and forth, and then in a circle, while adjusting his glasses and muttering under his breath like an asylum patient. So, it should be fucking understandable why Ireland's starting to feel worried for America, very worried.

Sure, this ain't the first time Ireland witnessed America go into crazy mode and plan the crushing defeat of his enemies, Ireland saw this one too many times during the Cold War years after World Meetings, but it didn't mean that Ireland's okay with it. America needed to take a chill pill, as today's human youngsters liked to say or… at least that's what Ireland thought they liked to say.

"Hey… hey, hey, hey, there, Allie!" Ireland barked as grabbed ahold of America's shoulders, stopping the poor boy's bloody pacing. "Easy there, lad. You look like yer gonna faint!"

America flinched, and he shook his head. "Yeah… no, no, I'm fine… I was just coming up with a plan."

"Well, I dunno if you're aware of this, Alfie, but you can plan world domination without mumbling like a fucking madman." Ireland snorted, and he forced America to sit down on the wheeled chair, then he smiled at the frowning boy. "Now then, care telling us what's going on in that dark mind of yours, lad?"

America regarded him for a moment, before he spoke. "I made up my mind. We're not going to follow any of them, there's not much point if there's already other people on it. Plus, it'd be a waste of energy if they all agreed to meet again under one hour. So, we're going to do what Rod suggested, and start thinning potential adversaries out, or at least weaken them."

"A killing spree." Norway remarked, flashing a small smirk, causing Ireland to shudder. "Ja, that would be very fun. We can each have our separate targets if we want, although, from that look in your eyes I imagine that you have something much bigger planned?"

America nodded fervently.

"Ooh, is that so? Any plan you have is guaranteed to be fun." North Korea grinned, for once in his life, and Ireland jokingly decided that he preferred the grumpy North Korea. "Tell me, tell me, darling, what are you planning? What do you want?"

America didn't seem bothered by North Korea's grin and in fact chuckled. "When the whole world finds out that the United States is allied with the New World Order, they'll be counting on Russia and China to team up to dispose of him… I want to crush that hope, but I'm not sure _how_ I should do it."

"Nuke them. That'll get rid of them in an instant." North Korea said proudly. "I'll gladly help you with that. My geographical location would give us an advantage."

"No. Not now, not yet." America said quietly, with an unnerving glow in his eyes. "If I… if any of us do something flashy and destructive like that, it'll just attract attention, and it'll prove their suspicions faster."

America's face scrunched up in distaste and he shook his head.

"Besides, if I fire him, he'll fire back at me. Good ol' Cold War rule, y'know?" America shrugged, lamenting that fact. "God, I hate that rule. But he won't be able to fire at me if he's too busy dealing with…"

America cracked his knuckles and you can practically tell how hard he was gritting his teeth, and the glow was becoming more apparent.

"We just need to do something… slightly subtler, something that'll take more time to notice thanks to Norway's magic hiding our presence…" America said quiet and distractedly with just the slightest hint of an empty smile on his face. "Something subtler but lethal like… like…"

Ireland knew very well that there's no reason for him to fear his wee little nephew, he knew the little lad wouldn't hurt him even if his life depended on it, but he damn well wasn't used to seeing him like this, looking almost mad. But then again, Ireland supposed that they're all mad here, including himself, but still, it fucking unnerved him. God, did he make the smart choice joining them.

More importantly, Ireland should have brought some ale, at least a dozen canteens of them.

"An invasion." America said finally, his hands shaking, and his face becoming a bit calmer again. "The Asians are already beginning… but if they are going to start with their invasions plan then we need to start too."

"Aye, that's sounds jolly good, Al. Vague, but jolly good. But I have just one question." Ireland asked sheepishly. "Russia is bloody enormous, in more ways than one. How the bloody fuck is _you_ going to invade _that_?"

"If you've taken a good look at certain allies, then you'd know an invasion would be very effective, uncle." America responded calmly.

What was the lad talking about… oh… Oh? _Oh_. Ohhhhh…

"Now listen, I'm…" America pointed to himself. "…going to send my troops to help Hong Kong and Macau, because if the actual army actually shows up, they're screwed. I'll open up the 'freeway' for them, and with their help they can move on to the next step in their revolution. It's the least I can do for them. Meanwhile, I'm going to Georgia with North and then ask old friend to help me with the General. So, we... are going to split up."

America pointed to Norway.

"Lukas… well, I think you already know what to do, but make sure to let the Nordics know, just in case." America said quickly, and Norway nodded.

America pointed to Jamaica.

"Jamaica, I want you to go over there to London and make that everything's in place for the plan, just in case." America ordered gruffly, then he fell silent for a moment before speaking again. "And if you want, you can go and wreak a bit of havoc, just remember, nothing flashy."

Jamaica smiled lazily at that, looking very happy with the idea of causing chaos in England's heart. "You got it, man."

"And Uncle Patrick, if it's okay with you, I'd like you to be our spy." America said with a hint of concern in his voice. "We could sure use a mole there with the G7. I don't think our ticking time bomb will do much good right now, and they'd never suspect _you_."

Ireland smirked. "Will do, Al."

After all, he wanted to be in the room when England finally realizes that he's royally fucked.

/ / / / /

Mostly due to years of having been hardened by war and almost always spending his days with his guard up, Germany immediately knew that he was being ambushed, and he quickly reacted by trying to wound his attacker before they could completely take him hostage. He accomplished this by swiftly grabbing their wrist, therefore surprising them, spinning around and elbow and knee them in the groin.

That was usually Germany's reaction whenever he got jumped or attacked from behind. It was also usually how he injured Italy whenever the idiot kept making the stupid mistake to suddenly run up and hug him from behind when Germany's distracted.

Mein Gott, that idiot will never learn…

But unfortunately, just as he grabbed his attacker's wrist and before he could hit them, said attacker suddenly vanished in a puff of purple smoke, leaving Germany both baffled, irritated and coughing as he wondered what the hell just happened.

Then there was another puff of smoke, in which after it dissipated materialized... someone.

Someone with dark skin, looked like he was in his early to mid-twenties, narrowed and hardened brown eyes, unusual, colorful, probably African clothing... This stranger certainly looked like he's from Africa... and none of this was helping him figure out this person's identity.

But Germany could tell that this man was a being of their status, and not just some random human.

Germany didn't recognize him from anywhere, and he's certain that this wasn't some obscure Africa country, this was the first time he's met this person. He remembered the faces and names of every nation in this world, as well as territories and even micronations, but this man wasn't ringing any bells. This man was too old to be a micronation or a territory. So, who the hell was this man?

"What...? Who are you?" Germany finally asked.

The man stared at him for a moment, as if scrutinizing him. "No one you'll recognize, I'll promise you that."

"Ja, I kind of already figured that out." Germany deadpanned, and then he narrowed his eyes. "So, tell, who are you? I can feel that you're one of us, but who and what exactly are you? I can assume you're not a nation, right?"

The man smiled a little. "That's correct. But I didn't come here, risking getting castrated, to discuss who and what I am. I came here, after two days, one spent tracking those companions of yours and the next following you all, so that I could speak with you. I apologize for the surprise but I'd rather you not get anyone else's attention. And I don't have much time, so please don't hound me with questions."

Germany raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

" _They_ , or to be more precise, my _nation_ might find me."

"And who's they?"

"I'm not allowed to say, but I'm sure your fellows already told you. The New World Order? Who else?" The man shrugged, and he looked around anxiously. "Anyways, I need to ask-"

"H-Hey, hold on a minute! What the hell is going on? Who are you? Why can't you tell me your name? And what in the unholy name of the Führer do you want?!" Germany demanded, and he face-palmed, no, scratch that. "More importantly, you believe in this New World Order too?"

"Of course. Don't tell you haven't at least suspected by now."

"You expect me to take the word of a stranger?" Germany asked skeptically.

The man snarled. "Oh, it is true, whether you accept it or not. But listen to me carefully… How loyal are you to your family?"

 _"What?"_

"What would you do if people you cared about, loved, were part of that organization?" The man asked carefully, and he crossed his arms. "They are your family, right? You love them and cherish them... and you'd anything to protect them from harm, wouldn't you? "

Germany could already feel a vein bulging in his forehead both from his frustration of not getting answers and how annoyingly vague this 'Mystery Man' was being. Would it hurt him to give a clear answer and explanation? And it turned out that this man was also familiar with the so-called 'New World Order'.

Germany wondered if Hungary, Egypt or someone else have ever encountered this man?

But that wasn't important, what's important was that this man just asked him a puzzling question. Deciding that the faster he went along with this confusing nonsense, the quicker he'll get some actual _real_ answers.

"Even if they were a part of the Order?" The man asked. "Would join them if that were the case?"

"Are you… asking if I… would _join_ the New World Order?" German asked slowly, wanting to make sure he heard that right, and when the man nodded, he exploded. "Quatsch! Why the hell would I join a terrorist organization whose members include liars and possibly cannibals?! Do you even know what they've done?! What sort of nation do you take me for?! I don't care if people I cared about are part of that organization, I will not help cause another World War! Not again!"

Despite the outburst, the man only looked mildly surprised, and he smiled. "So, you do believe."

Germany blinked, and once he fully realized what he just said, he felt his face turn red. "N-Not necessarily. That's in the perhaps likely scenario that there is a New World Order out there planning to start World War III."

The man smiled sadly. "You'll find out soon enough. I'm curious to see if that group can actually be stopped, perhaps with _this_ you can. A friend of mine went to painful lengths to get those things many years ago, and she'll suffer severely when her brother finds out, but she's counting on you, so _don't_ waste her efforts."

"What do you mean?" Germany asked, but he was ignored.

"By the way, if you have the chance, stop by Africa. Perhaps you can help me against…" The man abruptly trailed off, with his hand swiftly going to grasp his neck as if in pain and then he laughed bitterly. "Well, I think I said enough. I wish I could say more, but it's rude to talk about someone who's listening, don't you think?"

"Hey, GERMANY!"

Germany cursed loudly in his native language and jumped at the person screeching his name, which turned out to be Belize with her head out the window, looking rather irate, which wasn't a good sign.

"What are you still doing out there? Are you coming in or not?!"

"Ja, ja, I'm coming!" Germany yelled back, and he wondered why Belize wasn't asking him about…

Oh.

When Germany looked back to where the man was, he found that the man was gone, leaving behind a small puddle of blood where he once stood and a messenger bag.

What… just happened?

/ / / / /

"So, does the idea of cannibal nations still seem implausible to ya?" Romania asked in a derisive manner to Russia and China, thought it mostly directed at the former.

China gave him a light annoyed scowl while Russia just smiled widely, which Monaca guessed was Russian for 'you, shut your fucking mouth, ingrate', and that implication caused Romania to grin, despite the situation. World War III or not, Romania never let an opportunity for an 'I told you so' pass by. Monaco didn't quite know what to make of it.

"Romania, this is not the time." Algeria scolded, eyes narrowed, but then she turned to Russia. "Still, what do you think, Ivan?"

Russia stopped smiling and his face reverted to one of concern. "I still don't like your claims, but I can't deny that its very likely you are right on this, comrade. I know what cannibalism looks like, there were incidents back in the Soviet Union, da? The corpses look almost exactly to what I've seen."

"I… as much as I hate to admit it, I have to agree with Ivan on this, aru." China said uncertainly, while looking slightly queasy. "I'm also no stranger to cannibalism, I happen to have an unfortunately rich history of it in fact, and there's no denying that the killers were very fond human flesh."

"So you admit that we're right?" Romania asked, eyebrow raised. "On the cannibalistic nations at least?"

Russia and China shared a look, and they shared a bit of a silent discussion before China frowned and grudgingly looked back at them. "…Yes."

"But more proof would be nice, da?" Russia asked, smiling a bit.

"Why do you think we're here?" Romania sneered. "Just let the little lady lead the way."

Monaco nodded and did just that. But she did have to wonder how Romania could even bring himself to joke or sound jovial in the face of such of a horrible sight, it seemed rather inappropriate. Then again, Romania was known to be fond of dark humor, so she probably shouldn't be surprised, and he meant well, but still…

Like all nations, she was no stranger to death, she had witnessed her own citizens getting gunned down or executed in the past, but she still felt queasy whenever she saw death. Also, while she was familiar, the deaths she witnessed were generally nothing like… like this. Monaco wasn't used to seeing gruesome, _cannibalized_ corpses.

And don't get her started with the stench.

For starters, the repugnant smell of death, gore and blood was dreadfully strong, and it a bit of effort for Monaco not to gag or vomit to the side and instead go on and her hand covering her nose. She knew it'll get worse with time and made a mental note to remind France to clean up the place. She decided to quicken her pace so that the sooner she found the room, the sooner they could leave.

"This isn't quite public knowledge, but there _are_ security cameras distributed throughout the residence, it's only logical since the leader of the nation resides… er, _resided_ here." Monaco explained off-handedly, biting her lip after she made that correction. "If it hasn't been destroyed or damaged, the surveillance room should have what we're looking for, and it should be right… here?"

She said that last part just as she spotted the door… and noticed that it was off its hinges, meaning someone had already broken into the room beforehand.

No sooner than three minutes, Monaco's fears were confirmed.

It was all gone. The monitors were broken, the machines were crushed and broken, the drawers were ransacked. Everything that could possibly contain something useful or incriminating either vanished or was found destroyed.

If Monaco weren't so polite and proper, she'd loudly exclaim a swear word to express the sheer amount of frustration she was feeling.

"Monaco."

Monaco blinked and quickly turned around to find a rather despondent Tunisia behind her.

"Is there really nothing we can use?" Tunisia asked dejectedly.

"Non. Nothing, everything here is damaged beyond repair." Monaco responded grimly, but then a hopeful thought crossed her mind. "Although… we did anything except waste our time coming back here. Russia and China are now more convinced thanks to seeing the corpses. And, perhaps we can use this mess as evidence that someone wanted to cover their tracks."

Tunisia hummed in response but said nothing more. However, Monaco felt compelled to inform him of a certain detail.

"One thing that bothers me is that, how did our mystery man know that this was the surveillance room?" Monaco asked, not exactly to Tunisia but more to herself. "The residence is a mess in more ways than one, but there are _some_ rooms that were left unscathed, so does this mean that they already."

"Maybe someone was blackmailed and told them? Maybe they somehow tricked France into slipping out the location?" Tunisia guessed hopefully then scratched his head. "Oh, I'm not sure I can really answer that question."

Monaco stroked her chin in thought. "Hmm, perhaps. I wouldn't be surprised if it were a human that told them, for whatever reason. Mere luck is unlikely."

She sighed.

"But then again, there is also a chance we're overthinking this. What are your thoughts, Tunisie?" Monaco asked, but she only received silence, and she found Tunisia staring absently into space. "Tunisie?"

Again, he ignored her.

"Tunisie, can you hear me?"

"…Huh? Oh, yes, yes, you're probably right, maybe we are overthinking this." Tunisia said quickly, his face slightly flushed for unknown reasons. "I don't really see the point in finding out what exactly happened here."

"Oui, perhaps you're right…" Monaco said, sighing. "But still…"

"But what?" Tunisia asked, sounding a little nervous.

"This is just my opinion, but something seems rather… off about this scene." Monaco remarked, frowning at the mess. "Perhaps it is just me, but it seems that whoever it really is who did this was… awfully in a hurry."

Oddly, Tunisia flinched.

"Wh-What do you mean by that?" Tunisia asked, stuttering a bit.

Monaco stared at him for a moment, then back at the mess, then back at him, and then she decided against it. "…Never mind."

/ / / / /

England could hardly believe he was doing this.

Sure, for how respectful and friendly Jamaica could be, the rift created when Jamaica decided that he had enough of him was still there, and he was still a little peeved over having England's queen as his head of state (not like that meant much but England liked to pretend that it did). Sure, Hong Kong adored pranking him as much as he pranked China…

But those were just petty pathetic grudges, they were very common, and they meant nothing. England never bothered to take them seriously even for a minute, it'd be silly, right?

Right.

Sure, even after independence and all South Africa wasn't very fond of him, and gleefully took advantage of any chance to annoy him or drive him mad. Like putting that bloody meerkat of his in one of England's larger teapots, and then have said meerkat jump out at him _after_ England drank the tea after God knows what the creature did in there. Sure, Nigeria had never quite forgiven him for betraying him and sometimes 'accidentally' kicked a football so it could crash right into England's ribs…

Yes… none of that meant anything, those were just silly grudges and them being wankers, like America. Yes, yes, just like America.

England promptly landed on his feet and once he caught side of Spain's house, he began to make his way towards it. Alright… Alright, England, time to find out if this permanent death nonsense was true or not. He rang the doorbell.

He then waited, tapping his foot impatiently while he tried to ignore the awful stench of smoke, and nothing happened.

His eye twitched, and he tried again. Nothing.

England sighed. Easy way it is then.

He then teleported himself into the house, and once he was inside, he found _absolutely nothing_. Nothing out of the ordinary here in Spain's house… except for the fact that the owner of said was nowhere to be found, but other than that, everything here seemed to be... just fine.

Most people would expect England to go 'Aha!' and laugh arrogantly to himself that he knew all along that this was bollocks, but he wasn't stupid (contrary to what the frog and that ungrateful brat Belize liked to say). He knew better than to dismiss something right away. And as an avid reader of Sherlock Holmes and a gentleman fond of mysteries, he knew when something didn't seem right.

There was still Spain's mysterious disappearance to think about, and England had a few theories as to where he could be right now, but strangely a part of him told him that those theories didn't quite fit...

He explored the house, searching for any signs or evidence of previous suspicious activity, and he did find some things. The windows upstairs were open, there was a small, easily missed, spot of red that looked like blood on the floor, and some furniture out of place. It wasn't much but it was something.

England wasn't sure if it proved him wrong or right, but as much as he hated to admit it, something told him that it was the former. He's still not too keen no accepting about this 'New World Order' story, but England couldn't put his finger on it, but he could have sworn that…

Then it struck him like lightning.

Memories of centuries ago resurfaced in England's mind of Ireland, and later with Scotland, of him desperately shouting at England and their other brothers demanding why weren't they believing him, Ireland kept trying again and again to warn them of the colonies planning revenge against the Empire and that the children were lying to their faces...

While England just laughed at him for his drunk delusions, while the others except Scotland ignored him.

Once it fully registered in England's mind what happened, he felt himself freeze to a stop and his face pale. Bloody hell, how did he remember that unil now? More importantly, Ireland... no. No, no, no, no, no, it couldn't be... Ireland's warnings and the nations' story being about the exact same thing... No, no it couldn't possibly be connected, right? Those were just Ireland's drunk ramblings. It had to be a coincidence.

...An extremely odd and nonsensical coincidence. So much so that it couldn't be a coincidence what Ireland said centuries ago about Spain, France and England's days being numbered would come true in the form of Spain's ruined country and empty house, France apparently being cruelly tortured by his ex-colonies…

It couldn't be… could it?

"God save the Queen, could Patrick have been telling the truth after all, while I just stood there and bloody laughed at him?" England muttered to himself in disbelief.

Then England jumped and nearly screeched and took out his wand when he heard a large crack, and he whirled around just in time to see a shadow of a person vanish from the window.

Good Lord. Was someone just there, watching him?

/ / / / /

"…Yeah, that's a fascinating story and all, Germany, but…" Belize tilted her head in utter confusion. "Three things. Who was that guy? How long has he been following our trail? And why's he helping us?

Germany frowned at her. "You're speaking as if I actually know the answers. I'm just as confused as you are."

"And you say that it's someone you've never seen before, but it's someone like us?" Egypt asked uncertainly. "No similar traits to one nation?"

"I told you, _nein_." Germany said irately, then he frowned. "Although…"

"Although?"

"I'm confident that he does sound familiar, in terms of accent I mean. I know I've heard that accent before in my life…" Germany muttered, then he suddenly widened his eyes. "Ja, now that I think about it, his accent sounded sort of sounded like Nigeria's."

"Oh…" Honduras said an awe, and then she abruptly tilted her head in confusion. "But what does that mean?"

While the others kept discussing Hungary kept wracking her brain for any nation, territory or even micronation who could match Germany's description of the Mystery Man, but she kept coming up with nothing.

"Yeah, who knows? Whatever's in there could be more useful than _this_." Belize said dejectedly, still playing with the tiny broken pieces of the disc as if she believed she might magically be able to put them back together. "It's worth a shot. And besides, it seems like this guy could have hurt you, but he didn't want to."

"That still doesn't mean it couldn't have something!" Germany protested.

"I'd sure like to hear you come up with a better idea." Belize scoffed while Honduras innocently tried to put the disc back together, and she glanced at it in disdain. "I don't suppose taping or gluing the pieces back together will work, would it?"

Seychelles fiddled with her hands nervously and looked up at Germany. "I don't think it could to take a look."

Hungary couldn't help but giggle at the conflicted expression on Germany's face, despite the severity of the situation. No matter what Germany will always have a weakness for the cute, puppy-dog eyed stare, even though it was probably unintentional on Seychelles' part.

Germany let out an exasperated sigh. "Ja, fine. But be careful, alright?"

Hungary heard her phone buzz, and half-heartedly took it out and answered it, not bothering to check who it was.

"Hello?" Hungary asked, her voice not as cheerful as it usually was.

 _"Oh no, is this a bad time, Miss Hungary?"_ An innocent, sweet, worried high-pitched voice asked worriedly.

Hungary's eyes went with shock when she discovered it was just sweet Liechtenstein. "O-Oh no, no, no Lili! It's fine, some things just came up and ended up stressing me out. So... how are you doing, Lili? Are you alright?"

 _"Are you sure? Because I can later if you-_

"No, no, it's fine, I'm fine, honest!" Hungary lied through her teeth, ignoring the concerned look Seychelles was giving her. "I always like talking with you, Lili, so don't be afraid to call. So, how are you doing?"

 _"I'm… not very sure…"_

"Oh?" Hungary said, feeling worried. "How come? What happened?"

 _"It's complicated…"_ Liechtenstein said quietly. _"Um, you see, I'm at bruder's house right now… and ever since-"_

Hungary immediately paled. "Wait, Lili, you're at _Vash's_ house?"

Liechtenstein. Sweet, innocent, harmless as a baby bunny rabbit, oblivious to her brother's crimes, Liechtenstein was at _Switzerland's_ house?! What could she possibly be doing there, even though she's clueless about what's happening, right in enemy territory. But just as Hungary was about to screech that question, she quickly remembered that Liechtenstein was in Switzerland's house, so she couldn't afford to give away anything important.

Poor little Liechtenstein might innocently and unintentionally spill to that lying gun-toting bastard. But Hungary didn't want her to stay there, what if Switzerland's planning something to hurt the poor girl? She had to find a way to convince her to leave or at least warn her of what's happening.

Hungary mentally cursed herself for letting herself get so caught up in what's happening that she completely that were there still others, innocent nations, her friends, going about their everyday lives while Hungary herself was here dealing with all this insanity.

 _"Um, ja, that's correct."_ Liechtenstein said nervously, sounding concerned again. _"Is… Is something wrong, Miss Hungary?"_

"Wh-What? O-Oh, no, no, no, Lili! I just lost you there for a moment and I wanted to make sure I heard you right." Hungary laughed nervously while her free hand gripped the skirt of her dress out of anxiety. "A-Anyway, why don't you tell me what's bothering you? I promise I'll do the best I can to help you."

Liechtenstein then filled her in on everything happening on her end, from Switzerland's increasingly irate and bad-tempered behavior even to his little sister, the constant and long trips down to the basement, and the _screaming_ Liechtenstein was sure she heard coming from there every night. Needless to say, Hungary didn't like it one bit.

 _"I just don't know what to do, Miss Hungary."_ Liechtenstein said miserably, and Hungary's heart broke for the poor girl. _"I-I really do think there's something wrong, but I don't like being suspicious of bruder! But… But what if there is really someone in the basement? The person, he… he sounded so in pain… the poor man."_

Hungary glanced at a pale Seychelles. They mentioned that of their own got captured a while back, didn't they?

And screaming coming from the basement, huh?

"Kelvin?" Seychelles asked hopefully, to apparently no one in particular.

…Oh dear.

/ / / / /

Despite how it puzzled her how abruptly Hungary ended their conversation, Liechtenstein didn't spend much time dwelling on that, and instead mulled over what her friend told her, and the advice she gave her. And Liechtenstein was a bit of a loss whether to follow it or not.

For as long as she could remember, Liechtenstein was never allowed to go to the basement, and everything she walked by that door she always wondered, what could be down there.

Liechtenstein had several memories of asking Switzerland again and again, especially during the first few years of her stay in his house, the same question: "What do you have in the basement, big brother?"

And the response he gave her was always the same. Switzerland's eyes would widen a bit and then he'd scowl at her, saying: "Nothing you should worry about, Lili. Now, _please_ don't ever bring that up again."

The way he'd always say it made it seem like an order instead of a request, but Liechtenstein eventually stopped asking. She realized that she's being unfair to Switzerland. He saved her life, and she was planning to repay him by pressuring him to let her see his personal things. It wasn't right.

Still, it didn't stop her from wondering what he could have down there.

In fact, it was a favorite pastime of hers, trying to guess what's in her brother's basement. Sometimes she imagined that the basement was full of enormous guns capable of terrible power, and Switzerland forbid her from going down there because he's afraid she might hurt herself, it did sound like him. Other times she imagined it was full of close-guarded money, other times she wondered if it was full of photos of other nations that Switzerland would throw darts at out of frustration.

Liechtenstein liked to think that Switzerland didn't want her to worry or scare her, and she supposed she could understand that, she does worry for her brother often... but still.

"Lili."

Liechtenstein flinched when she suddenly heard Switzerland call her name, and she was surprised to see him suddenly in front in her, staring down at her with his usual scowl and red tinting his cheeks.

"Oh, Vash!" Liechtenstein said happily with a warm smile. "You're back!"

"Ja, but I'm still not quite finished yet. I just came back up here to check up on you and borrow something." Switzerland explained grumpily, and Liechtenstein quickly deflated at that information. "Which reminds me, Lili, may I ask for a favor?"

"Of course, bruder." Liechtenstein nodded. "What do you need?"

"Ah, I, er, well… I was wondering if…" Switzerland struggled to get his own words out, and he bit his tongue before taking a deep breath, something Liechtenstein has seen him do a lot lately. "…If I could… borrow your favorite music box?"

Liechtenstein couldn't help but blink in surprise at the slightly odd request. Her... favorite music box? She owned several music boxes from different countries, but the one Switzerland's referring to would be the one Germany gave her as a birthday present in the sixties. It was bigger than the rest, but she always loved the sweet and soothing music it played.

But why would Switzerland…?

As strange the request was, Liechtenstein saw no reason to refuse. "Of course you can, big brother. But if you don't mind me asking, why do you need-"

But Switzerland already turned his back to her and left the room with a quick "Danke, Lili" before Liechtenstein could even finish her question, and she tried not to let that action hurt her as usual. Instead she kept wondering why Switzerland would want one of her music boxes. Switzerland never really liked them or the music it played… So why would he want to borrow one and bring it down to the basement?

 _It takes a lot of courage to do these sorts of things for the people you love, to stand up to them, breaking promises and the like for their sake. It's not good to be nosey, but sometimes it's necessary, maybe this is one of those times._

Maybe… Maybe Hungary was right.

/ / / / /

Meanwhile, back in London the nations that didn't go with the others to find the evidence were pretty much left to their own devices until they come back. In order to alleviate their boredom and try to ease the tension in the air, suddenly someone came up with the idea of playing a friendly game of poker to pass the time, and that's what they did.

On second thought, 'friendly' would be the last word anyone would use to describe _this_.

Everyone playing at the meeting table held their cards tightly and kept glancing at each other suspiciously to make sure they weren't trying to look at their hand. No one has said anything yet, but they were all waiting for someone to crack.

The silence was finally broken when Costa Rica cleared his throat. "I'm calling it."

"Ha! Full boat. Jacks over queens!" Saint Lucia announced as she showed her hand proudly. "I win~"

A collective groan sounded from almost everyone at the table as they slammed their now useless hands down and cursed in their respective languages while Saint Lucia greedily dragged the pile of chips to herself, giggling mischievously.

"Aw, don't hate because I'm talented and lucky!" Saint Lucia laughed haughtily, still hugging the pile. "You're all better than that."

"Then can we hate you because you're vain and bossy?" Nicaragua spat bitterly.

Saint Lucia just stuck her tongue out at her.

Bahamas sighed happily and gently handed her cards back to Japan, not feeling unhappy over Saint Lucia winning the game unlike most everyone else, she's just glad she and the others managed to cheer themselves up somewhat thanks to playing the game. Besides, it was kind of funny how Saint Lucia kept hugging the pile as if it were her greatest treasure and laughing like a cartoon villain.

Feeling the urge to go to the bathroom, Bahamas smiled and excused herself before standing up from her chair and leaving the room and went on her way.

However, surprisingly, on her way there she was surprised to find Bosnia, who oddly refused to play poker with them, sitting on the floor against the wall, hugging his knees to chest and staring at her with an unreadable expression, and it made Bahamas a little uncomfortable.

"Oh, Bosnia, there you are. How long have you been here?" Bahamas asked politely, but at only receiving a stare in response, she continued in hopes of cheering him up. "It's too bad that you didn't want to play, Mr. Bosnia. You missed some really funny stuff. Oh, and Lucia won the by the way."

But he didn't smile, he didn't do anything. He just sat there and _stared_.

"Are… you okay, Mr. Bosnia?" Bahamas asked worriedly.

He stared.

"Mr. Bosnia?"

Then abruptly, Bosnia stood up and smiled uneasily. "I'm just fine, miss. Hvala."

And then he walked away, leaving behind a puzzled Bahamas, but she shook her head and resumed her trip to the restroom.

She didn't want to sound rude, but she _really_ didn't like the way Bosnia was staring at her.

 **Please review, if you have a minute.**


	48. Revelations: Alone Together

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, Simonsce, Redbayly, and Eternal Nexus Warrior for reviewing. Now, on with the show!**

While Belize was forcing the others to help her and Honduras find her old VHS player in the girl's attic, Egypt wisely decided to quietly slip away from the group so he could find out where Seychelles ran off to. The poor girl oddly vanished a few minutes ago after Belize ordered everyone to go upstairs

Just as he began to worry that Seychelles ran away, Egypt then found the island girl sitting at the bottom of the stairs in a fetal position. He sighed in relief that he found her, and he decided to go down there and see what's ailing the poor girl, if Seychelles was willing to talk about it.

"Bonjour, Gupta." Seychelles murmured, staring sadly into space.

"Hello, Michelle," Egypt greeted, nodding. "Is there something bothering you?"

Seychelles hugged her knees to her chest and nodded. "Uh-huh... There is... but I'm not sure if I... I just don't know to do."

"Well, what is this about?" Egypt asked, sitting down beside her.

"Kelvin." Seychelles said bluntly.

Seychelles then went to explain that Hungary got a call from Liechtenstein what she overheard, and there were multiple things that worried Egypt. He was, of course, concerned that an innocent girl like Liechtenstein was in dangerous territory, and it didn't that she's beginning to suspect something. He didn't approve of Hungary encouraging her suspicions. If Switzerland was as callous as his colleagues, then he might not hesitate to hurt his own sister.

...And the screaming from the basement. According to Hungary, Liechtenstein told her that she kept hearing muffled pained screaming coming from the basement at night, and Switzerland spend most of his time on the basement, apparently for 'work'.

Screaming from the basement... Switzerland... There might be possibility that... No, could it really be?

"...You think Mauritius is the person screaming from the basement, don't you Michelle?" Egypt guessed, frowning at her. "You think he's in Switzerland's house."

"W-Well... who else could it be?" Seychelles sniffed, hugging her knees tightly.

"I don't know," Egypt admitted. "It is possible, but not a complete guarantee, that it's him."

"But what if it is him, Gupta? What if all this time, he's been down there getting tortured and having his minded twisted?" Seychelles fretted, pale with fear. "We have to do something for Kelvin! We know where he is now! Let's go and save him before it's too late!"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Michelle…" Egypt remarked, frowning, and he put two fingers to his forehead. "I've never been to Switzerland's house, so I don't know what it looks like, therefore I can't take us there. Teleportation is much more complex than you might think. If I don't have the right image in my mind…"

Egypt trailed off once he saw how Seychelles almost immediately deflated once he said that he couldn't, but he decided to continue.

"I _do_ have very special albeit limited spell my mother gave me that _might_ take us there, it's the one I used to save ourselves from Nigeria and Cameroon, but it's more designed for extremely dire situations, and I'd rather not risk suffering adverse effects for using it for the opposite of what it's intended for."

"Oh…" said Seychelles, looking guilty now.

"But…" Egypt added, and Seychelles perked up. "Britain or Romania might be able to do it. We can request their help in helping us rescue Mauritius when we return."

Seychelles managed a small grateful smile and nodded before the two of them slipped into slightly awkward silence, at least it probably was for the island girl if her biting her lip and avoiding his gaze was any indication. But Egypt never minded silence, that should be obvious.

On their chances on rescuing Mauritius, Egypt would say that they didn't look bad, probably as long as Liechtenstein didn't let slicp that she contacted Hungary and told her about the screaming. If England or Romania will be able to bring a small group of nations with them to storm into the house.

It may sound easy, but it was Switzerland's home. And the European had a knack for quickly finding intruders and getting rid of them in violent ways.

"Why didn't we talk a lot before?" Seychelles asked suddenly and curiously. "Back before this whole mess started, I mean."

Egypt hummed in thought at that question. He honestly wondered about that himself with a good amount of regret, and he a few theories. "Well, we never actually established relations of any sort, so there was little to no reason for us to seek the other out and interact with each other."

"Oh," Seychelles said, sounding slightly guilty. "You're right, we never did..."

"I'll admit that the idea of establishing relations never really… crossed my mind," Egypt said rather awkwardly. "But I doubt any of my bosses would have approved of the idea, since they likely think that I wouldn't gain much because-"

"I'm poor and useless?" Seychelles guessed dejectedly.

Egypt shook his head. "That would be _his_ reasoning, not mine. You might not be rich, but neither is the rest of the African continent, and no nation is useless."

It was a little amusing how Seychelles's face blushed red in a manner of seconds.

"To be honest, I… the main reason why I almost never approached you was because, and I'm sure you've heard this before, you're always quiet and so serious..." Seychelles explained rather guiltily, anxiously wringing her hands as she spoke. "So, I didn't want to bother you, since I like talking and all… A-And… oui, I didn't want to annoy you."

Egypt frowned. "I wouldn't have rudely dismissed you, if that's what you mean."

"O-Oh, no, no, I didn't mean that! I meant that I didn't think that we'd get along," Seychelles quickly said in alarm, shaking her head, and she sighed in dismay. "I don't think you'd be interested in making souvenirs, singing and dancing, which are pretty much some of the few things I'm good at. I'm pretty weak and poor. Ugh, look at me, I don't have any confidence… at all…"

"Is that so? You seemed rather confident in storming Switzerland's house to rescue Mauritius a few minutes ago." Egypt remarked skeptically, raising an eyebrow. "And frankly, I wouldn't mind listening you sing and dance."

"Really?" Seychelles blinked, but then suddenly shook her head. "B-but anyway, even though that was a spur of the moment, I wouldn't mind going for Kelvin's sake, but I wouldn't be very useful. In fact, look at me, I've barely done anything useful except stopping Saint Lucia from forcing Anubis to take a bath and saving you from falling to your death that night."

Egypt's eye twitched at the mention of the… _horror_ Saint Lucia deliberately tried to inflict on his friend. Call him petty but he still hasn't quite forgiven her for her actions. But that was hardly important right now, what he was hearing was upsetting.

"You act as if saving me was a miniscule accomplishment, Egypt remarked calmly, narrowing his eyes. "I remember you miraculously catching me from falling to my untimely temporary, and we likely we would have been dragged back to the Africans to suffer a fate worse than death if it weren't for you. I remember you using every ounce of your strength to pull me back, despite me being almost too heavy for you, but you were hellbent on saving me anyway."

Egypt stopped for a moment, so that Seychelles could digest all of that for a moment.

"I remember you bravely going up the Eiffel Tower behind everyone's backs despite knowing the risk of being gunned down by Switzerland, because you were determined to help me in whatever way you can. You agreed to escape with Mauritius when he begged you to come with him, despite your family's objections and knowing how grave the consequences could be if the two of you were caught. You went with him, despite having witnessed how cruel the five Africans are with your own eyes."

Seychelles's jaw dropped and she completely shocked, as if none of this ever her mind, then she turned red and shyly avoided his gaze. "I-I... Thank you, Gupta, but you're making me sound like I'm some sort of hero."

"Are you trying to imply that saving my life, and the others as well, was pointless and stupid?"

"Good heavens, no!" Seychelles shrieked, shaking her head frantically. "I'd never wish that! Not ever! I'm really happy that I managed to save you and the others, Gupta."

"Then why do you feel so insistent in putting yourself down, Michelle? What makes you act like this? I highly doubt anyone has ever mocked, insulted or laughed at you before." Egypt asked exasperatedly.

"Don't you remember, Gupta? July 2002, Durban, South Africa. The day of the very first African Union," Seychelles recounted as if it were a very traumatic experience, and her face went pale as she held onto Egypt, much to his confusion. "I was nervous. I've introduced myself in front of a group before but not in front of that many nations! And remember how all of us had to stand in front of everyone to present our flag and emblem too?"

Seychelles whimpered, and she became even paler as she began to cut off the blood circulation of his arm from how hard she was gripping it. Egypt gently tried to get her to loosen her grip on him, but the girl held onto him like a boa constrictor.

But perhaps he should let her… gah! Perhaps he should let her pour out her emotions if he wanted to help her, regardless of him being unable to feel his arm.

"Oh… I still have nightmares about it!" Seychelles exclaimed in horror, gripping Egypt's arm even tighter while the man tried very hard to ignore the pain. "I'll never ever forget that day, Gupta… never!"

"What about the meeting?" Egypt asked, beginning to have second thoughts of letting her continue holding his arm.

"It was my turn. I was a total nervous wreck but so far I've managed not to make a fool of myself while I walked towards the front," Seychelles gulped, and she finally let go of Egypt's arm to grab her head. "I was sweating like crazy, everyone was staring at me with their judgmental eyes, and then I introduced myself. For a while, things were going well, until I showed everyone my coat of arms."

Seychelles buried her face in her hands, groaning.

"Everyone there laughed at me! In fact, Uganda laughed so hard they had to take him to the hospital! That was probably the most embarrassing moment of my entire life."

" _I_ didn't laugh." Egypt pointed out.

But much to his surprise, this instead made her adorably angry as she stood up and glared down at him. "But you did, Gupta! I saw you! You weren't sitting that far away, I know I saw your mouth twitch and you covering your mouth to hide your laughter!"

"I did not." Egypt said quickly, hoping that his face wasn't turning red, and did his best not to avoid Seychelles's furious gaze. "Besides, how could you have noticed a detail like that? There were over fifty of us there."

"Like I said, you weren't sitting that far away, _and_ you were the _only_ nation there who was wearing a keffiyeh!" Seychelles stomped her foot and pointed an accusatory finger at him. "And don't you dare change the subject! Admit it, you laughed! You think my coat of arms is ridiculous too!"

"I told you, Michelle, I did not laugh at you _or_ your coat of arms." Egypt insisted stubbornly, for once wishing that Belize could come yelling and save him from this… situation. "I don't understand why you keep insisting that I'm lying."

"Don't lie to me, Gupta!" Seychelles put her hands on her hips, glaring at him. "I want the truth and nothing but the truth!

Oh, dear gods, how should he fix this?

Lying was obviously completely out of the question, both for moral and logical reasons. Egypt was an honest man, and he abhorred lying, especially in their current circumstances. He's confident that lies were among the last things anyone in their group wanted. Also, he has lived for a long time and he was smart enough to know that it wasn't wise to lie to a woman.

"Honesty is the best policy", was what some humans liked to say. Egypt's about to test the effectiveness of that saying.

"Well… I…" Egypt trailed off and bit his tongue, still finding it quite hard to maintain eye contact with Seychelles. "…I wouldn't exactly call it 'ridiculous', Michelle. Honestly, I always thought of your nation's choice of coat of arms was rather… odd and baffling."

Seychelles flinched, looking surprisingly taken aback by his statement. Egypt raised an eyebrow. He didn't understand. She wanted his honest opinion and Egypt gave it to her in the least harmful way possible. Did he somehow make her feel worse? Did he make things worse? But how? Why? There's a clear difference between the words 'odd' and 'ridiculous'. Odd wasn't necessarily an insult, and as for 'baffling'…

Perhaps he should have just said 'odd' and then leave it at that without the word 'baffling'. Was that what he did wrong? Or was Seychelles, or at least a part was expecting him to say something else entirely?

…As much as he's angry at Turkey, Egypt will admit that his former friend was at least right about one thing, he really needed to work on his 'woman skills'.

"Even Kelvin and Nambinintsoa laughed…" Seychelles sniffed, crossing her arms furiously. "Right after they promised that they wouldn't too!"

"Did they now?"

"I don't know why _he_ was laughing…" Seychelles grumbled, puffing her cheeks in attempt to look angry, but instead ended up looking a little constipated. "It's not like _his_ coat of arms is much better, you know. In fact, he later got depressed and ended up lying in a fetal position in the corner after the others said it was lame, remember?"

How could Egypt forget? On that very same day, when it became Mauritius's turn to formally introduce himself, the young man looked so excited then instead of the nervous wreck that Seychelles was. Egypt remembered Mauritius cheerfully waltzing to the front with an amusingly flamboyant aura around him that fittingly resembled France's. But when he showed everyone his coat of arms, he got assaulted with comments that it was 'kind of lame.'

…Europeans weren't the only ones who liked to insult each other.

And then, like Seychelles said, he spent the next two hours having an existential crisis and depression. But it was nothing that needed to be taken seriously, Mauritius almost magically recovered later, and went back to be his usual self.

Egypt's mouth twitched. "I think he was overreacting a bit..."

"Oh, he was..." Seychelles agreed, nodding fervently. "But you know how Kelvin's like Francis. He's proud of pretty his home is, and just infatuated with beauty in general. Insulting his flag or his coat of arms is like shooting him through the heart."

"Ah, yes…" Egypt nodded. Too much like France in Egypt's opinion. "How did he recover from his so-called depression anyways?"

Seychelles, for the first time in a while, began to giggle. "Well, when we were trying to cheer Kelvin up, Comoros passed by and she bragged that her flag and emblem were light-years better than his… and, ah, you know how those two are… Something in Kelvin snapped, and he literally got back on his feet, he was furious at and… they… well, they had this big argument. Long story short, Comoros took his place in the corner ten minutes later while Kelvin happily walked away…"

 _"ACHOO!"_

Seychelles shrieked, and Egypt immediately stood up, glaring at the sneeze that came from the surrounding trees. "Who goes there?!"

"Eek! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" A woman's voice screamed and running out of the trees was none other than Hungary with a camera in one of her hands. "It's just me! Everyone okay and just fine, ahahaha…."

"Miss Hungary?!" Seychelles exclaimed. "How long have you been here?"

"Hungary?" Egypt said in disbelief, and he scowled. "Were you… spying on us?"

"Ah... No, no, no!" Hungary laughed nervously, shakily raising her hands up in surrender as she slowly backed away. "Don't worry, you two! Pay _no_ attention to the woman who was hiding behind the trees… Well, bye!"

And Hungary took off running back into the woods, and Egypt felt extremely tempted to unleash Anubis on her.

/ / / / /

Something just whispered to him in his mind.

The information it gave Nigeria was so sudden and unexpected, which was then coupled with feelings of shock, disbelief, but most of all, anger, that he impressed even himself that he didn't just immediately go into a flying fit of rage. But he supposed that he's probably too in shock to do it.

Nigeria quickly excused himself, not bothering to stay to look at their reactions, and ran out the door so that the others wouldn't see him in his soon-to-be pitiful state. He ran, not caring where or which direction, he just wanted to get far away enough to vent out his anger. His fits could be dangerous and destructive, and there's almost always someone who died.

While Nigeria ran, he mimicked a snake's hiss and muttered a few certain words under his breath. He's going to send a little gift to Biafra, so that he could know that Nigeria was onto him.

And once he decided that he was now in the clear, he _snapped_.

What happened next was mostly a blur, but what Nigeria could remember was smoke… screaming… but who… who was screaming? They always sound the same to him, he could never tell the difference. He remembered the sweet scent of blood along with dirt, but he had no idea who it belonged to, or if it's even from human beings.

Once he regained his senses, Nigeria immediately felt exhausted, and he collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

Wow, he must have really a lot of fun this time. For one, Nigeria he could the taste of blood that he still hasn't been swallowed in his mouth and throat, along with some very small pieces of half-chewed meat there, human flesh judging from the taste. How he got all that was anyone's guess. His green eyes trailed to his left hand, it was completely stained with fresh blood, no doubt the other one was too.

He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe it. He just couldn't _believe it!_

How could it be that that man still had the will and sheer _stupidity_ to! Nigeria was so sure and confident that he crushed any courage and desire to go and do a stupid stunt like the one the man did back in his Civil War, he made sure that he did! Because believe or not, he didn't want another internal conflict on his hands. He couldn't plan or do as he wanted if he's too busy trying to prevent his skull from cracking open.

How could he? No, how _dare_ Biafra do this to him?

Nigeria felt a hand on his shoulder, and he immediately straightened then whirled around with a vicious snarl, so he could see the idiot human who decided him that picking a fight with a person with literally blood on his hands and mouth will be the last mistake they'll-

…Oh, nevermind. It was just an amused South Africa standing next to him.

"Hello there," South Africa greeted cheerfully. "Did you manage to get all your anger out of your system? Nee, more importantly, are you okay?"

Nigeria grinned darkly and took his friend's hand, lifting himself up. "Heh, I wish. I think I'm going to save what's left of my rage for when I find that damn traitor and make him answer for what he did."

South Africa's eyes widened slightly. "Traitor? Don't tell me you mean-"

" _Yup_." Nigeria spitting out what's left of the now dirty blood in disgust and wiped his mouth. "Good ol' Biafra's gone and done it again. I heard the whispers, Chris. They told me what they did and what _he_ nearly revealed about himself to the enemy, a G7 member no less."

South Africa's eyes narrowed into a nasty glare. "Explain. Now, please."

"I was told that Biafra went on a little trip and was spending a good amount of his time stalking the runaways for whatever reason he might have," Nigeria hissed angrily as he wiped the dirt from his jersey and shorts. "Frankly, I'm surprised that I wasn't told sooner, but then I realized that he could have just restrained the snake through the power of sheer will."

Nigeria scoffed at what he just said. Mentally suppressing what he implanted in the man with magic... Clever, but not clever enough, Biafra. Did he actually think he could win against him? Has he learned nothing from the past?!

"Not like it really worked out for him in the end!" Nigeria suddenly grinned, and he couldn't help but burst out laughing. "I found out about his little plan. That traitor was trying to reveal information about us to Germany of all people, hah! Biafra even gave him a bag filled with evidence."

South Africa's shocked expression morphed into a snarl. "He didn't."

"Oh, he did, my darling sweet friend, he did," Nigeria snickered madly as he bit on the flesh of his fingers, half-tempted to chew them right off and eat them out of how frustrated, frustrated, _frustrated_ he felt. "

"Well, then... we simply just _can't_ let him get away with this, right?" South Africa grinned wolfishly, cracking his knuckles.

"Exactly…" Nigeria nodded.

Then certain thought popped in his mind.

"Tch, why do we bother keeping people like them around?" Nigeria asked, hissing through his teeth. "All they do is cause of trouble for us. I should just kill the traitor and go on with my life, so I won't have to deal with the pain all over again."

"Hmm, perhaps, but I don't recommend it," South Africa warned, frowning. "There could be consequences. Over thirty million of his people are _your_ citizens, my friend. Kill him, and you might unintentionally kill most of them in the aftermath. It'll be agonizing for you, and I don't want that. And Roshaun has a small group of his people too. Do _you_ want to hurt him?"

Nigeria grinded his teeth, _hard_. "No… I'd never do that to him. Dammit, Chris, sometimes I hate that you're so calm and cautious."

South Africa just laughed merrily. "Ja, but someone has to be the voice of reason in our psychotic group of friends. Besides, you can never stay at me."

Nigeria smirked, and he found himself laughing a bit as well. "You're right, I can't. Still, sometimes I don't even understand why we haven't killed any of them by now."

South Africa regarded him calmly. "Because, just like most of us, we're not… _capable_ of pulling that off. I can't get rid of Khoisan, because I care about the old man, as annoying as he is, in other words, because I know my heart won't be able to take it. And you as know as well as I do, Adigun, that regardless of whether we actually care about them or not…"

South Africa trailed off, looking like he hated what he's about to say.

"…That they're all we have left."

/ / / / /

Liberia practically bounced in delight as he made his way to America's house in Nevada, where he last heard he was staying.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here, Liberia?" Molossia's gruff voice asked him, and Liberia felt his joy shatter into a million pieces.

Liberia glared viciously back at Molossia, snarling at him. What's this arrogant piece of… Oh, right. Nevada. Liberia couldn't believe that it didn't occur to him that Molossia would be here, _of course_ he would be here. But… Liberia's a lot better than that. He won't let this micronation spoil his time for America."

He still hasn't gotten over what happened, but then again, this wasn't the first time Liberia and Molossia got angry at each other.

"Oh, it's just you," Liberia growled, not bothering to hide his disappointment. "I should've known you'd be here, Molossia, this being Nevada and all... Anyway, where's Al? I came here to visit him."

"Sucks to be you then. He's not _here_." Molossia stated, almost happily, because that'd be bad for Liberia. "You probably should have called."

"I wanted to surprise him!"

"And how did that work for ya?"

"Well, where is he?" Liberia demanded angrily.

Molossia had the nerve to sneer at him, and he shrugged. "Busy. Went to Europe."

Liberia gaped at him in horror. "…You're joking."

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Molossia deadpanned, looking as happy with this as Liberia was.

"So, we're basically stuck with each other?"

"…Pretty much."

/ / / / /

America, unable to help himself, anxiously bit the fingernails of his right thumb as he thought about the many things, he wanted and/or needed to do. One stuck out in particular, and it was an issue that was bothering him to _no fucking end._

 _Mattie._

How should Canada go?

He wasn't mulling over ways to kill Canada until he came across one that gave him some sort of pleasure. America just wanted closure. Just because he didn't care for his twin, as he's stated multiple times, it didn't mean that America wanted the living, breathing, constant reminder of his failure to keep on _living_.

Still, why did America feel concerned when thinking about how Canada's gonna go?

He decided to sit still and concentrate on picturing the scenario in his mind and see what emotions it could cause him to feel as his fingers twitched. He imagined himself, standing in the middle of a long hallway, tapping his foot as Canada suddenly showed up walking towards him. America's twin clearly looked surprised to see him, and he began to ask questions, but America answered none of them, instead he just _stared_.

 _You should have picked me._

Fast forward to America pinning his twin to the ground and having his hands around Canada's neck, strangling his own twin brother to death. It wasn't an easy fight, but America had the advantage of the element of surprise, and now Canada's desperately struggling for breath while he kept screaming 'Why, Alfred? Why?!'. And then America dug his hand into his chest and _ripped_ out the-

No.

Nothing… America felt absolutely nothing at all except for maybe an empty feeling in his heart. That's the feeling of nothing, right? That's the feeling he normally had whenever he thought of harm coming to Canada.

So why was there a nagging feeling in his head?

So, he then instead imagined himself, leaning calmly against the wall while South Africa got high with pleasure as he necklaced Canada. Ugh, even though the rainbow nation's probably somewhere far, far away from here, America could easily hear his broken, mad laughter in his head along with him snickering at Canada. It's almost as if he's right…

Wait.

America slowly looked up and then flinched and nearly jumped out of his seat when he found North Korea suddenly standing before him and leaning down way too close for comfort, wearing that typical smirk of his across his face.

"What the hell, Hyung?!" America shouted in alarm, at the same time embarrassed that he didn't notice his presence.

North Korea's smirk broadened. "And I would've grabbed your wrist if you did. I've been trying to get your attention for a while now, my dear capitalist, but you kept ignoring me, which means there could be two explanations. Either you are stressed about something again or…"

The shorter nation trailed off, and then he scoffed.

"Oh, what am I saying? It's obviously that first one!" North Korea grinned toothily, then in an instant his expression became serious. "Now, tell me, what is this dilemma you're having about Canada?"

America widened his eyes. "How did you-"

"You were muttering again," North Korea explained simply. "You always mutter under your breath when you're stressed or confused."

America cursed, and he could feel himself blushing. "Fine. To put it simply, I think I'm… conflicted on whether I want to be the one who kills Mattie. _Why_ do I care about this? I should just let someone else do it. I mean, there's at least a half a dozen of us who wouldn't mind finishing the job. Hell, some of them _really_ want to do it, but they're holding back because of me."

America took a deep breath while North Korea stared at him.

"Ugh, I don't know. I'm probably not making any sense, right?" America laughed bitterly. "I guess… I guess it's also shame and regret on my part. Like 'you helped create this mistake, now _you_ have to get rid of it'. I dunno, what do you think?"

North Korea hummed in thought for a moment, then no less than a minute later a mysterious smile spread across his face.

"I think… you are overthinking this, Al," North Korea said simply, patting America's head. "I think you are making this a lot more complicated than it actually is."

America blinked in surprise. "What? How am I making this complicated?"

North Korea narrowed his eyes and stared out the window. "You know how I don't sleep very well, I rarely do. I often can't help as I lie in bed but to stare at the ceiling, completely unmoving, sometimes not even breathing, and I imagine the most of satisfying ways of destroying my enemies. How to destroy the blind fool that is my twin. I usually think of just nuking him and be done with it, but no… no… it's just not right."

"...You... kind of already told me this, Hyung," America pointed out. "What's the moral of this story, again?"

"Hush, I'm not finished. Anyway, I realized that I didn't just want to hurt him, I wanted to tell him everything so that South could fall into despair, regret and guilt over what happened in the past," North Korea sneered. "I want to hear him begging for forgiveness and crying that 'he loved me, he loved me, he loved me'... so I can cruelly rebuff him and crush his throat with my foot afterwards."

America wasn't sure whether to smile or wince at North's display of malice.

"You obviously want the same for Canada, dearie," North Korea grinned widely, and he snickered. "And we're not the only ones, you know. South Vietnam, Hong Kong, the Africans... They all want that too."

America bit his lip. "Yeah, I guess…"

"You just rest easy, Al. Everything will fall into place…" North Korea reassured him, plopping down to the seat next to him and gently taking his hand. "I think you know that quite well, don't you?"

"Yeah…" America's glasses glowed. "Everything will _fall_."

/ / / / /

Bulgaria kept panting as his hand clutched the area of his heart as he kept turning on the bed. It was always a bit uncomfortable and hard for him to twist and turn after Turkey's finished with him, but Bulgaria's always too tired and ecstatic to care about it. After all, it's been a while since they've done this.

"Huh?"

The space next to him was empty, Turkey's not there. Bulgaria's eyes snapped open out of a brief feeling of panic, but as his sense of reality slowly came back to him, he quickly relaxed and sighed in relief once he saw that the bathroom door was open. Oh, Turkey probably went to wash his hands.

Bulgaria smiled and made himself comfortable on the bed. Wow, Vatican City sure had a nice apartment. You'd _never_ suspect that a murder just took place here unless you look in the closet… or if a few weeks have passed. Turkey and Bulgaria needed a place to rest, so why not use this place since they're here? It's not like either of them cared about the corpse they hid in here.

Still, they should probably leave soon… It's only a matter of time before all hell breaks loose.

But it's so tempting just to forget about that and appreciate their time together.

"Hey," A voice suddenly said in his ear, and Bulgaria yelped in surprise when he suddenly felt arms wrapped around him. "I hope you're not too immobilized, birdie, because we're gonna be leaving soon."

"Da, of course…" Bulgaria nodded, and he winced a little when he moved, which did not go unnoticed by Turkey.

Said nation snickered at him. "You sure? Because I don't think we brought any medical supplies with us."

"I think I'll manage," Bulgaria reassured him, and then his mind drifted to another topic. "It's too bad what we have to do about San Marino. She's only a young girl, and a good and charming one at that. The least we can do is give her a painless-"

"We're not going after San Marino."

Bulgaria blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

Turkey grinned back, and Bulgaria immediately felt himself tingling with excitement. "All we needed was Vatican City gone, her demise should be more than enough to get a rise out of the brothers once they find out. It's not necessary to go after San Marino, and since Seborga's a micronation, Italy and Romano will know something's up the moment we hurt him."

"Then where are we going?" Bulgaria asked, tilting his head.

"Well…" Turkey smirked and poked a finger in Bulgaria's chest. "Where do _you_ want to go, birdie?"

Bulgaria's mouth dropped a little at the question. It wasn't often that he decided what to do in this relationship, but it never bothered him at all, he always felt content following Turkey wherever he went without question or even asking what they're supposed to do. Lithuania always kept telling him that he really needed a mind of his own. But Bulgaria liked being the follower, the servant, he preferred it that way.

Especially since normally when Turkey did tell him to lead the way, Bulgaria would find himself confused and indecisive, which then led to him panicking as to what exactly he could to make both of them happy. And then eventually, Turkey would get sick of waiting, frown at him, and change his mind. He'd end up disappointed, and Bulgaria heartbroken.

Bulgaria then regretted spending too much time in his thoughts, because that's _exactly_ what happened next.

Turkey let out a disappointed sigh, causing Bulgaria to feel ashamed of himself. " _Seriously?_ Nothing? You got nothing on your mind?"

"I-I… no, I'm so…" Bulgaria trailed off, and then suddenly it dawned on him. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, _wait_! I got something!

"Vlad and I have officially fallen out. He threatened you, and I'll never forgive him for that," Bulgaria scowled at the memory. "I'm going to make him pay for even thinking of doing that and prevent him for laying a finger on you. He will never hurt you, me, or any of us if we have the right incentive."

"Moldova." Turkey guessed correctly, now seeing what he's trying to say.

Bulgaria grinned and nodded, perceptive as always. "If Vlad cuts your arm, I'll bring him _Moldova's_ arm. If Vlad burns you, and I'll burn Moldova alive. If Vlad breaks one of your bones, then I'll gladly break every single one of Moldova's."

Turkey whistled, looking impressed. "You're willing to kidnap a child, hold him hostage, and torture him if his brother hurts me, even though I'm not really worried about it. Heh, you know, I really love it when you surprise me, because that's pretty dark, Dimitri."

Bulgaria blushed and smiled sheepishly at the praise, happy that he redeemed himself in his eyes. "I only learned from the best."

/ / / / /

Lithuania gritted his teeth as he went over the last of his paperwork. One perfect advantage of having nothing to do for the time being was finally start taking Belarus's land for himself, something he would have done earlier if he weren't so distracted or busy dealing with the van incident. He killed her, he ate her heart, drank her blood, of course he now had the rights to her land.

Just thinking about her death and replaying that battle in his mind made him giddy. In all honesty, Lithuania regretted not having tortured her more. He didn't truly give the psychotic bitch everything she deserved. But he was… ah, short on time.

But Lithuania supposed that him taking Belarus's land while the woman watched helplessly from above… or _down_ , now that he thought about it, as he used her lands and resources against her big brother also worked.

It was part of the revenge after all, and a much larger plan.

Getting Belarus's lands also meant that Lithuania now shared a border with Russia.

… _Perfect_.

No… no, no, that wasn't sarcasm, that's actually a good thing for him. It was all part of a plan Prussia, America, Norway and any other nation who shared a land or maritime border with the Russian Federation have. If Lithuania's going to participate, he needed to share a border with Russia.

Now, if Lithuania could just go and get Poland's land for himself and join them together. Sort of like the old Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, but at the same time nothing like the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It'd also help make him stronger and -

He was abruptly snapped out of his thoughts when he heard knocking at the door, and there was only person who it could be. "C-Come in, Mari!"

The door creaked open with the timid form of his little sister peeking through and she then entered the room, wearing her normal clothing and looking like a bit of a nervous wreck. Lithuania frowned at this.

"Hello, Toris..." Vilnius wringed her hands nervously. "Sorry for interrupting you, but... are you really busy right now?"

Lithuania shook his head. "No, I think I can spare a few minutes. It's nothing too important, don't worry about it. Now, you alright, Mari? You look like you're about to faint."

"I-I'm just nervous, Toris," Vilnius stuttered as she went and sat on the sofa, and Lithuania could have sworn that he could see her shaking. "I don't think I'm ready to meet the Baltics."

"What? Why?" Lithuania asked, surprised. "I know this is your first time meeting someone outside of the Order, but already I told you, there's no reason for you to be nervous or scared about them."

"But what if they don't like me?" Vilnius asked worriedly.

Lithuania scoffed at the idea. "I doubt it. I don't they would take their frustrations with me on you, they're better than that, trust me. Besides, if the entire organization likes you, then I don't see why Eduard and Raivis can't."

"But, Toris, you know I'm not good with strangers!" Vilnius squeaked, and the shaking began to become more noticeable. "A-And I-I'm not sure if I can talk to them. What if I suddenly freeze up? What if I lose my voice?"

"Mari…" Lithuania sighed, standing up from his chair, and he walked over to his panicking sister and gently grabbed her shoulders. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, you're going to be just fine. They'll love you!"

"Really?" Vilnius looked up at him hopefully. "Do you really think so?"

Lithuania smiled and ruffled her hair. "You know I wouldn't lie to you, little sister. But please let me know if they don't like you, Mari, and I'll gladly go and talk some sense into them."

Vilnius blushed and weakly smiled back. "Thanks, Toris."

 **Well, I hope you all liked this chapter. We'll be back with the main plot next time. Please review if you have a minute.**


	49. Revelations: Mistakes Were Made

**Thanks to AquaEclipse and Eternal Nexus Warrior for reviewing. Now on with the show!**

Western Sahara had no idea who to expect when someone came knocking on her door in the middle of her rather genuinely pleasant day, only that she desperately hoped that it wasn't anyone who came to give her more grief, and instead maybe a human friend of hers or something.

She lowered the book she was reading to glare irately at the front door when the knocking became louder.

A part of her already suspected that it's Congo-Kinshasa, she actually spent a portion of her time pondering when he might show up. Has he finally decided to march up to her home and make her pay for ROC's blood with hers? But no, the logical and wiser part of her shot back. If it was DRC then Western Sahara would've probably known by now.

One of the things she learned back when she was terrorized by the five was that they just loved putting on a show, when they intend to cause harm, they were never subtle about it. They liked causing chaos as soon as they arrived. And if DRC's one of them, then it's logical that he would adopt their cruel habits. So, if it was really him, and he's out for blood, then he probably would have created a massacre like he did with Belgium.

Yes, Western Sahara would've definitely noticed if something like that was happening right now.

Just as she swung the door open and prepared herself to spit out some sort of rude remark, she found herself gasping in sheer horror at the sight that greeted her.

Standing there before her, wearing a grin of all things on his tired face, was her good friend Igbo rasping and grasping his neck in pain. No, he wasn't grabbing it, he was _clawing_ at his neck, as if something was choking him. But Western Sahara knew better. His clothes were dirty, ragged, and stained with blood, no doubt _his_. To put it simply, he looked _awful_.

Allah, what mess did Igbo get himself into?

Western Sahara was so stunned by this unpleasant surprise that it rendered her speechless. But soon she came to senses once she realized that there was a friend standing before her in need of dire help, and she was about to speak first, but he beat her to it.

"He…. Hello… Safiyya…" Igbo greeted wryly with an obviously pained smile, before he suddenly coughing up even more blood. "I… I-I… I'm s-sorry you have to see me like this… but-"

Igbo's coughing became violent and his knees buckled, but Western Sahara swiftly dashed forward and caught him just in time.

"Never mind the pleasantries, you fool! Come on, let's get you inside!"

/ / / / /

The Mystery Man, their apparent benefactor, gave them a few things. Including a VHS tape, a locked album, and a small book, likely a diary.

"This belonged to Haiti." Egypt said, holding a black book in his hands. "His human name is written inside here at the beginning, but that's all I could comprehend."

Seychelles had to wonder how this Mystery Man managed to get all these things _and_ get away with it too. Although, according to Germany there's a chance that he _didn't_. She had no idea who this man was, but still she couldn't help but feel worried for him. Haiti and the others probably aren't going to take this lying down.

Hopefully he'll appear again one day…

"We can save these ones for the others to translate later," Germany suggested, taking the diary from Belize and giving it a brief look. "However, since the one Egypt has is in French and Haitian Creole, I don't suppose one of you might able to translate some of this?"

"Hmm, maybe you can understand it, Bel?" Honduras asked while digging through a bag of cables and cords.

"Nope. Afraid that's beyond my ability," Belize said grimly, shaking her head. "My Creole's English-based, while Haiti's is French-based. Trust me, they're not the same. So I can't really help you out with that."

"I think I can help," Seychelles piped up, twiddling her thumbs. "But I'm not too sure though..."

"You know Haitian Creole?" Germany asked.

"Oui, oui. Haiti and I are part of the Francophonie, and usually in the group meetings we Creole-speaking countries would get together and try to understand each other's version of Creole." Seychelles explained gently. "So, as a result, I have a bit of decent knowledge on Haiti's language and I might at least get an understanding of what it says."

Seychelles remembered having a lot of fun during those times, along with getting embarrassed whenever she got some of the words wrong. Still, she didn't think she did bad, and Haiti even patted her on the back once when she managed to read out loud a whole page written in Haitian Creole correctly.

As far as her opinion of Haiti went before this whole mess, Seychelles thought of him as a likeable person. They never really interacted that much throughout the years, but they were on good terms with each other. He was a quiet but strong nation sometimes with a dry and sometimes dark sense of humor. Oh, and he smoked a lot.

But he was also kind of mean sometimes. Like that one time when Haiti nearly drove France insane with a voodoo doll…

…That probably should've been their first hint.

"Well, that's good then," Hungary smiled and handed her the old book. "Go ahead and give it a try, Michelle."

Seychelles nodded and gently took it from Hungary, then she opened the diary on the first page and when she did, she frowned a little. This was old alright, and a little hard to make out too. But Seychelles wouldn't blame the little Haiti, France was probably still teaching him how to write...

She shook her head and scrutinized the page. Okay, it looked like that this first part was in French, that's good.

"Um, okay… It says on this page that Francis gave him this diary in the early eighteenth century to practice writing and entertain himself…" Seychelles began explaining as she traced the words with her finger. "And also, so that France wouldn't have to deal with Haiti's complaints about the unfair amount of work he dumped on him and his people, b-but I think that last part's just Haiti's opinion."

Judging from the boiling resentment in Haiti's choice of words and the small messy drawings at the bottom of the page, Seychelles mentally added. She wasn't blind to the fact that France wasn't a very good person back then to other colonies, but he couldn't be that cruel…

"Oh, look at this part! It says here that one his neighbors came to him with some proposition about an alliance to get rid of the Europeans from their homes!" Seychelles exclaimed, pointing to a line in the diary. "He must be talking about the New World Order!"

"There we have it! Undeniable proof!" Belize grinned proudly, despite the somewhat solemn atmosphere, and many others couldn't help but crack a smile as well. "Thanks to Germany and that guy we hit the jackpot!"

Germany flushed slightly. "N-Not so fast Belize, we need to investigate more first. Seychelles, do you mind continuing?"

Seychelles nodded and went on to the next few pages. "There's nothing really noteworthy here so far, I guess. It's just what you'd expect. That, and there's a large amount of a page filled with the phrase 'Please, Papa, take me away from him!' and begging his 'friends' to end his suffering…"

Whoever these friends were supposed to be…

"Here's where it starts going into Haitian Creole." Seychelles commented, and she squinted her eyes as she tried to understand the words. "It says here in this one that he's been making a lot of friends with the African slaves, and he's impressed with how interesting their cultures are… And also that some of the slaves are teaching him some things too, and Haiti's discovering some things himself."

"What are they teaching him?" Hungary asked.

"I think it's obvious what he meant by that," Egypt said with a blank look.

"And this is where it gets disturbing…" Seychelles muttered nervously once she came across an odd page, but she tried to swallow it down and continued. "During this year he's been starting to grow fond of making dolls modeled after certain people. He said he's nearly mastered 'this power' and then said and I quote 'It's fascinating how you can have the power to hold a person's life in your hand, completely under your control."

Seychelles gulped, and she didn't miss how Egypt cringed.

"In this one, dated a few years later, Haiti claimed he's been making _all sorts of friends and allies_. He said he's going to go and _meet_ them again tonight and…"

Seychelles trailed off and she could only stare baffled at the next page. What in the name of…?

"And then what?" Germany asked expectantly.

"…That's it. I don't understand this next part. It's a completely different language, and I don't recognize it at all," Seychelles said in dismay, turning the page only to see that it was just the same as the last and that the next one was just drawings, and she did her best in ignoring the bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. "But, does this mean anything to any of you?"

She showed the others the page she was talking about, and she was quickly greeted by puzzled looks. Seychelles could understand why, it made no sense. It was a page filled with strange symbols that were probably supposed to be letters or indecipherable words that looked more like scrawls.

And on the page with nothing but drawings, Seychelles saw…

"I-I think I'll go check if there's still parts I can translate," Seychelles stuttered anxiously, quickly flipping a few pages without thinking.

"Nein, there's no time." Germany stated, looking at his watch. "It's been almost an hour. We should head back soon and bring the equipment with us."

/ / / / /

CAR hated feeling antsy. But then again, he also always felt antsy. In fact, he doesn't remember the last time he felt completely relaxed, he practically didn't know the meaning of the word anymore. He furiously and anxiously paced back and forth in the house while DRC stood against a wall watching him with a bit of worry in his features. But CAR hardly paid attention to his companion's presence.

CAR was worried. He's feeling frustrated, frustrated, FRUSTRATED!

Nigeria suddenly ran off, with South Africa following him shortly, and the fact that there's two 'strangers' lurking about in CAR's territory and that he couldn't seem to 'find them irked the voices to no end. While CAR himself was worried that they might get jumped by criminals or come across a faction of the militia, or worse, they might unintentionally draw the attention of some group towards them and CAR's house!

"Where did they go? Where are they?" CAR demanded, digging his nails into his palms, but he barely even cared about the pain. "I can't sense them, Kinshasa! _Why_ can't I sense them?!"

DRC regarded him calmly and frowned slightly at CAR's self-harm. "Believe me, I'm just as confused as you are. But I highly doubt that they would've left just like that without telling us. Oh, and Gabriel?"

"What?" CAR snapped, though he almost immediately regretted it as soon as he did.

"Stop tearing apart your palms. You'll bleed if you keep that up, and you know how long it takes you to heal from injuries" DRC said sternly, narrowing his eyes. "If you're also going to try and better yourself, you need to stop with these sorts of things."

CAR paled, and he looked down at his palms, then he cringed when he saw the damage and hid them behind his back. "I-I'm sorry, Kinshasa. It's force of habit, I swear!"

"I know. But you still need to make an-"

"We're back!" South Africa cheerfully cut in as the swung open to reveal him and a happily waving Nigeria covered in dirt and blood.

CAR sighed in relief while DRC stared at them, specifically at Nigeria's state. "Where have you two been? And Nigeria, did something happen to you?"

"Yeah, something did happen, but it's not that you think. I'm fine, at least now I am for the most part," Nigeria said uncaringly, with the cheerfulness from earlier missing. "I just had a discovery, it pissed me off, and I ran off to unwind."

DRC raised an eyebrow, puzzled and suspicious. "Do I want to know?"

"He went on a killing spree, that's what he did," South Africa said amusedly, while his friend snorted, and he patted his back. "You'll have to forgive him. He can't be stopped once he snaps, and I'm afraid an uncertain amount of your humans got unlucky."

CAR squeaked. He thought he felt an odd disturbance! It was incredibly minor, but it was still suspicious. "W-Wait, you're the one who-"

"Caused that mess with your humans? Or to be more specific, what's left of them? Yes, that was me." Nigeria admitted dryly, nodding, and he grabbed one of his arms and twisted it with an audible 'crack'. He cringed. "I'm… sorry for all that."

"Don't worry," CAR, smiling weakly behind the kerchief hiding his mouth. "I'm used to it."

The conversations seemed to end there, until a concerned DRC asked. "If you don't mind me asking, Nigeria, what did you discover? What made you so angry to go into a fit of rage and do that to the humans?"

Nigeria's already slightly tight smile vanished, and he looked away angrily with a scoff. "…I really don't want to talk about it. But it's nothing you should worry, Dikembe. I'll go and take care of _the problem_ later."

Then the room descended into a bit of awkward and tense silence, which caused CAR to feel even _more_ anxious. He couldn't help but tremble out of habit, even though he's hardly feeling any sort of fear, as he looked nervously back and forth between a snarling Nigeria and a frowning DRC. CAR could tell that DRC wanted to ask more, but the look on Nigeria's face and the aura of anger coming out of him implied that he'd lash out if he did.

It was a stalemate. Oh, god.

But luckily, before CAR could crack, South Africa clapped his hands, getting everyone's attention on the smiling man. "Ah, we shouldn't focus on that. We have more important things to do, right Nigeria?"

CAR let out a sigh of relief once realization dawned on Nigeria's face and the nation grinned. "Oh, oh, oh! Right, right, I almost forgot! My bad!"

Nigeria and South Africa dug into their pockets, which CAR just noticed were stained with red, and took out…

CAR yelped in alarm. "W-W-What did you-"

"You think you're the only one who craves human meat?" Nigeria asked innocently, tilting his head before giggling. "Ha! You'd be surprised."

CAR took his eyes off the meat on the table, with great difficulty, and stared at them up in disbelief. "W-What?"

"You're not alone, Gabriel," DRC remarked darkly, and CAR could see that he's restraining. "You never were."

Those were viscera and innards. _Human_ viscera and innards. Human viscera and innards laid out in front of him.

As soon as he realized that, CAR froze.

Oh, it's been years since he smelled that meat! He completely forgot how intoxicating it was. It made his mouth water.

The memories of the village incident years ago during the worst period of the conflict flooded his mind. He remembered his desperation as he tried to escape while being followed by militia until he finally got away, but all of that left him completely exhausted and his stomach feeling a lot more empty than usual. CAR wasn't sure if there was another time when he felt as hungry as he was that day.

Meat... Meat... Meat...

Those were the thoughts that kept running his head while aimlessly limping his way to who knows where, not caring where he's going as long as there weren't any Seleka or anti-balaka to come after him. Not just food, _meat_. CAR loved meat. He's barely eaten it for years, and he always dreamed of eating it every day.

To put that mushy raw red juicy tasty delicious piece of flesh in his mouth, chew it into itty bitty pieces, savor the flavor with his tongue and gleefully feel it going down his throat… Oh, he'd _kill_ to have that experience again...

Then the soldiers found him.

CAR stumbled upon some random village and collapsed just as he arrived. The memories get vague from there. Some people went and carried him to help him. Hunger got worse, needed to eat. Soldiers came not long later and they found him. Then… Then… Then there were some men who attacked the soldiers and then at some point someone got their abdomen torn open and CAR got a good whiff of it.

And then… he just snapped.

Like he did now.

In the background, he barely managed to hear one of Nigeria's comments.

"Wow, not even Cameroon eats that fast!

/ / / / /

Indonesia found the time spent catching up with South Vietnam very pleasant.

It was great to talk with him again. He told her a lot of things. The details surrounding his 'death' and eventual decision to join the 'New World Order' that he and Philippines were a part of, during which Indonesia bit her tongue to stop herself from saying anything that could send this happy between them to ruin. They could discuss that another time.

She was surprised to hear that it was America who she should thank according to South, and that if it weren't for him, he wouldn't be here standing before her right now. Apparently, America came back on the very day of the fall of Saigon, feeling guilty about leaving, and he came across a dying South Vietnam. America convinced 'those two' to accept South Vietnam into the group, and here he was.

Indonesia made a mental note to herself to seek out and America and apologize to him, even though he never actually held it against her.

She also wondered how Vietnam… _North_ Vietnam will react to all of this. But South Vietnam's anger and the venomous scowl he'd show whenever her name was casually mentioned or when her involvement was only _implied_ worried Indonesia.

"I still can't believe that you managed to survive," Indonesia remarked, smiling anxiously. "This isn't like Prussia. There's nothing left for you to represent, and your people were forced to call themselves _Vietnamese_ instead of South Vietnamese. So, what are you supposed to be now? What's keeping you from fading away?"

There was that scowl again when Indonesia mentioned the detail about his people… Well, Indonesia supposed they're _Vietnam's_ people, but

"I guess a simple way to put it is that I'm just… a corpse with its soul forcibly attached to the body," South Vietnam explained with his lip curled up in disgust, as if to express his utter contempt for his situation. "Another way to describe it is that I am dead, but my soul just hasn't realized it."

Indonesia looked at him, baffled. "What? I don't really understand, but… how can that be? What, was there some sort of black magic invol…"

But the way South Vietnam cringed gave her the answer to the unfinished question.

"Oh…" Indonesia said, but then she widened her eyes. "Wait, this is why you were scared that I might shun you or run away in fear? Because it's some sort of dark magic that's keeping you from dying?"

South Vietnam nodded. "That's correct."

"Oh," Indonesia said again. She wringed her hands a bit in the awkward silence that followed, but then she shook her head. "Ugh, no, no, no! Chinh, you didn't need to be scared of what I might think. What sort of person do you take me for?"

"Well, you are kind of superstitious sometimes," South Vietnam pointed out quietly.

Indonesia felt her face turn red, but she remained defensive. "I-I-I, well, yes, I guess I am but… but still! If I didn't freak out and immediately conclude you're a demon posing as you before running away screaming the moment I saw you, then I think I can accept, albeit hesitantly, this… whatever you call your strange position. To put it simply, yes, we're still friends."

South Vietnam stared at her with what seemed like a combination of awe and pleasant surprise, and his mouth dropped slightly only for him to quickly close it again. Indonesia almost felt offended. Was he seriously expecting her to turn him way?

"Really?" South Vietnam said, blinking.

"Of course!" Indonesia smiled warmly.

"I… thank you, Kira!" South Vietnam laughed in relief, and he grinned widely. "You know… this day is turning out even better than I thought. I think the only thing that could make me happier would starting the war, but I don't want to be rash… I want to make sure my chances are great this time."

Then just like that, the peaceful and happy atmosphere was broken.

"W… W-Wh… What did you just say?" Indonesia stammered, desperately hoping that she heard that wrong.

She dared to let her hopes up when South Vietnam raised a puzzled brow at her with a slight frown on his face, looking rather confused at the question, but those hopes got crushed just as easily when he flashed a sadistic grin that looked too out of place on his kind face.

"I said, the only thing that'd make me happier is if I could start the war," South Vietnam repeated, cocking his head to the side with the grin still on his face. "But I want to wait until the perfect time."

" _What_ war, Chinh?"

"The Second Vietnam War, Kirana," South Vietnam said calmly, running his palm through his stick. "What else?"

"Y-You… can't be serious, right?" Indonesia said in horror, feeling on the verge of panic. "Please tell me you're joking, Chinh…"

Instead, South Vietnam remained staring at her blankly for what felt like hours, before his fingers curled up around his stick with a sneer on his face. "Do I _look_ like I'm… **_joking_** … Kira…?"

/ / / / /

Switzerland kept going upstairs and downstairs here, then up to his house to down to the basement again. Mauritius sometimes began to wonder if there's another room down here where the guy went just to avoid him or do… whatever the hell he's doing. In fact, Mauritius was sure that Switzerland's doing whatever he could to avoid him. He couldn't be that annoying, right?

Sometimes he'd even hide in the dark or just suddenly materialize out of thin air without even announcing his presence. But then again, Mauritius's still tired as hell, so who knows? Maybe that's just him.

Anyway, this test was just weird...

He didn't really mind the music, it just wasn't his style. Seychelles would probably like it though...

"Is that Liechtenstein's?" Mauritius asked as he got a good look at the thing. "It has to be. Because there's no way someone as cheap as you would..."

...And he's not even listening to him, though Switzerland did briefly look a little aggravated.

Mauritius glared at him.

Mauritius's seriously starting to get annoyed by how Switzerland kept ignoring him and thought that he was stupid and tired enough to not see him there in the very back of the room where he's barely but still visible. He wondered if Switzerland was doing it on purpose just to get a rise out of him or just didn't want to put up with Mauritius's attempts at small talk.

Sure, Switzerland made it crystal clear that he didn't like him, and Mauritius didn't like him one bit either. But dammit, he needed someone to talk to.

…Wait.

Was he that desperate to have someone to talk to that he'd go straight to the guy who's been treating him like crap?

"What the hell are you doing with that thing?" Mauritius asked to the man in front tinkering with the box.

Switzerland ignored him.

Mauritius snarled, and he felt anger starting to boil. "I know you can hear me, Switzerland!"

He ignored him again.

"Say something!"

But he didn't even spare him a glance.

Eventually Mauritius gritted his teeth and gave up. He's never felt this alone in years…

/ / / / /

Senegal swore that he didn't remember dozing off, though he did remember feeling oddly tired just after he arrived at the town.

He also remembered feeling… in pain for no reason, it was a type of pain he wasn't familiar with, and it involved both the headache and a feeling of some creature clawing in his stomach, desperate to rip its way out of there. And speaking of his stomach, Senegal's been feeling really hungry lately.

Now that he thought about it, he didn't have a clue why he decided to go there! He was just following his instincts... or at least Senegal thought he was. Like he said, he didn't really have a clue. But he recalled having his mood swings again, his thoughts were becoming disturbing and dark. Not long ago he scared himself when all of a sudden in a moment of boredom he entertained the notion of finding humans to cook.

Senegal woke up with the damn same pounding headache as before, causing him to hiss in pain and he turned. The pain in his stomach... it's... it's gone now. And he wasn't hungry anymore. Why's that?

"What the...?" Senegal muttered, and he groaned at his headache.

"Huh, you're awake. Finally, I was starting to consider taking you to a medic or something," A relieved familiar voice remarked, sighing. "Even though _he_ told me that..."

Senegal blinked, and he rubbed his eyes and looked up to see a frowning Malawi of all people crouching on a chair, not looking very happy to see him. And was it just him, or did Malawi look a little pale? Hah, that's not important right now…

"Malawi, what the hell are you doing here?" Senegal asked exasperatedly, drawling slightly.

"I'd ask you the same question, you know," Malawi remarked dryly, and he swallowed. "That and more importantly, why… just why did you do… _this_? You're not one of them, so why did you do it? And they were your people too!"

Senegal stared at him. "What are you talking about?"

Malawi's mouth dropped in surprise, and his face went paler. "Wait… you're telling me you don't remember?"

"Remember what?" Senegal asked, suddenly having a horrible feeling in his stomach.

Malawi opened his mouth to respond but then closed it again with a conflicted look and cringed, as if pondering whether or not he should tell Senegal what the hell's going on. It's almost as if he's afraid of telling him.

"Well, what is it?!" Senegal demanded.

"Look around you and your clothes, Senegal. What do you see? Oh, and hey, you still have some of that stuff in your mouth. Can't you taste it?"

Senegal's eyes went wide, and he looked around frantically, and he was horrified by what he saw. He couldn't believe that he didn't notice all this sooner. The walls were splattered with blood and what looked like guts. The room… wherever this was supposed to be, was a mess with furniture trashed. His hands were drenched in blood. And the air reeked of smoke, blood and death.

Bleeding bodies, broken bodies, limbless bodies, crushed bodies, butchered bodies, unrecognizable bodies, burned bodies…

 _What I have done?_

Senegal could only stutter but then he noticed something else. There was a weird taste in his mouth, and he could feel that he had _meat_ there too.

Then it all clicked.

"Oh, yeah…" Senegal said calmly, not paying attention how he was unnerving Malawi, and he lied back down. "I _did_ do that… _Oops_ … my bad."

/ / / / /

"We're back!~" Honduras cheerfully announced loudly.

Hungary almost envied Honduras's cheerfulness and it made her feel a little frustrated. But then again, she supposed anyone who's had Egypt shock them with lightning for observing his conversation with Seychelles (which she recorded and would share with Japan later if the shock hadn't short-circuited it) wouldn't be feeling as cheerful as Honduras.

That was her best camera too…

But that's fine, it's fine (no it wasn't). There'll be plenty of other chances to spy- OBSERVE them.

"GERMANY!~" Italy came running into the room, and practically leaped towards said exasperated nation. "Doitsu, you came finally back! Oh, I missed you, I missed you, I missed you!"

Germany took a step to the side and coldly watched Italy crash head-first into the wall. "Italy, it's only been an hour."

Italy miraculously got back on his feet and smiled. "I know, but I've been so worried about you, Ludwig! I was scared that the evil cannibal nations attacked you and ate you! B-But that doesn't mean I don't have any faith in you, Ludwig! I just thought that…"

While Italy rambled on, Japan took the opportunity to greet the group with a nod. "Konichiwa, Germany-san. How was your investigation? I assume by the fact that several of you are carrying a variety of objects that you that it went well?"

"Ja, it went well I guess," Germany nodded, and helped Honduras set down the TV. "It's complicated. We still have a lot to discuss. Are the other groups back yet?"

"No, you are the first ones to arrive. But I have no doubt that they will come back soon."

After they all started to help set down the stuff they brought, Hungary looked around for Bosnia. She regretted that she didn't take him with her. Hopefully he didn't get himself into any sort of trouble this time.

"Has anyone seen Bosnia?" Hungary asked everyone.

"The last time I saw him was down the hall, not far from the bathrooms," Bahamas was the one who answered, looking a little pale as she spoke. "I think he should still be there."

"He's been sitting there the whole time doing nothing but staring us," Saint Lucia chimed in, looking very displeased and unnerved. "In a really creepy way too. It'd be great if you could get him to stop doing that."

Hungary bit her lip. Oh dear, what's going on with him this time?

Germany raised an eyebrow. "Staring at you creepily?"

Both girls nodded. "Yup."

"Don't worry, I'll go look for him, Ludwig!" Hungary offered with a smile, while her fingers twitched as she gripped her frying pan. "If he's up to no good again, then I'll knock some sense back into him! Just leave it to me!"

But Germany didn't look too sure, he still didn't really believe about Bosnia's problem. "Hungary, this is not the time for-"

"I'll be back in a few minutes!" Hungary chirped and intentionally left before Germany could say anything more.

Hungary looked around her as she walked briskly in search of Bosnia, and she bit her lip nervously. Germany didn't understand, Hungary thought as she gripped her frying pan. He hasn't seen Bosnia's behavior, and what he's capable of doing. And he hadn't been jumped by Bosnia before.

Well, not this time. This time Hungary's not going to let her guard down and let Bosnia get the jump on her.

Soon enough, after one or two dead ends and seemingly walking in circles, she smiled when she found just the nation, she was looking for slumped against the wall. His bangs were covering his eyes and he's looking noticeably pale and tired. Hungary's eyes widened. Was he...? Did someone knock him out? No, that didn't make sense. So, why did Hungary's instincts kept telling her that something's wrong.

From looking at him she began to worry that Bosnia fainted while wandering off again. Well, at least no one got hurt this time… except for maybe Bosnia himself.

Still, Hungary wasn't willing to let her guard down and she kept her hands on the frying pan and hit it behind her while taking careful steps toward him. Alright, it looked like he's breathing, so that's a good sign.

"Hey, Emir!" Hungary called out as she crouched down, frowning. "There you are, sweetie. What are you doing sitting here all by yourself? They said this is what you've been doing for the past hour! Well, that and creepily staring at the others according to Saint-"

Bosnia stirred, and his bangs moved out of his eyes just in time for them to snap open and stare at her coldly.

Hungary flinched at the hostility.

She knew that look. That's the same look Bosnia gave her back at the that burned down house in Germany. It spelled trouble.

Hungary's eyebrow twitched, and she poked him with the frying pan. "Hey, what's with that look, Emir? You're not still angry about that leash thing, are you? Speaking of which, where is your leash?"

"…Liz." Bosnia murmured, so quietly that Hungary barely understood him.

"Huh?"

"Is it true that…" Bosnia began listlessly as he gently grabbed her wrist. "…you found something?"

Hungary blinked at the questions, and she quickly realized that Bosnia shouldn't have known that they have proof if he spent all his time here. "I… yes, but… Emir, how did you know that we did find-"

"So, it's true then," Bosnia said with a tinge of disappointment in his voice, and he tightly gripped Hungary's wrist. "…I don't suppose you found something that can help me find what 'it' is and how I can find it, do you?"

"Uh… I'm not very sure, sweetie," Hungary replied honestly, deciding to play along even though she still had no idea what this 'it' was supposed to be. "There's a diary, Haiti's diary. We can't get the photo album open, apparently it's locked with some sort of dark magic according to Egypt, but he's working on it. And we were saving the videotape for later."

But Bosnia remained staring at her, and Hungary guessed that he didn't really believe her. "…You got all that from Belize's house?"

"Actually, not really. It's complicated. But we can tell you the whole story if you come to the meeting!" Hungary smiled "Come on, everyone's waiting for-."

"So that's it, then? The whole world will know the truth?" Bosnia asked, some worry and panic seeping into his tone, and when she didn't answer, she snapped. "Well, is it?!"

"Of course!" Hungary nodded, quickly wrenching her hand out of his grip, and she began to consider whacking him with the frying pan. "But why do you look so upset about it? This is a good thing!"

"No…"

"Bosnia?"

"No… not now… Why…?" Bosnia muttered, and his hands shakily went and gripped his head. "Ro... Karim… Amir… Dimitri… Sadik... big brother…. They're all going to… How could you?"

Hungary frowned in worry, and she reached out a hand to comfort him. "Emir…"

Suddenly Bosnia glared at her and slapped her hand away, hissing. "Don't touch me."

Hungary flinched again at the unexpected hostility, and then she decided that she had enough. She glared at him. "That's it, Emir. I'm done playing along with your nonsense. What is going on with you?! Why do you feel so worried for the Order?"

"It's none of your business why I care, Lizzy." Bosnia sneered, growling her human name. "What matters is that they are going to be exposed, and I'm not alright with this."

"Do you need me to hit you in the head with my frying pan again?" Hungary threatened, narrowing her eyes. "Because I don't see any other way to bring back the real you."

It's actually funny how the scowl vanished from Bosnia's face and he scooted away from Hungary. She might have even laughed if she weren't feeling so worried for the kid, and this wasn't the time for laughs.

But that didn't last long. Bosnia got up on his feet and, surprisingly, burst out laughing.

"What? What are you laughing at?" Hungary demanded, doing her best not to show that his laughing was creeping her out. "Honestly, you're starting to get on my nerves!"

"I… I'm sorry, it's just that I realized… it's just what you said…!" Bosnia wheezed in his laughter, looking near tears. "You… Do you really think that…? No, no, no you can't be that clueless. You're smarter than a lot of the others. Dammit, come on, you have to admit that deep down at least on _some_ level you're starting to suspect that…"

Bosnia burst out cackling again. And as she gulped, Hungary could feel sweat trickling on her back.

"Suspect what?" Hungary screeched. "Will you please just tell me what's happening to you?"

But he gleefully ignored her and kept on laughing. Not knowing what else to do, Hungary tried to hit him, but to her surprise Bosnia dodged, and he wasn't laughing anymore.

"Mark my words, Lizzy…" Bosnia whispered angrily, his hands trembling as if he wanted to strangle her, and he did indeed look like he wanted to do just that. "Allow them to prove that you're all telling the truth, and I swear that I'll find a way to make you regret it. _Don't_ make me torment you."

"Like what?" Hungary challenged, standing her ground. "What will you do?"

Bosnia flashed her a wolfish grin that made him look like he's gritting his teeth. "Well, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise…"

Hungary widened her eyes and she rashly grabbed Bosnia by the collar. "Why are you saying these things, Bosnia? What do _you_ want?"

"What do I want…?" Bosnia repeated absentmindedly, and he scoffed. "I think I already I told you that before. As for why, I won't answer that."

Hungary scowled and tried to slam him again, but Bosnia jumped out of the way. Not willing to give up, she tried to do it again.

"I'm not bluffing, you know," Bosnia remarked coolly as Hungary stopped mid-swing, and he cracked one last smile. "Believe it or not, I like you, Lizzy. I really do. But if you don't destroy the evidence that you found before the rest of your posse come back, and I'll be obligated to punish all of you in some way."

"Well then I'm sorry," Hungary retorted, lifting a frustratingly calm Bosnia up with her own two hands. "But the moment of truth's going to come whether you like or not. We have everything we need. And there's nothing you or me or anyone can do about it."

After she told him this, Hungary felt proud of herself. She knew that what she said was the cold hard truth. Besides, even if Hungary had agreed to his ridiculous demand and destroyed the evidence, the others will immediately know it's her and that something's very wrong.

But then Bosnia's face contorted into pure rage. "One day, maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow, you'll wish that you could."

Deciding that she had enough of his insanity, Hungary abruptly dropped Bosnia and then whacked his head with her frying pan, knocking him out cold, and she caught him in her arms before he could hit the floor.

Hungary looked at him sadly. "Oh, Emir…"

 **Please review if you have a minute.**


	50. Revelations: The Moment of Truth

**Thanks to Eternal Nexus Warrior, AquaEclipse and a guest for reviewing. I'm sorry for the wait. I had a bit of writer's block and it was the holidays so I decided to spend some time off writing. But here it is! And I hope it's worth the wait. Now, on with the show!**

Liechtenstein just couldn't help but feel unsure of her decision.

She was sitting on the grass near the patio, remembering to leave a note for Switzerland on the table explaining she'll be outside in case he needed anything, though she somewhat doubted that he'll even read it in his current schedule.

Liechtenstein resisted the strong urge to chew on her fingernails out of how nervous and guilty she was feeling. It won't take long, she told herself, just one quick peek or maybe, if her sense of adventure got the better of her, a little investigation. She'll be back long before Switzerland could even notice that she's missing… or at least she hoped so. She's feeling very nervous about this.

Switzerland wouldn't get too mad at her for this if he caught her, right?

This wasn't exactly the first time Liechtenstein went and sneaked into one of Switzerland's secret places. There was that time with the storage room many years ago, and he didn't express any anger or disappointment for going in there without his consent.

Switzerland has scolded her a few times in the past, namely when Liechtenstein cut her hair, but he had never grounded her or gave her any sort of punishment or lashed out at her in anger before. He may be strict with her on some matters but aside from that he was nothing but a doting and amazing older brother.

So maybe she was worrying too much… maybe…

A-Anyway, as of now she had a bit of a clear of what she's going to do. Now, as for how she was going to sneak into the basement, well, that's actually the part she's struggling with right now. The reason being…

Well…

The basement was locked and she had no idea where big brother would hide the key. Liechtenstein never asked, and Switzerland never told her. But Liechtenstein thought she could safely assume that there were probably two options. Either it was always so important that he kept it on his person , or he was so worried that he'd lose that he has the key hidden somewhere where no one would look…

Both of those possibilities weren't good. Liechtenstein sighed and buried her face in her hands.

This was going to be a lot harder than she thought…

/ / / / /

As Hungary expected, she got quite a few stares once she barged into the room dragging an unconscious Bosnia through the room, but Hungary just laughed it off and assured them that everything was alright. Well, that's not exactly quite true, but they could come back to that later…

Once she carefully set Bosnia down near a lovely corner, she discovered that the others have already started without her. Huh. Was she gone for that long?

"Who exactly did you see, Angleterre?" France asked.

"I don't have a single bloody idea, frog," England said grumpily. "Whoever they were, they vanished just as I turned around. I only saw fleeting glimpse of a person quickly moving away from the window, nothing more, but I'm confident that they were spying on me."

"So, does this mean you believe us, brit?" Belize asked eagerly, Honduras standing next to her with the same grin.

"Not quite, brat. I still have a lot of troubling believing that Spain has actually died, though…" England remarked skeptically, giving his young former charge a mean look when she scowled at him, and Hungary could feel her blood boil. "I mean, seriously, you can't just kill a nation just like that!"

"Well, what can we do to convince you that it is possible?!" Algeria snapped irately.

"You're wrong, it is possible! It happened to Feliks!" Hungary found herself shouting it out without thinking. "Lithuania killed him! I know that because I saw him do it! And let me tell you that he never came back to me!"

Before she knew it, Hungary found herself furiously recounting the tale of what happened in France to Poland. She told them everything, including everything Lithuania did to Poland, before and after the death.

She impatiently waited for them to digest that information, but as she tapped her foot, she stared. Hungary would be lying if she said that she didn't place some, no, a lot of the blame of what happened to Russia.

Hungary was well aware of the treatment Russia gave to certain satellite states. She should know, she was part of the Soviet Union too.

"He laughed liked a madman when he did it too," Hungary remarked grimly, cringing at the memory. "And when he thought that he saw Poland move, he got angry and tried to slice him into pieces."

"Lietuva? Oh, don't be silly. He'd never do such a thing…" Russia said dismissively, and laughed, which caused Hungary's frustration towards him to grow even more. "He's too much of a scaredy-cat, da?

"Well, he did, and now is Feliks is gone forever," Hungary growled bluntly, and she briefly considered smacking him. "And I wouldn't put it past him if he wanted to do the same to you too, considering the damage you did."

And just like that the smile was wiped off Russia's face.

"Da, I agree with the hag. I'm sure that he hates you lots too, you know. After everything you did to him in the Soviet Union…" Romania dryly pointed out to a shocked Russia, and he flashed an empty grin. "Really wouldn't surprise me if he did. In fact, I'd be shocked if he didn't!"

Russia narrowed his eyes at Romania, but said nothing.

"We're getting off-topic!" England barked, and then he settled down. "Hungary, p-perhaps you didn't wait long enough for him to revive. I'm sorry but this doesn't really change the fact that you can't-"

"A-Actually…" China piped up hesitantly, face ghostly pale. "It is possible to do that, Opium."

Silence.

"…It is?" England dared to ask.

"Yes, there is." China nodded, though he still looked very reluctant. "Though the methods are intricate, but there is one that stands out that matches the description of Poland's death. If a nation's heart is torn out while they're still alive, then they die permanently."

"And why are we only hearing about this now, China?" Germany asked sharply, narrowing his eyes in anger.

"I wanted to be sure. Like I said, no nation in the present day should know about it, aru. That, and I was… in denial," China admitted with shame. "I was hoping and wanted to believe that no one found out about those methods, aru. But still, it shouldn't be possible, unless…"

"Oh, help us dear ancestors…" China muttered his breath, becoming even paler. "I don't suppose any of you have spotted Mongolia's name in there, haven't you?"

Hungary's eye twitched at the mention of her former bully. She already learned about the other members, including Mongolia. It really pissed her off to no end that those two idiots, the other being Turkey in case that wasn't obvious, were involved in this. Oh, of all the nations who've caused her trouble in the past, why did it have to be those two?

She briefly sent a slight scowl in Count Jerkula's direction, who was too busy paying attention and baring his teeth to notice, and she sighed.

Well, at least Romania didn't hate her enough to go join them…

"I think I do remember seeing Mongolia's name…" Seychelles said shyly. "Oui, I'm sure I did. But… why do you ask?"

"Well, I-I… There's a… chance that Mongolia stumbled upon me by chance after I won against a… adversary of mine and he witnessed me killing that person permanently. Mongolia was still very young at the time…" China recounted bitterly. "You must understand, it was a matter of safety and survival, aru. But I never planned on having anyone see it, especially Mongolia, however I was too late, and he escaped me before I could do anything about it."

"Are you sure about that, comrade China?" Russia asked, frowning. "Perhaps he didn't know what you really did."

"Oh no, I have no doubt that he suspected it, and then came to that conclusion." China shook his head. "He was watching for quite a while, and I think he would have already noticed that the personification's wounds weren't healing. And it wouldn't be the last time he'd seen me do it…"

Several nations in the room either groaned or sighed.

But Belize seemed adamant in keeping a positive attitude. "So, do you nations believe us now? Or do we need to show you what we found?"

"Yes, speaking of what our group found, France, I feel that you should see this in particular." Egypt said. "I think you'll be quite surprised."

France's gaze went to the book, and he almost immediately went pale. "Mon Dieu… is that…?"

"Haiti's diary?" Egypt nodded and handed him the diary. "Yes, it is."

"I remember this… I-I gave to Hennrick when he was just a little boy. I never thought I'd see it again, but…" France swallowed, as his hands trembled as he held the diary. "Where… Where did you get this? He never let me near it, so how…?"

"The African man I told you about. It was in the bag he left behind when he vanished," Germany explained. "And there are other things too. As for this one, Seychelles already translated some of the entries for us, but there were some none of us could even decipher. "

But France seemed too distracted traveling down memory lane with Haiti's diary to pay attention to most of what Germany was saying.

"Look at this. He's practically filled the entire thing. I never thought that he still kept it after all these years, especially since…" France said distractedly, sad smile forming on his face. "Ah, no wonder you said that you had trouble translating it, I was still teaching mon petite Hennrick how to write the language of l' amour. But! It shows here that he improved with…"

"Francis," Monaco interrupted him worriedly, and she gestured towards the others.

France blinked, and he briefly went pale again. "Oh… Oui, right. Well, since several of us can recognize that this really is Haiti's diary, it counts as valid evidence. But you said that found other things, non?"

"That's correct." Egypt nodded. "Just let Belize and Honduras set up the television."

/ / / / /

Ireland knew he's supposed to be on spy duty and all that, but dammit, he'll be damned if he didn't go get himself some fresh air. He might as well take advantage of the cloaking spell Norway gave him and wander around for a while, maybe quickly go down to Irish pub and get himself some whiskey or something to relax himself.

Just a cup or two, that's all. It's great for helping him concentrate, honest!

And yeah, yeah, he's knew what he's supposed to be doing here, but don't worry, alright? He's already got some of his own fairies to. It'll be better that way. It'll definitely look at least a wee bit suspicious if Ireland himself suddenly waltzed into the room and said, "Ello, lads and lassies! Are we having a party? How bloody dare you not invite me!", after making his uncaring stance towards the situation clear little brother.

Also, England's bound to notice the "not sensing Ireland in his lands" thing. So, yeah, it's alright if Ireland wanted to maintain a low profile.

Ireland snickered and gleefully chugged a cup of beer in a few seconds flat, then immediately asked the bartender for another one.

What a day… Kind of hard to believe how little ol' Ireland's life changed in just a few hours.

Hell, he could hardly believe he's now a part of this. Not that he regretted agreeing to join this club, no, no, no. This wasn't just a matter of getting even, this was a matter of survival, and Ireland's money was on the Order.

And if they do fail and it all comes down crashing and burning, well, Ireland would rather go with death than endure seeing that fucking tosser's smug smirk for the rest of his life.

/ / / / /

Hungary thought back to the old days, back before her grand discovery during puberty and during her time in Ottoman Empire and then her marriage to Austria, to search for any hints she could have missed. But she kept coming up with nothing. She didn't know if it's because she wasn't smart enough to see it, or they were just that good.

When it came to her two old enemies, Turkey and Mongolia, she came up with nothing. If Turkey somehow supposedly slipped at one point, then Hungary didn't notice it. He was already cruel, so how was she supposed to notice?

"I don't think I've never noticed anything suspicious, or that'd make me think that something's off," Seychelles said quietly, keeping her hands tightly clasped together. "So when the time came, I was completely taken by surprise."

"Rahim was always eccentric, and he and Khalida had their fights, especially about Western Sahara," Tunisia started, and he swallowed. "But it never crossed my mind that he'd be so bloodthirsty and… evil."

"I knew for a long time that Morocco was cruel, but never to that extent, and I never thought that he'd be completely wicked," Algeria remarked in distaste. "I don't think that he ever slipped up with me. But I guess a part of me always knew that something was horribly wrong."

"Guate was always kind of distant during our colonial days, even with us, but I don't think any of us ever saw anything very incriminating," Honduras said sadly, while her fellow Central Americans either grunted or nodded in agreement. "Although…"

"We never saw anything…" Saint Lucia grumbled as she stood next to a saddened Bahamas. "Not even Haiti practicing devil worship."

"Honestly, I feel like an idiot for not figuring out about Bulgaria earlier." Romania growled in frustration and hissed when Hungary remarked that he was one. "Back when we were in the Ottoman Empire together, he didn't talk a lot with most of the others, but Turkey sure loved to pop up out of nowhere just to talk to Dimitri. I remember that he'd complain about it all the time to me, but after some time, at some point, he began to complain less and less."

Romania's face scrunched up in distaste and disgust, and he hissed again, no doubt recalling his fight with Bulgaria. Rivalry aside, Hungary actually felt bad for him.

"Now that I think about it, Dimitri was always more withdrawn and easier to anger whenever Turkey left the country for whatever reason, then he'd suddenly go back to normal as soon as the guy came back. Gah!" Romania snarled and threw his hands up in frustration. "Why didn't I figure this out? Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Hungary frowned as Romania kicked the wall near and muttered curses in his language under his breath.

"Gah! Well, I'll get him for what he did eventually…" Romania muttered, and the snarled at the nations of the G7. "And come on! What about the rest of you? Most of you are related to these guys, even raised them in some cases. Don't tell me that none of you have ever seen anything weird!"

Certain nations flinched, most notably China and France.

"D-Don't look at me, aru!" China quickly stammered defensively. "Leon must have gotten infected with this nonsense when Opium took him, aru!"

"I… always did think it was strange that Leon went from being a rebellious and angry brat to a quieter, more obedient brat," England reluctantly admitted, meeting no one's gaze and clutching his tie. "I always chalked it up to the success of that little 'pep talk' America gave him when he visited with Canada, but now…"

Belize snorted at that with a sardonic smile. "Well, looks like that answers the question."

Hungary swallowed anxiously. Here we go…

"What do you mean, brat?" England asked sharply.

"Why else do you think I didn't invite him over, Angleterre?" France said bitterly with a morose look on him. "Pardon, that goes for you too Mathieu, as well as everyone else, but I'm just going to be blunt with you. Alfred is also one of them."

The room became so quiet; you could hear a pin drop and the queen's dogs bark.

"Excuse me?!" England practically screeched.

"I-It's true!" Seychelles bravely squeaked, though she looked rather pale as she did, and her trembling hands began to rummage through her bag "Y-You can f-find his name listed u-under the North American s-section. I-I-I should still have it here in-"

"NO! I don't want to hear about your _list_!" England barked harshly, and the poor island girl ended up staggering back in shock. "I don't want to hear anything about your bollocks claims!"

"Don't snap at petite Michelle like that, Angleterre," France warned him gravely with a dark look on his face. "She is not to blame for anything."

"That's not the point, frog!" England snapped, looking beyond furious. "You can't possibly be telling that you actually believe that Alfred, _America_ would have joined this mad lot of wankers for whatever reason-"

"If the motivations of the rest of the Americas are any indication, I'd say the reason is because of us." France cut him off calmly, and just as England looked like he was going to speak, the former sighed. "And please, please, _please_ don't ask what that's supposed to mean. You know why, but you deny it."

"Don't you bloody interrupt me before I speak, you damn frog!" England shouted angrily. "I just... I just can't believe what I'm hearing! You actually believe that that wanker would be that _stupid_ as to-"

"It isn't a matter of stupidity, Angleterre!" France shouted, seething and at his wits end. "It is a matter of what the actions the nations in this room committed have caused. Oui, this is about the consequences of the past, and all of that coming back to haunt us."

Canada shook his head in denial. "No, no, no, that's not true. Not Alfred, not him. He makes a lot of mistakes, but he… he wouldn't _willingly_ join an organization that… He wouldn't lie to me, Papa! He's terrible at lying…"

France stiffened, and the guilt and the sadness was all too clear on his face. "I'm sorry, Mathieu, I really am, but it's true."

"B-But it can't be!" Canada exclaimed, rather loudly, which was unusual for him. "He's my twin brother! We live right next to each other. I-If he was lying, I would've noticed…

"Exactly, this is pure bollocks!" England squawked.

"I understand, Angleterre. It was hard for me to accept it too, and I still remained in a bit of denial until…" France cringed, and his hand went to his stomach. "Until the truth slapped me in the face. Now, we may have our differences, but I don't want you or anyone to go through that same… pain…"

France trailed off and he suddenly became pale with fear, the same happened with England. Hungary could see why, she sweat-dropped.

Russia was angry. Well, he was smiling, but anyone could tell he was angry. Er, in fact, maybe angry was an understatement. Russia looked furious, and his dark aura was leaking… a lot.

Anyone near Russia began to carefully walk away from his oozing dark aura. China, who was unfortunately for him sitting next to the crazy-furious Russian, turned pale and slowly and quietly moved his chair away from him. Italy hastily inched his chair away from Russia and closer to Germany, shakily waving his white flag. Even Algeria felt obligated to back away in fear of what could happen.

Russia giggled gleefully, though it sounded so horribly forced that Hungary cringed. "Oh, so Fredka's also a member of this New World Order? I was wondering why he wasn't present in our meeting, da? This is very interesting information…"

"No, it's not interesting, aru!" China shrieked in alarm, standing up from his chair, though he momentarily cringed when Russia smiled at him, he shakily stood his ground. "This is bad. Very bad, aru! Do you know what he and the others could do, if they're all desperate and determined to see us all collapse?"

"Exactly," France agreed grimly, nodding. "This is very bad news. And Arthur, you need-"

"Forget it!" England spat. "I don't believe this! And you shouldn't too, frog!"

"And why not?" France challenged. "Because it goes against your delusions?"

England's contorted in rage, and he seemed ready to tear France's head off, but then...

"ENOUGH!" Germany roared, causing the two nations to scatter away. "This is not the time for arguing! England! We cannot afford to have our judgement be clouded by denial! We are in a crisis, whether we like it or not, and the people we once thought of friends or family are responsible! We are going to prove… or disprove this once and for all, and I don't want any objections afterwards, understand?"

Why did Hungary suddenly feel a sense of despair?

"Belize! Is the television ready? I think this a very good time to see what evidence this could have."

"Been ready for a while, mister."

"Danke. Turn it on, please."

Hungary looked next to her to see how Bosnia's doing, so that he wouldn't miss this. Who knows? Maybe this could help him find this "it" that he's so obsessed about. She couldn't resist smiling in relief when she saw Bosnia drowsily rubbing his eyes.

"Ooh, ooh! Emir, you're up!" Hungary exclaimed in joy, and cheerfully hoisted her friend up. "Thank goodness, I was worried about you."

"Wha… What happened…?" Bosnia drawled, rubbing his head. "Why does the back of my head hurt…?"

"Oh, you went and had another one of your episodes. Don't worry, no one was hurt," Hungary smiled tightly, deciding to omit the fact that he said some unsettling things. "Well, it's nice to see you're back to normal again. How are you feeling?"

"I think you gave me a concussion…" Bosnia groaned, and Hungary began to feel worried when his face began to turn green. "Ugh, I think I going to…"

Hungary began to panic. "O-Oh… sorry about that… How about I accompany you to the restroom after we finish watching the video, sweetie?"

"What vide-"

"Oh, it's starting! Shh, and pay attention!" Hungary shushed, and shook him by the shoulders. "It might help you with your problem, Emir!"

The quality was… bad, to put it bluntly. Hungary wasn't sure if it's because of the old TV or the tape or even both, but static kept appearing and disappearing from different parts of the screen, and sometimes the sound got abruptly cut off and replaced by the sound of static. Still, Hungary's seen worse on… certain tapes.

Then the video began with Mongolia arguing with Switzerland.

 _"…this!"_ Mongolia whispered rather more loudly than necessary, eyes narrowed. _"You aren't thinking this thoroughly enough, Switzerland. The solution to this problem could be lying under our very noses, and your pessimism isn't helping!"_

Well, at least she knew what they're saying.

 _"You better hold your tongue, Mongolia. I will not have us behave incompetently in front of…"_ Switzerland trailed off, eyes widening, and he turned towards the camera with an annoyed glare _"…Why do you have that camera? Are you recording us?"_

 _"Hey, hey, relax,"_ A voice who Hungary recognized as Brazil's laughed. _"I just thought that it'd be good if I recorded our progress. That way if something happens, like Bulgaria losing the notebooks, again, we can just use this! This is still just a practice recording though."_

 _"He has a point,"_ Bulgaria himself chirped off-screen.

Switzerland then sighed and went back to his argument with Mongolia. _"Anyway, it's likely that it's just impossible."_

 _"Careful, Vash,"_ Mongolia said darkly, almost taunting him, sneering _. "He's watching us, in case you've forgotten. You don't want to disappoint him, do you?"_

Switzerland, flinched, as if struck, and he briefly glanced behind before turning red. He then spoke more calmly. _"Creating a nation is one thing, Mongolia, and we already have an idea of how to use it for our own benefit, but that? It's never happened in history, so how do we do it?"_

Mongolia opened his mouth to respond, and both nations turned towards the camera, looking mildly surprised before the screen turned to static. Then it suddenly cut a few minutes later.

 _"No… no… I think you might have a good point,"_ Switzerland murmured, pen slipping from his hand as realization dawned on his face. _"If… If we give more autonomy to the entity, or basically independence, and encourage self-identity, while not causing it to become completely separate from the nation itself, it might just cause…"_

 _"For the entity to manifest, yes,"_ Mongolia nodded.

 _"It's not a complete guarantee, though,"_ Switzerland warned, briefly flashing a look at the camera.

 _"But it's worth a shot, no?"_

 _"Ja, you're right. And it is our only good plan at the moment…"_ Switzerland grumbled, then he gazed expectantly at the camera. _"Does anyone want to express their opinion? Any objections or have a better idea in mind?"_

Then everyone else could see who else were also in the room.

Sweden stood against the wall, face impassive and he overall looked even more intimidating than usual. Bulgaria was sitting with his feet on the table, smiling and humming as he worked on what looked like paper dolls, apparently not minding the many bleeding cuts on his hands.

Then on the screen appeared a disturbingly gloomy America with half his face buried in his arms on the table, staring at apparently nothing while Bulgaria cheerfully continued making his paper dolls. He looked tired, depressed even, if the slightly noticeable bags under his eyes and the lack of the usual energy in them were any indication. His eyes briefly looked towards the camera, stared for a small while, then looked away.

 _"…Don't have a problem with it."_ America muttered, barely audible.

A hand then suddenly appeared, along with the rest of the body except for the neck up, reaching out to rest on America's shoulder in a comforting gesture. As America's gaze went up toward the unknown person, said person began to lean down, revealing the unnerving smile on North Korea's face.

 _"I for one think that this will turn out nicely,"_ North Korea said in a tone that sounded nothing like his usual arrogant and cold self. _"I'm looking forward to it."_

 _"I agree, Hyung. I think this next experiment will be very interesting…"_ Mongolia chuckled, and then the man looked back and grinned widely. _"… What do **you** two think?"_

Then Brazil panned the camera to…

Hungary's eyes went wide in horror. No… no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no...

No, it couldn't be… They couldn't… They wouldn't…

There they both were… Austria tapping his fingers on a board and giving them the same rare cheerful smile that he normally reserved for her… And Prussia, his face so unusually grim and depressed and _tired_ while he wrote on one of his journals.

/ / / / /

"Damn those mindless pieces of shit, storming into my home and gunning down anyone who fucking 'disrupts the peace'. Damn you China!" Hong Kong shouted in pure hate at the sky, in spite of the blood in his mouth and the pain in his limbs. "I don't care if this sounds petty or pathetic. Damn you and-"

Hong Kong grunted at a sudden surge of pain in his stomach, and he wisely decided that he should stop talking.

Hong Kong crawled through an empty street, forcing himself through the pain as he dragged himself to nowhere, leaving a trail of blood as he did. He's looking for a place where they (hopefully) won't find him. He just hoped he could find one before he died of blood loss.

Out of annoyance, or more likely out of the sheer desperation and frustration and pain he was feeling, he began muttering insults, curses and even racial slurs directed at China. He spat, hissed and growled every slur he knew, no matter the language or place of origin, not caring that he's Chinese himself, as if that'll somehow magically make his situation better.

The People's Liberation Army arrived (no shit), and wow, did they not bother with the pleasantries. They arrived, they leave their planes or cars, and start gunning people down, they must have been informed that there's no use reasoning with the people, not that they would have tried anyway. Humans were killed obviously, not a lot at first, but the number's going up, even now as he slowly bled to death.

It's not just forcibly suppressing the protesters the soldiers want, they're after the personification himself too, no doubt Teacher's orders. Hong Kong was forced to flee, and they chased after him relentlessly, to the point where it left him exhausted with when he finally lost them.

He may have also haven taken a few rounds to one of his legs… and his stomach… and his left shoulder…

Hence why he's crawling. Hong Kong's sure that it was his status, sheer determination and the power of hate that's preventing him from collapsing face-flat in the middle of the streets and succumbing to his wounds. It's cool seeing that pure rage could actually do wonders for you in these types of situations, don't you think?

Hong Kong cringed at the sound bullets in the distance. This was bad, very bad. If he doesn't get aid, _soldiers_ soon, then Hong Kong will be the next Tiananmen Square.

And he did not want that. It'll be a disaster.

He could only hope that Macau's having a worse time than him… and that America and whoever else planning on helping him will hurry the hell up.

A while ago, America promised him that help will arrive soon, as fast as they could he said. Hong Kong nearly wanted to cry out of frustration (but he won't, because he'll look pathetic), and he scratchily reminded America that it'll take about _eleven hours_ at best for the soldiers to arrive to the city from Hawaii and/or Guam, the _nearest_ (nearest!) army posts. _The army will have probably killed over half the population by the time they arrive!_

Then, apparently either ignoring or not noticing the panic in Hong Kong's voice, America calmly told him "don't sweat it, kiddo" and that help from nearby allies will "be there before he knew it". That meant Mongolia and/or North's sending help too… probably… hopefully…

Hong Kong gritted his teeth as he arrived at a back alley, and he felt almost happy to report that it's currently devoid of life, so it's a good place for him to hide in for the time being. Not the ideal place, but it'll have to do. He smiled wryly as he reached a wall, and his limbs finally gave up when he did, and he breathed heavily.

You know what? Maybe he could lie down and die for a while… Yeah, that'd be nice, really nice…

/ / / / /

Estonia stared at the small female clone of Lithuania before him staring back at him curiously in pure bafflement, and he had no doubt that his mouth was still hanging open. He didn't think that anything else could surprise him after what Lithuania did, but apparently, he was wrong, dead wrong. Dammit, Estonia hated being wrong.

He had no idea what to expect when Lithuania invited them over for a 'talk'. At first Estonia quickly considered ignoring the invitation, partly out of still being a little upset over him having been lying to them for years and mostly because there's a chance Bulgaria might be there, and frankly, the real Bulgaria _terrified_ him. But he ultimate decided that going would probably be the smarter thing to do.

Because if he didn't go, then Bulgaria probably will hack him to death

As for Latvia? Well, he went because he's also afraid of Bulgaria.

Sorry, but he just couldn't get over the similarities.

This girl looked almost identical to when Lithuania was a child, from the eyes, the face, the hair… especially the hair.

"Oh my god! Eduard, Toris has been making clones of himself behind our backs!"

If Estonia wasn't so frozen in shock right now, he would have admonished Latvia for the somewhat rude and loud claim, despite him beginning to reach that conclusion himself.

The little female Lithuania clone's face flushed red, and she frowned slightly, almost as if Latvia had struck a nerve, and she fled further behind a visibly unamused Lithuania, whose mouth and eye kept twitching.

"Sveiki… I-I'm Vilnius… but you can c-call me Mari if you want, that's my human name by the way…" Vilnius said quietly, stuttering a little bit, and Estonia was sure that she was beginning to tremble. "I-It's really nice to f-finally meet you…"

Estonia had to blink a few times in surprise, did he hear that right? Vilnius? Vilnius. Odd, that just happened to be the name of Lithuania's capital…

Wait a minute.

Estonia's mouth dropped, and he went to look at Latvia, who was also staring at him with the same gaping expression, and they both looked again at the pair together, then after a few seconds, they stared at each other again. Then they did it again, and again, and again, until…

"SAY WHAT?!"

/ / / / /

After seeing America in that video, Canada felt his heart get torn to pieces, and without thinking and desperate to be alone, he ran.

No… no… no…

Saying that the feeling of being betrayed by someone you thought you could trust more than anyone hurt was a massive understatement. It felt awful, and there's no way Canada could put it into words.

"Come on, Al, this isn't funny! I don't understand how you could do this!" Canada screamed in desperation at ceiling. "Why…? Why did you lie to me? Why lie to Artie and Papa? Why lie to everyone? Is this all a game to you?"

Canada honestly wasn't sure why he's bothering shouting for his brother when chances were that America could be on the other side of the world for all he knew, and something, that bond he was so proud to share with his twin, told him that he was far away from him. So, it's pointless for him to try and reach out for him like this. But still…

He wondered if America could somehow hear him, despite it being impossible. He wondered if deep down America knew that Canada's upset with him, and that he now knew about his little secret. How would America react to him knowing the truth? Anger? Happiness? Glee? Frustration? Indifference?

…Would he even care?

"I don't understand!"

How could America do this to him? How could he do this to everyone? Why go and try to destroy their family. England was family! And so was France! Everything that they went through together… Did that mean nothing to America? Canada was his twin! His other half! Did he feel any remorse for lying to him? Any at all?

"I don't understand!"

England did so much for them both. A-America's the one who decided to leave!

"I don't understand!"

D-Did America think that because Canada decided to accept France and England, he's betrayed Mama? That's stupid!

"I don't understand!"

Suddenly, he began to feel angry as the tears began to pour down from his face.

"Y-You know… y-you're not much better either! Y-You were horrible too!" Canada stuttered as he tried to stand strong while very weakly glaring at the wall "Do… Do you even c-care about that or… were you j-just… too angry with everyone to even bat an eye? Or did you want to destroy her legacy so you could forget about Mama to erase the pain? Maple, I don't know which is worse…"

Canada then remembered the day when he and America met again as colonies. It was after England took him from France, and the former was taking a very nervous Canada to Virginia to meet his brother. Canada remembered coming into the study and finding America dully staring at some books before England announced his presence, and then he looked up and finally saw his twin again after years of separation.

America was so happy… he even cried…

Then after England left them alone and some catching up, Canada remembered that America started to act weird. He began to go and on about Mama and how he just couldn't forgive 'them' for what they did. But when Canada decided to defend them vehemently…

The look on his face… America looked like he'd been slapped in the face or stabbed in the heart… No, it's more than that…

He looked… betrayed.

And it wouldn't be the last time he'd see that face. Canada could vaguely remember seeing it a few more times during their stay together and during the War of 1812…

1812… When America… After America decided…

Oh, America… His brother didn't want to annex him and make him a state, he just wanted him to be independent, so they could be together again. America wanted him to be 'free' so he could join him in the New World Order and watch England fall.

But Canada 'betrayed' him, and loyally stood by England's side. Even… E-Even…

That expression… The emotions on his face when Canada left him to burn… it was the expression of pure and utter rage and hate.

"Alfred… did you do all this because I broke your heart in 1812? Did I make it a lot easier for you? Did I not only burn down your capital, but your humanity that day l laughed with Arthur?"

Somehow, Canada was sure he could hear his brother laughing at him.

 **Phew! I finally got to that reveal, and it only took me fifty chapters to do it... Please review, if you have a minute.**


	51. Revelations: Heartache

**Thanks to Redbayly, Eternal Nexus Warrior, AquaEclipse and NadiaJA627 for reviewing. Here's a longer chapter for you guys! Now on with the show!**

Western Sahara didn't know if she should smack Igbo or congratulate him.

Stealing their possessions… Leaving the country without Nigeria's knowledge or permission and ignoring the warnings of his fellows… follow the trail of the NWO'S enemies… give them said possessions to help provide proof of their existence…

Not even at the brink of despair would Western Sahara ever attempt to do something like that.

After forcing Igbo on her couch and went and scrambled for what medical supplies and bandages she had, he told her all about what he did while she tried to stop the bleeding, but the blood just kept seeping through the bandages. Damn you, Nigeria. It seems that every five minutes or so, a fresh wound appear, or the blood would come gushing out again. It was both gross and annoying at the same time.

"He knows, Safiyya... He knows..." Igbo muttered in his delirium, which did nothing but worry Western Sahara even more.

"Of course he knows, Ike. You wouldn't be in any sort of pain if he didn't." Western Sahara pointed out bluntly as she kept sorting through her drawers. "I don't know how he does, and you won't tell me how, but it's obvious he definitely knows about the stunt you pulled."

"No... no... no, that's not what I..." Igbo coughed. "He knows I'm here. He'll come for me, sooner or later, and if he can't he'll send someone else to do it instead."

Western Sahara frowned and decided to walk over to his side, she gently held his hand. "Perhaps, perhaps not. But I'll be damned if I just stand here doing nothing as they take you away. Listen, remember the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria? The people are coming back, but it's still not completely abandoned yet. We can go and hide there until…"

But much to her dismay, Igbo shook his head. "No, I knew there'd be consequences, and I'll deal with them."

Western Sahara widened her eyes. "Wait… you're going to give up?"

"I'm afraid so," Igbo laughed bitterly, and Western Sahara nearly wanted to smack him right then and there. "I'm sorry for disappointing you but I think we've both gotten ourselves in enough trouble, don't you think?"

Western Sahara flinched, the memory of ROC flashing in her mind. "That's it? That's all? You go through the trouble of stealing their things and finding whoever you wanted to give them so you could help them against the Order, and then you throw in the towel. Don't tell me you're putting yourself in this pain because you did all that on a whim?"

"You know that doing any more will only make Nigeria even more furious," Igbo said simply, wiping the blood from his mouth. "And believe me, you don't know Nigeria as well as I do, you don't want to see him furious."

"Then why come to my home if you're just going to give up?!" Western Sahara found herself hissing in frustration and hurt. "Do you want me to see you get taken away? _No_. I won't let my heart be broken again. We've both been through enough, so _please_ …"

"It's not easy for me either, Safiyya," Igbo gritted his teeth, with the guilt written all over his face, and he held Western Sahara's hand tighter. "Believe me, it isn't in the slightest… So forgive me if I want the presence of a good friend instead of suffering alone."

Western Sahara stared down at him in silent anger while the fool just smiled weakly at her, it made her feel like a cruel witch for doing so. Igbo was normally a very serious man, but that didn't stop him from trying to smile and make sarcastic remarks every now and then. He'd even try to crack a joke sometimes, but they were more pitiful than funny. And whenever he tried to smile, the result was a shaky, awkward, weak and almost painful facial expression.

It's what helped make him so endearing to Western Sahara.

But she was a stubborn woman, so she attempted to hold her ground with an angry glare while Igbo kept giving her the same smile. The worst part? She could see that the smile was improving with every second that passed, while Western Sahara felt her own glare faltering.

When she couldn't take any more, she sighed in defeat.

"Fine… I'm sorry. Have it your way…" Western Sahara said dejectedly, smiling weakly at her friend. "I'll stay here with you. I'll comfort you and all… But I'm still willing to help hide you in case you ever change your mind…"

Not that it's likely to happen, but still…

Igbo's hand trembled. "Thank you."

/ / / / /

"How are they?" Seychelles asked worriedly.

"Francis is searching for Canada, England is sulking in the corner of the next room on the left and I wouldn't be surprised if he later wound up drunk one way or another," Algeria answered despondently, wrinkling her nose in disgust at the mention of alcohol. "Italy and Japan are still trying to get Germany to let them talk to him, and Hungary still refuses to speak to anyone."

Algeria breathed, and she crossed her arms with a grim expression.

"So, in summary, I'd say that they're feeling terrible."

Egypt frowned slightly. He already figured they wouldn't take the betrayal very well. And they all reacted nearly exactly as he thought they would.

This time Hungary didn't spontaneously run up to him and hugged him, likely for obvious reasons. He briefly considered going to where she was to talk to her for a bit, perhaps he could apologize for withholding this information from her, but then it occurred to him that it's probably best if he left her alone right now.

He kept wondering, should he have told her about Austria? Would that have been the morally correct thing to do? No, it was for the best. Hungary was already and still is dealing with the grief from Poland's death, telling her about Austria right after would've broke her. Yes, what he did may have seemed cruel, but it was for her own good. Hopefully she won't hold it against him, at least not for a long time.

As for Germany, he still didn't entirely believe them about the New World Order at the time. Telling him about Prussia and Austria could have caused his feelings to cloud his judgement and his trust in them to vanish.

"I think we should leave them alone for the time being, let them… digest this information." Algeria remarked uncertainly, scratching the back of her neck. "After all, there's not much _we_ can do even if we try."

True, though unfortunate.

Egypt looked again at the album in his hands that he and Seychelles were looking through. One piece of good news was the fact that they finally managed to get the album open, and inside it was exactly what he expected he'd find.

"On a very slightly lighter topic, what do you have there, Egypt?" Algeria asked, turning her attention to said nation. "You've been sitting there looking at the thing for a while."

"Is that a photo album?" Tunisia asked curiously, and then his face blanched. "Oh, it is! Wait, aren't they…? Is this a-"

"An album composed entirely of the names and photos of every current member of the New World Order?" Egypt asked calmly, and then nodded. "Yes, yes, it is, Tunisia."

"Maybe he didn't know about the list?" Seychelles suggested with a bit more confidence than usual in her voice. "If he's really on our side, and if the Order don't like him after all, then why would he know about that? "

Belize knit her brow in thought and shrugged. "Hmm, maybe you're right."

They were categorized the same as in the contract, from North America to East Asia. Everyone listed seemed to be there, with name listed along with their photo placed above it. There was also a line below the name that said, "Date when member joined".

For example, while Hong Kong's face normally looked either bored or blank (or even a little bit of both), in the photo he had this cruel, bitter and uncaring expression on his face. America looked as tired and cold as he was in the video, with slightly visible bags under his eyes, which may have something to do with the fact that it was still the Cold War when this album was made. Norway had a twisted smirked on his face…

The Africans looked as demented as they truly were. South Africa was a mess, to put it simply. With a bandage wrapped around his head, cuts on his cheeks and a carnivorous smile across his face. Did he get into a lot of fights during the Apartheid?

"Hey… look, Bulgaria's picture is there too," Romania hissed at said picture of Bulgaria grinning brightly, giving the photo a wide toothy yet threatening grin. "And he's looking as damn cheerful as he was in Paris."

Egypt started to feel a little bothered and unnerved by the look on Romania's face and the alarming glint in his eyes, so he hastily turned the page before anything nasty could happen.

And… Turkey was also there, of course. Egypt won't bother to go into details about him.

Egypt could see why the Mystery Man included this. It wasn't just to provide names, it was so that others could _see_ the real selves of the members. Even an idiot would be able to tell that something was wrong with the nations in the album just by looking at them.

"Oh, look~ I see Lietuva!" Russia suddenly exclaimed cheerful as he materialized next to Egypt, startling several nations. "Oh my, he looks so serious."

"Why the hell are you still cheerful?" Romania snarled in disgust, showing off his fangs again. "Shouldn't you be in some corner regretting all the shit you did in the past like a lot of us are doing right now?"

Russia merely smiled at Romania and hummed. "Don't get me wrong, I am very upset with Lithuania and others' betrayal of me, and very hurt too. They were good comrades, mostly, and I even feel sad for Polska. But I think it's healthier to maintain a positive disposition, da?"

Romania narrowed his eyes in anger. "So, in other words, you don't give a flying fuck that all this is your fault too."

Then there was deadly silence, and as expected, Russia's menacing dark aura began to ooze out of him again.

"Listen to me, Romania…" Russia giggled through an extremely forced smile. "I am a little emotionally unstable right now, da? I am still struggling with these discoveries, whether you believe it or not. And please, don't assume what goes on in my mind and what I am feeling. Only the Russian Federation knows what the Russian Federation is thinking and feeling."

"Da, sure, whatever." Romania shrugged uncaringly, rolling his eyes. "All I'm saying is that you don't seem too keen on-"

"CANASTA!" Honduras exclaimed in glee out of the blue, interrupting Romania from ever finishing the sentence that could have killed them all.

"Honduras, for the fifth time, we're not playing canasta!" Nicaragua said with exasperation, though there was a small smile on her face. "This is poker!"

Honduras blinked and looked at the table puzzledly before sitting back down, giggling. "Oops, my bad then I guess I lose bad~"

Egypt caught the wink Honduras gave him as she helped collect the cards and following her lead Egypt decided to hastily change the subject, one that won't cause blood to be shed or the General to come knocking on the door.

"Oh, look at that, I forgot about South Vietnam here in the East Asia page," Egypt announced for everyone to hear. "So they _did_ recruit him a little after the war ended…"

 _"What?!"_ China screeched and rather rudely snatched the album from his hands, much to Egypt's annoyance. "Aiyah, that is him! And the date is after his country ceased to exist. How can this be?! He's supposed to be-"

"Dead? No, not really, old man." Belize cut him off while she played canasta with the other Central Americans and the Caribbean girls, and she stuck her tongue out at China. "We all saw him at the big Paris brawl, in fact. Remember that we mentioned that France was torture by four of his ex-colonies? Well, South Vietnam's one of them."

"Ridiculous, aru! I must disagree with all of you there!" China harrumphed, furiously slamming "I've heard of and seen many things in my life but never have I ever seen a nation return from the dead!"

"Really? After everything you still don't believe us?" Egypt deadpanned, having just about enough of denial. "At this point you're just being foolish, China."

"Don't you dare call me foolish, Egypt!" China snapped, face red. "Even you have to admit that the very idea is ludicrous and most of all, impossible for dissolved nations to return, aru!"

"Maybe he never died in the first place, China!" Honduras piped up helpfully while revealing her hand, causing frustrated groans from her neighbors. "

China glared at her. "What do you mean, aru?"

"Well… If I remember right, you and Vietnam said that South's body disappeared without a trace after the fall of Saigon, right?" Honduras said pensively, stroking her chin as she hummed in thought. "She fatally wounded him and then left him there to die, right? Then his dead body vanished."

China winced slightly but nodded. "Yes, that's correct. Now what's the point you are trying to-"

"If North Vietnam left him there, and South was only half-dead, and his body was nowhere to be found when you came back with North, then someone must've picked him up!"

"Yes, perhaps he never died in the first place." Egypt agreed, nodding. "What if they found a way to keep him alive? Like a nation giving some of their own land to South Vietnam to make up for what he lost? Or someone using the dark arts to force his soul to remain on this earth? What do you think about all that?"

China refused to answer.

/ / / / /

Indonesia didn't like this.

She was also feeling a terrible sense of déjà vu, and she could clearly see why. Speaking of North Vietnam in a bitter and hateful way, the scowl on his face, the frustration, anger and exhaustion in his eyes…

This reminded her too much of the day of their falling out. At this rate, Indonesia will have to careful with what she says.

"Oh, but you have nothing to fear," South Vietnam quickly tried to reassure her, some normality returning to his voice and expression for a moment before it became menacing again. "I'll have you know that I chose to forgive you, along with a few others. I know how horrible you felt about leaving me, and I realized I was too harsh on you. So, we're okay."

Somehow that didn't help make Indonesia feel much better.

"Don't tell me you're going to leave, just after we finally made up!" South Vietnam narrowed his eyes dangerously, and his hands gripped the stick even tighter. "Isn't this what you wanted, Kirana? To make amends? Be friends again? To one day see me again? Well, here we were, reconciling, and suddenly you throw all that out the window?"

"No!" Indonesia blurted out without thinking. "No, that's not true! I do want to be friends again, but how am I supposed to accept the fact that you want to hurt Lien? And what the hell is this about _another_ Vietnam War?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like." South Vietnam said it as if were obvious, shrugging his shoulders with a slightly amused smile. "I'm going to get my land back, and I'm going to get Lien's too, so that she'll know what it's like. In fact, she'll feel worse than I did."

Indonesia gaped in horror at what she was hearing. "Chinh, I'm sorry, but… you can't be serious! You want to go through that again? Don't tell me you've forgotten everything you and Lien went through in the Vietnam War? How you two and the humans suffered? It was awful for everyone!"

"Oh, trust me, I remember the war vividly," South Vietnam assured her, nodding with a bitter smile. "It's what helps motivate me, and what keeps me up at night. Trust me, no one suffers Vietnam War flashbacks more than I do. And the fact that it was so horrible for _her_ too is also another major reason I'm doing this. I'm going to recreate the War, with the odds in my favor this time of course.

"Agent Or- You're going to _use_ that thing?! After all the damage it did?"

"That's right. Don't worry, I'll be careful to make sure my people aren't in range when it's sprayed."

"Oh, that's nice, but that's not the point!" Indonesia snapped, feeling a migraine coming. "How could you want to hurt North? She's your sister!"

"How could I want… HOW COULD I WANT TO HURT HER?!" South Vietnam roared, slamming the stick into the wall, startling Indonesia even more, and he snapped his head toward her with his face furious. "Are you serious, Indonesia? I have every right and reason to hurt her after what she did to me and my people! Killing them, torturing them, starving them into submission, as punishment for following me!"

Indonesia paled and take another nervous step back. "A-Alright… You have a point there. But believe me, North is as happy about what she did as you are. She feels horrible for trying to kill you and it's haunted her ever since."

"You don't know her like I do, Indonesia. You weren't _there_ the whole time." South Vietnam growled, emphasizing that last part, as if to remind her what she did. "She couldn't care less about me and what I think. What mattered to her is that she was the one right. I was the idiot, the naïve and gullible sheep, nothing more."

Indonesia bit her lip, but she decided that she wanted to go on. "Don't be ridiculous. Viet- _North_ doesn't think of you that way. She loves you, she always did and always will. I can't even begin to tell you how many hours she'd spend crying at your grave every now and then, especially at the anniversary of your 'death', the grave that she spent hours making for the brother she loves even though there was no body, because she felt that it's the least she could do for you."

She hoped that would cause his expression to soften, but she felt her hopes get dashed when South Vietnam just stared with his lip curled up in distaste. "You're telling me I should scrap years' worth of planning because she was kind enough to spend time and money on me? Is that supposed to make up for everything that she did?"

Despite the fragility of the situation, Indonesia couldn't help but feel angry at his indifference. "If she didn't care about you, then she wouldn't have done that, would she?!"

"You didn't answer the question." South Vietnam said darkly, staring unnervingly at her. "Playing the victim, ignoring and downplaying everything the Viet Cong did, driving a bayonet through my chest… I'm supposed to forget all that because of a grave that doesn't have any real meaning because as you can clearly see, I'm alive and standing right in front of you. Is _that_ the point you're trying to make?"

Indonesia tried not to sigh at his stubbornness. "No, that's _not_ the point I'm trying to make. Why are you making this so difficult?"

"Why are you so hellbent on defending Lien?" South Vietnam retorted, disgust in his expression again. "Why, **_why_** are you taking _her_ side?"

"I'm not defending Lien! And I'm not taking her side! I'm not on anyone's side!" Indonesia exclaimed in frustration, reluctantly deciding to omit the fact that she's slightly leaning towards North's side. "I'm just saying that you can't deny the fact that despite everything, she loves you."

"North's delusional," South Vietnam spat in disgust, and snarled. "You don't understand."

"Well, of course I don't understand! But I remember that throughout the war, you and North wished nothing more than to be together as brother and sister again!" Indonesia shouted, and she could feel the pain in her heart get worse by the minute. "Sure, the two of you had different ideas of that wish. You wanted to leave the war as a nation and North's equal, but Lien wanted the two of you to remain together ins-"

"She wanted me killed!" South Vietnam yelled in rage. "She was so desperate to have me that she killed me! A corpse wouldn't be able to say 'no' to her. Excuses, excuses, Lien _always_ makes excuses for her decisions."

"But that doesn't mean that she didn't feel guilty about what she did to you! How many times am I going to have to repeat this to you?"

South Vietnam gnashed his teeth and bitterly glared at the wall, and his hands began to twitch dangerously. "I should've known… people paint _her_ as the victim, but they never stop to consider or acknowledge what she did to _me_."

Then suddenly the anger vanished from his face and his eyes went wide as he kept his pale expression towards the wall. He remained deathly still like a statue, and he stayed like that for so long that Indonesia was about to call his name when he abruptly turned to face her.

"Oh…" South Vietnam said, suddenly eerily calm, with a defeated smile. "Now I get it…"

Indonesia didn't like the way he said that. She swallowed the lump in her throat and nervously asked, "What? Get what?"

"You… you're no different than they are," South Vietnam began to laugh like a broken man, and now that Indonesia thought about it, he really was one. "I should've known better than to hope _you'd_ understand."

"No, no, that's not true-"

"Oh, don't feel too bad about it," South Vietnam waved his hand dismissively, flashing a mocking smile. "After all, you weren't there in the battlefield. You've probably seen photos, videos, reports or stories, but you weren't there. If you were, well, then maybe you would understand."

"But, Chinh, I really-"

"I was really hoping we could be friends again, despite the war. I wanted the comfort of someone who wasn't mad like me," South Vietnam said softly, then scowled at her. "But if _you_ , one of my oldest and best friends, can't even understand _why_ I'm doing this, then maybe I am better off with madmen."

"NO! Please don't do this to me again, Chinh, I'm begging you! Please, just listen to me!" Indonesia cried out desperately "I do understand why you're doing this, I really do! I understand that you're angry, hurt and you want to get back at Lien for what she did, that's understandable. But it hurts me to see that you don't. And did you expect me to just calmly accept that you want to subject your own sister and her people to the same horrors they went through in the war? Did you think that I'd happily accept all this?"

"Don't misunderstand. I figured you wouldn't take the news well, but I stupidly hoped you'd understand and that we could be friends again anyway…" South Vietnam trailed off and gritted his teeth again. "Listen, I'm going to kill her whether you approve or not-"

"For the love of God, I think _you're_ the one who doesn't understand!" Indonesia screamed, causing South Vietnam to flinch, fed up with all this. "Chinh, I care about you, you're my best friend, and I always regretted that we left on bad terms, but I can't stand that actually want to go through with this!"

"Lien is my friend too, you know," Indonesia reminded too, sniffing. "B-Believe me, I was really upset with her over your death, and I didn't know-"

"That's different." South Vietnam growled with the angry glint in his eyes becoming more and more evident. " _You_ weren't the one who lost your status, live forty years as a corpse, had no choice but to do nothing as your people were starved and punished, and had your beloved sister drive a bayonet through you."

Indonesia teared up at the way he regarded her with disgust, and she tearfully responded. "And _you_ weren't the one who had to watch it all happen, but your boss didn't let you do anything about it. You didn't have the watch your best friend as he slowly loses his humanity and sanity. You didn't have to spend forty years living with regret and a broken heart!"

"…Oh, what are we even talking about? We're just going in circles without even knowing what we really want to say!" Indonesia cried, throwing her arms up in frustration. "Chinh, please, just stop this and let's be friends again. W-We can go boat racing again and we–"

"N-No…" South Vietnam said forcefully. "Get out. We'll talk another time. I need some time… _alone_."

Indonesia flinched. "But, Chinh-"

 _"Now!"_ South Vietnam shouted, angry tears running down his face.

That proved to be the last straw for Indonesia's heart, and once she decided that she couldn't take the heartache any more, she sobbed and ran off towards the door.

"I'm sorry."

Indonesia stopped just as turned the doorknob, and hopefully she looked behind her to see South Vietnam giving her a conflicted and sad look before his expression hardened and he turned his back to her.

Out of pure desperation to fix this, Indonesia contemplated telling him…

No, she didn't want even more heartache right now.

/ / / / /

Germany couldn't believe this.

He didn't want to believe this. Of course, there was an overwhelming part of him that wanted to keep denying that this was true, but Germany knew better than to let his emotions cloud his judgement and to deny the cold hard truth once it was presented to him.

So, what was he feeling right now?

The horrible feeling of betrayal, obviously. Anger too, as well as despair, but most of all, disbelief. He just couldn't believe what he discovered.

Aside from said betrayal, Prussia also deliberately planned Spain's death, one of his closest friends, and helped make it possible, and it looked like he intends to do the same for France, yet another of his supposed close friends. Judging from all… _that_ , it's clear that the Bad Touch Trio meant nothing to Germany's brother.

Germany wasn't sure what to make of Austria, but he's sure that Hungary's feeling a lot worse about it than he was. However, it still hurt, not as much as Prussia's betrayal, but it was still an awful feeling.

According to an offhandedly spoken comment by Belize, the goal of the New World War was justice and… change the world for the 'better', or at least in their point of view.

What, exactly, was Prussia's definition of a better world? If someone came up to Germany and asked him that exact question, then he'd give that person a blank stare and say that Prussia's idea of a better world was where the world was inhabited solely by people who were as awesome as him and he was the Supreme Awesome King of Awesomeness with Gilbird as his… advisor…

…Wait a minute. Wait just a single damn minute. This may sound ludicrous, but maybe that's not too far off from the truth after all…

A new world made up solely of nations that Prussia and Austria deemed 'worthy' or 'qualified' to live and help them with their goal, nations who were just as 'enlightened' as them and who would be more than happy to…

Germany groaned into his hands. Oh, what did he know? He didn't have a clue what's _really_ going on in Prussia's head, so what's the point?

Why… Why the hell did Germany not notice any of this when he was younger?! Prussia was the one who raised him and- No, if this 'new world order' was so important to him, then why didn't he try to raise Germany with those ideals? He always followed Prussia when he was a child. This didn't make any sense!

Did his brother not trust him even when he was a child? That didn't make any sense. If Prussia wanted more help and him to think like him, then what better time to do then when Germany was nothing more than he was still growing and not a nation? Was Germany not worth the time and effort?

Wait. Germany widened his eyes. Was this what the African Man meant? Was this why he asked him about his loyalties? Mein Gott, that man knew!

"Verdammt, Gilbert, you damn…"

Was it because of World War II? Germany wondered, grieving at the memories. Did all his crimes, his encouragement and support of his madman for a boss, and him willingly and proudly supporting the Nazis cause his brother to quietly disown him? Germany wouldn't blame him if he did. Prussia himself personally was wary of that man and his ideas.

"Germany!" He heard Italy call after him as soon as the door opened. "Ah, there you are, Germany! Ve, we were very worried about you! Are you okay? I don't have pasta, but I can give you as many hugs as you like."

"Oh, Italy…" Germany narrowed his eyes, he really didn't want to deal with him right now. "Nein, I'm not alright, but I don't want your pity."

"Germany-san," Japan walked into the room, following Italy, and he looked at Germany apologetically before giving a short bow. "Please forgive us for disturbing you when you clearly want to be alone for the moment, but Italy-san believed you needed us to comfort you."

Germany stared at him and sighed. "You couldn't convince him to leave me alone?"

Japan shook his head. "Iie, I couldn't. But I have to admit that he had very-

"We want to help you feel better!" Italy piped up over Japan, and then looked up sadly at Germany. "I know you want to be all alone and sad, but we're not going to let that happen. P-Prussia was my friend too, and Mister Austria was-"

"Ja, you're right, I do want to be alone," Germany frowned as he tried to push the persistent Italian away. "Italy, for Gott's sake, I'm not in the mood for your behavior."

"B-But, Germany!" Italy protested with a hurt expression, and Germany rolled his eyes. "You're sad, so we want to help you! What's wrong with that?"

"I don't want your help, Italy," Germany scowled at him, then he had to soften his expression when he saw Italy whimper a bit. "I… appreciate it, but I really wish to be alone for now. I need time… a _lot_ of time to think. This is becoming a little overwhelming for me, and I need time, _please_."

Italy frowned, and was far from ready to give up. "But, Ludwig…"

"Italy-san…" Japan began carefully, shaking his head. "We cannot force Germany-san to interact with us if he doesn't want to."

"Danke, Kiku…" Germany thanked tiredly.

"Germany-san, forgive me, but I have to ask, would you have joined him if Prussia had told you the truth earlier?" Japan asked carefully, staring at him grimly. "If not a little before this began, then when you still weren't a nation? If Prussia told you the truth then, would you have joined him?"

Germany thought back to his conversation with the Mystery Man in Belize, and the answer he resolutely gave to him. He thought back to his goals and mindset of when he was still a anxious but determined child, struggling with all the things happening around him and with making himself a nation, and telling all his ideals to a supportive Prussia.

He clenched both of his fists tightly.

"To be honest, Kiku…" Germany admitted defeatedly as Italy tried to help by patting him on the back. "I don't think I would have."

Japan stared at him unreadably, as if to make sure he wasn't lying, and then nodded. "I see. Well, thank you, Germany-san."

"Ja, you're welcome," Germany said, not missing how Italy quietly sighed in relief. "And if you don't mind me asking, how are _you_ dealing with… well, all this?"

Japan notably winced at the question, but nonetheless he nervously answered. "Not so well, to be honest, Germany-san. I feel… sad, _ashamed_ , guilty, and a little angry. I truly thought of Alfred-kun as a good friend and Turkey-san too. While it may have all been fake, they were good 'friends'…"

Japan looked down and remained in silence for a moment before he continued.

"I also feel despair over Hong Kong, Philippines, North Korea and Macau because of I what I did to them, and what I may have contributed. I'm sure I feel a bit of self-hatred, but most of all, I… I think… I think I feel frightened."

"Frightened? Why frightened?" Germany asked puzzledly.

"You should understand, Germany-san, and you too Italy." Japan said in an eerily quiet voice "You know what I… my soldiers… what _we_ both to did Leon, Hyung and Felipe. The generals, the governors, the scientists, the soldiers, the experiments, the starvation, the poverty, the torture, the cannibalism, the comfort women, the rewriting of my own history…"

Japan trailed off, and he looked down at the ground once again.

"I myself did a lot of things, I encouraged my boss and my people, I gave ideas and suggestions, and I reveled in my actions."

Japan was trembling now, and for a moment Germany wondered if his friend was crying, and when he finally looked up, he indeed was crying. For the first time in years, Japan looked deeply and genuinely horrified and devastated.

"I'm scared that I drove them mad."

Germany could only watch in shock, at a loss what to do, as Japan began to cry of all things and bury his face in his hands. Dammit, he hated that he didn't know to do in these types of situations. What could he do? It's not like Germany himself was feeling any better and-

But Italy, in his eagerness to help everyone feel better, frowned in sadness at Japan and promptly waltzed towards him with a "Ve?" and gently wrapped his arms around the crying Asian in a comforting embrace. Japan's sobs became slightly louder while Italy kept trying to console him. Germany stared at them, unsure what to do now, until Italy suddenly grabbed him and pulled him into the hug too with surprising strength.

Germany felt ready to shout at Italy for this but found that he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Reluctantly, he began to cry a little as well.

/ / / / /

Hungary felt… terrible.

What else could she say?

It really hurt, it still does.

Well… at least now she finally knew what the others have been from her, and what Egypt probably wanted to tell her, so that's nice… sort of. Hungary couldn't really get mad at him for what he had to do…

Alright, she was _sort_ _of_ pissed with him at first when she was bawling in the women's restroom, and she briefly considered going up to him and punch him in his blank face. But then… ngh, but then she realized that he probably had pretty good reasons for doing so.

Honestly, she was an awful mess when she found out that Poland was gone. If she got the news that Austria and Prussia of all nations were also in on it, and were the leaders of all things, then she didn't think she would have been able to take it. Still, Hungary felt kind of stupid now that she knew the truth for a lot of reasons.

And to think that those two allowed Lithuania to do that to Poland, probably not giving a shit what their old good friend might think about that or how much his death will hurt her, not caring that Poland was one of her best friends...

Hell, the reason Hungary found herself involved in this much earlier than she was probably supposed to was because of Austria. His mysterious disappearance was what prompted her to drag Poland with her to his house, effectively making Hungary indirectly responsible for his death, where they ran into Bosnia and found out about his strange episodes. It was Hungary's determination to find clues to where Austria could be was what caused Hungary to drag them and Romania to Paris, where she discovered the truth… and where Poland got killed.

Austria was what motivated Hungary to go through all that trouble and caused her to unintentionally lead Poland to his demise. Austria promised Lithuania that he'd get Poland's head, but it was Hungary who made it possible. After all, they couldn't possibly have known that Hungary's group were going to France, could they? Hence why they sent Lithuania.

Hungary sighed, rubbing her head as she entered the room, ignoring the stares she received from the other nations and instead focused on walking up to Egypt, who was busy staring at the photo album.

"Egypt."

Egypt's eyes went wide and when he turned to face her, his expression became unreadable again with just a bit of apprehension. "Hungary. Are you feeling slightly better?"

Hungary wrinkled her nose. "Not really, but anyway, I need to ask you something."

"About what?"

"Back in Poland, after you helped me set up his grave, you almost told me something." Hungary recounted calmly to him, and as he frowned, she smiled wryly. "You were about to tell me about Gilbert and Roderich, but then you decided against it at the last second, am I right?

Egypt scrutinized her for a moment, before nodding. "That's correct. I was going to, but then I realized that that was probably the worst time to do so."

"Oh, I know," Hungary sighed sadly. "I was a wreck, and I can honestly tell you that if you told me right then and there about Gilbert and Roderich, I would've lost it."

"Yes, you were in no condition to receive such news," Egypt agreed bluntly, then remained silent for a moment before adding. "I was a little terrified that you'd come to hit me for keeping that information from you."

Hungary had to snort in amusement at that. "Really? I terrify you?"

"A little sometimes," Egypt admitted nonchalantly, though there was the slightest red on his cheeks. "So, are you going to do that to me or not? I would like to mentally prepare myself before you give me a concussion."

"Oh, no, no, don't worry…" Hungary waved her hand dismissively, forcing a smile for his sake. "I wouldn't do that because of what you did."

"So you're not-"

"Angry at you for not telling me?" Hungary shook her head and offered a shaky smile. "No, not really."

But Egypt gave her the same serious stare he'd give to just about everyone in an almost accusing way. Hungary almost felt offended. He didn't think that she was telling him the truth! Well fine! If he really wanted to know…

Hungary's eyebrow twitched. "Alright, I did feel a little furious with you at first, and I was considering hitting you, but that I wasn't thinking rationally and…"

But Egypt's expression didn't change in the slightest, and Hungary threw her arms up in frustration.

"Oh, for god's sake Egypt, it's almost as if you want me to be mad at you!" Hungary yelled in annoyance. "You want me to hit you? Too bad! I'm not angry at you and I don't hate you so you're not going to get hurt, go it?"

"Calm down, Hungary," Egypt calmly raised his hands up in surrender. "I just wanted to be sure. I've grown detest lies very much in recent days."

Hungary stopped glaring at him to briefly stare at him in surprise before sighing. "Yeah, me too."

They then fell into a slightly awkward silence.

"S-Still, you got to admit how unbelievably insane this is," Hungary remarked, and she managed a grin despite the heartache. "I mean, who would have thought? All these years I never thought that Austria would be able accomplish such a thing. He's not very good taking the initiative. Hell, I'm surprised he didn't get half of those alliances by marrying them!"

Hungary laughed merrily, she was kind of forcing it, and she still felt horrible, but it at least made her feel _slightly_ better.

What's Austria's favorite way to settle a problem? Marriage, of course! But as history showed all of them… _ended_ badly in various ways. Still, Hungary thought that their marriage was the best, at least in terms of love and affection. True, it was mostly a valuable war alliance, but eventually they did fall genuinely in love with each other.

…Or at least that's what she always thought before she found out that she'd been had.

Did Austria marry her purely for the sake of his grand plan? Was their marriage and the creation of the Austria-Hungarian Empire just part of an overcomplicated scheme to… do whatever he hoped to achieve with marrying her? No, what would be the point of doing that anyway? Granted, he's not exactly the best at showing affection, but he treated her lovingly despite her many quirks.

Oh, Austria…

"And Prussia… My God, Prussia!" Hungary guffawed, vaguely aware of the look Egypt was giving her. "It must be very painful to always keep that damn shit-eating smirk on his face every single day for centuries. I almost feel bad for him. And the fact that he lost his nation status? Was that planned? Did he want that happen? If so, then he really is dedicated."

Hungary wondered if that really was part of the plan as well. And if so, then how did they know that Prussia wouldn't fade away the moment his nation got officially dissolved. She hated to admit it, but she admired his courage and determination in doing such a sacrifice for the sake of 'a better world'.

Did his fake personality have to be so damn grating and annoying though?

Hungary sniggered and decided to look back again at Egypt, who was giving her what might be the sternest and most disapproving stare Hungary had ever seen on anyone, and she felt obligated to cringe.

"Okay, that was… pretty bad, I know," Hungary reluctantly admitted, and Egypt's expression softened somewhat. "I just wanted to cheer myself up..."

Egypt said nothing, but his expression did return to his usual blank one, and it remained that way until he asked a question that caused Hungary to freeze.

"Are you still in love with Austria?"

Did she still have feelings for her ex-husband? Her polite, well-spoken, aloof, classical-music ex-husband with no sense of direction who turned out to be one of the greatest liars this world has ever seen? Did she still love him as she did then when they were married?

Well…

"I-"

Hungary was cut off when the doors opened, and a pale-faced Monaco came walked briskly into the room. She almost immediately noticed them, and quickly made her way towards them looking worryingly anxious.

"Ah, hello, Monaco," Egypt greeted, but he soon frowned as Monaco arrived. "Is there something wrong? You look pale."

"Haiti called me again just now," Monaco explained somewhat nervously, and Egypt froze. "He… He knows we have his diary, and as… you can probably guess, he's _far_ from happy."

 **Wow, it's been a while since I've written a chapter this long. I'm not too sure how much of the arc is left, but it isn't that much. Anyway, I'm glad I've reached this point in the story and that I'm now past fifty chapters. It's kind of hard to believe it's been almost a whole year since I published this story, time sure does fly fast... Thank you all for reading. Please review if you have a minute.**


	52. Revelations: Aftermath

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, NadiaJA627 and a guest for reviewing. Sorry for the extra wait, I was dealing with a headache, stress, writer's block, and I had to change a lot of stuff in this chapter. Hope this, my longest chapter yet, makes up for the wait. Now, on with the show!**

CAR couldn't remember a time when he was this happy.

Hell, he's been through so much, went through so much pain, dealt with the pain of everyone ignoring him and pretending that he and his problems didn't exist so they wouldn't have to deal with his sorry excuse for a country, live every day with his mind broken beyond repair, the voices in his head battling each other for control, a pitifully weak and skinny body, and always in agonizing hunger that he'd completely forgotten what _true_ happiness felt like.

The closest he ever felt to feeling some sort of happiness or enjoyment… No, no, that's wrong. The last time he ever felt some sort of happiness or enjoyment in recent times was the village incident, which still terrified him to this day.

He briefly considered out of desperation killing himself by eating his entire population somehow, getting rid of his hunger in the process, but he quickly realized that as much as the world liked to ignore him, they'd never let him get away with _that_. Not to mention CAR feared the consequences if he failed.

He'd lost all hope for any chance for peace, recovery and a meal for quite a while now.

That's how it was until _they_ showed up.

They showed up at his door, along with a reluctant DRC who came solely for CAR's sake…! (CAR always felt this warm, pleasant feeling in his chest whenever DRC showed _concern_ for him, because very few people did) CAR felt terrified when they did.

He was really hoping they would destroy him, put his miserable existence in this god-forsaken place out of his misery. But then they treated him kindly and they made an offer CAR couldn't refuse. Well, he doubted he had much of a choice anyway, but he didn't care about that now.

Then they gave him human neat.

CAR remembered that his mind went blank once he fully realized that, and he devoured the juicy-bloody-red-raw-tasty-delicious meat as fast as he could to feed his empty stomach. It tasted _so good_ , just like it did on that day. It tasted so delicious and tasty and _good_ and god, there's really no way to truly describe it. And guess what? It worked! It worked it worked it worked itworkeditworkeditworkeditworkeditworkeditworkeditworkeditworked!

He's still hungry, but he's been living with this feeling long enough to notice that it's slowly disappearing!

And… And… when he finished eating, there was this strange feeling in his body.

The warmth in his chest as well as in the rest of his body, the butterflies fluttering in his stomach, the feeling of his _heart_ fluttering, the giddying feeling in his dead that's threatening to overwhelm him, the uncontrollable amazing urge to keep grinning as he was now no matter how painful it felt, the unending amount of giggling and laughter escaping from his mouth…

This… this was joy and happiness… this was what he's been missing, what's been kept from him, for all these years…

"…Aha… Hahahahahahahahahaha… ahaha… ha… hahahaha… hahahaha… Hahahahahaha… hehehe… Ahahaha… Hahahahahaha…!"

The others, DRC, Nigeria and South Africa were busy talking about something or someone, but they didn't mind CAR's happiness. South Africa even patted his head and smiled at him! CAR could vaguely hear the conversation they were having in the background, but he's too drunk on euphoria to make out what they were saying.

He could have sworn that he caught them saying 'finish what I started', 'bring him back', and 'we need to start now'.

But CAR wasn't interested in asking right now, nor was he concerned. Wherever they were going, there's going to be blood and meat, and he couldn't ask for more. Although… he still needed to deal with the voices and the government and the warlords if he wanted to think clearly.

But for now, CAR's just going to laugh and enjoy his happiness.

/ / / / /

"Really? That cocky jerk is on the phone right now?! And he's pissed about the diary? Awesome! Put him on speaker, Monaco!"

Egypt really did have to wonder where Belize got her attitude.

Monaco's sudden announcement made him feel obligated to forget his conversation with Hungary for the time being, though from the pained look Hungary gave him, she didn't seem to be looking forward to it. Egypt was still determined to get the answer out of her though.

Everyone began to gather together too see what'll happen, including an eager Belize abandoning her poker game along with her fellow Central Americans by throwing her cards in the air and sprinting toward them, and an anxious Seychelles deciding to stand close to Egypt. The Caribbean girls stood further away than the others, not too keen on speaking to Haiti again. And finally, China and Russia, the only G7 nations in the room.

Monaco gingerly handed him the phone, looking rather queasy, and gave him a worried look. But as soon as he took it, he nearly wounded up deaf.

"Where is it? WHERE ARE YOU HIDING IT?!"

Several nations cringed or covered their ears at Haiti's roaring voice, including Egypt who winced at the sound, with Seychelles tightly grabbing ahold of his arm.

"I don't hear answers!" Haiti barked, becoming even more frustrated, and he growled. "You heard me, loud and clear. Where is my diary? And don't you fucking dare try to lie to me! I know you have it, so give it back to me!"

"Privet, comrade, Haiti," Russia greeted in his ominously cheerful way at the phone while Egypt palmed his face. "So nice to see you again after thinking you were dead, da? I am not very happy about being lied to."

"Oh, go suck a horse and fuck off, Russia," Haiti spat angrily without an ounce of hesitation, surprising Russia. "I'm not in the mood, and you do know that I can't feel your aura over the phone, right?"

Russia frowned in mild disappointment at the piece of technology while Romania, fond of dark humor and putting down Russia as always, laughed at the look on his face.

"Feels rough, doesn't it? That your good ol' intimidation shtick's completely useless now," Romania commented with a dry grin, tipping his hat slightly, and it broadened when Russia gave him a fierce glare. "Hey, hey, just saying, just saying. Not a lot of nations have guts these days."

"Romania, this is not the time!" Algeria scolded him angrily.

"Ah, relax, Algeria," Romania scoffed, briefly showing his fangs before sneering down at the phone. "So, you were saying?"

"My diary. You have it and I want it back," Haiti said, sounding like he was forcing it through gritted teeth, and he didn't sound amused in the slightest. "So, when are you going to give it back to me?"

"What diary?" Belize asked nonchalantly, arms behind her head. "We didn't even know you had one until you started screaming at us like a whiny brat. I'd tease you for having a diary, if this wasn't serious situation and if you weren't a psychopath, but I won't. So, if you're done-"

"My diary, you rat!" Haiti again furiously forced through gritted teeth. "That old book that the French bastard gave me when I was his damn colony, and one of the few objects he gave me that I didn't throw into the ocean. The diary that I poured my heart and feelings into! The diary I thought was lost after the earthquake destroyed my house!"

"Wow, great idea, insult the very people who supposedly have the thing that you apparently really care about. Great strategy!" Belize snarked, flashing a mocking thumbs-up even though Haiti couldn't see her. "That definitely won't cause any consequences…"

Egypt almost expected Haiti to snap, but he instead chuckled darkly. "And your strategy is better?

"If you want it back so badly, then why not just teleport here and take it back by force?" Algeria pointed out, looking rather annoyed.

"He can't." Egypt stated, feeling a slight urge to smile, but didn't act on it.

Algeria stared at him puzzledly. "What do you mean he can't?"

"Even though he knows where we are, there is one very good reason why he wouldn't want to go," Egypt said. "We're too far away. If he's back at his house, and he decides to teleport all the way here, he'll wound up feeling exhausted and in no condition to simply barge in."

Haiti made some sort of disgruntled noise, and snarled, "Wi, that's right. Happy? Now, I'll say it again, give it back to me."

"And _why_ would we give it back to you?" Algeria asked skeptically, her arms crossed.

"Oh, I don't know…" Haiti answered sarcastically, no doubt rolling his eyes. "Maybe so you'll keep all your limbs in all the right places? I've done it before with my dolls, you'd be surprised how creative I can be. What about your sanity? Your genitals? Hell, your own lives?! Didn't that cross your minds? Although, there are fates worse than death…"

Haiti trailed off for a few seconds before speaking again.

"Tell me, do you even need it anymore?" Haiti asked coolly.

"What are you going on about?" Egypt asked.

"You pests got what you wanted, non?" Haiti snapped, asking them mockingly, and he laughed sarcastically. "Getting the evidence that you needed to expose us, then exposing us… you actually did it. Hahaha… fantastic. Congratulations, really. Though I have no idea why that man thought that giving you my diary was necessary. I mean, honestly, off all things he chose that for you. Does he want all of you to…"

Then he abruptly trailed off, leaving the room in awkward silence. Though he wasn't talking, Egypt could have sworn he heard Haiti mutter under his breath.

"You know what? I just changed my mind." Haiti announced calmly, no trace of his earlier anger in his voice, but he sounded rather eerie. " _Keep_ the diary."

" _What?_ "

/ / / / /

Haiti hanged up before he could hear any more exclamations or questions from the rats, and with a twisted smile he nonchalantly tossed the thing aside and buried his face in his hands.

Let them think what they want. There's no way they could destroy the diary, not while… and Haiti's sure… very sure that Biafra must have done something, maybe a seal of some kind, to make sure that pandemonium wouldn't occur when the rats do something stupid.

He seriously doubted that they'll decide to discard it, anyway. No, no, no, how could they ever want to get rid of _that_ little piece of evidence. If something happens to the other things, whatever they may be, they're going to need it. Besides, they must be thinking that if that man went through the trouble of getting it for them, then there must be some very important reason why getting rid of it would be a bad decision.

Haiti wished they'd try though. He really wanted to see it horribly backfire on them…

Haiti shuddered in excitement at the thought and licked his lips as he barely held in his giggles. Trembling, he lifted his head to come to face with what he proudly called the largest, most elaborate, darkest and best voodoo altar one will ever see. It encompassed his entire room. Haiti took it upon himself to put all the necessary, including his favorite part…

…the dolls.

They all sat neatly, unmoving, in orderly fashion throughout the room, and there were over more than a hundred in all, and they all stared at him with their colored buttons for eyes. The materials used to make them varied at times, but they all had one thing in common.

Each of these dolls were modeled after nations.

Everyone was there.

 ** _Every single one of them._**

…Guess what they were for.

Then, he lifted his head and laughed wildly.

Ah, but anyway, back to the main topic at hand…

He still wanted the diary back though, but now that he realized that the rats having the diary may not be such a bad development after all, he felt no need to hurry. But the diary will be back in his hands one day and he will finally see _them_ again.

He laughed even harder.

Stupid. He felt so very stupid for not realizing that little tiny fact earlier, and now he may have risked giving them another reason to fear the diary. He was so caught up in his rage… rage at the discovery that the old, but dear and precious, thing had survived the earthquake years ago.

Haiti remembered that day all too well, when he found his house reduced to rubble after the chaos and spent countless hours desperately digging up the remains of his house and his items in search of his diary. When he finally gave up, he broke down in tears. He felt his heart break and tear him apart from inside out from the guilt, the anger…

All these years he was tearing apart his own arms and legs, then stitching them back together for nothing. All that guilt, that anger, and self-inflicted punishment, and for what? _Nothing_.

Haiti will not let _him_ get away with this unpunished.

"Biafra… Biafra… Biafra… You really are just as stupid as Nigeria says."

Haiti didn't know Biafra like Nigeria did, but he still _knew_ him and _hated_ him for many reasons. Mainly because Nigeria hated him, and that Biafra had the nerve to try to secede, further breaking Nigeria's mind in the process. But the point was that Haiti knew that Biafra wouldn't willingly put people he had no reason to hurt in danger. Well, Egypt may be an exception, since he helped Nigeria against Biafra's rebellion (Haiti nearly died laughing when he realized this).

So why? Why did he take the diary?

"Hmm. Guess I'll have to ask him that when I find him." Haiti said to no one in particular.

That's right. Haiti may have mostly gotten over his little fit of rage, but he still needed to have a little talk with the damn man, ask him why he did what he did and how could he be _so damn stupid-_!

Oh, he had no doubt that Nigeria's punishing Biafra for his disobedience, not to mention for yet another betrayal. So, Biafra's probably somewhere, likely in Africa, choking on his own phlegm and blood as Nigeria teared him apart from the inside. So, Haiti could rest easier for now.

But there were still things to do. Much, _much_ to do! There was still the matter of Bahamas and Saint Lucia, which has been ignored for far too long and Haiti could feel whatever pity he felt for them slowly evaporate since they contributed to the Order's exposure… and that could not go unpunished. And what's this about France having been healed?! That's not how it was supposed to go! France's suffering was meant to last longer much longer than that! It wasn't easy finding a snake in the middle of _Paris_ , you know! And-

No.

No.

No.

What Haiti needed to do now was pray, pray that things will go exactly the way he hoped they would.

That Bahamas and Saint Lucia wind up suffering from a mysterious 'tummy ache'.

That France will wake up with the excruciatingly painful feeling of nails piercing his stomach.

That he'll finally see his dearest friends from the other side again.

With a smile, Haiti bowed before the altar and the dolls, and began muttering.

/ / / / /

Off all the things France gave to Haiti when he was a little colony, he never thought the boy would keep this.

France remembered when he gave this old thing to a skinny, dirty, and tired Haiti, Saint-Domingue back then. The idea to give little Saint-Domingue a book to… well, to do whatever he could want to do, as well France's decision to act upon it, was mostly done on a whim to be honest. But the main purpose was for Haiti to practice French, his new civilized language.

He remembered that Haiti wasn't so keen on doing anything with it at first, possibly out of stubbornness… or perhaps because he barely knew how to read, let alone write, until France had to sigh pompously and sit down to teach him how to read and how to write the language of love. Every time France came in one of his rare visits to the colony, he'd always find Haiti writing in it at some point.

The boy would never tell him what he was writing, though.

Apparently, Haiti had tried to curse France many… many times, but apparently mostly with no success, much to the boy's frustration. France wouldn't exactly agree with that. One of the reasons he seldom visited Haiti then was because whenever he did visit, he always had unpleasant and traumatizing encounters with pinworms in his washroom, spiders in his hair whenever he flirted with women in the colony, and often getting hit by a terrible storm on the trip back to Europe.

France wondered whether he should have told Haiti all that back then. It would have given the troubled boy some joy in his bleak and chaotic home.

He began to feel guilt over selfishly neglecting his former charge even more over such petty reasons, but then he realized, to his despair, that his absence was what Haiti wanted all along. Haiti knew that France would be vain enough to…

Out of pain and misery, he gritted his teeth and shook his head.

The entry was filled with him bragging and gleefully believing that the French Revolution was the glorious ultimate result of all the curses he set upon France and all the prayers he gave to his spirits and gods.

One by the name of Ezili Dantor, was later again mentioned in the next entry, attributing the success of the slave revolt of 1791 to this deity. France frowned at this, even though he was dealing with his own problems at the time, he knew the details regarding the Haiti's revolution.

Haiti had organized a secret voodoo ceremony with the help of a high priest on a night of a storm that ended up having a great turnout as thousands attended it, which Haiti wrote in absolute delight and there were some spots throughout the page. God, did Haiti shed tears of joy? An astoundingly lovely woman, as Haiti kept affectionately referring to her, sacrificed a pig, Haiti made a pact with this demon, which followed a grand feast in honor of the being.

It really pained him how everything was starting to make sense now.

Granted, there were several parts that didn't make the slightest of sense, case in point the diary entries that were littered with nothing but scrawls and symbols and there were even a few scorched pages. Despite his curiosity, France dreaded to the answer.

Then he came across what could be the strangest page of all.

Instead of an entries or just nonsensical symbols or scrawls, there were only dozens of talismans stuck over a strange symbol on the page, nearly covering it completely.

 _DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE TAKE OFF ANY OF THESE TALISMANS_ – The Benefactor

/ / / / /

Mongolia hated China's People's Liberation Army for many, too many, reasons.

Let him put it simply. There was the obvious reason of course, because they were China's army and that it was riddled with nothing but irritating machines (and that's coming from someone who's been compared to a robot in terms of humanity more than once). Then there was the laughable and pretentious name for the army, which made Mongolia scoff one too many times.

Then there was the fact that despite it all, these machines were very well-trained. That might just be what Mongolia hated most of all.

They were good. They were all good… for the most part, he'll give China that. They put up a decent fight, he'll also give them and China that. However, and unfortunately for the humans, Mongolia was stronger, faster, more durable, able to take half-a-dozen bullets and still run, and better.

So, they're good, but not good enough.

He thought this as he bashed PLA soldier's head against the wall, making sure to keep the human's forced open so he could feel his teeth shatter or get roughly knocked off and if possible, get his gums scraped by the harsh surface, to add more to the pain.

He couldn't get sadistic pleasure out of it for long, as there were more.

So, Mongolia acted quickly and fired back at them.

As expected, resolving Hong Kong and Macau's little situation wasn't going to be easy, but Mongolia and his people were making progress.

North Korea also sent help from his very formidable military, though no bombs or anything of the sort, they didn't want to hurt the boy. Besides, he's sure that Hong Kong's has already been dealing with enough with the PLA.

Mongolia felt bad that he couldn't exactly do much for the time being, or rather, how he's currently not quite strong enough to be of much help.

It's truly embarrassing how much he had to fall to keep up the act. While he admittedly didn't really miss his empire that much, an opinion shared with Turkey, he still resented his current 'state' and how he had to present his country to the rest of the world. Hell, don't get him started on his dependence on China…

Mongolia sneered in disgust and fired again.

Oh, but Mongolia was hardly bitter or furious about it. He'll be able to redeem himself soon enough. All he had to do was to awaken that old Mongol warrior spirit and ferocity in his humans again, and things will vastly improve in his favor from then on.

Mongolia delivered a swift kick to the leg, and he quickly used to as a chance to brandish his knife and stab the fool in the crotch. He gave a brief, high-pitched laugh once the human cried out his pain, and he decided that wanted to do it again.

Unbeknowst to China and Russia, Mongolia's entire economy didn't actually depend almost completely on them. He's found much better trading partners in his allies. Besides, he's going to get China's and perhaps a bit of Russia's land soon, so it doesn't matter if Mongolia spent a few weeks or even a whole year without those two.

Their blood then splattered the walls along with a few small bits and chunks of meat as the humans' screams rang in the air, music to Mongolia's ears.

Whatever Mongolia could only buy from those two, he'll soon get them for himself.

Breathing heavily, Mongolia surveyed the area around him, particularly at the bloody mess all around him, and with a small smile and a crushing stomp to one of the humans' heads, he left to resume his search for the missing Hong Kong.

The boy also wasn't answering any of his calls, and knowing Hong Kong, this didn't bode well, he thought grimly.

Mongolia narrowed his eyes dangerously and he got back on his feet, then he resumed. He began to feel concern when Hong Kong abruptly stopped calling him back, but Mongolia assumed that the boy was likely busy slitting the throats of the soldiers from the People's Liberation Army or running away from a storm of bullets to pay attention to his phone.

Still, he had a very bad feeling that…

Mongolia shook his head and went on, and he hastily took out his phone. There was an easy solution to this problem. He'll just track down Hong Kong's phone, rush over there before the PLA do, and pull him out of there to safety. It's obvious that the SARs will be punished harshly if China manages to capture them.

If he didn't, and it turned out that the PLA found him and took him away before Mongolia could…

Well… it's time to remind the Chinese people why their ancestors feared him back in the day.

/ / / / /

Singapore was having a surprisingly pleasant enough good night's sleep, despite her chaotic day, and Malaysia talking in his sleep. It helped that she was with people she considered friends and family. It somewhat lessened the amount of stress she was feeling at her situation. Then again, perhaps it was because of her situation that she's tired in the first place.

Many times, her mind wandered back to her home. She wondered if her boss or anyone else had noticed that she was missing. They must have at least figured it out by now, especially considering that Singapore was never late for her work. Hopefully Macau didn't hurt anyone in his plan to capture her.

Indonesia encouraged her to forget about it for the time being, and rest, saying that they'll ask Philippines tomorrow. Singapore would have scoffed if she weren't so tired. Yes, because Philippines had been a great help to them and didn't ignore them whenever they had a question. In fact, Philippines didn't even seem sure if he hated or liked them. Giving up, she went to her bed and went to sleep almost immediately.

But she was woken up when the door burst open.

Singapore, being the lightest sleeper, immediately gasped and sat up in alarm, looking around frantically. East Timor woke up too, and she gave a small scared shriek at the surprise. Last but not least, she heard Malaysia stir and groan.

In a moment of panic, she feared that it was someone out to kill them.

"I'm sorry!"

But that panic soon evaporated when Singapore realized that it was only Indonesia, and she would have fainted back into her bed in relief if weren't for Indonesia's appearance. Her long hair was unkempt and her eyes puffy from… crying?

"Kira…?" Little East Timor asked drowsily, rubbing her eyes. "Is that you?"

Indonesia sniffed, so she was crying, and nodded. "Yes, yes, it's me, Tina. I'm-I'm sorry for waking you all up, it's just…"

"Wait. Indonesia, please wait…" Singapore pleaded, taking a few moments to try to get rid of her drowsiness. "First of all, why were you outside? And second, what happened? Why are you crying?"

Indonesia's expression became pained as she went to her bed and sat down. "I'm not sure if I want to talk about it…"

"But won't talking about your problems can help you feel better?" East Timor asked worriedly, plopping down next to Indonesia.

"I don't know." Indonesia admitted.

"Well, why not? We're here for you."

"I…" Indonesia bit her lip. "It's complicated, Tina, very complicated…"

Narrowing her eyes, Singapore left her head walked over to Indonesia, gently taking her hand. "Try us. I'd like to hear something that could top what we found out."

"C-Chinh- South Vietnam is alive, Singapore." Indonesia said softly, wiping a few tears and gripping Singapore's hand tightly. "He's alive and I just talked to him."

…Oh.

At first, Singapore had to blink tiredly a few times at Indonesia, mostly because she was drowsy therefore it's harder for her to react on time and because she couldn't believe what she just heard Indonesia say. She stared at her friend, waiting for her to correct herself or say that it was a joke, because such a thing couldn't be true, right?

But Indonesia would never joke when it came to South Vietnam, wouldn't she? No, she'd never do such a thing. And besides, judging from the pain and seriousness in Indonesia's eyes and the tears that kept pouring down her cheeks, she wasn't joking.

Staring at Indonesia in shock with her mouth gaping in shock, Singapore gave a heavy sigh and rubbed her head.

"M-Maybe you should start from the beginning."

/ / / / /

No matter how much it kept torturing him, Canada couldn't help but think back to the things that happened between him and America, and with each flashback and realization as he put the pieces together, he felt himself falling more and more into despair. He just wanted answers, the truth, but it hurt so much!

And now he felt even _worse_ about 1812. Was it really thanks to Canada that America did… a lot of the things he did? Was America so angry at Canada and England that he took it out on the world?

But it wasn't just 1812, was it? Canada thought mournfully, sniffing. There might have been the fact that Canada turned his back on him during the American Civil War… and that time when Canada made him cry (though was it really genuine?) after he pointed out every single thing wrong with him… and that time…

…Was it something else? Was it everything?

He also felt stupid, stupid, _stupid_ for not really seeing how America interacted with the other liars involved. Canada remembered when England invited him to meet the 'troublesome little Asian brat' Hong Kong, and in an admittedly half-assed attempt to patch things up with America, invited him along too. Hong Kong… didn't really like Canada and kept scowling and glaring at him as he did with England, but he grew surprisingly close with America.

Canada also supposed he shouldn't be _too_ surprised when it came to some of his fellow former colonies.

South Africa was… 'nice' enough, and was friendly, though _he_ never really had forgiven Canada for helping England during the Boer Wars… hence why he usually approached Canada and England wearing a rugby uniform and a terrifying smile on his face, inviting them to 'a friendly game of rugby' while cracking his knuckles, whenever the anniversary of his defeat neared.

…M-Maybe he should change the topic.

U-Um, sure maybe Canada wasn't _always_ the good brother, maybe Canada… made mistakes… horrible mistakes… but America made mistakes too! He made a lot of mistakes! M-More than Canada ever did in fact!

…How painful was it to feign affection and kindness to him? Canada wondered tearfully.

Has America ever done something to get back at Canada throughout the years? Maybe America acted so annoying with him and drove Canada crazy out of spite?

Maple! Canada squeaked in horror. Don't tell him that America somehow got a spell… or-or-or got someone with magic to cast a spell on him to caused Canada to be invisible and the others to forget he existed! Was America responsible for that too?! Was that his way of getting revenge?

 _"No, that was all you. Don't blame me for your blandness or misfortunes."_

Canada's blood ran cold at the familiar voice. Could it be? No, no, it couldn't be him, his voice didn't sound so… so cold and serious and _bitter_. He gulped and slowly began to around, when something caught his attention in the window.

He blinked at the glass, where he could make out his reflection, but…

Canada's eyes went wide. There was someone standing behind him.

"Mathieu?"

Canada's heart nearly stopped, the figure immediately disappeared, and he nearly broke down in tears again.

"Papa?" Canada asked hesitantly, wiping the tears away with his sleeve.

He felt tremendous relief when his former caretaker quickly made his way towards him. No, scratch that, Canada felt over the moon to see France. He really needed someone to comfort him right now, and France was always there if Canada needed it.

"There you are, mon cher! For a moment I thought I was never going to find you." France gave a brief, breathless and humorless laugh, before frowning again. "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible." Canada sobbed, failing to hold back his tears.

"Yes, well, I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one," The sarcastic voice of England remarked, and France turned around to find the man himself scowling at them, though he could tell from looking at his eyes that he had been crying too.

"Angletterre," France said grimly. "You're back."

England looked at France distastefully, as he always did. "What? Surprised to see me not drinking my sorrows away?"

"Very much, yes." France immediately nodded, though there was no smile on his face.

England's scowl became hideous. "Well, I appreciate the honesty, frog."

"I'll be honest with you, I thought you went to the nearest pub to drown in self-pity, as you often love to do," France said coolly, and Canada lightly nudged him in the shoulder just as England's face contorted in rage. "But-"

"Excuse me-"

"But… I'm glad to see that you haven't… for once."

"Francis… Arthur…" Canada attempted to get their attention as he trembled, knowing all too well from the way they were glaring at each other where this was going. "P-Please, this is not the time-"

"Don't assume I'll go get myself drunk every time I disappear to collect my thoughts, frog," England scowled in annoyance, and then muttered under his breath, "And besides, I only do that on the Fourth of July…"

France looked at him skeptically, not believing him for a second. "As well on the anniversary of Ireland's independence, the birthday of George III... Oh, and the birthdays of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and any other Founding Father or American human who played a crucial part in Amerique's independence-"

"Papa!" Canada admonished him.

"Oh, shut it, frog! I get it, for god's sake!" England shouted defensively, then he somewhat calmed down as he grabbed his tie. "And honestly, can you really blame me for getting upset over the wanker being stupid enough to get duped into that bloody organization?"

France glared at his direction. "What do you mean, Angleterre?"

"Don't play dumb, frog," England scoffed, then he looked at Canada with something akin to disappointment. "You too, Matthew. You should know better than to believe this nonsense.

Canada gaped, he couldn't believe what he was hearing, and neither did France, and it became his turn to feel furious. "You still don't believe? Despite all the proof presented-"

"Proof? You call your brat's diary and that little fan film proof?" England burst out in mocking and haughty laughter. "Don't make me laugh, frog."

"B-But, Arthur…" Canada piped up shakily. "How can-"

"It is proof, Arthur! You saw with your own eyes the true nature of those nations, and you even saw the leaders themselves!" France angrily shouted over Canada's meek voice. "And what about Alfred? Did you see the look in his eyes? How cold and indifferent he was? That is the look of a boy who would welcome the destruction of the world!"

"Oh, please, that film was probably recorded on the anniversary of the death of one of his favorite presidents, is all." England scoffed, waving his hand dismissively.

"If it was on the anniversary of a death, then wouldn't Alfred be home mourning instead of working?!"

"Well, it's not like I know what the wanker likes to do during those days!"

"So, you do admit that the footage is real?"

"Of course not, you wanker! Unlike you and Alfred, I'm not a fucking moron," England spat, and he crossed his arms. "Yes, that's exactly right. That idiot obviously can't even read the atmosphere, so it makes sense he'd be brain-dead enough to help this organization."

Despite everything, Canada felt his blood boil at the way he insulted America. "Hey, don't insult Al for all this. It's your fault that he's-"

"Well excuse me for believing legitimate evidence!" France retorted, once again cutting off Canada. "Oh, and in case you've forgotten, but I've had my own ex-colonies out for my head, so the notion that Amerique might be still angry at you isn't ridiculous!"

"Yes, it is, you bloody moron! He's too much of a wanker to hold a _real_ grudge."

"That's why you refuse to believe any of this? Because you think Alfred is stupid?!" France exclaimed in disbelief, and he clenched his fists.

"That's right. As ungrateful and foolish as he is, he'd never have the gall to-"

"We all made mistakes, Anlglettere. We _all_ played our part in making this happen, and Amerique made his choice long ago." France hissed with an anger Canada didn't think his brother was capable of. "He chose to stay angry at all of us. Perhaps he might have changed his mind if things were different, perhaps he wouldn't. But the point is that _we_ are also responsible for this, but you won't accept it."

England snarled. "How dare you-"

"I understand your pain, Arthur, I really do." France said more calmly, and he then grimaced. "In case you've forgotten, I have my own ex-colonies after me. They gladly admitted their hatred of me, and they enjoyed torturing me. Frankly, it hurt both physically and emotionally. It hurt a lot. It's a harsh reality, I know, but denial won't do you any favors."

If it was possible, England became even more enraged. "Don't bloody patronize me, you wanker! You know nothing. I will never accept this!"

Canada gave up trying to reason with them, and dejectedly he watched them endlessly argue and scream at each other. Well, he could always snap and yell at them to shut up, that usually worked… Yeah, he should do that, eh?

But before he could, he saw him.

In the middle of the two screaming Europeans was America, standing there with hands in the pockets of his bomber jacket, looking at Canada directly.

He smiled and waved at his brother. Canada nearly choked. France and England didn't seem to see America.

"A… Al…?" Canada barely managed to speak.

America didn't answer. He wasn't smiling anymore.

Canada tried waving his arms around to get a response from him, but all it accomplished was making him feel stupid and America to keep staring at him.

Just as Canada thought he was going crazy, America finally spoke.

 _"Can you feel the sins crawling on our backs?"_ America taunted with a blank look on his face, staring at Canada accusingly. _"They do. I do. But what about you? Do you feel them? Or are you just gonna turn invisible and slip away unnoticed like always so that you can keep on playing the innocent twin?"_

Canada tensed at the question, and his hands shakily went to his head, trying to block out America's voice. But can you block out hallucinations? Was he even a hallucination?

 _"Are you gonna keep deluding yourself like England here? Or are you gonna accept the truth like France did and take it like a man and accept responsibility?"_

He's not there. He's not there. He's not there. None of this was happening.

 _"Hey! I'm talking to you, bro! Don't think that invisible stuff will work on **me**!"_

Canada again tried to ignore him, hoping he'll eventually go away. He heard America scoff.

 _"Guess that answers the question."_

/ / / / /

Estonia lost count of the amount of time he and Latvia had spent stuttering, stammering, sputtering and stumbling upon their words as they both tried, but failed, to register the shocking information Lithuania had just dumped on them like a pile of bricks. However, judging from the annoyed expression on the eldest Baltic's face and the sleepy look on the Vilnius girl, they'd been at it for quite a while.

Looking at the two, at this… Vilnius girl, it'd be hard to dispute the claim. After all, the little girl, Vilnius, Mari Laurinaitis, she… she was practically a near identical copy of a little Lithuania as Estonia kept repeating multiple times in his mind. It'd be stupid to say that there's no way those two weren't related.

But sorry, he just couldn't help it, and neither could Latvia. So, they just kept doing what they've been doing.

"But she-

"How is that-"

"That can't-"

"Why does she-

"THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!" They both exclaimed at the same time, and Lithuania face-palmed.

"I should've known I'd get this reaction…" Lithuania muttered, then took a deep calming breath before softening his expression. "I know this seems like a whole load of nonsense that I'm throwing at you out of nowhere."

"THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT IS!"

Lithuania's eye twitched, but he kept his calm expression. "Whether you believe me or not is up to you, but what you do have to believe is that Mari right here is my little sister, our little sister, and I'd appreciate it if you don't hold it against her."

Estonia winced and once again looked at the shy young girl clutching Lithuania's arm staring at the two strange panicky new nations with uncertainty. The girl, no, Vilnius was obviously nervous, but she didn't look like she didn't want to be here. She seemed genuinely curious about her family.

Reluctantly, Estonia tried to swallow his curiosity and offered the girl a shaky smile.

"So, this really is… the personification of your capital?" Estonia asked carefully, adjusting his glasses.

"That's correct," Lithuania nodded, and Vilnius shifted. "The very first and only of her kind."

"And are there more capitals?"

"No, she's the only one."

"B-But how can she exist? I-I-It's supposed to be impossible!" Latvia stuttered and still trembling nervously.

"Well, as you can see, it really isn't." Lithuania said gesturing towards Vilnius.

"And you promise that this little clone of you is really your capit-"

"Yes! For the last time, yes!" Lithuania yelled in irate anger, causing the other two Baltics to shrink back in terror, but he then calmed down. "As for how that's possible or why she exists… that's classified, so I can't tell you."

"But-

"Enough," Lithuania said firmly, shutting up the Baltics again, and he sighed. "I don't want to hear any more questions. I'm sorry for being rude, but I'm not in the mood for this. So, I'll be taking my leave now."

"WHAT?!" The Baltics, and even Vilnius herself, shouted, and Lithuania groaned.

"Why can't you stay here with us?" Vilnius shrieked in alarm, looking on the verge of panic, staring up at Lithuania with those big cute eyes of hers. "I-I'm sure it'll be no trouble!"

Lithuania opened his mouth to respond, but then he widened his eyes and closed it. "W-Well… I-I-I…"

"I wanted all of us to start becoming a family together!" Vilnius cried, and Estonia began to feel bad for the girl.

"I-I… it's because I… have to go the bathroom of course!" Lithuania quickly spouted out, forcing a weak, trembling and unconvincingly confident smile "Yes, the bathroom. I won't take long, you'll see. Well, Vilnius, I trust you can get along with them?"

Vilnius paled and began to stutter like Latvia. "W-W-Wait! T-Toris-"

"You three have fun!" Lithuania barely managed to exclaim before he sped off. "Scream if you need me!"

And so, they were left alone.

"Wow! Even the real Lithuania sucks at excuses!" Latvia exclaimed.

/ / / / /

You know, for some reason, Mauritius's feeling really pissed off right now.

…That was sarcasm, but at the same time, it's not. There's this strange feeling of pure rage in his mind that's been bothering him for a while. He couldn't remember when or how it appeared, but it was just there, and it didn't sit well with him.

It's… kind of hard to explain it.

Sure, he's been feeling really upset and angry (really, who wouldn't be in his shoes?), not to mention bored, and he's pretty sure that he's gradually beginning to lose his sanity with only the arrogant prick known as Switzerland there to keep him company (and he ignored Mauritius 75% of the time), but he didn't remember feeling borderline murderous.

Rage was an emotion Mauritius hardly ever felt, since it's usually hard to set him off (unless it's Comoros, or recently, the New World Order) and he didn't like getting angry. That's the type of person he was. So, he didn't like this one bit. To make it even worse, he didn't know who or what he's angry.

But whatever this was, it's not directed at Switzerland.

And he had no idea why.

N-Now that he thought about it, Mauritius realized that's he's not feeling as angry at Switzerland than he did a while ago. In fact, it's getting a little hard _feeling_ angry at him. The feeling of annoyance was still there, but still…! Mauritius felt himself pale, and if his hands weren't being bound by restraints, they would have gone up to both sides of his head.

No, no, this didn't have to do with the brainwashing and the conditioning and all that, right?! He couldn't be…

…right? He wasn't caving in, right? Right? _Right?_

No. He wasn't feeling any kind of bloodlust or a sudden craving for human flesh, and he wasn't getting giddy over the idea of torture, so he was okay.

The past… whatever much time that's passed since Switzerland decided to get serious… was kind of a blur to him. He vaguely remembered music… wait, no, that wasn't music… probably… but he could be wrong. But anyway, there was music, Switzerland said a few words and… Huh, did he zone out at some point? Or did he fall asleep? Well, whatever. After that, Mauritius remembered pain and-

Mauritius grunted as he felt something smack him on the head and came face to face with Switzerland with a disapproving frown and a clipboard in his hands.

"I've been notified in advance, thank goodness, that some of your fellow nations in Africa will be here soon to check on our progress," Switzerland coldly informed him. "And no doubt to give me an earful when they find that Lili is still here, so please, don't… do anything when you hear gunshots and screaming. If you do, then I'll extend the session as punishment."

Mauritius wanted to spit out a snarky response, but all he managed was a weak glare before his head dropped again, he's too tired to express his animosity.

Wait a minute, what?!

But then he did a double take, and he suddenly found himself having enough energy to sputter.

"W-Wait a minute!" Mauritius stuttered, which he mentally kicked himself for, gaping at Switzerland in horror. "They're coming back?!"

Switzerland quirked an eyebrow at the delayed reaction. "That's what I just said."

"And you're letting them come over?!"

"I have no authority over them. And besides, you should have learned that when it comes to the Five, when they _want_ something, they'll get it." Switzerland growled, and turned around towards the desk, setting down the clipboard. "Doesn't mean I don't try to keep them in line. Besides, we should be glad that they were gone longer than I thought they'd be."

Mauritius groaned. Great, just great.

/ / / / /

Germany was left with a hollow feeling in his heart when he found out about Prussia, as one would expect.

This was all… very hard to accept. Not to mention very hard to deal with. Mein Gott, this meant that nations will die…

He still didn't truly understand why Prussia decided to lie to him, or why he did what he did, but now Germany didn't think he could ever forgive him, especially considering what his subordinates have done. Germany also didn't think he could change Prussia's mind, if he tried. He had no doubt that the real Prussia would be just as stubborn as the fake one.

But his time here alone with his thoughts, along with asking 'how?' and 'why?' repeatedly in his mind, desperately trying to search for a logical answer for this madness, the comfort and reassurance Italy and Japan gave him, did help him get his act together.

He was far from feeling happy or alright, of course. The betrayal was still hurting him, and probably will for a long time, and no number of hugs or offers of pasta from Italy could change that. But now Germany had his priorities straight. Whether he liked or not, this was their reality, and if they refuse to acknowledge this, then they were all going get killed. Prussia's probably banking on that.

Well, brother or not, Germany had a duty to his nation and the world.

He's hellbent on keeping the promise he made to himself years ago.

There must not be another World War.

 **Whew! This was a tough chapter to write. I hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter should be the last one for the arc, and then we can finally get more action! Please review if you have a minute.**


	53. Revelations: Why?

**Thanks to Redbayly, AquaEclipse, NadiaJA627 and Eternal Nexus Warrior for reviewing. Oh my god, I made an even longer chapter. I'm sorry for the wait, everybody, but I wanted to give this a proper ending, so it took some more time. I hope you'll have fun reading! Now, on with the show!**

Belize didn't need to be a genius to know that something was off.

Seriously, who wouldn't think so? Haiti practically screamed into their ears demanding to know where his creepy diary, and then suddenly he decides to change his mind and give up? As much as Haiti liked being frustratingly vague, he's not good at being subtle, wasn't he?

Personally, Belize felt that there was something evil about that diary from the very beginning, and not just because of the entries that Haiti 'wrote' in scrawls and symbols that she didn't even want to know the meaning of. Why would Haiti keep that old book? It looked on the brink of falling apart and every singled page was used up. Sentimental value? _Please_.

Haiti practiced devil-worship. Everyone knew about it; his neighbors were nervous around him because of it, even Belize herself.

It's obvious it's something evil, something dangerous, and Haiti was banking on them messing up somehow. Belize read that diary (or at least tried to, and for the most part she just looked at the drawings), she was there when Seychelles found about that page, just as they were about to leave.

Oh, speaking of which, Egypt just brought that up! Belize perked up and watched with a serious expression. It's about time too. She was starting to think that he was planning on standing there doing nothing with that blank face of his. How much thinking could he need for this?

Meanwhile, on another topic, she felt a little worried for the Caribbean girls. It must have been really frightening for them, to see… well, hear _Haiti_ again after a while. Chances were that the little incident a little shaken. Belize gazed at the two girls. Bahamas was talking with Saint Lucia, and she looked worried, and…

…Wait. Was it just her imagination, or did Saint Lucia look a little pale?

/ / / / /

If it weren't for North Korea, America would've burst into uncontrollable laughter, or at least crack a smirk, but he got his emotions under control.

But anyway, here they were now in Georgia's capital. And yes, he meant the country, not the state.

Georgia lived in a simple but pleasant apartment in Tbilisi, which was where they're going right now. America knew exactly where it was, this wasn't the first time he visited her. She'll no doubt welcome them warmly, or at least America, she loves it when people come to visit her.

In fact, to prevent any feelings of suspicion and to demonstrate their trust in her, America decided to undo the cloaking spell, despite North Korea's disapproval. There was no reason to use it. Georgia's already aware that he's coming to visit and like always she's delighted to have a guest.

And they arrived on record time too! America had to, time was of the essence and he'd really like to get Georgia on board or at least reach some sort of deal by the time an hour or two or three has passed. Russia won't exactly stay standing idly forever, and America was sure that he wouldn't mind at all nuking him now that he had a valid reason now.

Yeah… Get a deal, whatever it'll be, whether it's helping her get Abkhazia and South Ossetia's heads or agreeing to spare nations close to her, get out, use his connections to teleport to Hawaii to pick _her_ up, the key to Russia's defeat, up, drop off North Korea at his place with his troops, then America will go meet with his troops in Alaska.

Yeah… sounds easy, right?

If she didn't want to join, then they'll try to convince her to give them her permission to let their troops pass her northern border to get to Russia.

No force, threats and/or coercion will be used against her in the case she refused to do that too, which was very unlikely.

To be honest it didn't really matter if Georgia agreed or not, they still had plenty of nations from where to enter Russia, America himself included. Still, her help was more than welcome and the decision to included her in the plan also stemmed from being 'too good of a person to get wiped off the map'. America was happy with that, he truly liked Georgia.

Proud, passionate, warm… those were the words America would use to describe Georgia. Pretty outspoken too, which more than often got her in trouble with Russia.

Overall, she's a good person and friend.

When it came to Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and most of all _Russia_ however…

/ / / / /

Everyone went on either discussing or arguing, or even both, about what happened with Haiti, and now Egypt was saying something, but Bahamas was too busy dealing with her nerves to pay attention to a lot of what they were saying. Bahamas could feel her palms sweating, and she nearly wanted to chew on her fingernails from how shaken he felt.

She knew better than to hope that she'd never see Haiti again, but still, she never wanted to see him again. Bahamas felt so nervous and anxious that she was starting to have a stomachache, and she wouldn't be surprised if sooner or later she'll get the urge to throw up.

Bahamas was thankful that no one ended up hurt. In fact, for a moment she was scared that Haiti might go after her and Saint Lucia for revenge…

Oh, look at yourself, Bahamas! She palmed her own forehead in frustration. Fretting over yourself when your friend and only good neighbor left's standing right next to you! How could you have forgotten about Saint Lucia?

Groaning softly, she turned towards Saint Lucia, and she frowned when she realized that the younger girl was hugging her stomach. Concerned, Bahamas lightly poked her neighbor on the shoulder. Saint Lucia flinched and let out a barely audible shriek and whirled towards her. Her face looked like a little pale, as if she was sick. Bahamas began to feel even more worried for Saint Lucia.

"Hey, Lucy…" Bahamas began softly. "Are you okay? Anything I can do to help?"

She expected a complaint, but instead she got a weak whimper. "Stomach… hurts… a lot…"

Bahamas bit her lip in worry, and her first action was to manage a comforting smile and try to "I think it's the nerves, Luce. My stomach's hurting a bit too. I'm sure it'll go away after a while…"

Saint Lucia shook her head, and she scowled a little. "No, it's not going away… It hurts. It hurts so much… I feel sick, like _really_ sick. Kinda lightheaded, head hurts a bit too. The pain feels that it's… it's getting worse…"

Saint Lucia squirmed and hugged her stomach tighter.

"Do… you want to go to the restroom?" Bahamas asked worriedly, gesturing towards the door. "If you feel that bad, then I think you should…"

Saint Lucia quickly nodded her head in response.

/ / / / /

"…and that's when I couldn't take anymore. I left and tried to come back here, though I kind of got lost without Felipe to help me… And, well, here I am."

Indonesia looked at them all expectantly, waiting for them to properly digest all that information, and taking in their reactions. Singapore, as talented as she was for maintaining for a calm disposition, had a shocked expression on her face to put it simply, and even looked slightly pale. East Timor, as you'd expect from a child, looked absolutely confused, and there were probably a million questions popping in her little mind, but at the same time there was worry in her eyes.

She recounted the events that happened with South Vietnam slowly and carefully, as well as with excruciating detail and adding how she felt throughout the whole tragic incident. There were times when she got interrupted, mostly by either innocent questions from East Timor or Malaysia's sleep-talking, but Singapore listened attentively and nodded along and never cut her off once.

She was grateful to them for caring, she really was. Indonesia needed comfort and to pour out her heartbreak for than anything (That and for South Vietnam to just stop what's he doing, please. Please, please, Allah, please stop him and help see reason and make him come back to her!). Singapore and East Timor were all she had, but she couldn't ask for better.

Indonesia once again sniffed and tried to dry off her wet cheeks and the tears she failed to hold back with her sleeve. It wasn't easy telling what happened. The memories pained her, even though it all happened a little while ago, it made her want to tear her hair out and scream in despair.

She didn't see Philippines on her way back here, which she was immensely grateful for. The last thing she needed was him berating her or insulting or whatever he wanted to do to her to make her suffer.

Fisting her skirt, Indonesia swallowed as she kept waiting for Singapore and East Timor to say something, or at least react in some other way, but she supposed that they were still in a bit of a state of shock. She didn't blame them.

It was Singapore who finally broke the silence.

Singapore heaved a long sigh and then looked back at Indonesia with what looked like sympathy. "This is… a lot to take in."

"I know." Indonesia nodded weakly, hugging her knees. "It took me a while to accept all this too. But I'm telling the truth, I swear! I know it sounds really hard to believe, you know I'd never joke about something like this!"

"Please, don't swear." Singapore requested, sighing again, and she took a deep breath before speaking again. "I believe you. Like you said, I know you wouldn't joke about such a thing. Also, I think we can all agree that in our current situation, suspension of disbelief and the possibility of the impossible being possible is... acceptable."

"That's right!" East Timor agreed wholeheartedly, nodding. "I'm not sure what suspension of disbelief is, but I believe you!"

Indonesia managed a small grateful smile. "Thank you."

"But back to the topic. So… So, you say that South Vietnam never… died?" Singapore asked carefully, and Indonesia could tell she was trying hard to find a logical explanation for that. "He never died, because America rescued him, right? I have no problem with that. But… I don't understand. Magic? He's being kept alive thanks to magic?"

"I didn't know you could do that with magic." East Timor commented innocently, "Is it anything like England's magic?"

Singapore surprisingly managed to snort. "You mean like waving a stick with a star around like a madman and nothing really happens or petting the supposed 'flying mint bunny' sitting in your lap? Please."

East Timor looked up at Singapore with big sad eyes. "But England told me that flying mint bunny was real!"

"England also told everyone that the so-called Unseelie Court was out to get him." Singapore retorted easily, and then she scoffed. "Besides, if you can't see the accursed bunny, then how can it be real?"

"You two, please, not now." Indonesia pleaded them, feeling a headache starting. "I'm not in the mood…"

Singapore stopped scowling and winced in guilt. "…You're right. I apologize, Indonesia."

"Yeah, we're sorry, Kira." East Timor said apologetically, hands going up to her head to pull down her straw hat and hide her face, before she realized that she didn't have it on.

Indonesia let out a sigh. "Don't worry, just don't do it again. But to answer your question, no, I don't think it's like what England likes to do."

"Then what is it?" Singapore asked.

"I'm… not quite sure, to be honest." Indonesia admitted, trying to remember her conversation with South Vietnam about the matter, despite the pain. "In fact, I think he told me that he's not exactly alive…"

Singapore quirked an eyebrow. "Meaning…?"

"He wasn't very specific with the details… He's not exactly proud of his condition, but…" Indonesia trailed off for a moment, and then continued carefully. "He told me that he's basically a corpse with is soul forcibby attached to its body, forbidden from moving on to the afterlife. He also told me that in a way, he's dead, but his soul hasn't realized it yet."

"A corpse with its soul forcibly attached to its body…?" Singapore repeated in disbelief, and then she groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Ngh… forgive me, you know I don't believe in such things. So, it may take more time for me to completely accept that."

"More than the fact that South Vietnam's alive?" Indonesia asked skeptically.

Singapore shook her head. "No, no, that too…"

"I don't get it either." East Timor said helplessly.

"Yes, well, neither do I, but maybe it's best if we don't think about it. That's not even the most troubling of all this." Indonesia swallowed, and she began to tear up again. "Chinh wants another Vietnam War of all things. He wants to get his land back. No, he wants to become Vietnam, the only Vietnam. He hates Lien so much that he…"

The heartache came back with full force, and it took all Indonesia had not to burst into tears right then and there.

"I don't understand how he could…" Indonesia bit her tongue stop to herself from finishing that sentence. How he could do this to me. "No, I-I… I do understand. He's went through so much and the… war… the war drove him mad. I know because I saw it. But the things he wants to do…"

"But… But… he wouldn't really do that, would he?" East Timor asked fearfully.

"He wants to use Agent Orange." Indonesia stated bluntly.

Singapore visibly flinched at this, and East Timor gasped.

"He wouldn't…" Singapore muttered in shock. "Is he insane? Doesn't he know from experience that it could affect him too?"

"I highly doubt he cares if it means that North gets hurt." Indonesia said bitterly.

"Forgive me, Kira, but the very idea of another war is preposterous." Singapore protested, rubbing her head for the umpteenth time. "First of all, how can South Vietnam wage another war? He's not a country anymore, so he doesn't have his people to fight for him.

"I don't know… He really didn't…" Indonesia struggled to speak as Singapore continued.

"Second, how could he think he could declare war and win if he lost the first time?"

"I-I think…"

"Third, what makes him think that the world will just take this lying down?"

"I don't know!" Indonesia screamed, causing Singapore to freeze. "I really don't know. I-I think America's helping him. I think I remember him mentioning that he's going to have a lot more help than before…"

Singapore stared at her in surprise for a few moments, before she went into deep thought.

"And combine that with the element of surprise and the fact that Lien will be completely unprepared…" Singapore said aloud as she stroked her chin, and she gulped. "If… If what he's saying is true, then depending on his allies, how brutal America is with his assistance, and have some sort of plan for his people, then he could have a fair shot at this…"

"I think you mean he has a _very_ good shot at this."

Indonesia felt her heart stop. No…

She dared look behind her, and true to her fears, Philippines was standing there in the doorway, looking just about as happy as ever.

/ / / / /

"Is there any reason why we're at your house?" DRC taciturnly asked South Africa as the latter opened the door.

DRC would be lying if he said that he didn't feel at least mildly annoyed by this. He already made his discomfort and impatience very clear to South Africa and Nigeria. In DRC's opinion, he's waited long enough to get his hands around Belgium's neck, it's been put off for long enough. He could feel his bloodlust start to well up. He wanted blood. He was _hungry_.

And you will' were the words South Africa calmly spoke while he gave that mysterious smile of his. DRC was left a little puzzled, but he decided to assume that would mean they'd go to Belgium… He was wrong.

The fantasy frequently going through his head as of late where he tortured Belgium to no end was becoming too much for him. He was willing to wait before to go after Belgium at another time, but DRC found himself having a lot less patience than usual. The fact that Belgium still _existed_ made his head hurt, which was a first, and it filled him with rage. He wanted to tear off her pretty little head off her pretty little neck to finally shut up that pretty little annoyinggratingunbreablemockinghorrible voice forever…!

DRC bit down his tongue, so much that he began to taste blood. It hardly gave him any comfort.

He wondered if this was what the Africans have had to deal with all these years. Other than hiding their true cruel personalities, they had to bloodlust and ignore their hunger. If so, then he just gained a new level of respect for them.

"There is, and a very good one, mind you." South Africa calmly remarked, gesturing for the others to follow him.

"I hope so." DRC growled angrily.

"Aw, how many do I have to tell you to stop being so grumpy?~" Nigeria sang gleefully, now feeling considerably better than before and he had now reverted to his usual psychotic and cheerful self. "When will you ever understand that we never do anything without a good reason? Don't you remember when we took you to Belgium? You had fun, didn't you?"

DRC's eyes went wide at the mention of the incident from what very well may be one of the best days of life, and he felt a pleasant heat pass through his body before he felt his frustration vanish somewhat. Nigeria's right. He should know better from experience than to doubt them, after everything they've done for him. If this little detour was going to lead to something as thrilling as the Belgium incident was, then he'll gladly follow without complaint.

He nodded, and Nigeria's grin grew even wider.

DRC wondered what they could have for him here.

DRC then heard groaning, and DRC glanced back at CAR to see the skinny nation trembling and hugging his stomach. He stumbled towards DRC, who grabbed him by the arm before he could fall over.

"I feel sick… nauseous…" CAR muttered, looking rather green now that he mentioned it. "Want to throw up… but can't…"

"Oh, that tends to happen to people who aren't used to teleporting…" Nigeria explained, laughing a bit, and then he grimaced. "… especially on an empty stomach. Just walk it off. You'll be fine in about a few minutes, ten at most."

"Huh…? Oh." CAR said distractedly, having stopped tumbling and appearing to have regained his sense of reality, and he smiled sleepily and nodded. "Alright."

CAR's hasn't had a violent mood swing since he ate that meat, and had officially embraced his cannibalistic urges, and DRC's glad for that. It's a sure sign that CAR's recovering. He's still a scared and stressed teenager, but he's becoming… cheerful, as strange as it sounded. He's becoming more at ease, and even laughed for the first time in a while earlier.

"If we're done chatting, the surprise is right down here." South Africa happily announced, gesturing at the floor, or at a carpet to be more specific. "I just know that you're going to love it!"

"I really don't see what you want me to see." DRC deadpanned "The carpet is nice, though. Did Morocco give that to you?"

South Africa playfully stuck out his tongue. "Ja, actually, though it has to be the cheapest birthday present I've ever received. But anyway, I wasn't finished."

After that was said, South Africa kneeled down and pulled away the carpet, revealing nothing but the floor. He grinned and dug his nails into the floor, seeming to be pulling at something, until he ended up opening a large piece of the floor from the earth. A trapdoor.

The rainbow nation smirked. "Well? Come on! Watch your step though."

The trapdoor let to a staircase, where DRC had to carry CAR because he was still feeling lightheaded, and he followed South Africa and Nigeria. Not willing to ask questions until he saw what they supposedly had for him.

"What is this…?" DRC muttered.

South Africa raised an amused eyebrow. "Can't you tell from the smell?"

It took DRC several seconds to realize that he was referring to the strong odor of blood, dirt, steel and rotting flesh in the room, which he just noticed. He was so used to those types of smells that he didn't even...

"So… delicious…" CAR whispered dreamily.

But that wasn't even important. What's important was the room itself.

The sight in front of him was something that could only be described as the ultimate torture storage room. Literally the room was filled to the brim with torture devices and tools of all kinds and from many countries and cultures. Hell, he wouldn't be surprised if South Africa had every torture device that ever existed down here.

He spotted Nigeria practically dancing and jumping around in sadistic glee through the room, giggling and cackling. It seemed like a twisted version of how a child would react if they were taken to a shop filled with candy and toys and were told that it was all theirs. South Africa may not share Nigeria's childlike glee, but he was smirking proudly at it all.

DRC couldn't blame Nigeria or South Africa for being so happy. This room was made for broken, psychotic and cruel people like them. It had everything needed to torture anyone physically, painfully.

Then it all clicked.

South Africa and Nigeria wrapped their arms around each other, and they turned to him with identical sadistic grins, and they spoke in unison. "Surprise!"

/ / / / /

"Ve~, I'm glad you're feeling better, Doitsu!" Italy chirped, as cheerful as he always tried to be in rough times. "I was getting really worried when pasta didn't even seem to work on helping you feel happy again!"

Germany wouldn't really say that he was feeling that much better, though it's an improvement from earlier. And he definitely wouldn't say that he's feeling happy, far from it. He just pulled himself together and swallowed all his despair and grief so he could help prevent the other nations from killing each other and start their plans to stop the New World Order.

Still, Germany merely nodded and grumbled 'ja...' quietly, not wanting to put a damper to Italy's mood. He also envied how positive Italy was being, though _he_ wasn't the one with the traitor brother. He briefly wondered how Italy was dealing with Austria's betrayal, and suspected that he might be actively trying to ignore that little tidbit so it wouldn't cause him pain, but again, Germany didn't want to upset him right now.

Italy's been doing his best to remain a positive disposition, and Germany wouldn't be surprised if he was doing it to hide his own sadness.

But anyway, there's much to do now. They needed to go over the list of names again, decide whether to prioritize rescue or plans of attack... Germany was especially concerned for Namibia and Liechtenstein, and he was determined to save them and warn the latter if possible. They also needed to round up as many allies as they could before the Order could do anything to them.

Hence why Germany was on his way to the door to the meeting room now, accompanied by an optimistic Italy and a grim Japan, to restore order and do something before it's too late.

Germany frowned and wrinkled his nose in distaste. The word 'order' felt odd on his tongue now, for obvious reasons. It felt _wrong_.

As he pondered on this, he couldn't help but overhear Italy and Japan's conversation, and he looked back to see what was going on.

"What if there's someone who wants to hurt me and kill me too?!" Italy fretted and worried, trembling in fear and white flag already in hand.

"I doubt that is likely, Italy-san." Japan tried to assure him. "There has no one mentioned who would have a reason to hurt you, Italy-san. At least… someone who would be motivated by revenge to hurt to you."

But Italy didn't sound convinced, as he whimpered. "N-No! That's not true, Kiku! What if the cannibal nations decide to go after me and eat me?!"

"Then we will do our best to make sure they do not hurt you, Italy-san." Japan responded calmly, again trying to reassure him. "I think I speak for me and Germany-san when I say that we will protect you to the best of our ability."

"Oh, grazie, grazie!" Italy cried out in relief, but soon he shrank back in fear. "But what about Turkey?"

Japan flinched at the mention of his friend and frowned. "What about him?"

"What if he wants revenge for how I kicked his butt back then?!" Italy exclaimed in fear, now trembling more violently. "I'm doomed! Turkey was so scary when he was the Ottoman Empire, what if he becomes scary again?!"

"W-Well, there's no way to confirm any of that until we get a direct answer from Turkey himself, so…" Japan trailed off, sounding uncertain as to what to say to calm down Italy, and Germany nearly wanted to sigh when Italy burst into tears. "B-But, Italy-san, like I said, we will not let him hurt you…"

Italy gulped, and began stuttering again. "B-But-"

"Japan's right." Germany finally decided to interject, looking back at Italy sternly. "You're going to be fine, so stop crying and trust us for once, will you?"

"I do trust you!" Italy protested, sounding hurt. "I-I'm just scared of-"

"What did I just say?"

That calmed him down.

They arrived at the door to the meeting room…

Only to find a smiling Bosnia there waiting for them.

"Well, would you look at this? The Axis are the first come back!" Bosnia exclaimed with uncharacteristic glee. "Not that I'm surprised. England always had rocky relationship with reality, Canada's hopelessly naïve and foolish, and France can only do so much for the two of them. So, good for you, I guess…"

Narrowing his eyes at Bosnia's behavior, as well as remembering Hungary's warnings, Germany stepped forward. "What are you doing out here, Bosnia?"

Bosnia's smile vanished, and he snarled hideously. "What? I can't go wherever I want? None of you have any right to order me around. Besides, it's really noisy in there."

"Hungary's been telling you've been very unpredictable lately."

"Hungary knows _nothing_."

Germany began to feel irritated. "Bosnia, go back inside."

"Nice… very… verrrryyy _nice_ …" Bosnia snickered darkly, and Germany could hear Italy whimper and hide behind him as he did. He grinned widely. "You think you're so smart, don't you?"

There was something mocking and smug about the way Bosnia spoke and smiled, like he knew a lot of things that Germany didn't, and this immediately made him feel even more concerned about Bosnia. More importantly, he was acting extremely out-of-character.

"I bet you three are feeling real highly of yourselves, da? Like you've seen the light of heaven and believe that everything and everyone will just bow down to your wishes. Just like at the start of your little plan in the forties." Bosnia taunted maliciously, and he burst into cackles when Germany, and no doubt the others, flinched. "Oh, I struck a nerve!"

Germany clenched his fists and gritted his teeth in anger. The more emotional, less logical side of him made Germany feel very tempted to punch Bosnia for that comment, which was beyond uncalled for, but he knew better than to act irrationally. And Hungary suggested to only use force or pain when there's no other option with Bosnia.

"Do you seriously think that you're heroes? That you have the so-called moral high ground?" Bosnia asked mockingly, and he flashed an insane smile. "WRONG! This is war, Germany! There are no saints! You and the Order have their own justifications for their actions, but unlike you all, they're not afraid, they're not thinking themselves as heroes. They're just nations who are fed up with you and the world!"

Bosnia laughed, slightly less psychotically now, but nonetheless still very mad.

"Why even fight them?" Bosnia challenged. "What's the point, besides stopping nations from getting killed? What are you even fi-?"

Bosnia's taunting was unfortunately cut short when the door behind him suddenly opened and out from it came a frying pan that slammed down his head and sent him collapsing to the ground, moaning and unconscious.

Hungary then stepped out, staring down at Bosnia with a very displeased and annoyed glare.

"Miss Hungary!" Italy exclaimed in joy, nearly giving Germany a heart attack.

"Honestly, I knew I shouldn't have gotten rid of the leash…" Hungary made a 'hmph!' sound and picked Bosnia up by the collar, when she finally noticed Germany staring at her in sheer disbelief at what just happened. She smiled. "Oh! Ludwig! You finally decided to come back! How are you feeling?"

"I've felt better…" Germany grumbled, and then he remembered about Austria. "And you?"

Hungary's smile became a little tight at the question, but her warm disposition didn't waver, and she sheepishly shrugged. "Better. I'm not… okay, but I'm feeling better, so there's that."

"Well… good for you, Elizaveta."

"Um… Miss Hungary?" Italy asked meekly, finally coming out of hiding behind Germany and clutching his white flag. "Why was Bosnia acting so creepy and scary?"

"Hmm?" Hungary hummed, blinking a few times before looking back down at Bosnia. "Oh, you don't need to worry about him, Italy. He'll be back to normal when he wakes up. I promise that I'll do my best from now on to keep him on constant watch… and keep him on a leash."

She didn't answer the question.

"Anyway, you should really come back inside, Ludwig." Hungary suggested, smiling sheepishly. "It's getting rather loud in here and we could sure use someone like you, because frankly, I'm not what we're supposed to do now.

"Ja, don't worry, I will." Germany assured her.

Hungary's smile broadened a bit, and she dragged the unconscious back inside.

Taking a deep breath and rubbing his head in a last effort to get rid of at least some of his stress, Germany stomped into the room where he then did what he always did at World Meetings and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"QUIET!"

"What's going on here?! This is not the time to be arguing!" Germany shouted for everyone to hear.

From there Germany was informed of their little spat with Haiti that occurred just a while ago about the latter's diary. Germany did his best not to cringe at the memory of the unnerving entries and scrawls… and that page with the talismans.

"I say we don't do anything to it and keep it too." Egypt suggested calmly. "He… the man you encountered… must have likely had a good reason for giving it to us, if he truly intended to help, and he has."

Germany's thoughts immediately went back to when he met that man, and his conversation with him. Right, he… The African man or the Mystery Man as they all unofficially decided to dub him, his intentions didn't seem to be to cause them harm. How could he? After all, it was thanks to him that Germany and the others now knew the truth.

But still, Haiti's actions were worrying. It was very suspicious that he suddenly gave up so easily. Could it have something to do with the page with the talismans and the warning to not take any of them off no matter what? It sounded likely.

"Perhaps we can save that discussion for later when France comes back, since he has the diary." Germany stated gruffly, rubbing his temples. Suddenly he wished he brought aspirin with him. "I want to discuss some other things first, before anything else."

Part of him didn't want to ask what he wanted to say, but Germany wanted the truth and nothing but the truth. He may not like this, but he needed to accept it.

"Is there anything else any of you haven't told us?" Germany asked slowly, gazing at several certain nations. "…Anything that may or may not involve Gilbert or Roderich?"

Immediately there were some who winced, but hands also flew up, those being the Central Americans as well as Algeria and Tunisia.

Germany turned his gaze to Belize, who was waving her hand around and among the most likely to be brutally honest. "Ja, Belize?"

"There was this time when we went to pick up Nica and Costa. We were about to leave and all, when Honduras got shot and it turned out there was Austria and some others there waiting for us." Belize grudgingly recounted, and she rubbed her shoulder as her neighbors cringed. "We lost… badly. Almost all of us got killed, but not permanently, obviously. I got shot and Austria beat me up a little…"

"Wait. He came to where you were?"

Belize nodded. "That's kind of what I said."

"But… why?" Germany asked, more to himself than to Belize. "You're all here. So, how… why would he…?"

"My guess? Just for shits and giggles." Belize spat, crossing her arms. "He also wanted to _meet_ us and get back at us for disrupting everything, but you something? He didn't seem angry at all. He even congratulated us!"

"I… don't understand."

"You think we do?" Belize scoffed, and she flashed a humorless smile. "I think it's better to forget it, Germany. We're here, we're alive, and that's all that matters."

No, Germany wanted to say. He couldn't forget it.

"China, Russia, have either of you sensed any suspicious activity in your lands?" Germany found himself asking, deciding to change the topic. "Or in China's case,

Before they could answer, however, Egypt cut in.

"If you mean that if they sense that anyone has their entered, then don't." Egypt stated blankly, looking at Germany dead in the eye. "They have some sort of magic that prevents us from sensing them. That's how they caught France, Spain, Belgium, Belize and Honduras by surprise."

"The situation in Hong Kong and Macau isn't getting any better, aru…" China grumbled angrily, and Germany could tell that was true. China looked even more tired than before. "In fact, it's getting even worse. I was so sure that the PLA could quell any disobedience, but somehow they're getting killed off… Someone couldn't have smuggled soldiers to…"

"You sent your army to Hong Kong and Macau?" Germany asked in disbelief.

"China-san, please tell you weren't planning on causing another Tiananmen Square." Japan said worriedly.

China visibly paled at the notion, and then he sputtered. "Of course not, aru! This is different! Besides, you haven't seen the state those two are in and what they're doing! The humans have gone insane, aru! And since those two are part of the Order, then that must mean they intend to secede! Well, I won't let them! They're going to stay exactly the way they are whether they like it or not!"

"Please, if you can't even get Taiwan to become a part of you, what makes you think you can stop Hong Kong and Macau, who have the backing of like dozens of nations including America, from getting independence?" Belize asked disbelievingly, eyebrow raised.

China's eye twitched, and he scowled. "First of all, that's because she's already a part of me, and she has limited recognition, aru. Second, unlike Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau don't have their own militaries and they are _cities_!"

"That's technically four things, China." Nicaragua scoffed.

Before China could promptly burst into flames, Germany decided to cut in.

"I think we can all agree that the first thing we should do right now is to gather as many allies as we can, even the odds more to our favor." Germany suggested sternly, slamming his hands down the table. "The Order could be planning an attack or to coerce more nations to join them for all we know. The sooner the better!"

Everyone collectively nodded or murmured in agreement. Seychelles shyly raised her hand.

"Ja, Seychelles?" Germany said.

Seychelles slightly flinched, as if she didn't really expect Germany to notice her. "W-Well, now that you… believe us, I… I was wondering if you could help us rescue Mauritius."

Germany's eyes widened. He forgot about that. They mentioned that Mauritius also escaped with the other Africans, but he got captured at some point while in France.

He felt a little uncomfortable and pressured by the way Seychelles was staring at him with desperation in her eyes. Mostly because he's awkward with women, and he was a little concerned that he'll disappoint her and cause her to burst into tears, and Germany didn't want that.

"I see." Germany nodded slowly. "And, where is he?"

"I… we… think that he might be in Switzerland's house, but we're not exactly sure… but who else could it be?" Seychelles asked shakily, and she was beginning to tremble. "Please, Mister Germany! They want to brainwash him! They want him to do horrible things and enjoy doing them! We can't just abandon him! It's already been days and… and…"

"She's right." Egypt agreed, taking over for Seychelles. "We now know where he might be, and we'd like your help in rescuing him. Many participants would be nice, and strong ones too, if the result of the Central Americans, Algeria and Tunisia's little fight is any indication."

"You're not going to keep using that as an example in the future, are you?" Belize deadpanned, obviously displeased.

"Please, Germany!" Seychelles begged, hands clasped together. "I know he and I are just island nations, but he's a good person. He doesn't deserve this!"

Germany stared at her and nodded. "Very well-"

"Oh, merci!" Seychelles cried out in joy.

"But before anything else can be discussed…" Germany continued, hoping to God that his face wasn't turning red. "Is there anyone else who needs to be rescued that I don't know about?"

"Yes, there is." Algeria was the one who spoke. "Western Sahara. I haven't heard from her even before the African Union meeting, in which she was absent, and I'm worried about her."

Western Sahara… That's an interesting case.

"Well, I'm not so sure about her." Germany admitted, and he hastily continued once Algeria's expression contorted in anger "We can't know for sure what she's doing or whose side she's on, especially considering Morocco gave her independence so suddenly, so –

Algeria's eyes went wide. "He _what_?"

"A few days ago, I remember my boss mentioning that Morocco had granted Western Sahara independence." Germany recalled, and he raised a puzzled eyebrow. "Didn't you hear about it? I was so sure you of all people would. The humans of the refugee camps in your country are returning back to Western Sahara, didn't you know that?"

Germany wondered if he should have been less blunt, because he practically left Algeria speechless.

"I-I… no, I didn't… I had no idea that…" Algeria struggled to speak, stunned and looking pale in shock. "T-There was so much happening that there wasn't time to check the news… and… and… it didn't even cross my mind to…"

Tunisia put a hand on his sister's shoulder and looked at Germany. "So you think we should try and contact her?"

"Well… I guess it wouldn't hurt to try. But do not go over to her house." Germany ordered firmly. "Africa is not safe."

There was an amused snort from Romania. "Was it ever?"

Germany decided to ignore Romania and continued with the main topic. "So, we should all start making some calls, unless the Order had found some way to cut off communications. We are organizing an emergency World Meeting, as soon as possible. And if we can't reach them, then we'll have to get to them ourselves."

"You mean we'll have to teleport everyone here?" Romania asked incredulously, and he hissed. "You gotta be kidding me, Germany. Even with three of us here with that kind of power, it'll be impossible to get the whole gang here in one day! Hard work has its limits, you know!"

Egypt nodded in agreement, frowning at the idea.

"I meant using conventional means of travel." Germany deadpanned, resisting the urge to sigh. "Cars, trains, and planes and the like."

"Oh, in that case, that's alright by me!" Romania laughed heartily, while Hungary rolled her eyes. "Still, I wouldn't mind making a few trips, especially for friends and fa…"

Romania trailed off, and he somehow became even more pale as his eyes went wide in shock.

"…Shit."

Then he exploded.

"Damn it, I can't believe it! I completely forgot about Moldova!" Romania cursed, and then with a fanged snarl he tipped his hat. "Well, sorry, but I'm out of here. I'll be back before you know it!"

"Wait! Romania, what-" Germany could only manage to spout that out before Romania burst into flames, alarming many of those present, and vanished. "…Verdammt, he's gone."

Belize let out a squeak and she held a hand to her chest. "God, I don't know which one gives me more of a heart attack. Why would he set himself on fire to teleport? Why? _Why?_ "

"I have no idea, but you have to admit that it does look really cool!" Honduras chirped in admiration, eyes practically sparkling. "I wish I could do that… Egypt, can _you_ do that? Can you teach me? _Por favor?_ "

Egypt could only blink. "I… that's…"

"That's not the point." Germany groaned, before they could go too off-track. "When I said we could go warn the others ourselves, I meant do it in pairs or groups."

"Ludwig, please…" Hungary lightly scolded him, a disapproving frown on her face. "I wouldn't worry about Pasty Stake Bait if I were you. You know he has all sorts of tricks up his sleeve and all. And besides, I'm worried about Moldova too."

Germany sighed. "I understand, but it's better if we all-"

"Seeing comrade Romania has reminded me of a very important matter as well," Russia piped up, though the usual cheer in his voice was absent, and his face was serious. "I'm worried about my sisters. They, or at least Nat, are in a safe house but now I'm worried that Lietuva and friends will go after them, though I have no doubt Belarus will show them a thing or two."

"Wh-What about Lovino?! He doesn't know we're in danger!" Italy cried out in worry. "And I don't know if he'll listen to me or even believe me! Oh! Oh no! And what about Seborga? And Vatican City and San Marino? They don't know anything about this either!"

"I think I could say the same for Taiwan, Vietnam, and pretty much the rest of Asia as well, aru." China noted grimly, "They're currently in the dark now, and I'd much rather them discover the truth through us instead of the Order. Not to mention Vietnam must be told that South is alive as soon as possible, it might very well save her life."

"And what about Panama?" Costa Rica demanded. "We don't even know whose side he's on or what he's up to! I'm worried about him!"

"And I'm worried about Western Sahara!" Algeria barked.

"Ukraine's been held back by her boss, that I know. But I haven't heard from Belarus or the other Baltics."

"I don't want them to tempt Taiwan with offers of-"

"The other Yugoslavians should know what's going on with Bosnia, especially Herzegovina."

"D-Don't forget about Kelvin!"

"A-And it'll be all my fault for not saving them-"

"You don't know Panama like I do, Nica!"

"Lien might not believe me, so…"

"But then again, the General liked to-"

"Anubis might-"

"And without Switzerland to protect her, then-"

"Haven't heard from Lili-"

"Safiyya wouldn't-"

They were all shouting and talking over each other, just like in World Meetings, except there weren't any chairs being thrown or nations beating each other. They were angry, confused, worried, upset, scared… Yes, just like a World Meeting. It was as loud as you'd expect and it was all it took to push Germany over the edge.

 _"SHUT UP!"_

That wasn't Germany.

All the racket came to a screeching halt, and Germany whirled around to find the source.

It came from the television.

Germany nearly had a heart attack.

He saw Prussia's face at the television.

 _"Guten tag, everyone… or at least, I hope everyone is there."_ Prussia said uncertainly, but kept a stoic face on his face, nothing like the brother Germany knew. " _This is the Awesome Prussia, as hard as it is to believe, and I come with a message. And before you start screaming, this is a recording."_

Germany couldn't believe his ears or his eyes. This Prussia… The real Prussia was… Polite? Calm? Serious? Cold? Bitter? His voice sounded deeper now that he wasn't screaming and cackling every five minutes.

He knew that this was just a recording, but he felt extremely tempted to stomp over to the television set and scream at his brother and demand the answer to one simple question: WHY?

 _"You all must be thinking very highly of yourselves right now, ja? You must feel so powerful and righteous just because you get to fight us. If so, then you all make me sick."_ Prussia spat balefully, and despite it possibly not being directed at him, Germany flinched. _"How could you feel so proud of yourselves? So smug? How can you be so proud of making it this far?"_

Prussia looked truly angry as he spoke, a side Germany hasn't seen in years. He looked almost enraged.

 _"Despite all appearances and intentions, all I want is a New World Order, and the safety and happiness of all the nations who loyally stood by us, despite the hardships."_ Prussia declared firmly, with something akin to sadness briefly flashing in his eyes. _"This world needs a new order. The insects crawling on the planet's surface known as humankind keep destroying each other an us, while you all keep adding fuel to the fire, you either encourage them or do nothing."_

Prussia clenched his fists.

 _"Humans have brought us many things, good and bad, but in the end, they cause us nothing but pain. Yet, they are our bosses. We're the personification of nations. It's **our** right to govern our lands, not the humans'. It's our land. Not their land, not God's land, but **our** land."_

Then the rage on Prussia's face suddenly disappeared.

 _"Granted, despite it all, I do have many regrets."_ Prussia admitted remorsefully, and he let his head drop to his hands. _"I regret not being able to prevent the world wars, which took us completely by surprise I'll have you know. I regret putting too much trust in the people I'm not supposed to trust. I regret putting my friends through so much pain. I regret not killing Russia while he was still a pathetic child."_

For once, Russia looked shocked for the first time in what seemed like a million years.

 _"But in the end, everything will fall, it won't be all for nothing, the New World Order will rule. There will be no more pain for us, no more heartbreak and despair. We will do our best to fix the world and make it remain that way for as long as we live. And the memories we all have made throughout the years and centuries will all have been worthwhile."_

Prussia looked back at up, and Germany nearly stumbled when he saw that his brother was smiling through tears.

 _"I love you, Ludwig. And… I'm sorry."_

Then abruptly it went to static before it switched to another image. Austria, with an unfamiliarly friendly smile on his face. Hungary gasped.

 _"It's me, Roderich. I have to say, it feels really nice to openly smile again…"_ Austria remarked happily. _"Oh, I don't think Gilbert explained this, but we hacked the television to broadcast this recording, in case it wasn't obvious."_

Austria laughed a bit.

 _"But let's be serious, won't we?"_ Austria said chillingly, and his smile suddenly became more ominous. _"Tell me, what are you all fighting for?"_

He stared at them expectantly, but no one answered, since it was a recording.

"No, really, what are you fighting for?"

 _"You all know what we want. We all want a new world."_ Austria said coldly, and he snarled. " _We're sick and tired of everything and everyone. We're angry and want revenge. But you all should know that already._

Austria took a deep breath.

 _"You. Central Americans, Algeria, Tunisia. Do you want to know the real reason why I decided to let you all go?"_

The nations mentioned stiffened.

 _"I let you go, because I wanted to see what reason or excuse you had for fighting, what drove you to risk everything to fight us. Other than concern for your loved one's safety, or perhaps a grudge against Guatemala for his deceit, I saw no real valid reason. I was hoping by letting you go, I could get the answers I wanted to satisfy that curiosity, but sadly, you're all just as pitiful as the others."_

He stopped. Then suddenly, he burst out laughing.

 _"Look at yourselves! Just why are you fighting? Why do you want things to stay the way they are? The Central Americans and their corrupt, poverty-stricken, crime-filled countries. The Muslim Africans with their persecuted Christians and gays, and their also corrupt governments. Europe with their gradually vanishing culture. China's growing military influence and Russia's increasingly suspicious operations. You all want that to remain. You all want nothing to change. You want to keep us suffering and make our efforts all for nothing!"_

Austria has never been this passionate and angry about something. It should have been nice to see, but…

 _"No! We will not accept this! We will not give up! Our histories were fun and painful. We all laughed, screamed, smiled, and cried. The wait was too long, but our determination is strong. We will not take this lying down! Ja, perhaps we will go to hell for this, perhaps we will one day pay for our own crimes. But I will do anything if it means making a difference."_

Austria banged his fist against a nearby wall, and surprisingly, the wall cracked. Since when was Austria strong enough to pull such a feat?

 _"We will change the world or die trying."_

Austria looked again at the screen, and just like Prussia, he was smiling and crying.

 _"I love you Liz. And… I'm sorry."_

 **And that's the end of this arc! Phew! Be sure to expect a flashback chapter next week! Please review, if you have a minute.**


	54. The Game

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, NadiaJA627 and World100 for reviewing. Sorrry for the wait, had a very hard time with this chapter. Now on with the show!**

Hungary surprisingly didn't end up having any nightmares after the world around her went black, despite all the things she'd seen before her eyes throughout the war, death and destruction and all. Maybe it had something to do with the film Turkey showed them. Speaking of the film, she just didn't know what to think of it.

Forget how that's supposed be possible, that was... a weirdly generous thing for Turkey to do. Hungary would be lying if she said that she still had a lot of question, and that she didn't care about them. There're still things she and everyone else didn't understand, even at this point, and as one of the many people who got duped, she deserved answers, didn't she? And if Turkey was willing to give them, then…

But should she even care now even after so much has happened? Hungary briefly wondered, before inwardly frowning and pushing that thought to the back of her mind. No, there's nothing wrong with wanting answers.

But anyway, back to more important issues…

A trap door? Really, Turkey? Hungary knew that Turkey's sanity had deteriorated at this point, but still the idea was just so ridiculous.

On one hand, Hungary couldn't believe that Turkey had something so cliché put in the middle of the room, but on the other, she felt very frustrated that they fell into said trap. Shouldn't they have noticed something odd about the floor? Then again, it was rather dark in the room, and the floor was carpeted…

That damn Turk…

Hungary woke up to a pounding headache and to the smell of rusted metal and dust, and it didn't take long for her to remember what happened before she blacked out. She looked around frantically, both for Egypt and to see just where the hell they ended up. Everything was kind of blurry, but she could tell that she was in a dark room, not much light to guide her.

Did they fall here? How big was that fall? It couldn't have been that deep, considering that Hungary's alive… unless of course she did die from the fall, and she just came back.

Groaning, Hungary rubbed her head, trying to ignore the throbbing headache as she tried to lift herself off the… ground? She moved her hand around, expecting to feel some sort of dirty old floor, but she got none of that. Wait. What? Damn Turkey for making the room so poorly lighted. No, more importantly, where's Egypt?

The worry and confusion motivated her to keep trying to regain her sense of reality and helped her give some more energy, so with that Hungary turned and nearly gasped when she suddenly found herself on solid, flat ground.

What the…

"Egypt?" Hungary called out as she slowly her vision started to become less blurry. "Gupta, where are you?"

She frowned when she didn't receive an answer. Rubbing her eyes, Hungary looked at the spot

Egypt broke her fall.

After seconds of staring at his limp body in shock, she snapped out of it and nearly found herself shrieking in alarm as she realized that there's a chance that she accidentally killed Egypt… if the fall didn't do it first. Oh god, she didn't… she didn't mean to do it! She didn't even remember…

"E-Egypt?" Hungary bit out, shaking him by the shoulder. "O-Oh no, I'm so sorry- I didn't mean- Are you alright?! Can you hear me?!"

No answer. No reaction either.

But before Hungary could get into too much of a panic, she realized two things: One, despite the rather dim lighting Hungary saw that there was no blood coming out of Egypt, so maybe, he didn't die. Two, she realized that she could have just checked his pulse or his breathing to see if he was really dead, and suddenly Hungary felt like an idiot.

Biting her lip, she prepared to do just that, but the sound of a deafening beep and monitors suddenly materializing into view and blaring up to life interrupted her.

Oh, just terrific.

/ / / / /

Even as a little boy, Morocco had a feeling that something was wrong.

It was nothing depressing or anything debilitating that ever showed, no, nothing like that. It was just a small feeling of uneasiness or slight frustration that wound up bothering him for a great deal of his childhood. At the time, he had no idea what on earth it could be, so he continued with his childhood like nothing was happening.

But over time, the problem became clearer. Morocco's world was grey. He knew it wasn't normal, but he didn't know what it meant either. Still, there was nothing he could do at the time except to wait.

After the Islamic conquest of the Maghreb, Morocco felt lost, confused, and most of all, _alone_. He hated the Muslims. Their book… all their accursed laws… it was suffocating. He often wandered the forests and the mountains to clear his mind and hopefully get away from everyone. He encountered a human there, a religious man. Was he an imam? Morocco couldn't remember very well.

But he did remember that after a few words, the stupid human slipped and then hanged onto the ledge for dear life.

He begged for Morocco's help, but he felt no urge or need to jump forward and so just that. After all, this human was of the Islamic madmen.

He begged again, almost crying, and Morocco felt disgust well up within him. This was a man devoted to God?

He fell, screaming too, and _then_ Morocco sprinted forward, just to see how he would fall.

The human crashed and rolled over from sharp rock to sharp rock, and Morocco could hear the cracking and splattering sounds of bones breaking and blood spewing out, before the man finally collapsed to the ground. Even with all that, Morocco just knew that he was still alive.

He will die slowly… painfully…

Morocco remained there standing in awe for a long time. When he finally got over it, a strange yet pleasant feeling began to burn in his heart. He let out a chuckle. And then suddenly, something just seemed to _click_.

"The death of a religious man was what helped make you aware that you were a sadist?" The disgusted voice of Western Sahara snapped Morocco out of memory lane, and he once again came face to face with the scowling woman. "How disgusting."

Ah, right, she was here too. Morocco forgot that he was finally telling Western Sahara his life story over dinner as a reward for doing her work today so well.

"Oh, no, it's not just him, dear sister." Morocco cut her off, smiling as he petted his cobra's head. "It also came from a little breakdown I had after I fully digested the laws shoved down my throat. And the rush I got whenever I broke the laws… It felt good, it felt _good_ to be free and not let that damn book rule over me. As for the other thing you're probably wondering about, at first it was rebellion and curiosity and on my, but then…"

Morocco snickered, feeling his body tingle with excitement.

"But then…" Morocco smirked, clasping his hands together. "I found out that the pleasure I get when I did both things were exactly the same, so naturally... Oh, I wish I could explain it to you in more, but the origins of these sorts of feelings aren't exactly easy to explain at times."

Western Sahara didn't even bother to spit out some bitter or disgusted remark and went back to drinking tea.

How would she react to this information, Morocco wondered? As serious and grim Western Sahara could be, she was certainly warmer and more open-minded than Algeria, though it's not by a large margin. And Western Sahara made her disgust at his… _proclivities_ very clear.

But that disgust was also influenced by her hatred of him. Western Sahara and Tunisia got along well since the latter reversed his position on her issue to stay on Algeria's good side.

Very well, let this be an experiment then. If he wanted to help Western Sahara finally rid her rotten brain of the disease known as Islam and ask herself some very important questions, then good, another person will have realized the truth. If she insisted on saying 'God is great', and has her opinion of Tunisia greatly soured, then Morocco's point will have been proven once again.

"Safiyya…" Morocco said, making sure to sound serious so that she wouldn't ignore him, and the woman looked at him coldly. "You are aware that I might go to hell, right?"

"Of course I am." Western Sahara scoffed, snarling. "That's one of the few comforts I have, that when you die Allah will throw you into the depths of hell where you will suffer for eternity with the others. I'm sure Allah will have a special place reserved for people like _you_."

Morocco wanted to scoff. Hell was never a concern for him. While he fully believed that there was some sort life after this one, even for people like them, he never feared the notion of eternal damnation. Who knows what really awaited nations after death? Besides, Morocco would rather live his life the way he wanted it and suffer for it than obey that book.

Morocco smiled mysteriously and bit a nail. "At least it'll be interesting having someone with me in that special place."

Western Sahara stared at him befuddled, and at the same time she lifted the cup of tea to her mouth. Perfect. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, didn't you know, Safiyya?" Morocco said slyly, lips curling up in a smirk. "I'm not the only Muslim nation in this continent who will be going to hell…"

As expected, what followed was a period of stunned silence as Western Sahara registered what he just said before practically doing a spit-take and coughing, while Morocco chuckled and used this as an opportunity to give a snide remark.

"That was rather crude of you, sister," Morocco chided disapprovingly, letting a slight hint of mockery into his tone, and again sipped his tea "Not to mention rude, and no way how a lady should behave."

"Don't you dare act condescending with me!" Western Sahara practically shrilled, and Morocco had to wince. "Especially not after stating something so unbelievably outrageous out of the blue! What are you- What does that- What do you mean?! You can't possibly mean that-"

"It's exactly as I said, Safiyya." Morocco grinned widely, and he raised his cup. This was just too fun. "There is another pervert in this continent, and a non-member no less! How scandalous, don't you think?"

"Scandalous? More like ridiculous!" Western Sahara exclaimed, and she wiped her mouth with a napkin before looking at him disdainfully. "There can't possibly be another Muslim nation like you!"

Morocco's grin widened further, and he tickled Abarshane's chin. "Oh, but there is! There is another gay among us!"

"Gay?!"

To get more of a rise out of her, Morocco adopted an unimpressed expression with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, honestly, Safiyya, I never took you for a forgetful person. A gay is a person who just so happens to be attracted-"

"I know what it is, you depraved sodomite!" Western Sahara snapped, and then bit her lip for a moment, probably trying to calm herself down. Morocco merely rolled his eyes. She always had the worst insults. "How can you say such a thing?

Just to toy with her further, Morocco shrugged and grinned. "Oh, but it's true, sweet sister! There is another member of our little community who will be going to hell! Ah, but it's not Algeria, so I apologize if I got your hopes up by accident."

Western Sahara looked at him, stunned, before her face turned red from indignation and embarrassment as Morocco burst into shrill laughter. "What the- Damn you, Rahim! Don't you dare insinuate that we would stoop to your level! I was thinking nothing of the sort, and you know it!"

But Morocco kept on howling in laughter, and he nearly ended up falling off his chair and crushing part of Abarshane's body even as said cobra hissed in amusemt. Oh my, his sides hurt…! Her face was priceless! People like her were just too easy to provoke!

"Rahim! For the love of Allah, stop laughing!"

Morocco calmed his laughter and grinned mischievously. "Oh, I know. I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself."

"We both you're not, Rahim. And I don't believe this, it's ludicrous."

"And yet you forget, sister, that you thought the same when you walked in on my little conversation with Turkey and America."

"…Fine. Who is this nation?"

"Tunisia."

Western Sahara gaped like a fish, and Morocco would have mocked her for it, had she not spoke first. "Tunisia?!"

"Yes, Tunisia."

 _"Tunisia?!"_

"Tunisia? Malik? Our brother? Human Age: 21-22. Friendly, calm, and often has an adorable smile on his face? Not very good at fending for himself? Ironically very proud and fond of his culture and of Islam?"

"I know who he is, Rahim." Western Sahara deadpanned, and she held her arms as a slight pained expression appeared on her face. She was feeling conflicted. "But… But you can't be serious! Tunisia, gay? I don't believe this. He is a good Muslim."

"Not a very good one since he's gay."

"He's not!"

"Why do you deny this so much, sister? Is it because you don't trust the words of a snake?" Morocco asked her mockingly, smirking. "Or is it because that if you accept the truth, you, being the good Muslim you are, will be obligated to hate him and make his life a living hell? You don't want to disappoint Allah, do you? You'll have to push him off a roof, stone him, beat him…"

"I WILL DO NO SUCH THINGS!" Western Sahara screamed, standing up from her chair. "I would never do that to Malik. He's been so kind to me even though he doesn't help like Algeria does. He's a good man. He sided with me and Algeria instead of you-"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure he did that to stay on Algeria's good side-

"But he cares about me! I don't think I could ever hate him."

Morocco raised an eyebrow. Oh? "So you do accept him for who he is?"

"No, I still don't believe you. Yes, he is a bit more… _liberal_ compared to Algeria," Western Sahara said uncertainly as she scratched her neck, and she looked again. "But that doesn't mean he's… like _you_."

She didn't sound completely confident.

"If by 'like me', you mean a sadistic monster, then no." Morocco shook his head, sticking out his tongue "Not at all. Or if by that you meant we like the same people, then yes."

"You're lying."

"Give me one good reason why I would lie to get you to hate Tunisia."

She didn't answer. Western Sahara bit her lip and turned her gaze away from him, now looking conflicted.

Morocco sighed at her dejected silence, and stood up from his chair, leaving Abarshane there, to walk over to Western Sahara. Just as she looked up at him, he went grabbed her chin, tightly so she wouldn't wrench away from his grip. She glared at him and tried to slap his arm away, but he grabbed that arm tightly as well.

"I don't see how you could consider hating him." Morocco remarked. "He's already suffering enough, even no one in his country or in our community knows about his secret."

"What do you mean?" Western Sahara asked, though she looked like she dreaded the answer.

"Remember, Safiyya, that a nation's people can affect their personification emotionally and psychologically. Can't you see how that would affect Tunisia?" Morocco asked quietly, and he flashed a manic smile. "Tunisia is gay. His people hate gays; therefore, he hates himself. His people torment gays; therefore, he feels miserable and pained. His people kill gays; therefore, Tunisia often wants to kill himself."

Western Sahara paled at this, but before she could comment, Morocco leaned forward to whisper in her ear.

"Also, I don't think you know this…" Morocco whispered, and jokingly glanced around, as if anyone could overhear them, and grinned. "But did you know that despite knowing their pain, Tunisia willingly rats out his own citizens to have them jailed for sodomy? He does nothing to help them, and he lets them suffer."

"He what?" Western Sahara asked in disbelief. "But why?"

"Perhaps he thinks that that'll redeem himself in Allah's eyes." Morocco shrugged, and he lets her go, only to grab her by the shoulder. "And besides, I don't know why you're so horrified by this information. Almost every Muslim-majority personification does this, **_including Algeria_**."

There was something akin to horror or shock in her expression. Honestly, did it take Tunisia being gay for her to realize how horrific the Muslim world's actions were?

"Safiyya, my pretty but stubborn sister..." Morocco began softly, kindly, and he slightly tightened the grip on her shoulder. "If you really care for Tunisia, if you're not willing to hate him, and if you are as above than the Order as you think you are, then I highly recommend you start asking yourself some important questions about 'the religion of peace'."

Western Sahara remained silent. Content with the damage he did, Morocco released her shoulder and was about to spoke.

"…What do you plan to do with this information?" Western Sahara asked quietly. "Are you going to blackmail him?"

Morocco froze, feeling a little surprised at the question, before he smirked. "Blackmail him? No, of course not, sister. I'm going to use it to make him run right into my loving arms, to make him _mine_."

Again, there was period of shocked silence, before Western Sahara's expression contorted in disgust. "Ugh, Rahim! You… You can't be serious!"

"Honestly, are you really surprised at this point?" Morocco deadpanned.

"Why would you… Oh, how disgusting! I can't believe you! Why in Allah's name would you want to commit incest?!"

"So, what if its incest? What's the problem in it? It's not like either of us can reproduce."

"There are many, many reasons why it's still repulsing. And you didn't answer my question! _Why?_ "

"Believe it or not, Tunisia just happens to be my favorite sibling." Morocco put his hand over his chest, smiling warmly. "I love him, again believe it or not, though it may not be what one may have in mind. I want to show him what he's been missing. He also knows what it's been like to have suffered because that damn book and that senile old man."

"You have a very twisted definition of love, Rahim." Western Sahara said darkly, narrowing her eyes. "Out with it. What's the _other_ reason you want him?"

Morocco felt a warmth in his chest. His sister knows him so well.

"Sadik always tells me about him and Bulgaria, how he revels in the latter's slavish devotion to him, how _good_ it feels to have someone completely under your spell" Morocco said with a wolfish smirk, and he licked his lips. "He keeps telling me about the thrill of control. I want to experience that too, and maybe in the process find out if I can feel the same love they feel."

Western Sahara stared at him. "You want to enslave him, to make another Bulgaria, get yourself a _pet_."

"And see if someone like me can develop romantic feelings."

"You are disgusting."

"I guess I am…"

"He will _never_ love you, Rahim." Western Sahara spat, banging her fist on the table. "Especially not after he finds out what you did and sees your true personality. He'll hate you and be disgusted of you and-"

"Will he, really?" Morocco challenged. "When I give him the love that he's been denied all his life, will he really run away from me?"

"He will! And he will never love you, because you are nothing but a heartless-"

Morocco flashed a feral grin and in the blink of an eye dashed from his chair to grab Western Sahara's neck, choking her as he hissed. "Oh, he _will_ love me. When the others shun him, I will be there to love him, and he will love me in return. I will teach him to love me. I will free him of the constraints that religion and civilization have placed on him and save him from suffocating to death."

"You… won't… get him…" Western Sahara rasped out, gasping for breath, but she still glared up at him. "I won't… let you… break him…"

"And have your people pay the price for your interference?" Morocco let her go, and she coughed as she tried to regain air. "I look forward to seeing you try."

"Damn you…" Western Sahara gasped.

"By the way, Safiyya, did you like the food?"

Western Sahara stared at him as if he grew a second head. "What…?"

"Did you like the meat?"

"Why are you asking-"

"Answer the question."

Western flinched at his harsh tone, but she swallowed and with a frown, she answered. "It was… as much as I hate to admit it, very good. The meat was very tasty, as always…"

"Really?"

"Really."

Morocco smirked. "Good, because it's pork."

Western Sahara screamed.

/ / / / /

Poor Western Sahara.

Poor Algeria.

Poor Tunisia.

Hungary had finished gathering up all the bags and weapons that got scattered through the room after they fell when it ended, and she winced as she tried not to think too much about the… Fonthill Castle incident. She's honestly glad Egypt wasn't awake to watch that, he probably would've destroyed the monitors in a fit of rage as soon as he found it was about Morocco.

She hoped Tunisia's alright. They were never good friends, and Hungary could count the amount of times they hanged out on one hand (less than one hand!), but he's a good man. With luck Algeria will-

Good god, Hungary forgot about Egypt. She dropped the supplies on a place with good enough lighting

Hungary checked his pulse and put an ear on his chest to check his heartbeat. After a half-minute she sighed in relief.

He's alive. He'll be fine.

She'll just have to wait for him to wake then, Hungary decided as she sat back down on the ground. Surely nothing bad will happen if she decided to stay here? There was a door leading to another room, and it's not locked, but there wasn't exactly any real danger here yet… Yeah, she could wait for him.

Hungary took a deep breath and tapped her fingers. Just… wait.

Suddenly Hungary felt a chill up her spine and she held her arms, then she looked around frantically out of instinct. What was that about? Nothing happened, but… she couldn't shake the feeling someone was watching her. Eh, maybe it's just Turkey spying on them through some security cameras.

She then heard banging noises in the distance as the beep sounded again.

/ / / / /

"Why?" Bulgaria would constantly ask during their time together. "Why me?"

Funny, Turkey would ask the same question when Austria came to him.

But in the end, Turkey was glad that he did. Yes, it sounded insane now, but Rome was not built in day, and besides, Turkey was insane. Also, he was sort of indebted to him for telling him to get those humans to obey him.

Due to his current status, as well as some other things, he was not an official member of the little group. Turkey was far from upset at this, hell, he even suggested that they not fully let him in until his 'death'. He didn't deserve to be involved right now like this, so he'll patiently wait until everything came crumbling down.

He will not join as the Ottoman Empire, but as Turkey.

Still… Turkey will admit… reluctantly… that life here in the empire could be a bit of bore when nations like Bosnia and Persia weren't around to keep him company. It was just him, his boss, the servants, the girls, and his charges, or as he liked to call them, brats.

Yes, yes, their anger was understandable, and Turkey will admit that he had fun in several of his battles to claim them, but that make them any less annoying to be around. Not to mention the headaches, wounds and scars he'd get as a result of their rebellions were hard to endure. Hungary, thank goodness Austria decided to take her, and Greece had the be the worst of all of them when it came to causing trouble.

Believe him. If you were in his position, then you would also find it a little hard to like those brats.

"Turkey!"

Said nation blinked behind his mask and looked back at the annoyed European. "Yes, Bulgaria?"

"I asked you a question." Bulgaria said irately, crossing his arms. "Why? Why me?! Why do you intend on torturing me like this?! Is this supposed to be revenge for my attempted rebellion years ago? If so, then why did you have to torture me? You hate Greece, so why do you not torment him?!"

Turkey stared at him. So, he was still distrusting. Understandable of course, Bulgaria never had anyone who was this loving and caring toward him.

Other than several of his other charges such as Romania and Macedonia, Bulgaria wasn't close with anyone else or had been for a good deal of his life. He also never really had anyone who _loved_ him. So, that made him vulnerable to Turkey's influence.

All he had to do was to shower the boy with love and affection, and slowly, Bulgaria will begin to break under his 'need' to hate Turkey and his desire for eternal love. Turkey wasn't certain if there was a term for that… Eh, perhaps some human in the future will come up with a name for it, likely something beginning with the word 'love'.

"Answer me!" Bulgaria shouted as Turkey kept staring at him.

The empire cracked a smirk. "Is it so hard to accept that I want to be friends with you?"

"Da! Now answer the question!"

"Fine. I'll tell you…" Turkey said with a sigh, and Bulgaria sighed in relief, before he added. "On one condition."

"Anything." Bulgaria said immediately, and he blushed red once he realized what he said and stuttered. "I mean, what do you want?"

Slyly, Turkey wrapped his arm around Bulgaria's shoulders, startling the younger man.

"To go to the bath house with tou of course!"

"W-What?!"

Turkey removed his arm and took Bulgaria by the hand, much to the latter's shock. "Come, friend, it will be fun! And do not worry, I happen to know one where the two of us will be able to bathe in private!"

"H-Hold on!" Bulgaria protested, looking horrified. "I never agreed to this-!"

"Let us go!" And with that Turkey dragged Bulgaria away.

However, Bulgaria didn't try to wrench his hand out of Turkey's.

Not even once.

/ / / / /

Heh… good times.

Turkey smiled, though the usual energy in it was largely absent, and he collapsed onto the couch.

Now that they're gone, all that he could do now was to make sure that film still played and see how the brat and the mage were doing. Turkey was really looking forward to when they realized that they weren't quite alone down there.

A _friend_ came by earlier just as Hungary and Egypt entered his land, and boy, was Turkey surprised to see them, especially with how they looked like now. Turkey wondered if they were even a nation anymore. Luckily, they still felt loyal to the big guys and said that they wanted to play with his soon-to-be-guests.

Of course, Turkey agreed.

The beep sounded again.

/ / / / /

Somehow, Hong Kong just knew that this was going to go horribly wrong.

'Let's get to know our fellow members better', Macau said. It'll be fun, Macau said. Hong Kong would smack him if he could see… and if his hands weren't tied up. He was all too content to remain in his house continuing his plans to improve his fireworks, but...

It's not that Hong Kong _didn't like_ hanging out with the others… A lot of the group were fun and interesting to be around, so he didn't really mind the idea. He actually wanted to tweak the fireworks in Disney World with America. It was just him being lazy, and kinda worried about what trouble they could get with Macau's gambling addiction.

…And there was the fact that the nations Macau was interested in getting to know better weren't exactly nations Hong Kong was very fond of.

At first it wasn't too bad. Macau suggested that they visit his boyfriend and not-boyfriend but definitely good friend Brazil. Speaking of which, Hong Kong has no idea what's going on between those two. Apparently, they're an item but they're not an item and they keep seeing other, but they it's something they agreed on so it's nothing serious but they still refer to each other very affectionately...

Hong Kong was sure they had a name for that type of relationship, but he's too antsy to even try to remember. Apparently, they both found each other's respective brand of insanity very attractive and they kinda bonded over Portugal and- Wait.

"Macau, this is so not the time to evaluate your relationship with Brazil out loud!" Hong Kong snapped at his partner. "In case you forgot, we're kind of in a situation here. Besides, you're distracting me."

"Oh, no, I didn't. I just thought it'd be a nice way to spend the time."

"Wouldn't finding a way to escape be better instead of monologuing out loud?"

"Perhaps, but I'm interested in seeing where this is going."

"Of course you are..."

Dammit, he's getting too off-topic. Anyway, Macau suddenly got the brilliant idea to visit one of the Africans. Alright, sure, Hong Kong wouldn't mind seeing Nigeria and South Africa again, but he wasn't so sure about the others...

Hong Kong protested, but Macau being the airhead he was didn't listen. Well, at least they were going to go visit Nigeria first, maybe Hong Kong could try to slip away.

But then, suddenly, out of nowhere, while they were in their hotel room preparing for their next flight, sleeping gas seeped into the room! And how did he know it was sleeping gas, one person might ask? Well, luckily, sleeping gas just happened to be one of Macau's favorite prank and/or revenge tools in their games, so Hong Kong could recognize the smell of the agent anywhere.

Panicking, he tried to open the door so they could run the hell away, but guess what? The door was jammed. The rest was history... Next thing Hong Kong knew he was tied up and blindfolded next to Macau, who was treating their situation as if it were just a mild and laughable inconvenience.

"So, how much money do you bet that we got kidnapped by ISIS members?" Hong Kong asked the personification responsible for getting themselves into this mess dryly.

Macau hummed in thought. "Hmm, not a bad guess. But I think we would have been beheaded by now, don't you think?"

"You have a point there." Hong Kong muttered, and he struggled in his bonds for what seemed the thousandth time. "You think they know what we are?"

"It's extremely unlikely that they do."

Hong Kong grumbled and didn't say anything more. Time passed, obviously, where the only things that happened were Hong Kong angrily trying to rip his hands out of his bonds and Macau humming a little tune to himself. But then Hong Kong felt the vehicle they were on stop and he began hearing voices.

"They... I did what... Good luck with them though..."

"Thank... must have been... I have lots of things I want to ask him, many, many things!"

They sounded muffled but they also sounded familiar...

A few minutes of getting dragged through somewhere and Hong Kong trying to find and bite off their kidnapper's hands off, they were put on the ground and his blindfold was promptly removed from his eyes, and Hong Kong flinched at what he saw.

Cameroon was standing before him, staring down at him as blankly as always. After a few seconds of stunned silence, Cameroon kneeled down and grabbed Hong Kong's wrists, then removed the rope.

Hong Kong hissed and rubbed his wrists, and he immediately looked at his surroundings. It looked like they were... in some house...?

"Oh, come now, there's no need to give me that look, Macau."

Hong Kong flinched again, and he cursed under his breath. No way...

He looked behind him and gaped in shock when he was Morocco, smiling as always, removing the rope from a puzzled Macau's wrists. Question after question began to pop up in Hong Kong's mind, and he wanted answers now.

"Hello, little Hong Kong." Morocco greeted amiably, waving a hand. "I trust the trip here was decent enough? I do apologize if you got bored on the way. I would have provided some entertainment for you to pass the time, but I think it would have ruined the atmosphere."

Boredom was one of the last things Hong Kong was angry about and definitely not the thing Morocco should apologize for! But now that he mentioned it, yes, the trip was pretty boring.

"Oh, no, please, don't get me wrong." Macau said calmly, rubbing his wrists. "It's nice to see a familiar face, but I speak for Leon and I when I say that we would like some answers."

"Damn right they owe us an explanation!" Hong Kong exploded, and he wouldn't be surprised if he literally did considering that he's the closest thing to a sane person in this room. "What's going on?! What was all that kidnapping for?! Don't tell me this is all part of a coup!"

As soon as he said that, Hong Kong yelled as he was suddenly hoisted up by the collar by none other than Cameroon, whose expression became nearly feral in rage.

"Leon...!" Macau called out, eyes widening fractionally, and he actually looked and sounded worried. Hong Kong would have appreciated it more if he wasn't about to get killed.

Cameroon growled, disturbingly like an animal. "How dare you accuse us of treason! Do you really think that we would let years of effort be for nothing?

But as terrifying Cameroon would be to any normal person, Hong Kong wasn't about to let himself get pushed around. He snarled. "Get... off!"

"Down, Roshaun." Morocco chided softly, narrowing his eyes, and Cameroon did so, albeit slowly and still glaring at Hong Kong. "We really can't blame them for jumping to that conclusion, now can we?"

Cameroon grunted, and he looked away, whatever that's supposed to mean.

"Well then, what do you want from us, Morocco?" Macau demanded calmly, actually looking a little displeased for once. "We have plans, and now we'll be late."

"That's the problem you have with this?!" Hong Kong practically screamed.

"Oh, I know you have plans, my friend..." Morocco said softly, and that's when Hong Kong noticed something off about the way he's looking at Macau. "It's not everyday that we have visitors from East Asia, you know. Once Nigeria told me about you visiting our home, I just couldn't resist! I wanted to finally to have a little talk with you!"

"Really? You wanted to speak with me?" Macau blinked, then he smiled. "I'm flattered! And what a strange coincidence. I've been wanting to speak with you as well."

Morocco chuckled at this. "Is that so? How very nice, and you flatter me as well, But I'm not surprised we wanted to meet with each other."

Macau looked at him puzzled. "Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Um, excuse me..." Hong Kong piped up, raising his hand, scowling in annoyance. "I don't mean to interrupt, but if you wanted to meet Macau so badly, then why didn't you call instead of knocking us out with sleeping gas?!"

Morocco grinned and clasped his hands together, and it looked like he's... blushing? "Well, I was going to give a call, but then I heard Hong Kong was coming along, so since we don't know each other well I wanted to make a good impression."

Hong Kong could feed his eye twitch. "You... wanted... to make... a good... impression...?"

"Well, you like pranks, don't you?" Morocco asked innocently, tilting his head. "Making you think that you were kidnapped by terrorists, that was the prank."

What followed was silence, which seemed to last forever before Hong Kong groaned loudly and let his back hit the floor while Macau and Morocco had the nerve to laugh.

God, he didn't even know where to begin on that one...

"Well, that was quite the prank alright..." Macau grinned widely in amusement, and he turned to an equally amused Morocco. "And I have to congratulate you. I certainly wasn't expecting you to be the one responsible. Also, I rather enjoyed the uncertainty and mystery, it gave me quite a thrill."

Morocco's grin broadened, and he blushed again. "Oh, it's nothing... And don't thank just me, thank Cameroon for helping getting you two all the way here to my house."

Macau nodded, and he looked at said nation. "Ah, yes. Thank you, Cameroon."

Cameroon nodded back, and he actually cracked a small smile.

Hong Kong buried his face in his hands. Why...?

"You and I really do share a lot in common, Macau..." Morocco whispered in an creepy tone. Hong Kong dared remove his hands, but when he did, he paled when he saw Morocco crawling towards Macau, who didn't seem to have a problem with this. "That's why we wanted to see each other. We both wanted to meet someone who understands us. Though our ways are different, our desires are the same."

Morocco started to crawl on top on Macau, but despite the hungry smile on his face the latter was all too happy. Feeling he should do something, Hong Kong tried to call out. "M-Macau..."

"We are the same in certain aspects..." Macau said thoughtfully and offered a innocent smile up to Morocco. "But how can you be so sure about my desires? All I want to do is gamble to experience the excitement of risk and see interesting things."

Morocco hummed and then smirked and reached out a hand to pet Macau's head. "Oh, I don't doubt that. You continuously gamble on high stakes, not caring if you win or lose, because you want the risk and despair that come with it. You do it because it feels _good_. It feels so _good_ to leave your life up to luck and to see your opponent get crushed as they lose everything they worked so hard to obtain. It's the same feeling I get when I torture others. You get off of it. I wonder if even a simple coin toss will be enough..."

Macau giggled as Morocco pet his head, before returning the smirk as well. "It depends on the stakes, of course. To think that such a simple game of luck has the potential to destroy you... it's fascinating. But I can tell you get off easy too. Your case is interesting… No, _you_ are interesting. I think the feeling you get is unique compared to your fellow Africans."

"But of course! After all..."

Morocco was straddling him now, and Hong Kong didn't know if he should keep looking.

" _We_ are perverts who get off on sick thrills." Morocco stated proudly, tracing a finger up Macau's chest.

Macau blushed red and he cupped his face (he was _flustered?_ ) while he laughed. "Oh my, a pervert? How lewd. Don't call me that!"

"Don't try to act innocent…" Morocco grinned and gently grabbed Macau's chin. "Although that is something _we_ like to do too."

Macau grinned sheepishly and raised his hands up in mock surrender. "Alright, you win."

"It's nice to speak with someone who shares so much in common with you, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."

"You know, I think we can become very good friends." Morocco cooed and slowly started to lean down to- Oh, what did Hong Kong do deserve this? "I heard stories of how excited you can become, and how interesting games become when you participate. I really want to see it and enjoy it for myself, and in the process, you can have a lot _fun_ too."

Oh god…

At that moment, Macau's face lit up like a child during Christmas. "So, you want to gamble with me? Well, why didn't you just say so? How much do you know about the games?"

"Not much, I'm afraid." Morocco sighed sadly, leaning his head on his hand. "Gambling has never been popular with my people. South Africa tends to be quite the gambler, but I don't often join him in his games. Sorry for disappointing you."

"No need to worry, I'll be more than happy to teach you." Macau reassured him, but then he froze before an unnerving smile slowly spread across his face "But you don't _mind_ betting on high stakes, do you?"

Morocco frowned slightly and shook his head. "I don't think I've ever known fear, at least not since I was a child, and I have a high pain tolerance. So, no, I don't mind at all."

"Perfect!" Macau cheered, grinning excitedly. "As gratitude for such an interesting meeting, I don't have any problem with _you_ deciding the stakes."

"Really?" Morocco asked

"Really?!" Hong Kong shrieked.

"Really?" Cameroon asked emotionlessly.

Everyone looked at Cameroon oddly, who shrugged.

"I thought it would feel a little odd if I didn't say anything." Cameroon explained simply.

"You want _me_ to decide the stakes?" Morocco asked incredulously, before he promptly burst out laughing wildly, keeping a firm hold on Macau. "My, my, you really are as insane as everyone says you are."

"Thank you, so are you." Macau nodded with a polite smile. "So, do you have anything specific?"

"Well, do you have any limits on what you bet?"

"Not really. The stakes can be anything and as high as you want."

"Anything?! Don't say _anything_!" Hong Kong screamed from the sidelines, but as the background character in this sick show, no one payed him any mind.

"Very well! But since you are my guest, I think it's only fair you decide what game we play. As for the stakes…" Morocco's smile became a feral grin and he leaned down again, their faces only a few centimeters apart. "If I win our little game, then you'll become my _pet_ for three days and nights. You win, and you will get to do the same to me for the same amount of time."

….WHAT?!

"Your pet, you say?" Macau asked, blinking, and whatever hope Hong Kong had that he'll change his mind got crushed when he saw Macau blush and smile again. "What an interesting gamble. Tell me, will I have to act like a dog? A cat? A gambling-addicted loser cat? Or is your definition of a pet something else entirely…?"

Don't sound so excited!

"Well, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise for you if I win." Morocco stuck out his tongue playfully. "But I think you _know_ what I mean by pet."

"Alright, I accept." Macau declared cheerfully, and Hong Kong banged his head against the ground. "I have to be honest, I'm sort of excited to see what would happen if I lose."

"I'm excited too." Morocco said, finally getting off Macau, and they both smiled at each other. Chuckling, he reached out a hand and cupped Macau's face. "I do hope you have fun."

Macau raised his hand and cupped Morocco's face as well. "We both will."

"Kill me now…" Hong Kong muttered.

/ / / / /

Somewhere under the earth, there was a certain someone crawling on the ground. They still felt a little uncomfortable with their new body, but it was nothing unadaptable. What mattered was finding them, and tear their organs out, burn them alive, whatever he'll decide on once he found them.

The beep sounded again, and they grinned.

/ / / / /

Switzerland surprised quite a lot of people when he showed up at Austria and Hungary's wedding, including the bride and groom themselves.

He was all too aware of the big event that represented the creation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Many in the organization were invited, and those who weren't were due to relations or being busy dealing with things in their respective nations.

Switzerland merely grumbled to the ignorant masses that he was only here because he wanted to save money on dinner and they happily left him to his own devices, though not without some of the more irritatingly curious nations casting puzzled at him every now and then. Switzerland wanted to hiss at them to leave them be, but it would ruin his indifferent persona.

Those who _weren't_ part of the ignorant masses either politely greeted him or stared at him with the slightest hint of curiosity or concern in their eyes, but Switzerland refused to meet their gaze and ignored them too.

However, one thing that certainly helped better his mood was when he caught the grateful look Austria gave him during Switzerland's search for a place to hide for the night. Switzerland only nodded in his direction and continued on his way, unable to express anything resembling a positive emotion to him, much to his frustration.

…Why did he bother coming here? The only thing he'll get from this wedding night was even more pain.

Switzerland grit his teeth and shook his head, all the while hoping no one, especially Austria, would notice his conflict. No, that was wrong. There were several reasons why coming here was the right thing to do. There was the fact that it would have been rude if he didn't attend the wedding of a good friend, and Austria would have been hurt if Switzerland didn't decide to show up. Then there was also his pride…

It would have been cowardly to run away from his problems and pain by not attending such an important event. There was a part of him that felt self-satisfaction that he swallowed his distaste and bravely went all the way here for the sake of a good friend.

…A very good friend.

The fact that he was a part of this entire conspiracy with Austria still left him a little bewildered at times, but he never regretted it, no, not once, _never_.

Switzerland still fondly remembered their days together as children, where he would scold Austria for getting beaten up again and carry him back home with an arrow in his ass. How they've grown up since then… Austria was more capable than many people realized, and Switzerland didn't need to bail him out anymore…

 _"But I have you to thank, Vash."_

Switzerland couldn't help a small smile, though he quickly suppressed as he reminded himself that he was in public with the _enemy_. He didn't know why he was feeling nostalgic, he was the one who kept telling Austria to man-up and stop depending on him so much after all.

He also remembered that day, when Austria approached him.

 _Switzerland felt his bitterness well up again, and with a huff he looked away from Austria. "We fell out because you and your stupid, foolish, deluded boss…"_

 _"You are half-right, Vash." Austria shook his head, and suddenly he began to slowly to lean forward with a strange smile on his face. "My boss, your boss, our bosses, the humans… they were the ones who tore us apart, not me, and certainly not you. They encouraged us to fight each other, make us think that the other is at fault."_

 _"What on earth caused you to come to that conclusion?_

 _"Neither of us wanted our friendship to end, for one."_

 _"So? That proves nothing."_

 _"I will not deny that I share part of the fault, more than you, I'm sure, but you cannot deny that we let our friendship be broken because we could not go against our bosses."_

 _"If you truly think this is the truth…" Switzerland began cautiously, frowning. "Why didn't you do something about this earlier? Why did you stick by your boss instead of trying to salvage our friendship, regardless of what he thought?"_

 _"Because, much to my shame, it took me many years to realize it." Austria gave a small, self-deprecating laugh, and his smile broadened a bit. "Don't you see, Vash? Unlike most of the incidents and chaotic events that happen with the others, we had no part in motivating the humans to ruin what we had."_

 _"Really? Because I happen to remember you and I fighting about-_

 _"But did either of us truly wanted that to happen?"_

 _Switzerland didn't answer._

To this day, Switzerland deeply hated how stubborn he was after their meeting that day, for refusing Austria.

Austria kept telling him that it was an understandable reaction, but Switzerland was inclined to disagree. He told him that things were different then, but that didn't stop Switzerland from feeling like a colossal imbecile. Austria just smiled and often laughed it off, but Switzerland banged his head on a concrete floor whenever he recalled that memory.

Never again… What mattered was that they were together again and no one, not even the humans or their fellow nations, will ruin it again.

Switzerland was just thankful for whatever deity that really did exist that he did see reason within a short time later, after Austria demonstrated his 'theory' of how to influence their human populations. After Switzerland finally realized just how much he'd been had by the humans.

Speaking of the wretched insects crawling on the world's surface, Switzerland looked up from the glanced around at all the humans occupying the massive room, laughing, drinking and dancing. Many were nobility or other important figures, including the empire's royal family. Perhaps there were other sorts, but Switzerland didn't care, they all made his stomach turn.

Barely managing to hold back an expression of disdain, Switzerland clenched his fists, not caring that he might harm himself, and he then spotted the new couple dancing. Hungary was grinning and laughing, she was having _too_ much fun, and even took the lead in Austria's stead as she twirled him around and all that. One might think Austria would be embarrassed, but Switzerland saw that he was smiling.

An honest, genuine, sincere smile.

Switzerland couldn't help but smile too, but he then felt someone bump into him, and he scowled when he saw it was just a human, who didn't even mutter an apology as she laughed haughtily with her friends.

Humans… they take everything given to them for granted, they take and destroy, they couldn't even coexist within their own groups, they kill and destroy, they refuse to see the fault in their actions and ideas, most of them were hopelessly stupid no matter the race, religion or culture. More importantly was that they dare think they have the right to order their nations around and… Switzerland glanced at the dancing couple one more time. They were the ones who caused him and Austria to grow apart.

For that, Switzerland will never forgive them.

/ / / / /

Egypt will be honest, he expected to wake up tied up and gagged with Turkey laughing over him, not getting suffocated by Hungary's chest and iron grip.

Considering everything, he really wasn't that surprised that Turkey had a trap door.

He woke up feeling dizzy and with a pounding headache, as expected, along with a feeling of confusion. However, he didn't have enough time to ask himself what happened, because he soon heard someone exclaim his name and before he knew it his face was shoved into something suffocating.

"Oh, Gupta! Thank god you're alright!" Hungary. Right, he was here with Hungary. "I'm so sorry. It turns out you broke my fall and so it took a while for… Are you feeling alright?"

"Elizaveta…" Egypt rasped out, reaching out a hand shakily. "Stop… You are… Can't breathe…"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Hungary immediately let him ago. "Did I hurt you?"

"No, I'm fine. Where are we?"

"I don't know. There's a door here though, and that's pretty much our only option.

Egypt rubbed his eyes and sighed. Great…

He then heard familiar laughter, and he looked up at Hungary. "What's so funny?"

Hungary looked down at him oddly. "That wasn't me."

Egypt opened his mouth to ask more, but then he heard a door creak open. He looked towards the direction of the sound, and he gaped.

"Uh…"

"Oh."

 **Looks I reached OVER NINETHOUSAAAND words! (I regret nothing, sorry) God, I hope this is the last time I do a chapter with so many words... Please review, if you have a minute**


	55. Justice: Them

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, Vexey-since-1999, NadiaJA627 and Eternal Nexus Warrior for reviewing. Now, on with the show!**

Germany had made it an order to not discuss what happened with Prussia and Austria, since they had many more important things to do than to have a debate about… about that.

Or at least, that's the excuse he used before anyone could even spout out that could start a discussion. There a few objections… Of course there were objections, how could they not talk about what happened- what he, they said- But they died out afterwards a bit. They were like still too stunned to put up much of a fight.

Honestly? Germany didn't blame them. He's still very stunned himself.

Most of all what Prussia said at the end. Germany wondered if he should still care, but he couldn't help but feel relieved, happy, that Prussia admitted that he cared about him (if he was really being honest, but Germany decided to think that he was), that Germany wasn't just a means to an end to him after all.

But he didn't know what they were thinking in giving that whole speech to them. Were they expecting that they could evoke sympathy for their 'cause'? To demoralize them and discourage them from trying to fight back? To provoke them into bickering to give them more time to do their activities? Well, judging from every single World Meeting in history, it obviously wouldn't take that much effort to pit them against each other.

It was probably a good thing that England and France weren't present at the time, whatever they're up to, they would have no doubt helped ignite a heated argument or a fight, unintentional or not.

Speaking of whom, Germany decided that they needed to hear this. Russia had 'volunteered' to find them and 'pacify' them if needed, which no one objected to at the sight of his admittedly threatening tight smile and the murderous aura radiating from him. He clearly didn't like what Prussia and Austria said.

No one did, obviously.

But it wasn't a matter of them liking it or not, was it? It wasn't an attempt to provoke them. What they said… about the problems they all have, not the rest, was true. That what's so frustrating about it, that it's true.

…Was it bad that Germany didn't want to think about it anymore? That he wanted to forget about it and move on?

Now that they got the little incident out of the way (for the most part), they then moved on to difficult part of deciding who needed to be immediately brought in and who to pick first. Since Romania was unavailable for the time being, that left only England, Egypt and Anubis, Egypt's pet dog who could also apparently teleport according to the man, for transportation.

The problem was that England… Germany didn't even know where to start. He- That dummkopf- Gah- Well… he's gone. It turned out that England stormed away at some point during a heated argument with France before Russia arrived. America's betrayal hit him hard. Both France and Canada went out to find him, Monaco elected to accompany them too.

As expected, Russia made it abundantly clear with a tight smile on his face that he wanted to find his sisters now, so it ended up being on the first-priority. So, to avoid violence (as well Germany realizing that Belarus would be a very useful ally), Germany obliged without much complaint, and Egypt was set to take him to Ukraine and then to Belarus.

Algeria eventually decided, albeit reluctantly and even slightly begrudgingly, to set aside Western Sahara situation for the time being until she 'confirmed some things', so it alleviated some stress from Germany. He suspected that she did for Russia's sake, and for Seychelles' as well.

The Central Americans were allowed by Egypt to use Anubis to take them to Panama's house, with Belize promising that they won't take long. Germany was admittedly slightly reluctant to agree to this, since there was still Italy, but the group of neighbors, or any nation in the Americas really, didn't really care what Germany or any other European thought, and quickly said their goodbyes.

Seychelles was next, and even though Germany told her that they'll rescue Mauritius, they couldn't quite get on with it yet.

Seychelles ended up crying.

Out of panic, and maybe shame, he tried to explain to the poor girl why this decision was justified. Unlike the other nations they were going to travel to, except for maybe Panama, going to Switzerland meant going directly into enemy territory and they had no idea what to expect.

Then Hungary, thank god, intervened and helped Seychelles calm down.

 _"How about I call Liechtenstein and see how she's doing with finding a way into Switzerland's basement?" Hungary asked gently to the younger girl with a reassuring smile. "I'll try to help her, and we'll find out once and for all if he's really there, okay?"_

Of course, then there was Germany's reaction to learning that Hungary was practically putting Liechtenstein in danger.

Italy kept bawling and sobbing about his siblings, and for once Germany didn't scold him, because unlike practically everything else Italy cried about, this was actually a legitimate concern and it meant Italy as well as innocent nations (well, as far as innocent South Italy could be). And that's why they needed Romania or England back here now. In the meantime, Italy could tell his brothers and sisters to go hide in someplace safe.

But then there's South Italy, the stubborn (and annoying) one. How were they supposed to convince him? And now that Germany thought about it, didn't South Italy tell them that he was going to go Brazil's house for revenge?

Germany face-palmed. He should've stopped the Central Americans when he had the chance.

But also, they needed to make calls. Germany's already on it, so were the others, but that didn't stop him from feeling completely stressed out. However, he promised Hungary that- And he needed to get Italy to- And he needed to inform his chancellor that-

"GERMANY!~"

"I-Italy-san, please wait a minute…!"

This was going to be a long day…

/ / / / /

Huh, would ya look at that?

Ireland gave a grateful smile and a brief 'thank you' to his fairies. As they either skipped or flew away from sight, he leaned back onto the bench he was sitting, and drank more of his precious good-ol ale. Refreshing as always. He sighed and grinned at what he just learned.

So… England ran away to wallow in self-pity and alcohol and throwing a hissy fit and nearly murdering France and lil' poor innocent Canada 'couldn't' do anything but watch. Wow, what a bloody twist. Ireland definitely didn't see that coming. What a not expected development. Ireland stuck his tongue out at the sky.

A'ight, Ireland will admit, maybe he's being too harsh on the little shit. Betrayals hit hard, Ireland understood that well. They were always really painful and they had the tendency to shatter one's view of the world as well make one a wee bit paranoid and anxious. And someone like England… poor, delusional, stubborn, prideful, England… would be utterly broken. How broken exactly?

Well, Ireland had a guess, but he just had to wait and see.

They… The enemy… They don't have an official name yet, do they? Ah, screw it. Ireland's gonna keep calling them the enemy, as lazy as that was. Ahem, well, the enemy had started making calls and going to pick up nations who could be in most danger. Hmm, Ireland had a feeling that it might not end well… for the enemy.

On the current death toll, America already informed him all about it.

Belarus's dead, brutally murdered by none other than meek little Lithuania, which will cause Russia to rage like he hasn't raged since… Well… whenever the last time was when he raged. Aye, he'll go into a bloody fit of rage. Ireland shivered. He definitely didn't want to see that.

Ireland needed to tell the others. America, Norway, hell, even Prussia and Austria, whom he technically hasn't 'met' yet, but who cares? This was important stuff and Ireland's supposed to be on a reconnaissance/spying/relaxing mission there. He needed to spread the word so the bosses could come up with some plan as to what to do next, if they haven't already.

Aye, he should definitely tell the others. Things were getting interesting, and Ireland had no doubt that he'll make it even better.

Well, no time like the present.

"Ello there, I don't think we've properly met but I assume Al already filled you in? Aye? Good, good... Anyway, I think there's some things you have a right to know about and it'd be mighty nice of you if you go telling the others about it..."

/ / / / /

Romania immediately sprinted forward in direction of Moldova's little house in front of him as soon as he left the flames with no time to lose, especially since, for all he knew, his psycho love-sick ass of a friend was already on his merry way back to that damn Turkey with a crying and bloodied Moldova in tow… All because Romania, he muttered curses at himself under his breath, didn't think of bringing along his little brother as soon as he found out about this damn mess!

The mental image of that god-forbid scenario made his blood boil. From what he's seen of the real Bulgaria, he'd definitely try and smite the poor (not to mention innocent!) kid out of spite, friendship or not.

All because of that Turk…

Bulgaria was rendered completely insane and love-sick because of Turkey, who did that for whatever reason other than wanting a fanatically-devoted slave. Bulgaria was part of this New World Order because of Turkey. Moldova was in danger because of a threat Romania made towards Turkey. Everything just seemed to be traced back to him.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

God, why didn't it ever cross his mind that Bulgaria might want to go disembowel Moldova, or 'wring his neck' as he so beautifully put it, after practically going into a fit of blood-crazed rage after Romania not-so-wisely declared that he'll kill Turkey with his bare hands. Romania still couldn't believe Bulgaria actually said that. He'd hurt a child for that bastard?

How could Romania forget that Bulgaria threatened Moldova? How? How?

How? How?!

Romani hissed through his gritted teeth and forced himself to stop when he arrived at the door before he could kick the only thing separating him from taking Moldova away to safety to safety off its hinges in rage, not wanting to give Moldova a scare no matter how much he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

Grudgingly, after a several seconds of gritting his teeth, he took out the spare key Moldova gave him and started hastily trying to unlock the door.

Please, please, please let him still be in there…

Romania opened the door and immediately ran in and began to look around frantically for his little brother.

"Moldova!" Romania called out, snapping his head from one direction to the next as he looked for his little brother. "Luca, where are you?!"

He didn't receive any answer, and just as Romania was thinking about throwing all restraint out the window and storming upstairs, he heard footsteps. Soon enough, a door opened, and Romania was nearly tackled to the ground a small blur that turned out to be, much to his near heart-failure, Moldova himself, with his arms wrapped around him.

"L-Luca?!" Romania found himself stuttering in shock, much to his embarrassment. He never stuttered, never!

"Vlad!~ You came back!" Moldova flashed a toothy smile, and Romania was torn between fainting in relief or crushing his brother in a suffocating hug.

"I'm so happy you're here! How have you been?"

"You're…" Romania blinked and swiftly he grabbed Moldova's shoulders.

"Moldova, are you okay?!"

"Well, I've been kind of bored, but I guess I'm okay." Moldova said, shrugging, and looked up at him with curious eyes while still smiling. "Why wouldn't I be?"

So, Bulgaria and Turkey never came here after all…

Romania beat them to it.

"Vlad, what's wrong?" Moldova asked, tilting his head.

Once he finally fully got over his shock, dry laughter escaped from his mouth and he cracked a grin before he promptly scooped Moldova up in a tight hug.

"Oh, thank god! I was so worried that they… but you're not! In fact, you know what? That's it, from now on I'm gonna keep you in my field of vision until this all blows over! Gah, I'm so happy I could die! No, wait, I can't die now and leave that hag to take care of you. Forget I said that."

"…Help." Moldova rasped out weakly, and Romania stopped grinning once he realized that he was practically suffocating the poor kid. "Vlad… can't breath…"

Laughing nervously, Romania loosened his hold and gently put down the small nation currently giving him an adorably grumpy look. Oops… Heh, wouldn't want to do Bulgaria's job for him, would he? God, that was terrible.

Right. Anyway, there's no time to waste! Time to ditch this place and get back to the others, where he'll undoubtably get flack for just up and vanishing in front of him but where he also happened to be desperately needed for transportation to wherever.

"Pack your bags, Luca." Romania grinned mischievously, despite his stress, winking. "We're gonna go on a trip!"

"What? Why?" Moldova asked, now looking hopelessly lost. Romania knew the feeling. "What's going on, Vlad?"

Romania tipped his hat, grin still in place. "To the closest thing to a safe place we'll probably get. Don't worry, I'll explain everything on the way. Just a warning though, you probably won't like some of it…"

/ / / / /

Egypt didn't have anything against Russia, but by the gods, was he reluctant to take part in this.

Russia was a cold nation, while Egypt was a desert nation. Those two didn't go well together and Egypt has a low tolerance for cold temperatures as Russia has for extreme heat. So, it should be understandable that Egypt's a little concerned that he might get hypothermia.

He should be fine as long as he stayed indoors, right?

Speaking of Russia, he went to see if China wanted to come with for whatever reason, but then again the large nation always had the strange need to be near China, so Egypt was fortunately left alone to his thoughts in peace.

This might sound a little petty of him, but Egypt wasn't really in the best mood right now for more reasons than one. He felt... upset, depressed, angry? It was a little hard to pinpoint what exactly it is, but it was the result of what Austria had the gall to say to all of them.

Germany had ordered them not to speak of if. Frankly, Egypt wasn't sure if that was the best solution. Besides, it didn't stop the others from whispering amongst themselves. Algeria seething and muttering under her breath while Tunisia stared at the floor in apparent shame. The Central Americans looking pained while at the same comforting each other. Hungary giving Germany a bitter look...

It was the beauty of free will, and their awareness that Germany didn't really have any type of authority over them, despite being the de-facto leader the of the group.

But anyway, what Austria said... the Christians, or as they're also called in his home, the Copts... Egypt frowned, feeling something akin to anger well up in his heart. How dare they? They had _no right_ to scold him about his Copts when they seemed quite hellbent on wiping about half of Europe. What goes on with those infi- his, Algeria's, Tunisia's and the other Muslim nations' _Christians_ were none of their business.

His Christians… Egypt was aware of it. After all, it's a little hard to miss burning churches and angry mobs during a weekly stroll through the capital. They… That… Egypt winced as he rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming in. But even so, Egypt found himself hardly thinking about them. In fact, he had all but forgotten about them until Austria brought it up.

Well, they were a minority, after all. Comprising only five to fifteen percent of his population, so Egypt usually went with that explanation… whenever he bothered to wonder _why_ he kept forgetting or even ignoring them…

"Um... Gupta?" Egypt's eyes widened and he turned around, relaxing when it was just a nervous Seychelles.

Egypt felt some of his negativity dissipate at sight of the island girl. They haven't spoken since the meeting ended, and frankly he felt worried for her even after she stopped crying.

"Ah, Seychelles, hello." Egypt somehow managed to smile despite everything, something he found was easy with Seychelles. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit better… though I'm still not really happy about…" Seychelles trailed off with pained expression, and she fidgeted her fingers. "I-I'm sorry. Can I talk to you for a few minutes?"

Egypt nodded, deciding the ignore the abrupt change in topic for the time being. "I don't see why not."

"Ah, merci." Seychelles managed a smile for a moment. "Are you really leaving, like right now?"

"When Russia returns, we will." Egypt informed her, scratching the back of his head. When her face fell slightly, he felt the need to reassure. "We won't take long, if all goes well. Belarus will be easy to convince, considering her mad love for her brother, and Ukraine shouldn't be too difficult."

That information seemed to relax her a little, but she still seemed anxious about something as she kept wringing her hands. "O-Oh, I kind of knew that already but there isn't a chance that something bad might happen, right? Like… an attack or something."

Egypt thought it over and shook his head. "They shouldn't know that we're going to Russia, so I doubt it."

"Oh, that's good to know…" Seychelles said in relief, sighing, but then she stared dejectedly at the floor. "S-Still, even if you run into trouble, you'll just… teleport everyone out like always so… I guess that was a stupid question."

There was something different in the way she spoke self-deprecatingly there, it seemed more out of nervousness than low self-esteem. Not to mention she kept trying to avoid eye-contact with him, more so than usual. She was obviously trying to hide it, but she was never very good at hiding her emotions.

"Something is bothering you." Egypt stated.

Seychelles flinched and looked up at him in shock. "H-Huh?"

"You keep fidgeting your fingers and wringing your hands, and you look a little frightened in my presence." Egypt pointed out calmly, and Seychelles looked ashamed of herself. His expression softened. "What's wrong, Michelle?"

Seychelles bit her lip, hesitant. "I'm not sure if you'll want to talk about it…"

"About what?"

"…It's about what Austria said."

Egypt eyes widened, and he immediately dreaded what she had to say about the matter, though Seychelles wasn't really one to berate someone.

"Remember what he said about the Christians and the gays?" Seychelles asked cautiously, flinching slightly when Egypt's expression darkened. "I… I remember hearing... before all this started... about the things your Coptic Christians go through. I heard that they often get attacked through the years and... I also heard that churches have been burned down during the coup back in 2013."

Egypt tried not to cringe at the memory of the series of struggles and painful incidents that led his most recent coup. Regardless if it was for 'the greater good', those few years, including the revolution back in 2011, were nothing short of agonizing for him.

"That's correct." Egypt confirmed, albeit reluctantly. "But why are you telling me this?"

"I know your country doesn't have a lot of human rights, and you've been going through a lot of trouble lately…" Seychelles wringed her hands again and seemed to gain a bit more confidence as she frowned and spoke. "But you've been so nice to me, despite what the others say about what happens to your women. I don't think you're… like _them_ , not at all. So I just want to know…"

Seychelles swallowed, and Egypt could have sworn she was beginning to tremble.

"I'm not much of an expert on these types of things, but you haven't been encouraging them to do all of that, have you?" Seychelles asked fearfully, almost silently begging Egypt to tell her otherwise. "Or is it the other way around? Are you just following the will and feelings of your people?"

She was looking at him desperately, as if she feared what he might say but at the same time hoping that Egypt won't say anything that'll jeopardize their friendship (Could it even be called a friendship? Was it something else?).

"I am more independent in mind than you might think, Seychelles." Egypt said calmly, gaze going to a nearby wall. "If I were really _truly_ like my people, would I really be so friendly to you, a non-Muslim?"

"I… I know that, Gupta. But that doesn't really answer my question…" Seychelles remarked with a sad frown. "Why do the Coptic Christians suffer so much in your country? Is it you or your people or… or _both?_ "

Egypt narrowed his eyes, but the question caused some sentiments from the revolution and the coups to come back to him.

"To be honest, I'm not sure myself." Egypt admitted remorsefully. "But I'll have you know that I never once burned a church or killed a Copt with my own hands."

Seychelles gave a small relieved sigh. "Well, that's good to hear. I know you wouldn't have done such a thing, but merci."

"However, burning churches should be the least of your concerns." Egypt made the grave mistake of admitting.

Seychelles looked at him in gaping shock. "What do you- You mean that's not even the _worst_ part?"

"Right again, but that doesn't matter right now." Egypt shook his head, unconsciously rubbing his arm right where Cameroon bit him. "This isn't the Human Rights Council, Michelle, this is the beginning of World War III. Besides, I'd rather not leave you feeling more troubled."

But it turned out Seychelles was surprisingly stubborn, and she became a _little_ upset. "I _know_ this isn't the Human Rights Council, Gupta. But how are we supposed to prove the New World Order wrong if we run away from our problems? They tell us that we don't recognize or own up to our mistakes and you're proving them right. Francis knows that he made a lot of mistakes and he wants to make up for it. Why can't you try doing the same thing?"

"It isn't that simple, Michelle." Egypt tried to explain as he felt the migraine coming again. "You haven't been through what I have for the past couple of millennia. And you don't understand that the laws stated in-"

"But Gupta-"

"I _don't_ want to talk about it."

"Why? Because you're ashamed of it? Or because you're scared of what I'll think?"

Egypt froze and stared at her. Judging from the rather anxious but determined expression on her face, he was likely unintentionally giving her a frightening look.

"My people can convert to Islam with generally no difficulty, but Muslims who try to convert to… _Christianity_ … find it very hard getting new identity papers." Egypt gritted his teeth, miraculously managed to say without much difficulty. "That is, if the state doesn't decide to act on the death penalty for apostasy, though they are normally silent on the matter, and if they don't do it, then certain Islamic groups will."

Without even waiting for a proper reaction, Egypt continued.

"The police do not normally respond to crimes against the Christians, and even once forced 'reconciliation' between the Copts and their attackers." Egypt recounted from a memory of the incident years ago, and he crossed his arms as disgust welled up within him at the next subject. "Coptic girls and women sometimes get abducted, forcefully converted to Islam and are forced to marry Muslim men."

Biting his tongue, Egypt made sure to add:

"Trafficking and sexual exploitation is immoral, no matter who it is." Egypt stated grimly, feeling his stomach turn at the mental images it conjured. "And if they are going to convert to Islam, I'd rather they do it out of their own free will."

Seychelles paled in horror at all this information. "That's… That's awful! I know that you… but still… And you say that none of that matters?!"

"There are more important things to worry about right now." Egypt pointed out calmly. "We can worry about the problems in our countries after the war is over."

He expected more protests, but instead he received a sorrowful look from her.

"Gupta," Seychelles began more gently, taking a step towards Egypt. "Please tell me the truth. Knowing all this, do you… care about your non-Muslims humans? I don't mean if you hate them or not, but if you care about them. I wouldn't blame you if you can't do anything for them because of your boss, we all know what that's like. But do you care, even a little?"

Egypt stared at her unreadably, unsure of the answer himself. "Perhaps…"

"Perhaps?" Seychelles repeated, frowning. "You're not sure? Why?"

"Because they are..." Egypt found himself trailing off before he could complete the automatic response as realization dawned on him. _Infidels. A plague in society._

But somehow, in some way, Seychelles knew what he had been about to say and his feelings about the matter. Seychelles' eyes widened somewhat for a few moments before she looked at him sorrowfully. She looked hurt, sad, perhaps there's even a bit of pity. Most of all, she looked heartbroken.

Seychelles was a Catholic majority nation.

It was truly pathetic how Egypt had just realized how apathetic and cold he acted towards the whole situation. Surely, he hasn't been like this since it all began, has he? No, only when Austria brought up the subject in the first place. He's always been mostly uncaring about the Copts, the Jews, and anyone else who wasn't a Muslim in his country for as long as he could remember. But how? He hasn't experienced apathy during the whole ordeal.

Algeria and Tunisia weren't just fellow Muslim nations, they were his friends. Mauritius was a good boy and Egypt still felt guilty for his capture. Egypt comforted France, despite not being very good at it, when he expressed his remorse for his past actions. The list went on.

How did become callous without realizing it? Why? Why them but not his people?

Without saying a word, Seychelles fidgeted a little with her fingers and turned her back to Egypt.

"Have a safe trip..." Seychelles said quietly, before walking away.

Whether it was a result of his guilty conscience or not, Egypt could have sworn he heard Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran all laughing at him.

/ / / / /

Surely, she wasn't being a bad friend by not continuously trying to get the others to help her get the next ticket to Laayoune, was she?

Algeria kept tapping her fingers on the table, leaning her hand on head with her eyes narrowed as she tried to deal with her inner conflict. No one was here, which was good, because she didn't think she could properly focus with Italy attempting to feed her pasta. She liked having peace and quiet, even though she admittedly missed having Tunisia here with her.

She would've tried to go look for him, he apparently vanished after the meeting, but then Algeria realized that she's probably ranted in front of him and bothered him enough. It'd be callous of her to seek him out for the purpose of being witness to yet another rant from Algeria when he probably needed some time to organize his thoughts himself. She also didn't need to know where he was at all times.

Besides, she didn't want to have another argument with the only family she had right now, not counting France. One was enough, even though Algeria now had more arguments to support her position. She should Tunisia do as he wanted, unless it was something unwise.

Algeria sighed. She shouldn't even be the one bossing him around. Tunisia was the brother, but he was in no way stern or assertive as Algeria was.

But for now, she'll try to sort out her dilemma.

Now… Was Algeria being a bad friend?

She always supported Western Sahara unconditionally, with her bosses doing the same thing (though part of Algeria wondered if her determination was so strong that it caused her humans to support Western Sahara as she did).

Western Sahara was a friend, a sister, sharing the same Berber roots that everyone else in the Maghreb group did. Even though she never reached nationhood, she was always there in her home in the middle of the desert, reading or wandering about through the land.

Western Sahara never got as nearly enough international attention as other territories like Crimea did, which Algeria could understand as Morocco was one thing, but Russia was another, and not many people knew about her. Sometimes, when Algeria was in an especially foul mood, she felt that she was the only who cared about Western Sahara and truly understood the gravity of her situation…

Algeria frown's deepened and she groaned into her hands, ashamed of herself.

Which wasn't even remotely true and was more of immature thinking on her part. Of course there were other nations who cared about Western Sahara and recognized her, after all Algeria was only the third nation to do so. Tunisia recognized her self-determination, though Algeria wished he could do _more_ she knew that it was the best he could do, and sometimes accompanied Algeria on her visits to their sister's house, he was just being held back by his boss.

But anyway, even after all this mess, Algeria didn't believe that Western Sahara could have betrayed her, not even if Morocco tried to bribe her by giving her independence.

But if she was really in trouble, wouldn't she have tried to call Algeria by now?

"Algeria?" Said nation gasped and straightened up at hearing a familiar voice, and once she looked back, she saw Tunisia looking at her in concern.

"Tunisia?" Algeria asked, surprised. When did he get here?"

"There you are…" Tunisia sighed in relief and took a seat next to Algeria. "Are you alright? I haven't seen you in a while."

"I'd say the same thing to you." Algeria remarked, and Tunisia stiffened, which she took note. "You vanished almost immediately the meeting ended without a word. I was considering going out to find you, but I decided against in the end. I thought you might have also needed some time alone."

Tunisia turned a bit red for some reason and gave a small smile. "I… I actually did, to be honest. Thank you."

Algeria managed to return that smile before she became stern again once a question popped in her mind. "So, are you feeling better now? I don't really know what exactly upset you so much about the meeting though…"

"It wasn't that I was upset…" Tunisia admitted dejectedly, looking down as if ashamed. "I mean, I am feeling better now, to answer your question. But the reason I had to leave was because… I… I…"

He trailed off, and he looked a little pale, as if sick. This was odd. Tunisia wasn't usually this nervous.

"It's about what Austria and Prussia."

Algeria narrowed her eyes. "That was the enemy trying to demoralize us. You shouldn't think about them, Malik."

"How can we not?" Tunisia exclaimed, much to Algeria's surprise. "I know we only have a few Christians in our countries, many less than Egypt has. But, Algeria, they have a point. Have you seen what Syria does to his Christians whenever he's at his worst?"

Algeria could only stare at him in bafflement.

"What?"

"Since when have you so worried for the Christians? They generally live just fine in your country." Algeria remarked skeptically, crossing her arms. "And I'll remind you that my Christians lead much better lives compared to the ones in Syria and Iraq."

"I know they do, but…" Tunisia trailed off, expression becoming pained for a moment. "Algeria, you know how fundamentalism is becoming popular in your home. Aren't you… worried about what could happen to your Christians? They're small in number but they're still your people!"

"Yes, they are, and I don't agree with the idea of killing at all. Some humans might say otherwise, but I'm perfectly content with allowing them to do as they please unless they disturb the peace, in which case decisive action will be needed."

"I… guess… But what about the others?"

"There's nothing we can do for them, I'm afraid." Algeria sighed, and she frowned at him. "Honestly, Tunisia, where is this coming from? If you're worried that, in a way, we're not so different from the New World Order, after all, then don't. This isn't about our people or our form of government, this is about war. They deliberately reminded us of our problems to try to make us think that maybe what we're doing is pointless while they happily go off committing genocide."

Tunisia remained silent for a long time, expression anxious, before he quietly spoke. "I'm sorry."

"For speaking your mind? No need to." Algeria shook her head and gently grabbed Tunisia's hand. "You were always the most caring of our little group."

Tunisia held her hand tightly. "You're worried about Western Sahara, aren't you?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Are you sure that she might be-"

"No." Algeria said firmly. "She is not, I know it."

"How can you be so sure?" Tunisia asked.

"If she was a part of this, and even was just as demented as Rahim and the others, then don't you think she would've appeared at the African Union meeting?" Algeria pointed out grimly, clasping her hands together tightly. "She would have been there to rub it in my face with Morocco and laughed along with the others. But she never came to the meeting."

Tunisia's eyes widened. "I never thought about that…"

"I actually asked Morocco where Western Sahara is that day, at the meeting." Algeria remarked bitterly, feeling disgust in her throat as she thought about her brother. She scowled. "Do you know what he told me? That damn infidel told me that 'Who knows? Maybe she finally got tired of your vulture-like scowl and preferred to stay at home than to see it again'. Can you believe the nerve of that man?"

Algeria immediately expected to hear his response, and even agreement, to what she just told him, but she received nothing but silence for an oddly long period of time. Puzzled, she turned her head towards Tunisia, who was staring at her oddly.

"What is it, Tunisia?" Algeria asked suspiciously while trying not to pull her head scarf up her face.

"It does sort of remind me of a vulture now that I think about it…" Tunisia muttered distractedly, and by the time he realized what he said and widened his eyes, it was too late.

"MALIK!" Algeria screeched, covering her face with her hands.

"I'm sorry!" Tunisia cried out.

"I do not look like a vulture!" Algeria snapped. Or did she? Wait, no!

Dammit…

"I hate Rahim." Algeria said angrily.

"I hate him too."

"That's an obvious lie and you know it." Algeria shook her head. "You don't hate him. Don't lie to me, brother. I don't think I can take any more after this mess."

"I'm sorry." Tunisia apologized remorsefully.

Algeria never understood why Tunisia couldn't hate Morocco.

She had no doubt he felt resentment over his betrayal and lies, but Tunisia didn't hate Morocco, even after he proved to be a psychotic sadist with an unexplained but disgusting lust for Tunisia, his brother. _Ugh_. He wanted to _understand_ Morocco, he said. Even after the little incident in France where Morocco had the gall to _kiss_ Tunisia in front of her, he never expressed any anger or resentment. If this continued, then it really will be up to Algeria to stop him from getting raped, or _worse_.

That was the problem with Tunisia, that he wasn't very good at standing up for himself. People pushed him around, and not many people paid much attention to him, even Morocco in his 'fake' self often told Tunisia that he needed to grow more of a backbone.

It was one of the many reasons Algeria often worried a lot for him or scolded him like a mother. He wasn't doing so well, and he didn't need things to get worse.

…Or perhaps she's being too harsh on her brother, Algeria realized. Tunisia, to even her surprise, did stand up for himself, unlike most of the others, and placed his faith in Egypt and Algeria that they'll be able to escape, even keeping a rather optimistic attitude, which wasn't unusual of him, but still…

Tunisia trusted them, got hurt for them, actually got into an argument with her over Western Sahara because she was worried about Algeria. He was always there whenever she felt stressed and needed to vent out her frustrations.

Now that Algeria thought about it, she never thanked him for any of that…

"Tunisia?" Algeria said, hoping to Allah that her eyes won't water.

"Hmm?" He looked at her.

"Thank you." Algeria laugh humorlessly, and she smiled gratefully. "For going along with my brash determination to escape South Africa, for choosing freedom over safety, for choosing to support and be there for me, for putting up with me."

Tunisia looked surprised above all things, and it almost looked like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. But then he slowly smiled. "No need to. I'm here for you, remember that."

"I know."

And she'll be there for him in return.

"What say we go and try calling Safiyya?" Algeria suggested, her mouth beginning to hurt from how unused she was to smiling for more than five seconds. "I'm sure she'll also be happy to hear you're alright too."

Tunisia nodded eagerly. "Yes, let's."

/ / / / /

"Why do I have to stay here tied up?!" Bosnia practically shrieked as Hungary finished tying up his hands behind his back.

Hungary tried not to cringe and let the hurt in his voice get to her as she smiled sheepishly at him, careful not to focus too much on the despair in his eyes. Poor Bosnia. Knocked out twice by Hungary's trusty frying pan in the same day to stop his 'other self' from provoking the others, creepily stare at them for no reason, and making threats.

Now, he woke up again only to see Hungary tying him up.

It's not like she was happy with this either, Hungary wanted to remind him. None of this mystery regarding Bosnia had been fun.

"Because as we've seen more than enough times before, we can't have you running around with your little split-personality disorder." Hungary reminded him softly, still offering an awkward smile, but Bosnia still looked far from happy. She sighed. "Oh, come on, Emir. You don't want to end up hurting anyone, do you?"

"No…" Bosnia grumbled begrudgingly.

Feeling worse for him, Hungary scooted next to him and patted him on the back in comfort. "I'm not enjoying this either, you know."

"Da, I know…" Bosnia muttered, staring at the chains England made in distaste. "But really Liz, where the hell is this going? What's going on with me? We've found out about all this mess and we still don't have a clue what's wrong with me. Does that mean I'm going to have to stay here chained up forever?"

"No, of course not! Don't be ridiculous," Hungary shook her head, and managed a comforting smile. "I already made Germany promise to check on you in a few minutes. And not only that, but Egypt said he'll also try to see what's wrong when he comes back too, and I'll make sure to drag Romania here if I have to. So, don't worry, we'll finally find out what's going on with you pretty soon!

Bosnia noticeably perked up at that, and he looked at her in surprise. "Re… Really? You did that for me?"

Hungary puffed her cheeks and playfully thwacked him on the head. "Of course! We're in this together, aren't we? And we can't let this go on forever, especially at a time like this. Besides, I thought I told you before that as a friend I'm worried about you."

Bosnia rubbed the place where Hungary thwacked him, and he blushed. "Thanks…"

"And I'm sure the other Yugoslavians will be too when they hear what's going on you." Hungary said confidently, and then frowned in annoyance. "Except for maybe Serbia, he'll probably spend the day teasing you for it and calling you a DID zombie or something else crass and lame."

Bosnia's face darkened and he snorted. "Don't remind me. But don't worry about it, Liz. The second I hear him making fun of me, I'll just blow his damn balls off."

Hungary couldn't resist an amused grin. "But Bosnia, remember, you can't..."

Bosnia stared at her in confusion before his gaze went to his chains, and he groaned loudly in frustration. "Oh, come on!"

Hungary stifled a small laugh for his sake and felt glad that the mood became somewhat lighter. But she couldn't exactly stay here for long.

She needed to call a certain someone again, see how they're doing.

/ / / / /

She'll admit it, she was kind of surprised that America requested to come over to her house for a visit. Not because they weren't good friends or anything like that, but because of everything that's been happening lately. She honestly thought he'd be busy putting up with the EU and their demands for him to do something about it, only to criticize him for getting involved.

Or maybe that's just it. Politics. Could it be that he got fed and dropped everything and left everyone to clear his head? It sounded out-of-character for him but it wouldn't be the first time he's done it. In fact, he told her that he needed some time off the superpower job. But of all nations, he picked _her_ to visit.

Then again, she supposed she shouldn't feel too surprised that he picked her over everyone else and his best friends. Georgia always made sure to be greatest host she could be.

The young woman with long dark brown loose braids who represented the nation of Georgia watched the ceiling with a pensive expression.

...But then again (again), it wasn't in her nature to turn away anyone away when they ask to come over to her house, unless it's _you-know-who_ , so what the hell?

Georgia grinned as she made her way towards her door. Her guest… well, guests, were here! America was a fun man, and Georgia could sure use a distraction. He also mentioned that he was going to bring a 'friend' and told her not to be alarmed because it wasn't Russia.

She had no idea who this 'friend' could be or why he'd want to keep it a secret from her. Maybe it's that little alien friend of his, Tony if she remembered correct, that America kept telling her about? That would be interesting.

She opened the door, and as expected America was there waiting for her with a friendly smile.

"Howdy, Georgia." America greeted cheerfully enough, giving her a two-finger salute, but Georgia couldn't help but notice the tired look in his eyes. "Hope we didn't keep you waiting for too long."

"Oh, no, not at all! You actually arrived a little earlier than I expected." Georgia happily assured him, waving it off, and she gestured him to come in. "Please, come in, come in!"

America's smile broadened, and he almost looked embarrassed. "You're a real sweetheart, Georgia. Thanks for having me over, dude."

"Oh, no need to thank me~ It's no problem, really." Georgia grinned, flattered at the compliment, and she clapped her hands. "So, where's this friend you told me about that you were going to bring along? And who is he? Or she? Is it someone I should know?"

"Yup." America stepped into the house, and Georgia looked at the door again to receive her other guest, but when said guest appeared into view,

Georgia's jaw practically hit the ground.

What in God's name…?

North Korea of all nations, there, in her country, at her door, accompanying America, was standing there and staring at her unreadably

"Hello." North Korea greeted curtly, though it's a lot less hostile than Georgia would've expected. "I'm here too."

"Uhhh…" Georgia remained gaping. Well, what else could she say? She wasn't expecting this to happen. Needing answers, she turned to America, who laughed nervously.

"We… We kinda reached this 'agreement' and now we're spending some time together- it's… it's kind of a long story." America said uncertainly, scratching the back of his head "I'll tell you all about it in a bit. Don't worry, I made sure that he'll be harmless during the whole thing. He won't hurt a single soul here, hero's promise."

"Huh?"

Georgia had a lot of questions right now, including what kind of agreement was it that's making you two stand in the same room together without glaring each other to death and why the hell did you bring North Korea here to her house? In fact, how come they weren't glaring at each other to death right now with an aura of doom enveloping the room like always?

However, she abruptly shook her head, snapping out of it.

No, bad Georgia! This wasn't how you treat guests, even if they were sociopathic recluses with dangerous nuclear weapons.

But, sociopathic recluse or not, he was a guest, and Georgia was always determined to be a great and welcoming host no matter what. Any nation who wasn't that Russian homewrecker and those two bastards were welcome to her home, and that included the creepy nation that's North Korea.

And Georgia didn't feel that she was in any kind of danger right now, and North Korea didn't look like he wanted to destroy her.

Armenia would call her crazy, and Georgia's aware that it might look that way, but seeing skinny North Korea up close with bags under his eyes made her pity him a little. Besides, America of all people wouldn't have brought him over to her house without good reason, would he?

Still, Georgia will try to be careful with what she does around the Korean and she'll try getting America to give her more answers.

/ / / / /

Prussia was currently in Berlin, the eastern part of it to be more specific, but he was getting closer to the center. He was looking for something, something should right... here!

Prussia smiled as he crouched and traced a line on the ground, then looked at the distance.

There. The line was drawn here. No more, no less.

He needed his people for the cause, he couldn't depend on the land America gave him forever. But Prussia will make sure that he gets only what's necessary.

He wanted to give his brother a fair fight after all.

 **Credit goes to jennisms for the Georgia OC. Please review!**


	56. Justice: Tensions

**A big thanks to Redbayly, AquaEclipse and NadiaJA627 for reviewing. Gosh, I'm sorry for the late update... again... for the third time in a row... Had to deal with a lot of stuff, but I hope this VERY long chapter makes up for it... over 10,000 words if you count the author's note... I hope this longer and even longer chapters don't become a habit... though I think it's too late, heh... Well, enough of that. Now, on with the show!**

Goodness gracious, her boss wasn't usually this stubborn.

Ukraine sighed as she walked down the streets, buttoning up her blouse, towards where Russia abruptly told her not long ago to meet him at instead of his old house up in his country. She had no idea what caused her the sudden change of mind, but Russia's voice was grave and worried, in a way that Ukraine hasn't heard in years, so she felt compelled to at least see what he had to say.

Even though there was a voice in her mind that kept telling her how foolish it was, and Ukraine couldn't bring herself to refute it. They were right, she admitted dejectedly. Ukraine wasn't even very willing to come to Russia's house in the first place and or putting up much of a fight with her boss.

There was a part of Ukraine, her instincts and feelings as an older sister, that felt guilty for doing such a thing, but then there's the other part that justified these actions by continuously reminding her of… certain issues.

Russia and Ukraine haven't really been on speaking terms with each other for months, though it was mostly out of their respective bitterness and upset feelings regarding Crimea and other things that Ukraine had been _very_ angry at Russia for. And now after a series of incidents, he kept insisting that she go to his house for 'protection'.

…After everything that happened, after everything that he did, he simply expected to just drop everything and immediately go to his house.

What was she supposed to do?

Russia was upset with her too, but even with his boss, he wouldn't willingly try to ambush her…

…Would he?

W-Well, if push comes to shove, Ukraine will just have to use her 'scary side' that terrified Russia so much… I-If there wasn't any other option, of course! She wouldn't want to cause their already very strained relations to worsen… even though it was Russia who caused most of the damage…

And Crimea…

And Russia's boss…

And the humans in Crimea…

"Sestra~"

After the awful scare that nearly stopped her poor heart, Ukraine shrieked, closed her eyes and whirled around, and in a fit of panic and she blindly hit the stranger behind her with her heavy purse. Hearing a strangely familiar yelp, Ukraine hesitantly opened her eyes and saw none other than Russia face-flat on the ground, groaning.

Oh, dear… not again!

"V-Vanya! Oh no, I'm so sorry!" Ukraine exclaimed, and she quickly scrambled to help him up, though she could already feel her back hurt. "You scared me and I… Oh, please tell me that I didn't just give you a concussion! Or did I hit you in the stomach? Or was it… F-Forget it, are you alright?!"

Russia groaned some more, and he lifted his face off the ground to face, wearing his usual smile, though this time it looked pained and dizzy. "Kolko… Koko… Ko… Kol… Please, don't worry, Katyusha. It'll take more than purse to the groin to defeat the mighty Mother Russia, da?"

Ukraine sighed and couldn't help but keep fussing over him. "I know you're in, Vanya."

"Nonsense. It's just shock." Russia laughed forcefully.

"Vanya…" Ukraine frowned, and she gently grabbed his arm. "I'm sorry, w-why don't I help you up?"

Surprisingly, she did manage to help him up, despite the pain in her back and shoulders and nearly falling on top of Russia twice (thank goodness Belarus wasn't here at the moment). It felt… awkward talking to him again. Even though Russia didn't seem to be very bothered or uncomfortable, Ukraine knew that it probably wasn't easy for him either.

"A-Alright, careful, Vanya." Ukraine said worriedly as he finally stood up, smiling as ever. "I-If you start to feel dizzy, p-please don't hesitate to-"

She was abruptly cut off, however, when all of a sudden Russia _hugged_ her.

"Wha- Vanya?!" Ukraine exclaimed, not used to seeing Russia so affectionate with her. "What's… What's wrong?"

"A lot of things, Kat, a lot of things." Russia responded grimly, hugging her tightly, and Ukraine could feel his hands trembling. "So much that I don't know where to begin. But right now, I am glad that you are alright and safe, though I fear you won't be for long."

Did…

Did… he just call her Kat?

"Vanya… little brother… did you just… call me Kat?" Ukraine nearly choked in disbelief, and she would have cried if she weren't so confused. Russia hasn't called her Kat in years. "No, Russia, what's going on? Why did you ask me to meet you here?"

Reluctantly, Russia let her go, though he still had his hands on her shoulders. Then Ukraine began to feel alarmed once she saw the worry in Russia's face. ""It is a very long and complicated story, Katyusha. So much that even I don't understand several things of it. But there's no time, we need to get to Nat and the others. Luckily, comrade Egypt here has been kind enough to help."

She was about to ask some questions, but she heard someone clear their throat before she could even open her mouth. Blinking in surprise, Ukraine felt very shocked to see Egypt here as well, looking rather uncomfortable.

"E-Egypt? How-"

"I will explain everything in a minute, Kat." Russia reassured her, and his expression became pained. "Although, you will not like what you're about to hear…"

/ / / / /

North Korea was a surprisingly decent house guest.

And by decent, Georgia meant that he hasn't made any threats of bombing her beautiful country, which was a good sign because it meant she wasn't messing up, but other than that, he was kind of… weird or… or… creepy. He'd just keep staring at her oddly, like he was trying to read her or something, and it made Georgia slightly uncomfortable.

…Well, at least he's being polite and not murderous, so she shouldn't complain.

America was happy, though that's no surprise, and Georgia found herself spending quite a while chattering about all sorts of things with him. It was fun, really. She even ended up telling him about another botched attempt to get Armenia and Azerbaijan to get along by locking them together in a closet, something she got from TV, which was probably it failed spectacularly.

When Georgia unlocked and opened the door when she started hearing weird noises, she was horrified to find Azerbaijan in a chokehold while she kept kicking Armenia in the crotch with Georgia's entire closet a mess.

She made them fix the damage in the end, but they wound up breaking a few drawers in the process, which caused the repairs to last a whole _day_.

It didn't help that America was laughing and nearly fell off the sofa by the time she finished.

"I can't believe you actually thought that old trick would work." America guffawed loudly while Georgia blushed red. "That's like one of the most cliché things you could do. And I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be for people who have a crush on the other, not for people who hate each other's guts."

"W-Well, I guess it slipped my mind!" Georgia said defensively, crossing her arms. "B-Besides, can't blame someone for trying, right?"

"But, dude, really? Locking them in a closet?"

"Alfred!"

"Just saying, just saying…" America raised his hands up in mock surrender and turned towards the ever-stoic North Korea. "What do you think, North?"

North Korea looked at Georgia coldly. "I have no comment."

Oh. Well…

"Umm… anyway… So, what's this deal that made you two spend time together?" Georgia asked curiously as she plopped down to her sofa. "Did you two make the deal, or your bosses? Is it some sort of 'try to get along' because politics thing?"

America stiffened, a blush coming over his face, and he fidgeted his finger. "It's… kind of hard to explain."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Georgia blinked, and she began to drink from her wine. "Why's it so hard to explain?"

"The woman is right. What's so hard to explain?" North Korea spoke up, surprisingly, tone blank. "You're mine for eternity and no one but me is allowed to penetrate you. We're lovers, pure and simple."

America face-palmed, face burning red, while Georgia's world came to a sudden stop.

…Say what now?

Georgia then did a spit-take, all over her precious carpet no less!

"SAY WHAT NOW?"

"I told you that I wanted to break it to her gently, Hyung!" America yelled in frustration and glared pointedly at the smug-looking North Korea. "North, come on, go get a mop and clean that mess up."

North Korea stopped his wheezing laughter to raise an eyebrow at his 'boyfriend'. "Why? She's the one who got her drink all over the floor."

What the hell's going on?

"Yeah, but you're the one who caused her to spit it out by bluntly revealing a secret I explicitly told you that I'd be the one to take care of." America retorted dryly, and buried his face in his hands in exasperation. "Just clean up the mess, North, _please_."

"Is it really necessary?" North Korea complained, grimacing. "We're here to have a diplomatic discussion, so we have much more pressing matters to attend to. Besides, there's the little plan we have to get to in a few-"

"I know we're in a hurry, which is why you need to clean that up and leave a good impression on Georgia here."

Was she in some parallel universe? Or worse, the twilight zone as America used to go on and on about years ago? Did Georgia piss of someone and wound up getting sent to a universe where nothing made sense?

"Oh, come on, Hyung! Bedisa's been so sweet to ya, despite you being… _you!_ " America protested hotly, frowning disapprovingly. "You're not gonna repay her hospitality by being a jerk, are you?"

North Korea blushed, _blushed_ of all things…! "I'm just saying, Alfred, that there's no need to-"

"Do it, or you're not getting any action for a month."

"…I'll start looking for some cleaning supplies, my dear."

And with a nervous smile, as America glared at him North Korea crept away to… somewhere, but Georgia's too in shock to protest.

America sighed, and he turned to face Georgia again with a sheepish smile, laughing nervously. "Sorry 'bout him, buddy. I swear, he's usually nicer than this. He's just battle-hungry is all and talking things out's not exactly his specialty so… yeah, sorry 'bout that."

At this, Georgia finally closed her gaping mouth and shook her head, rubbing her temples. Okay, okay, focus…. Don't panic, stay calm, Georgia… There's an explanation for this, and America's probably been planning to give it to her. He stood up for her and made North Korea go and try to clean up the wine, that's got to mean something, right?

"America… Alfred… um, _dude_ …" Georgia kept faltering, and she sighed. "What's going on? Why did you really come all the way here? Why are you and North Korea _dating?_ I honestly think of you as a good friend, America, so I don't want to fear the worst. Now, please, tell me truth, the whole truth."

America smiled weakly and laid back into the sofa. "You still got faith in me? Heh, that's something you don't hear every day."

"Well, you haven't really… done anything to make me feel scared or anything, so…" Georgia remarked awkwardly, but then quickly shoot out of it and gave America the best stubborn look she could muster. "Besides, I told you that I want the truth and nothing but the truth!"

"It's not that simple, Georgia." America blew some hair out of his face and frowned. "The whole situation is kinda… complicated. And that's putting it mildly."

"Which one? What's happening, why you really decided to come to my house or why you and North Korea are dating?"

"Everything." America said bluntly, and he laughed dryly.

"How bad?" Georgia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Really bad."

Feeling challenged, Georgia smiled and put her hands on her hips. "Try me."

She almost regretted it as soon as she did when the smile abruptly vanished from America's face.

"What if I told you… that all this time, for a certain number of centuries, there's been a conspiracy brewing and manipulating things behind the scenes?" America said finally, gravely, grasping his hands together. His glasses almost seemed to _glow_ as his face darkened "What if I told you that the Great Depression was caused on purpose? That Prussia's loss of nationhood was planned? That maybe, _just maybe_ , South Vietnam didn't die at the end of the war after all?"

Georgia suppressed a shiver at the highly out-of-character serious and grim tone and expression, it almost sent chills down her spine. But he stared at her tiredly, almost sadly, as if the very questions gave him pain, and she couldn't help but feel bad for him, even though she really had no idea where he's going with this or what's going on. He didn't seem friendly now, but he wasn't being hostile either.

This was all so unlike him, it felt wrong. The very fact that his usual smile and loud laugh was nowhere to be seen or heard was frankly a little alarming.

At the first question, Georgia felt a mixture of bafflement and disbelief, and she immediately wondered why America was asking her that. She had never paid much mind to all those conspiracy theories, she hardly knew about them in fact. As for the rest, if Georgia had been a more cynical or inconsiderate person, she would have made a disbelieving snort.

"W-Well… that's ridiculous, right? Not to mention crazy…" Georgia answered hesitantly, wringing at her hands. But then it hit her. She looked at him in shock. "Wait, Alfred, are you trying to say that…"

"Yup." America nodded, pushing up his glasses. "Everything I just said was true, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. So, as a friend, I recommend that you sit back, take a deep breath, and relax while I fill you in about our future: The New World Order."

/ / / / /

"I can't believe we took a magical ride from England all the way to Panama with Egypt's dog." Nicaragua stated flatly, and she glanced suspiciously at said dog. "A dog that smells disturbingly like a corpse."

She had reluctantly decided to accept the existence and magical abilities of this… _Anubis_ … especially after nearly getting a heart attack when one minute they were in murky, smelly old London and then in tropical Panama in the next. Just as she had reluctantly decided that, yes, and that she and many other nations in the world have been duped by friends and family…

"Malditos hijos de perra…" Nicaragua grumbled bitterly under her breath.

Who needs them, anyway?

But Nicaragua was nothing if not practical and determined, so she did her best to adapt to her new situation, and she angrily resolved _not_ to die _again_ for the third time in a week. At least… at the very, very least it gave her an extremely good reason to get away from her boss, whom she wouldn't mind the Order assassinating if it was in their plans.

Speaking of the Order, Nicaragua nor anyone else for that matter weren't sure if they were planning to kill them. In her opinion, she knew that it was likely, as they did hold Guatemala hostage in attempt to divulge information that failed spectacularly, interfered in those bastard's plans, fought the members back in Honduras and France, helped reveal the organization to the more powerful nations…

Yeah, Nicaragua wouldn't be surprised if sooner or later one psychotic nation tried to rip out her heart. She also suspected the others knew this too, but either wanted to cling onto foolish hope that Guatemala wouldn't do that to him or just didn't want to talk about it.

"That's because a god of death, Nica!" Honduras chirped more-or-les helpfully, beaming as always. "It's not really his fault that he smells like… hmm… um… well… death?"

Nicaragua stared at her blankly, and she shrugged. "Si, I guess…"

"It's better if you don't question it, Regina," Belize stuck out her tongue in annoyance, lazily glancing at the dog. "Trust me, you'll just waste your time trying to find _any_ kind of rational and logical explanation in this mess."

Anubis woofed, and Costa Rica petted the thing on the head, the idiot of course deciding that he _liked_ the death dog.

Well, Nicaragua supposed she should like it… _him_ too, or at least appreciate him. The little god did get them to Panama safe and sound, no?

"Hey, Costa, idiot." Nicaragua called the nation next to her grittily, who blinked at her. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Costa Rica looked at her oddly and had the audacity to _smile_ at her. "Well, we wouldn't be here if I hadn't literally begged on my knees for you to agree to do this, would be?"

Eye twitching, Nicaragua scowled at him. "That's not the point, Felix. I _mean_ , are you really willing and prepared to get your heart torn to pieces if things go horribly wrong? Which seems to be happening a _lot_ lately."

"Th-That doesn't mean that this will go wrong too!" Costa Rica protested, scowling for once, though it left Nicaragua feeling a little shocked. "Would it hurt you to be a little optimistic for once, Nica?"

"Would it hurt you to be a little realistic?" Nicaragua retorted harshly.

"I don't know, would it hurt you to have a little faith in Emanuel?" Costa retorted angrily.

"How in the name of God do you expect me to do that? In case you haven't realized, we've been had by almost _everyone_ in the entire **_continent!_** " Nicaragua snapped, her patience worn too thin by Costa Rica's stupidity. "Not to mention you told us yourself that the Germanic bastard told you that Panama knew _all along_ about the Order and didn't bother to tell us!"

Costa Rica flinched, but to his credit he looked far from ready to give up. "Maybe he got blackmailed or something!"

"And what if he wasn't? What if he's in on it too?"

"If he was, then we would've seen his picture in the album, right?"

"That's…" Dammit, that's actually a pretty good point. She maintained her scowl. "W-Well, it still seems pretty suspicious to me!"

"Oh come on, Regina…"

"Don't 'Regina' me, tonto!"

"You're being too paranoid."

"Well excuse me for being a little worried about you!"

They both fell into silence, with Nicaragua glaring at Costa Rica and him glaring back. Hmph, she hasn't seen him this stubborn and determined in a long while. At least he's being serious, but why did it have to be-.

"If you two are done arguing like an old-married couple…" Belize muttered in annoyance and began walking forward again. "We have a neighbor to rescue/interrogate/beat the shit out of and we promised those Europeans that we'd be back soon!"

"Vamonos~" Honduras skipped along with Belize in direction to Panama's house...

Only that Panama's house wasn't that way.

"Panama's house is _that_ way!" Nicaragua shouted exasperatedly over to them, pointing north, and the two of them froze. Then, the girls turned right back around and began marching towards the _right_ way to the house.

"Right! We knew that."

"Oopsy-daisy."

Nicaragua sighed.

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm going to be the sole survivor of this group?" She muttered, rubbing her aching head.

"Hey! Don't I have a good chance at surviving too?!" Costa Rica squawked.

/ / / / /

As unimportant and childish this might sound, Monaco honestly felt a little like a third wheel right now.

Or perhaps that wasn't the correct term for her small predicament, because both France and Canada were brooding and hardly interacting with the other or Monaco herself, but either way, she felt very out of place and… _awkward_ here. As if she shouldn't be here.

They, France and Canada along with England, had a heated argument about America, and the Brit ran off, leaving them to give chase. Granted, while it may not seem like any of Monaco's business, she felt worried for France, and she supposed that they could need someone not so consumed by grief to help them stay on the right path?

Monaco wondered, did they think that she couldn't understand their grief?

She had lost friends too… She really liked America… and Macau too. Monaco will truly miss their time as the Unholy Gambling Alliance, driving to shiny and fancy casinos, trying out all sorts of games and draining people of their money… as cruel as that last part sounded.

Not that it wasn't understandable, of course. Monaco was completely aware of the 'bond' the so-called FACE family shared, or seemed to share, despite it all. No matter what happened, those four always remained family, even though it didn't seem like it. But America's… revealed treachery brought the bond they shared into question. Were they really as united as they thought they were… or rather, would they remain united?

Monaco had complete confidence that France will do his best for everyone and try to keep the remaining family united. But anyway, with how dysfunctional they could be, such a disaster was… expected. From the beginning, Monaco just knew that it wouldn't end well.

"I'm sorry that things turned out this way, Mathieu." Monaco blinked when France finally spoke again. "I know that my actions weren't so rational either… but his actions infuriated me to no end and I… I'm sorry."

"H-Huh? O-Oh no, Papa, I forgive you for that…" Canada stuttered, and he hugged his bear. Monaco tilted her head. Had he been always carrying that? "I just… Why does Arthur have to be such a… such a…"

"Ass?"

"Papa!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." France said hastily, laughing humorlessly. "But Angleterre… Oh, how do I explain this? He's difficult, we all know that, but you have to understand that… er…"

"Betrayal can be such a painful feeling…" Monaco felt the need to interject, perhaps to break the ice, perhaps to help them. "Betrayal leads the sudden destruction of a reality or world you perceived, and that you were forever friends, family, lovers or comrades-in-arms. In an instant, all that satisfaction, confidence, happiness and/or security can be crushed in an instant when you experience a betrayal."

Monaco paused for a moment as they turned to look at her, and she continued to look at her.

"I imagine that for someone such as England, who has the tendency to blind or intentionally ignorant of some facts in favor of maintaining his reality… and for large parts of that reality to be fake or ruined… it would be completely devastating."

Or at least that was her analysis.

Monaco looked at them a little expectantly, biting her lip as they looked dejectedly at the ground. Then, France looked up at her.

"Quite spot on, mon petite Lucille." France smiled grimly, and ruffled her hair, and while Monaco appreciated the gesture, she wondered if she really helped. "As difficult as it might be to believe, and if you haven't seen him on the Fourth of July, England is actually quite fragile."

"That's no excuse to insult Alfred like that…" Canada muttered, and Monaco looked at him in surprise. Then he seemed to realize what he said. "I-I mean, I know what Al did and… I'm not sure what to think but… that's still… but still…!"

"Non, non, you are right, Mathieu." France assured him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Angleterre's behavior, while understandable, was uncalled for, despite Amerique's actions. He needs to accept the truth and responsibility for his actions."

"And then everything will be okay, right?" Canada asked hopefully.

Monaco had to flinch when France's expression suddenly became dark.

"Forgive me for what I'm about to say my dear Mathieu, but if you really think that England will just accept all of this calmly…" France said grimly, frowning at them. "Then you truly don't know Angleterre."

/ / / / /

England slammed the bottle onto the table after drinking it in one whole swig.

Stupid brats… Always laughing at him, making fun of him, treating him as if he were a joke…

South Africa with his stupid rodents and putting them in England's teapots and laughing like a wanker afterwards, Nigeria putting a damn spider on his head in April Fool's Day, Hong Kong 'accidentally' setting his car on fire, Jamaica blowing that revolting vapor of his in his face every five minutes, and let's not forget the goddamn Yank wanker himself bragging and laughing during his goddamn Independence Day…

If only he still had his empire, he'd show them a thing or two for laughing at him. He'd show them what happens to bratty children who dare test his patience…

No...

England will show them. He'll show them all. He'll teach those ungrateful brats a lesson for trying to make a fool out of him and remind that wanker just how stupid he was. He'll show all them how stupid they were.

He'll do whatever it takes, and no one, not that frog, those wankers, or even the humans will stop him. He didn't care if the fucking prime minister or the Queen herself will give him hell for this. To hell with the prime minister! To hell with the bloody consequences! No one pushed him around, no one!

Let's see those brats laugh at him after he's done with them… Oh, wait. Their lungs and throats will have been burned from the inside and they'll have died from radiation before they could even grin!

England laughed.

/ / / / /

"Alright, that's number three." Nigeria announced, wiping his hands, and he grinned. "So, what are the candidates for number four, Dikembe?"

South Africa had practically everything down here, even original devices and ones DRC didn't even know _existed_.

DRC was no stranger to torture, he might even say he was rather skilled in it. His security services and soldiers, disgusting humans the lot of them, often took joy in torturing the civilians and loved employing cruel, degrading and inhuman punishment which DRC often witnessed, though he never took part in any or either of it unless it truly was necessary.

He never had any desire to go anywhere the corrupt humans of his government and army, but up until now, he had no choice but to obey his boss's order or else DRC will be the one who will be stripped, trampled, and beaten or perhaps even suspended from an electrified post, he once heard about a man who got tied up there while being torture for information.

But now things were different, his hands weren't tied anymore, there wasn't anyone who could blackmail or intimidate into obeying. DRC could do whatever he wanted.

Belgium was going to **_die_** , and there's no one that's going to stop him. And seeing all this, all the possibilities, all the things he could do to her, all the ways he could make her pay and suffer _hell_ for what she did was driving him nearly insane from excitement. Oh, what to do what to do what to do what do… There's so many…

"The Medieval era just happens to be my favorite part of European history," South Africa remarked gleefully, and he smirked darkly as he ran his hand up an Iron Maiden. "So much cruelty and death. So many horrible and painful torture devices... And I have all of them _here_."

"I didn't know you had a favorite period of European history of all things." DRC said in mild surprise, frowning. "It's all rather dull and repetitive in my opinion."

"That's because you haven't truly looked into it." South Africa told him gently, winking, and he jumped up and held onto a metal bar. "The Middle Ages were rife with tragedy, difficulties, despair and _fear_. There's a lot more to that time than the Black Death and the Crusades. Torture was a common form of punishment, used to force sinners to 'confess' and to instill fear into the public, and who could blame them? Many of these are truly horrifying."

South Africa shivered, but it was clearly out of excitement and there was a wide insane smile splitting his face.

"Which is why I find it hilarious that people try to romanticize the era for the little kids, you know princesses, dragons and all that other nonsense." South Africa burst into snickers. "But anyway, the Europeans were creative, I'll give them that. Too bad they don't apply the same cruelty and decisiveness today, it would have saved them from their current troubles."

"Oui, indeed." DRC agreed gravely, nodding, and then he raised an eyebrow. "Though, I never thought I'd hear you compliment the Europeans."

"Well, I have to give credit where it's due." South Africa admitted in a surprisingly happy tone with no hints of hesitation or begrudging feelings. He leaned over an Iron Chair and wrapped his arms around it. "After all, they're going to be broken by their own creations, feel what their people felt."

DRC looked at the chair, interested piqued. "That thing, the Iron Chair, how did it work again?

"Hmm? This? Oh, this is a good one." South Africa proudly patted the chair, not afraid of hitting a spike. "The number of spikes vary, but luckily I managed to get my hands on the deluxe version! But to answer your question, the criminal would be tightly restrained on the chair while the torturer progressively tightens the restraints, forcing the spikes deeper into the flesh. This could go on for hours, even days. The spikes don't penetrate any vital organs and they would hold the wounds shut."

South Africa licked his lips, no doubt imagining it himself.

"So it's not the pain, or the penetration that kills you, it's when you finally get released that you die from infection or blood loss." He said darkly, chuckling. "And if that wasn't enough, this one has holes, see here? They'd put them there so they could light a fire underneath it, so that the criminal could die from being burned slowly... _painfully_ alive."

Hmm...

DRC tried to imagine it, Belgium screaming at him in excruciating pain and horror to let her go as the spikes dug deeper and deeper into her flesh. He smiled. Well, anything that'll be pain for her was perfect for him. But the thought of her suffering for hours... with no one answering her pleads for help... just like no one came to save him... it gave DRC an odd but very warm and gratifying feeling in his heart.

As for the being burned alive part, well... That might just be even better. Not only would it be a slow and extremely painful death, but DRC will be able to see her appearance, that pretty hair of hers. that pretty and flawless skin, her beauty in general, and even that annoying voice of hers, literally burn away until there was nothing left but a hideous, bald, and scorched hag completely covered in third-degree burns...

DRC's breath caught in his throat, and he could barely contain himself.

"Nigeria!" DRC shouted.

"I'm right here~" Nigeria sang jovially, and DRC saw him hanging upside down from a rack, smirking maniacally. "How may I help you?"

DRC grinned, and pointed towards the Iron Chair. "Number four!"

Nigeria looked at said torture device and burst out cackling. "Ooh, good choice! I'll be right there in a second!"

DRC breathed and went ahead to explore the basement some more while South Africa and Nigeria dragged that Iron Chair towards the other… choices. Was there anything else here that could catch his attention? Knowing South Africa there definitely must be. The four of them have…

He stopped walking and his eyes widened fractionally. Where was CAR anyway? He last saw the younger one about fifteen minutes ago. This room wasn't necessarily that big or like a maze, he couldn't have wandered off lost in thought and gotten lost, could he?

Well, either way, he should go look for him. He's probably feeling a lonely right now and could use a little comfort.

…Oddly enough, it actually didn't take long for DRC to find CAR, and it turned out that the teenage nation was… bent over some tools, an _electric chair_ (Huh, so South Africa has more than one of them?) and an open Iron Maiden containing a half-decayed human corpse. No, he wasn't bent over, he kept moving around, going from one thing to next while… smelling them?

"CAR."

"H-Huh?!" CAR squeaked in alarm, flinching, and he snapped his head towards him with wide eyes, then calmed somewhat. "I-I… Oh, DRC… I wasn't… I swear that I didn't… Did… Oh, have long have you been watching?"

"Long enough to know you were having fun," DRC answered flatly, and CAR deflated, perhaps out of habit. "Gabriel, why were you smelling the torture devices? And before you start bursting into tears, remember that you don't need to afraid or ashamed anymore."

He said that last part more gently, and it seemed to work, as the panic once again left CAR's face and suddenly, he was then beaming with joy.

"Isn't it obvious, Kinshasa? Can't you smell it yourself?" CAR asked giddily, and he began trembling in apparent excitement. "The smell of blood, meat and death is everywhere here! It's so strong and intoxicating no matter where you go and it's driving me _insane_!"

CAR laughed almost drunkenly and began gripping his short hair.

"I'm sorry but I can't take any more of this! I'm hungry, Kinshasa, I'm starving!" CAR shrieked hysterically, and his wide eyes traveled to the corpse in the Iron Maiden. "I would've eaten him but… but he's all rotten and decayed! He'll taste awful!"

"I think we can all agree on that." DRC remarked, and he grimaced as his stomach turned at the thought of eating rotten meat. "Whose corpse is that anyway?"

"That would be my boss!" South Africa cheerfully answered from a distance. "But, ah, I'm not sure which one the corpse in the Iron Maiden is though… I always block their faces and names from my memory when I'm done with them!"

South Africa laughed loudly while Nigeria cackled like a hyena. They both really liked to laugh, don't they? DRC supposed that's one of the perks or effects of being a truly free living being.

"Are you saying you want to go out to eat, Gabriel?" DRC asked his old friend. "Because, you're more than welcome to come with me to Belgium."

CAR snapped out of his trance, and stared at DRC in surprise. "H-Huh?!"

"I'm going to need a bit more time to get my humans under control and for my army to arrive in Belgium. Besides, it wouldn't be as nearly terrifying enough." DRC explained gruffly, and he found himself grinning of all things as he grabbed CAR's shoulders. "Think, Gabriel. You won't hunt in some meaningless village. Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent… they're all major cities, thousands to over a million healthy, _meaty_ humans live in each of them, and they'll all be yours to devour."

From the look that CAR gave him, you'd think that DRC just dropped a bomb on his land. He looked as if he couldn't comprehend the possibility, or perhaps he couldn't believe something that sounded too good to be true. It was quite understandable, CAR had been deprived of happiness for years until now. Perhaps it was all a bit too overwhelming for him.

"F… Food…? I get to eat… all of them?" CAR asked quietly, staring blankly into space. "

"Personally, I'd prefer if you'd consume over three-quarters of the population, so as to prolong her suffering," DRC remarked calmly, then he shrugged. "But you can eat as much as you want, they're your food after all."

CAR's eyes began to water, and DRC suddenly had no idea what to do. "Really?"

"I have no reason to lie, non?"

"THANK YOU!" CAR scream, causing DRC to flinch, and he wrapped his thin arms around DRC in a hug. "THANK YOU SO MUCH!"

DRC stared down at CAR in confusion, and he felt embarrassingly awkward in this position. He never quite liked physical contact, and he never liked Belgium's 'affectionate' gestures. So, he was a bit of a loss what to do. Despite his strange sort friendship with CAR, neither of them was… _affectionate_ to the other.

Should he…? It'd be rude if he didn't… right?

Awkwardly, DRC shakily returned the embrace. He found it to be much more comforting that he thought it'd be.

/ / / / /

"Ugh, I'm so BORED!"

" _Wow_ , what a fucking twist. Someone better call Shyamalan."

Molossia felt a small surge of satisfaction and amusement as Liberia's expression immediately went from childish frustration to contorting in annoyed anger at the former's (totally awesome) snarky comment, and he did his best not to let the bastard ruin it for him by smirking and sticking out his tongue like a four-year-old, hellbent on not letting Molossia win.

Instead of just taking the bait, Molossia scoffed and leaned back into the couch, seriously wishing that he bought some weed to better put up with Liberia.

He was NOT expecting that Liberia would show up out of the damn blue to his front door on a 'surprise visit' (god, Molossia didn't even know where to begin on explaining how poorly planned it was) for Boss (Mr. America). Yeah, cause Boss _definitely_ needed him to disrupt his work. Molossia was even more pissed off at the fact that his 'brother' had to stay with them as a result.

Kugelmugel and Ladonia, the damn traitors, decided to both go 'patrol' the area the moment Molossia told them that Liberia's staying over for a small while since the moron didn't think of booking tickets or bringing some shortcuts with him (and it didn't help that none of them had any either), fleeing to safety instead of backing him up!

He felt half-tempted to call Boss and tell him Liberia's looking for him and wound up at where Molossia was it, but like man and a good brother, he gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and muttered no under his breath. Boss was probs busy with work, and Molossia wasn't about to make him worry because of sibling rivalry.

He'll take care of Liberia and see him off ASAP, easy as that.

No need for Boss to get involved and piss off Liberia even more…

…So then why does Liberia have to make it so damn hard?!

Screaming and laughing in his ears like Sealand, complaining that the kitchen knives here weren't _deadly enough_ , chasing and scaring Toto (the poor thing) just for shits and giggles, calling Molossia 'Dumbassia', bitching and moaning for what felt like hours and hours… Liberia was doing it just to get on his nerves, he just knew it! It's written all over that damn smirk of his!

Bastard…

…Ugh, then again… maybe… dunno, there's a small chance that… Molossia's not that much better… But at least he admitted it unlike Liberia! That had to count for something!

Molossia did nothing but curse and swear at him all day long and call him a load of insults, so…

You'd think they'd be able to get along better, considering that y'know, they were both raised by Boss. But since the very day Boss introduced them to each other, they got along as well as England and France did. Yeah, _that_ bad…

Molossia couldn't help it, Liberia just made his blood boil like the goddamn Nevadan sun in the middle of the summer. How the hell could America put up with him? Liberia was a brat, even though he's only two-three years younger than Molossia in human age. That bastard was a sick bastard, even by Molossia's standards.

Sure, there were _some_ few times when they somehow manage to get along when America's not around… somehow, Molossia wasn't sure how it'd happen itself, and he knew that Liberia didn't know either. Even then, Molossia could hardly call it 'brotherly bonding'.

They'd just lie sprawled on a sofa or bed (get your fucking mind out of the gutter) all lazy and stuff, doing some of the normal stuff you'd expect guys their age to do. Comic books, videogames, smoking… And it's not like they talked much to each other during those times too. They'd make some small talk, and…

"HEY, MAVERICK!"

On second thought, maybe dealing with Liberia was killing his brain cells.

Molossia, thank whoever created the damn universe, managed not to scream and therefore give Liberia a reason to tease him, and flinched instead. But he almost did scream when he suddenly found Liberia's stupid, cocky, shit-eating grin face only inches away from his own and… he… freaked out...

…And he gave his brother a swift punch to the face.

Oops. Force of habit.

Liberia yelped and promptly collapsed to the floor, cursing. Molossia decided to leave him there for a few seconds, just out of spite and payback, and he saw that there didn't seem to be blood or any lost teeth. Surprisingly, he didn't feel disappointed. Good. He didn't want to hurt him too badly, especially for such a lame reason. Not to mention Boss would probably uproot a mighty sequoia or some other scary shit if he learned that Liberia got hurt.

Luckily for good 'ol Molossia, the same went for him if he ever got hurt, so Liberia couldn't get any nasty revenge. Molossia smiled at the thought, preferring to ignore the fact that it didn't mean that Liberia couldn't get back at him in some other way as the brat himself got back on his feet and glared at him.

"What the hell was that, Maverick?!" Liberia screeched angrily, flailing his arms about while Molossia just scowled at him. "I decide to stop bitching and moaning like you wanted and to talk to my _dear_ **_sweet_** brother, and you give me a sucker punch?!"

"Hey, don't you fucking dare try to play the victim again! What the hell were you thinking, getting your creepy-ass face so close to mine!" Molossia shouted back, fuming, and he clenched his fists. "And screaming and getting your damn carcass-smelling breath all over my face… Nearly scared the shit out of me, too!"

"Carcass-smelling breath? Heh, I'll take that as a compliment." Liberia snorted, grinning as he lifted his head up as if that's something to be mighty proud of. "Don't get angry at a guy for having a good meal."

Molossia scoffed and crossed his arms, feeling his stomach turn. "I will if the guy's a total ass."

"Bleh, you're just jealous, brother…" Liberia smirked smugly, and Molossia felt tempted to punch him again, especially when it became even more malicious. "Unlike you, I was off actually doing something _useful_."

That bastard…

Molossia's knuckle's whitened, and he sneered at his goddamn shitty 'brother', almost ready to scream at him… But wait just a damn minute! Then it hit him, and it became _his_ turn to wear a shit-eating smirk while Liberia looked at him confused. "And unlike you, _shithole_ , I've actually spent _time_ with Boss! And let me tell you, he didn't mention you _once_!

Liberia's face immediately contorted in anger. Yep, Molossia pissed him off, like a _lot_. "You… little…"

" _Shit_. I know." Molossia scoffed again, and he rolled his eyes. "Try to come up something creative for a damn change."

"Well, whatever!" Liberia yelled, throwing his arms up in frustration. Molossia felt that he won this time. "So, what the hell were you doing anyway, little brother?"

Molossia's eye twitched. "For the fifth-hundreth goddamn time, I'm older _and_ taller than you, dumbass! Do you have any fucking idea how stupid it is to call a guy who's nearly a head taller than you and older by two-three years _little brother?!"_

"Yes, you're older… and taller than me… but only in human age, that means nothing." Liberia snapped, and he glared up at Molossia, or rather at the height difference between them. "I existed first, that means I'm older and the big brother, whether you like it or not."

"Sure, when you _act_ like it."

"Just answer the question, Dumbassia!"

Molossia glared at him defensively. "How's it any of your business?!"

"What? I'm curious!"

"Why?!"

"I'm bored, okay?! And pretty desperate…"

"Hmph, if you really wanna know, Lib, then I'll fucking tell you, if it'll get ya to shut up and leave me alone…" Molossia grumbled and Liberia's face perked up. "I was thinking… bout some serious stuff."

"Aw man, I better call a hospital." Liberia teased, smirking.

"Are you shitting me? _You_ need a hospital. A _mental_ hospital." Molossia hissed, glaring at him.

"Don't we all?" Liberia shrugged, irritatingly unfazed.

"Ugh… Anyway, I was… before you decided that creeping up on me was a genius idea… I was thinking about…" Molossia trailed out, and he bit his tongue while Liberia looked at him impatiently. Dammit, how the hell was he supposed to… "I was thinking about us, and not Order us, I meant you and me."

That wiped the scowl off Liberia's shit face, and Molossia felt a small surge of satisfaction when his little brother gaped in shock. "…What? You were thinking us? Seriously? Why? You better not be thinking about coming up with a way to tie me up and leave me in the middle of the desert!

"I was thinking about why we hate each other so damn much, Lib." Molossia growled irately, not wanting to beat around the bush or bicker any more so they could get this over and done with, and he muttered. "And besides, Boss said he'd take away Toto forever if I did that…"

Liberia scoffed at that, and much to Molossia's chagrin, plopped down next to him. "What's there to think about? You were a twat, so I retaliated by being a twat to you, end of story."

Molossia snarled, already regretting this. "Me? You saying that it's _my_ fault? That's weird, because I remember you being pretty fucking indifferent to my existence when we first met."

"I was worried about things back home."

" _Sure_ , you were," Molossia sarcastically hissed. "But scratch that, the reason I was such a 'twat' was because you're disgusting, and I have no damn idea why Boss isn't disgusted too."

" _You?_ You're disgusted at _me_?" Liberia said incredulously, a smile spreading across his face, and he burst out into god-annoying laughing. God, that laughter… "Oh, that's rich coming _you_ , Maverick. Weren't _you_ planning to beat a kid to near-death and rip out his heart?"

"It's not that big of a deal if the kid's only physically five years younger than you." Molossia retorted coldly.

"Touché." Liberia snorted, shrugging. Then that shit-eating grin showed up again. "But anyway, you can't be serious. That's a pretty stupid reason."

"It's not."

"It is. We're pretty much doing and gonna do the same stuff, so why hate me for it?"

"I do it because it's necessary and when people piss me off." Molossia clarified gruffly, sneering. " _You_ do it just for the hell of it and to eat an entire town if you could."

"Still a _pretty_ stupid reason, though." Liberia stuck out his tongue playfully, and Molossia gritted his teeth. "But I guess there's no point in arguing with a hothead like you. So, why exactly were you thinking about us in the first place? You interested in making up?"

"First of all, that's none of your business. Second, what the hell do you mean _making up_?!" Molossia exclaimed in angry disbelief. "I never said- Why the hell after all these years are you suddenly interested in getting along?"

"I think I speak for both us when I say that we both want the other out of our hair."

"No way. There's gotta be more to it."

"Well, first of all, because it'd be great if it'll stop you from being an ass." Liberia smirked, and suddenly there was that crazy gleam in his eyes. "And second, because I just thought of the best way for us to bond and for both of us to get what we want."

Molossia raised a skeptical eyebrow. "How?"

Liberia winked and held out his hand. "Trust me on this, bro."

Molossia felt compelled to angrily to reject, mostly out of spite, but as much as he hated to admit it, the idea of Liberia finally getting off his back did sound pretty tempting. But then again, Liberia's a sneaky bastard… But then again… if it meant doing something fun…

Yelling in frustration, Molossia groaned and roughly grabbed Liberia's hand. "Fine. You got yourself a deal, bastard."

Liberia grinned, and Molossia could have sworn he heard him squeal of all things. "Perfect! Alright, but first we're going to need a machine gun, some pistols, maybe a couple rifles and a minigun, a speaker, a megaphone, a golf cart that can go faster than-"

"Seriously?! That's _all_ it took for you two to quit being at each other's throats?!"

"Ja, why didn't either of you didn't think of this before?! Hiding in fear… IS NOT ART!"

"WHEN THE HELL DID YOU TWO GET IN HERE?!" Molossia screamed.

/ / / / /

"I… I don't understand this, Vanya… No, I'm not sure if I can believe this…" Ukraine admitted worriedly as she buttoned up her blouse again. "I'm sorry, but… this cannot be. How could they have lied to us for all these years?"

"Apparently our enemies went to extreme lengths to maintain their little facades, da? But it's true, sestra," Russia sighed, though he felt a little relieved that this was all going better than he thought it would. "We have all been… what's the word or term humans often use? _Duped_? Played like a fiddle?"

Ukraine looked about to tear up. "B-But why?"

"R-Revenge… Amusement… Or some nonsense about repairing the world…" Egypt was the one who responded as he stubbornly fought not to freeze to death. "Africans… Sadists and cannibals… Prussia and Austria… wanting to change the world…"

Ukraine looked at him worriedly. "A-Are you sure you'll be alright, Egypt? I can give you my coat if you want…"

"N-No, I'm fine, but thank you." Egypt shook his head and kept trembling. "Besides, we won't be here for long, right?"

"Alright, but please let me know if you change your mind…" Ukraine said reluctantly, and Russia felt a mixture of joy and anxiousness when his estranged sister turned to him. "Anyway, Vanya… I'm sorry, but I need to ask. If this is true then, who… who elsehas betrayed us, again? Is there someone I was close to?"

Russia paused for a moment, and he felt a pinch of anger toward himself for feeling nervous.

"Well, Kat… there's…" Russia gritted his teeth before he began spouting out the names (damn traitors), feeling himself get filled with rage. "Turkey. You two have shared an odd sort of friendship, have you not? Bulgaria, unfortunately, and if I remember right, he seems to be in a relationship with Turkey himself. There is the Nordics… all the Nordics… and… then… there is America… which surprised quite a lot of us…"

He felt a stab of pain with how Ukraine's expression became more heartbroken with each name, and when he mentioned America, she gaped at him in shock. "A-America?! Him too? But I thought… why would…"

"Da, something about England, and possibly something else, but it's true. It'll make the war very challenging…" Russia said offhandedly, and he felt a grin spread across his face. "But look at the bright side, da? I'll be able to do what I failed to do in the Cold War, or rather, I'll finally have a very good reason and justification to do it, da? I'm sure my boss won't mind…"

His dark excitement was cut short when Ukraine frowned at him, dare he say it, she almost looked a little _angry_. What? He didn't understand. What was wrong with what he said? She couldn't seriously be worried for that American… or was it because…

Against his probably better judgement, he decided to quickly return to the main topic. "There is also… Lithuania…"

Ukraine's eyes widened. "Toris too?!"

"Unfortunately…" Russia frowned, but he decided to smile again, for he began to feel angry again. "Some of our comrades believe that I am responsible for Lithuania's betrayal. While that is… likely… I believe Poland did his own share of damage, da?"

Ukraine frowned and gave him that look again, the same one when he tried to justify the thoughts of his own people. It was full of sadness, pity, but most painfully of all, _disappointment_.

It was a look that she's been giving him many times for the past few years.

"I might be a little skeptical of the things you claim…" Ukraine began grimly, fidgeting her fingers. "But Toris wanting revenge against you? For everything that you did to him, that you dare deny and ignore? _That_ I believe."

Russia could have sworn he heard his heart crack.

"We h-have arrived at your house, R-Russia." Egypt stuttered and shivered, holding his arms.

Russia smiled, despite the pain. "Perfect."

He joyfully skipped towards his front door. His remaining Baltics will no doubt be happy to see him. He unlocked the door and happily entered his precious home.

"Privet, my dear Baltics~" Russia cheerfully sang as he strolled into the room, slamming his pipe against the wall. "The great Russian Federation has finally arrived! How about we share a few good hugs, da?"

Russia smiled, which soon became a puzzled frown once he heard no girlish shrieks or hasty footsteps at the sound of his voice. That's very strange, da? Normally they come running as soon as he arrived. Perhaps he wasn't being loud enough? O-Oh! Or perhaps was holding them hostage unless Russia married her again, that made sense too.

Swallowing the fear down his throat, he reluctantly attempted something that could be considered suicide by anyone in his position… call for Belarus.

"E-Err… Natalia? Are you there? Where are you? Somewhere far away I hope…" Russia muttered that last part but did his best to keep his smile in place. "I have returned! W-Would you please come down…?"

But no one came.

"Vanya…" Ukraine began carefully, worry etched on her face. "They're not coming…"

"Then we'll search for them, da?" Russia said forcefully, clutching his pipe as he refused to believe that something… No, no, no, no, no. "Perhaps they didn't hear us, or are too scared to come out of hiding out of fear of an imposter, da?"

Everything will turn out alright. Everyone will be okay… They had to… They had to be… It had to…

And then everyone will become one with Mother…

Russia stopped in his tracks once a familiar stench hit him, and his eyes went wide. What? That smell- Where did it- Why…?

He heard Ukraine gasp and saw her pinch her nose and cringe, while Egypt grimaced. "V-Vanya… I smell blood… a-and I think I also smell…"

Russia didn't bother to stay and let her finish her sentence. Once the implications of this sank in and he felt horror dawn on him for the first time in what seemed like years, Russia paled immediately bolted up the stairs, only barely hearing his sister's alarmed cry of his name over his heart pounding in his ears. No… they couldn't have…

The stench kept getting stronger as he went up, and he followed it to a long hallway with dozens of doors, which led to either one of the many guest rooms in the house, the closet where he kept dozens of pipes and pickaxes just in case or a bathroom. The smell was getting even stronger, it must be here.

Then he spotted one door, near at the end of the hallway, that was open.

He sprinted towards it.

In a matter of seconds, he reached the door, and pushed it wide open. The sight that he found waiting for him made his heart stop.

No…

What he found was none other than the unmoving and bloodied form of his little sister, Belarus, lying in a pool of blood, her blood, in the middle of this mess of a room. Her dress looked torn, her legs and abdomen appeared to have been slashed one too many times. Her eyes were glassy and wide, as if she died in a state in a shock, an expression that looked on his fearless and determined little sister.

But what kind of stood out the most was the open wound in the area where her heart was supposed to be. China's words echoed in Russia's mind, and he recalled the story of how Poland was killed by Lithuania.

He refused to accept it, but there's no way he could deny it.

His little sister was dead.

Judging from the icy color of her skin, and the dried blood on the walls, she had been like that for quite a while.

Russia vaguely heard footsteps behind him, and he sank on his knees just as he heard Ukraine scream.

He was too late.

 **YES! I finally got to this part! In case you're curious, Toto is the name of Molossia's dog that appears in the series. I gotta say, researching the bit about Medieval Era torture wasn't really fun... they're pretty brutal. Don't worry, they won't all appear in the story, mostly because it's either too much for me or it didn't fit the rating...**

 **Anyway, I'll try to return to weekly updates again. Also, I'll try to focus on other characters, especially those we haven't seen in while, next chapter (which will hopefully come out next week) Please review, if you have a minute.**


	57. Justice: Meanwhile

**A big thanks to Redbayly, AquaEclipse, Vexey-since-1999, Russian Tree and NadiaJA627 for reviweing. Yay! I managed to update weekly again! And I'm happy you all liked the last chapter so much. I hope you'll all like this one too! Now, on with the show!**

Watching the ongoing heated argument between Singapore and Philippines was a little nerve-wracking to be honest.

Holding East Timor on her lap, Indonesia could only watch the argument, which actually consisted of Singapore getting increasingly irritated as she asked another question to their host while Philippines gave a vague answer in return and sometimes giving her a thinly-veiled insult… or just a bluntly-spoken insult. Who knew Philippines had such a sharp tongue?

Indonesia had mostly remained silent in the discussion, partly because she wasn't in the mood to break up an argument and she didn't want to risk Philippines beating her when she's down, she's not sure if her heart could take any more pain. But listening to those two arguing was giving her a headache. She just wanted some peace and quiet with Singapore and East Timor, was that too much to ask?

"Because there will be no Viet Cong."

"How will there be no Viet Cong?" Singapore asked incredulously, looking at the verge of snapping Philippines's neck out of frustration. "There are supporters of the government in the southern provinces. If another Vietnam War does happen..."

"It will." Philippines cut in.

Singapore's face contorted in a small annoyed scowl, and she sighed. "Fine. _When_ the next Vietnam War happens, there's obviously going to be opposition from South Vietnam's own home, AKA _the Viet Cong_. So-"

"What part of 'no' don't you understand?!" Philippines yelled angrily.

"Well it's not like you've provided much of an explanation or reasoning why there won't be any sympathy for the North!"

"FINE!" Philippines shouted, kicking the side of Indonesia's bed in frustration, and she nearly shrieked when the bed moved. "Fine, whatever! You got a good point! I'll talk nice and slow for you, happy?"

Singapore scoffed. "I will be when you get to the point."

Philippines growled and muttered a few obscenities under his breath, and Indonesia would have jumped to reprimand him if this were a normal situation. "You want answers? The whole awful truth? Here's what I'm trying to say: How will there be a Viet Cong, northern sympathizers, communist supporters, protests or whatever if the entire Southern part of Vietnam will be loyally and fiercely fighting on Chinh's side?"

Indonesia stiffened, and she looked at her former friend in bafflement. What was he trying to…?

Singapore raised an eyebrow and spoke Indonesia's question for her. "What exactly are you trying to say?

Philippines smirked, and Indonesia immediately dreaded the answer. "Listen, I'm not allowed to give all the details because the information's classified and all, but I can tell you this. A certain in the New World Order discovered the trick that's the key to making our lives as personifications a hundred-times easier. How to influence our humans to obey _us_."

Indonesia gaped. What? No… How would that be possible? But it would explain why South Vietnam was so confident…

Singapore seemed to be in the same predicament, as she looked shocked above all else. "You can't be serious, Felipe. How- Why- How and why is that possible? How did this… person, whoever they are, find out about this? Why should we believe that?"

Philippines groaned and buried his face in his hands. "If you don't believe anything I say, then why the hell did you bother pestering me for answers in the first place? Look, what I just said is the truth, whether you like it or not. Besides, weren't you the one who said all that stuff about suspension of disbelief and whatnot?"

"I know what I said, dammit!" Singapore shouted before she turned bright and slapped her hands over her mouth once she realized that she cursed. She cleared her throat. "P-Pardon my language… But fine, let's say that we believe you, then you're saying that there's no way South Vietnam will lose?"

"That's what I've been telling you for this entire argument, but whatever, yes, Chinh's got this in the bag…" Philippines said confidently after his grumbling, grinning as he sat on Malaysia's bed, causing their neighbor to grumble and stir. "In fact, you might want to keep an eye out for the news on the television there, cause as of now, South Vietnam is on his way to start causing civil unrest…"

Indonesia froze in horror, eyes widening. "What?"

Philippines stopped his bragging and looked at her calmly. "Hmm?"

"What… do you mean that Chinh's on his way?" Indonesia asked shakily, very much dreading the answer, though it was obvious. "Does that mean he…"

"Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you…" Philippines smiled darkly. "Not long after your little falling out, I ran into South Vietnam, who by the way looked absolutely furious, but we know whose fault is that. Anyway, we bumped into each other, and he told me that he's ready to go _home_ … about a couple of hours ago, actually."

No…

"I guess your rejection of him helped motivate him to drop everything and get on with starting the war." Philippines remarked as Indonesia could only feel horror. "The only reason he hasn't done it yet was because he wanted to spend time with before anything else, maybe chat up a bit with Singapore and East Timor, but not anymore."

Indonesia swallowed, and she gripped her messed up hair, tears threatening to spill. "S-So, he's… really doing this?"

"Was there any doubt?"

'Yes', she wanted to say, but that's mostly wishful thinking on her part. What did she expect that South Vietnam would do after their argument? Now that she thought about it, it never occurred to her what consequences could arise thanks to their falling out. Did she expect him to simply remain in his room to brood and mourn for the loss of their friendship?

No… That wasn't something South Vietnam would ever do. Even back when he was shy and a worrywart, he was never one to stand idly by. He'd get out there and try to do something about it once he sorted out all his worries, so…

And there was no reason to stay here any longer, was there? Now that any hopes of repairing their relationship were painfully crushed (though Indonesia still foolishly clung onto the foolish hope that-), it's only logical that he'd want to get away from Indonesia and the painful memories as far as possible. So what better solution to healing his pain than to do the one thing he's been waiting to do for over forty years?

If Philippines weren't here, Indonesia would have cried right then and there.

"Where is he now?" Indonesia demanded, feeling rather desperate. "Felipe, please, is there any way I can reach him or call him?"

Philippines stared at her blankly, as if what she said was plain stupid. "You can't be serious."

"Please, just give me-"

"PHILIPPINES!"

Indonesia nearly fell off her bed in shock from the sudden booming voice, and to her shock, she saw that it belonged to Tibet with a tired Laos standing next to him.

"Finally, we…" Tibet trailed as he looked at her in surprise. "Indonesia?"

"Great, those two again…" Philippines grumbled, and he glared at the pair. "I thought I told you that I'd let you know when Mongolia's available, and I already gave you food! What else do you want from me?"

"Well, freedom would be nice for one…" Tibet muttered bitterly, and Philippines groaned. The monk looked at Indonesia and the others in bafflement. "And mind telling us who else you might be keeping in this prison of yours?"

"Oh, I guess I forgot to mention," Philippines said blankly, and he looked at everyone. "Kira, Singa, Tina, these two are here too. Laos, Tibet, these three are also here. Oops, I guess…"

"How did you 'forget' to tell them that we're here?!" Laos squawked in indignation. "Do we mean nothing to you?!"

"Next to nothing, actually. But whatever," Philippines shrugged, scoffing. He then smirked. "I think we're done here. Now, if you all excuse me, I'm kind of late for something so now's the time for my escape."

"What escape?" Singapore demanded incredulously.

Philippines laughed and without warning he wrapped an arm around Malaysia, lifting the drowsy nation up. "This escape."

"Wait, what are you-"

"Malaysia!"

Before anyone could properly react, he took a sphere from his pockets and immediately threw it to the ground. Smoke suddenly arose, and Indonesia, in a fit of panic, dashed forward to grab him, but by the time it cleared, Philippines, along with Malaysia, were gone.

Indonesia only grabbed air.

Now Malaysia's gone too.

"…What just happened?" Laos asked helplessly.

/ / / / /

"I can't believe this…" Vietnam narrowed her eyes and did her best not to let her stress distract her from driving. "We've called Laos over a dozen times, called everyone available who could have an idea where Laos is, asked his boss, his prime ministers, all his human friends that I know of, and we still have no idea where he could be!"

Vietnam could accept that Laos would sometimes be late, but it wasn't like him to forget that they were supposed to meet for business. She searched everywhere and anywhere Laos could happen to be in, including his house, and came out with nothing. It made her already stressful day worse, coupled with the unexplainable feeling of anxiety that's been haunting her for a while now.

As if something terrible was going to happen.

And accompanying her on her desperate search was South Korea, who decided to stay with her and help. Not that Vietnam didn't appreciate it, but South Korea hasn't been doing that much help when he's not claiming that disappearances and mysteries originated in him. His optimism was… somewhat helpful, at least.

"Don't be so blue, Lien!" South Korea grinned widely, and promptly took out his phone and began typing. "Maybe some BTS music will help you put a smile on your face! After all, it originated in Korea, da ze~"

"For once you're not wrong," Vietnam grumbled, and she scowled at him. "But I don't _need_ BTS, Yong Soo, and this is hardly the time for music. What we need is to organize a search party for Laos and… South Korea, are you even listening to me?"

Shortly after her question, Vietnam nearly crashed into a tree when BTS music started to blare in deafening volumes in her car. "Yay, BTS, da ze~!"

"Yong Soo! Please turn that off! It's too loud!"

But South Korea seemed to be too busy dancing and singing along with the music and lyrics. "What?! I can't hear you, Viet! The song's too loud! Also, did you know that awesome music originated in none other than South-"

"YONG SOO, TURN THAT OFF THIS INSTANT BEFORE WE CRASH!"

South Korea squeaked and the color drained from his face, and with a nervous laugh, he pressed pause on his phone while Vietnam glared daggers at him. "Hee…hee… Sorry?"

"Apology accepted, but I'll remind that my patience has limits. And this is no laughing matter, South Korea," Vietnam scolded him lightly, and she sighed again. "I'm starting to feel very concerned for Laos. What if he got caught in a bomb again? What if he got lost?"

"Well… what do we do, da ze?"

"His government are already starting to look for him, so all we can do is keep looking and asking around."

"So… then… Why are we in Vietnam again? Where are we going, da ze?" South Korea asked confusedly, rapidly looking around in search of the thing Vietnam was interested in. "And why, da ze?"

"Because we haven't asked Thailand yet, and I wanted to save him for last." Vietnam replied calmly, and she tightened her grip on the wheel. "I didn't want to interrupt him."

"Hmm? What do you mean, Lien?" South Korea tilted his head curiously. "What's Thailand doing?"

Vietnam looked at him grimly, eyes narrowed, and coldly answered. "He's visiting South Vietnam's grave again."

She felt bad for South Korea as his face fell and his curl drooped, thankfully understanding the situation.

Vietnam had mixed feelings about going to her brother's grave again, in the Southern region, especially with Thailand there to unintentionally make her feel even more guilty. Not that she hated visiting the grave… and revisiting old painful memories, but she didn't need those sorts of feelings right now.

Thailand was… a complicated matter. She didn't mind his presence, not at all since they resolved their centuries-old resentment, and he never berated her or vocally expressed contempt for… what happened, but something about Thailand and the matter of South Vietnam bothered her.

He was a good friend, and Vietnam will fight anyone who dared challenge that fact, but there was something… something uncomfortable about…

Ngh, Vietnam wasn't sure if she could describe it. Then again, since when was anything about South Vietnam easy? But she always had this underlying anxiety that perhaps, Thailand hated her for South Vietnam's death after all?

 _"That's a scar that will never heal but holding on to those feelings won't bring anything but pain, ana"_ Thailand once told her with a sad smile. " _So the best thing we can do is look towards the future and try to move on."_

That, and they wouldn't be friends if Thailand did hate her, but…

She also felt… somewhat concerned about the amount of times he'd visit the grave every year. Hell, he visited the grave more than she did!

That… didn't make Vietnam a bad sister, did it?

No, a murderer like her didn't deserve to see her brother.

From the visits to the way Vietnam would catch Thailand talking to the tombstone, one might that he and South Vietnam-

"Here we are," Vietnam announced dully, and she managed to see Thailand in the distance. "Let's go, and I'd like for us to pay our respects again while we're at it if you don't mind. I might not have flowers with me, but that's no excuse to ignore Chinh."

Removing her seatbelt, she was about to leave the car and get this over with as quickly as possible, but then she felt someone grab her arm. Vietnam widened her eyes and she saw South Korea looking at her with a worried expression.

"Are… you sure you'll be okay, Lien?" South Korea asked with sad eyes.

Vietnam stared at him uncertainly, and then at the small mountain, and gave South Korea a nod. "I think I will be."

She ignored the sad disapproving look he gave her and exited the car, South Korea following not far behind. Things will turn out fine…

Hopefully…

/ / / / /

"One-hundred and twelve, two-hundred and thirteen, two-hundred and fourteen…"

Haiti absentmindedly counted the nails from the bucket next to him he kept putting in the gaping in the dolls, feeling a tingle a delight with every nail that he forcefully insert in the stomach and would later pop out, but Haiti payed no mind to them , which was exactly why the floor was becoming littered with the… small… _sharp_ … things.

He wasn't surprised that nails have begun to pop out, he imagined that it was starting to be too much for _her_.

He hadn't had time to put a lot of stuff in the other doll, but he already asked a favor from one of his dear _friends_ to do the work instead. Bahamas would join Saint Lucia in the agony soon enough. In fact, she should be suffering the effects right about now!

Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to do too much with them, as he was also busy praying and conversing with the loa, telling them the good news… and _bad_ news regarding the location of the diary, AKA the Pe-

"I see you have been entertaining yourself, Hennrick." A deep, apathetic voice suddenly sounded through the room, and Haiti had to fight a shiver of pleasure.

It was one of the Barons.

Unable to help the ecstatic smile on his face, Haiti's hands trembled in pure excitement, and he looked to the side, and his excitement only increased as he saw none other than one of members, one of the _leaders_ , of the Guédé family of loa, the aloof and chaotic Baron Kriminel!

He was leaning against the wall, his glowing blood red eyes boring into Haiti's soul. As always, he appeared as a black man with his face unnervingly painted like a skull and he was dressed in that tailcoat of his with a red undershirt and pants, and let's not forget his top hat! He was dressed fancy, just like the other Barons. They all looked alike, though there were some certain differences.

But what mattered was that Haiti had the honor to once again be in the presence of an old friend, and someone who has assisted him many times in the past.

"My baron…" Haiti whispered reverently, and he lowered his head in respect. "Thank you for coming."

"Always a pleasure to see your face again, my boy." The spirit said aloofly, though Haiti did detect the fondness in his voice. "Hell, we were beginning to wonder who you would summon first; the others have even made wagers with rum and candy on _who_ would be involved first. I imagine the winners must be off getting drunk right about now."

Haiti snickered, that sounded like the Guédé alright! "Is that so? Well good for them."

"Wi…" The Baron stepped towards him, and Haiti felt his breath caught in his throat as the spirit leaned forward. "Now then, onto business. You called me from the other world to request my services in getting rid of two cunts, that I have no issue with, but I do recall you mentioning that you have news regarding… you-know-who?

"Right," Haiti agreed grimly, nodding, and he immediately went on explaining. "It turns out my diary hasn't been lost, it was simply stolen by that traitor Igbo."

"You have informed me of that, yes," The Baron nodded, and he leaned even closer, expression grimly. Haiti wasn't sure if he could contain himself…! "But where is it?"

"The same place where those two pests are currently hiding, in London." Haiti answered curtly, and he chewed on his fingernails. "As for who would have it, I'd reckon one of the magic are holding on to it for research, and if they don't have it, then France will, he's the one who gave it to me after all…"

Haiti stared at the spirit, awaiting his reaction. Part of him was a little nervous that the Baron might blow up in anger and destroy the whole block, even though the spirit would never mean to harm Haiti. While such a sight would be amazing to watch, Haiti really didn't want to rebuild his house… _again_.

Luckily, the Baron seemed to be in a better mood today.

"I see," Baron Kriminel said calmly, and he cracked his knuckles. "Then, we will wait. What matters is that they are found."

"Exactly," Haiti nodded, "So, about Bahamas and Saint Lucia…"

"The cunts, wi, of course." The Baron looked at him expectantly. "Do you have the payment?"

"Wi, as I always do." Haiti grinned toothily, and he giddily jumped from his bed then quickly went to one of his drawers. Of course, he would never take advantage of his close relationship with the gods to order them around. They are gods! His family! They deserved nothing but the best! "I have rum and tobacco here, my baron. Will that do?"

He felt a surge of pleasure when the spirit smiled. "More than enough. Mèsi, little one."

"Pa gen pwoblem," Haiti smiled back, passing him the bottle and the box to the Baron, who took it eagerly, both pleased. "So, can I count on your services? Will you snuff them out?"

"Wi, as I always do." Baron Kriminel assured him, repeating Haiti's words, and he smirked, a terrifying sight to any mortal, a glorious one for Haiti. "I do hope you do not mind me bringing about a bit of mayhem and destruction? It has been quite a while since one has requested my services…"

"Oh, come on, my baron, what sort of employer do you take me for?" Haiti exclaimed in mock hurt, pouting, and then he flashed a similar smirk. "By all means, feast on their flesh if you feel like it."

/ / / / /

"I don't think it's here, Miss Hungary."

"Huh… Well, it was worth a shot."

Liechtenstein murmured in agreement as she closed the drawer and then once again glanced behind her at the door, despite Miss Hungary's constant reassurance and kindly pointing out that if Switzerland was really on his way to his room, they would've heard his footsteps and him calling out her name. It helped calm her somewhat, but the underlying fear and anxiety was still there…

She still couldn't get over the fact that she's actually doing this. She couldn't believe herself, and she didn't know if she'll ever able to forgive herself either, or if _Switzerland_ will ever forgive her if she caught her… well, them, since Hungary was helping her…

Switzerland left for an errand a small while ago, though Liechtenstein noted that he looked like he was doing it begrudgingly. B-But anyway, he left, so as a result…

Liechtenstein was in her brother's room, _alone_ … except for Miss Hungary over the phone. Not that this was the first time. She'd been to Switzerland's room on her own before, like to help put away his laundry away whenever he was too busy or things such as that for example, but this was different. Switzerland didn't _know_ , and worse, she was sort of snooping around.

In other situation, Liechtenstein wouldn't dare consider even for a minute entering Switzerland's room with his permission, and what she was doing right now would very well be considered an invasion of privacy, but she's not sure how much more neglect or Switzerland's cold attitude she could take.

A-And besides, it's not this was the first time she's done something like this…

Although last time it didn't involve sneaking into somewhere so personal as Switzerland's bedroom.

W-Well, at least she had Miss Hungary, who luckily called Liechtenstein while she was stuck fretting over her lack of initiative. Her friend was worried and wanted to ask how she's doing since their talk. It's actually thanks to the older woman that Liechtenstein finally worked up the courage to go to Switzerland's room to find the key to the basement door.

"Hmm… Have you tried looking under the bed yet?" Hungary asked pensively, humming in thought. "I know it sounds a bit cliché, but you never know. Maybe Vash is so sure of himself that he'll have put the key there… that, or he's too cheap to buy a safe."

Through all of her nerves, Liechtenstein managed to smile and tried to hide her giggles. That did sound like Switzerland…

"O-Oh, you're right. I guess that would make sense…" Liechtenstein agreed, and went towards the bed. "I'll go check."

Still holding the phone in her hand, Liechtenstein knelt in front of Switzerland's bed and extended her free hand to search for any items, preferably the key. She ran her hand on her the wooden floor, holding her breath for the key, and she even briefly forgot her fear of Switzerland entering the room at any given moment to crawl under the bed.

"See anything yet?" Hungary asked, almost worriedly.

Liechtenstein checked a bit more before answering, just to be sure, using the light from her phone to see. She felt dejected at the results. "No, not yet…"

"Oh… Well, might as well keep looking…"

"Ja…" Liechtenstein agreed distractedly, before she felt her hand touch something that didn't feel like the floor. "Wait! I found something?"

"Wait, really?" Hungary asked in surprise. "You found the key?"

"Oh, no, nevermind." Liechtenstein frowned, deflating once she saw what it really was. "It's just one of the guns bruder keeps under his bed."

Liechtenstein didn't hear any response from Hungary, but she was sure that she heard a groan and something bang against something. Oh dear, did Miss Hungary bang her head against the wall?

"I'm sorry…" Liechtenstein said quietly, now feeling worse than before.

"No, no, no need to apologize…" Hungary assured her again, and she chuckled. "It's just… Wow, whatever's in the basement must be pretty important if Vash hid the key somewhere where we'd probably never look, huh?"

Liechtenstein stiffened, and she nodded. "Ja, it probably is…"

"Well, no need to give up just yet!" Hungary encouraged while Liechtenstein crawled back and got back on her feet. "I'm sure you'll find the key."

"You really think so?" Liechtenstein asked uncertainly as she stared at the bed. Maybe…

"Of course! We just have to be patient!" Hungary stated confidently while Liechtenstein started to look around the bed, and then she fell silent. "Um… So, anyway… Lili… Can I… Can I ask you something?"

Liechtenstein blinked, confused at Hungary's suddenly melancholy tone. "I don't see why not."

"Oh, good… good… It's just that…" Hungary trailed off again, and before Liechtenstein could ask what was wrong, she continued again. "Hey, how about after you check out the basement… I can come to visit you where you are?"

"Hmm? You want to visit me?" Liechtenstein asked as she searched through the pillows and such, and she smiled. "I'd love to have you over, Miss Hungary. I'm sure bruder wouldn't mind having you over."

"Somehow I doubt that…" Hungary muttered.

"Oh no, I'm sure he won't!" Liechtenstein quickly reassured her, and she lifted the covers. "Even though he's been in a bad mood lately, I'm sure if I just talk to him he'll be happy to allow you to come over to his house!

"Yeah… about that…" Hungary began awkwardly, and she laughed nervously. "Say, Lili, is it really necessary for you tell Vash-"

"I found it."

"What?"

"I… I found the key!" Liechtenstein cried out in joy, holding it tight in her small fist. "It… It was under the covers! And I have it now!"

"That's great, Lili!" Hungary cheered, and then she promptly snorted. "Looks like he did it in somewhere easy to look after all. Anyway, you gonna go down to the basement now? I don't want to pressure you, but Vash won't be gone forever."

It was at that question that Liechtenstein's relief was cut short, and the nerves returned with a vengeance.

"I… I don't know, Miss Hungary…" Liechtenstein said uncertainly, frowning. "Should I go right now?"

"Um… Well… Is there any reason why you shouldn't go down there right now? I mean, besides the… obvious breach of…" Hungary cut herself off with a laugh just as Liechtenstein paled and began to feel worse. "It's not like Vash would have some booby traps in the basement… right?"

"Ja… Ja, you're right. I suppose there's no point in stalling…" Liechtenstein admitted quietly, staring at the small bronze key in her hand. Biting her lip, she nodded. "Okay, Miss Hungary, I'm going down to the basement."

"That's the spirit! But please be careful, sweetie."

"Don't worry, I will."

Switzerland would never have something in the house that could jeopardize her safety.

'What could go wrong?', Liechtenstein thought innocently.

/ / / / /

Morocco didn't mind the subliminal sounds Switzerland left on. On the contrary, it was actually quite relaxing, and as a bonus, it was even calming Cameroon… at least a little.

He grinned as his dear cobra tickled his hand, and he looked up to see how his stoic friend was doing. Shortly after their little arrival to Switzerland, things quickly grew tense. Cameroon didn't quite take the news of Liechtenstein still being here so well… How bad was it one may ask? Well, a furious Cameroon wasn't something that could be so easily described… it was practically unspeakable.

But Morocco will remark that it led to a very heated argument with screaming so loud and deafening that it's a miracle that the cause herself didn't seem to hear any of it. Despite his disappointment with Switzerland on the matter, Morocco will commend him for standing his ground against Cameroon, and for not shooting him…

Confronting and/or calming an enraged Cameroon was no easy task, after all.

Ah, but anyway, about Cameroon… Thankfully, to Morocco's relief, his strong friend seemed to be feeling much better now. He was too busy indoctrinating Mauritius, and knowing him, he'd put aside his feelings for the task, however grudgingly.

In fact, he seemed to be rather invested in it, even wearing a half-manic smile as he spoke and encouraged him to join them in their way of life and have the privilege to stand among the strong and fearless, AKA the New World Order. Morocco smiled fondly. Well, that's good to see…

As for the cute boy himself, Morocco grinned hungrily at the island, who was stuck in a drugged state as he stared emptily into space, he appeared to be doing well. Switzerland mentioned that he's currently in a hypnotic state as well, thanks to the sounds, therefore making him much more susceptible to suggestion, and it showed. Despite only being a little aware of what's going around him, he was listening to Cameroon, and even occasionally sleepily nodding along.

"It's not like we expect people like you, who let themselves be chained by society, to understand, especially one as 'good' such as you," Cameroon said bitterly, and he grabbed Mauritius's head. "But it is your goodness that attracts our attention. He, Prussia, my benefactor and savior, definitely finds you worth keeping alive."

And his goodness made him all the more alluring. After all, who didn't love corrupting the innocent?

"So much so that I cannot understand you, or our fellow former French colonies for that matter." Cameroon snarled, and he yanked the islands face back, causing a weak yelp from Mauritius. "Why do you love him? He is a selfish, vain man who's now a pathetic shell of his former self who boasts about knowing the meaning of love, when he knows anything but."

Mauritius couldn't answer, he was in no condition to, and any attempt to speak only resulted in a choking sound and visible pain in his expression.

"Well?" Cameroon growled, impatient for his answer. Morocco tilted his head. Could he not see that Mauritius couldn't speak? "I'm waiting for whatever excuse you'll make for that man."

But of course, Mauritius didn't answer, which caused Cameroon to growl and yank him back to his previous position.

Feeling pity for his friend, Morocco frowned and went and rested a hand on Cameroon's shoulder. "Now, now, Cameroon, no need to hurt the boy… at least while he's in this state. You don't want to ruin the progress we have made, do you?"

Cameroon looked at him emotionlessly, and he grunted, meaning that he agreed.

Morocco could only wonder, what could Mauritius be feeling right now? Was he confused but beginning to understand them? Was the lust for blood starting to build up within up and his innocence evaporating? Could he even think right now?

All in all, Mauritius looked adorable like that. He reminded Morocco of a poor lost puppy. Confused, pitiful and _adorable_.

It was starting to tempt Morocco even more. He just looked so delectable and so lost that-

 _"Don't even think about it." Switzerland snapped at him, disgust obvious. "If find any… sticky substance on the stupid island, or catch you taking advantage of his drugged state to 'play' with him to satisfy your own urges, then I'll gladly blast your head off."_

Morocco snorted and stroked his snake's chin, frowning in distaste. Hmph. No need to act to judgmental…

But… perhaps he shouldn't blame Switzerland for jumping to that silly conclusion. Morocco did kiss the island boy in a previous encounter, and he would have done a _tad_ bit more to cheer the poor nation up if Switzerland hadn't come in. But Morocco had no intention of causing _harm_ …

He simply saw an opportunity and took advantage of it to get a taste of the nation. And besides, Mauritius was _adorable_.

How could he ever resist?

And who didn't love corrupting the innocent?

Well, Switzerland's not going to be back for a while, and Morocco had no intention of raping the boy, so…

There was nothing stopping him from advancing and having his fun.

Morocco hummed and looked at the serpent coiled around his arm, and he smiled. "What do you think?"

Abarshane gave what could be described as a smirk and hissed in approval.

Smirking at his friend, Morocco petted him and looked over at Cameroon, who seemed to have caught on to his intentions and was looking at him as blankly as ever. Morocco pouted at him playfully. "I want to play with him, Cam. He just looks too cute like that, and I'm getting impatient."

Cameroon appeared to mull it over, and he nodded, smirking. "It could further relax him, so _oui_. But be careful."

Morocco nodded as he felt pure excitement well up within him, and he walked towards the sleepy Mauritius while Cameroon stepped back to let him have his own fun. Unsurprisingly, Mauritius had no reaction to Morocco approaching, and kept his blank gaze to the ground. Once he stood before the younger man, Morocco licked his lips and gently grabbed his chin, lifting it up so that their eyes met.

"You poor thing…" Morocco cooed mockingly, stroking Mauritius's cheek affectionately. He grinned wolfishly. "It must have been awful for you to be trapped here, with only that grumpy European for company, though I imagine that he must have done his best to avoid you. Did you miss us? We're sorry that we had to leave so abruptly, but duty called…"

Not even expecting an answer, Morocco let his cobra slither around the boy, and continued while rubbing Mauritius's thighs.

"But we're here now, even though we'll soon have to leave again…" Morocco sadly lamented with a pout, but he soon smiled again. "So allow me to make up for not being able to be with you for long… Switzerland won't be back from his errand for a while, so that gives us plenty of time…"

With one last smirk, Morocco took a deep breath and kissed Mauritius on the lips.

/ / / / /

Portugal was not at all happy about staying with Brazil in his house.

He would have much preferred staying with his African ex-colonies, but he found himself being dragged away by an oddly angered Brazil after barely an hour of catching up and actually feeling at peace with people he could trust. Before he knew it, Brazil took him back to his house, for some 'bonding time' he said.

Except said bonding time consisted of making Portugal utterly miserable.

He felt completely alone, being with Brazil and his fellow South Americans brought him nothing but pain, and it wasn't like they were that friendly. Portugal wasn't allowed to get in touch with anyone, not even his former colonies in Africa. And Brazil's idea of 'bonding' consisted of insulting Portugal at every given opportunity and showing him the video of Spain's death to ask him if he thought Brazil shot it right.

Eventually, he had enough of being pushed around and tormented.

"When are you going to let me go?" Portugal finally asked.

Brazil looked up at him unreadably, and then he flashed a cruel smile. "I dunno, papa. Maybe in the same amount of time it took me to get independence, so about three hundred years, give or take."

Portugal flinched, and he sighed. He should have expected such an answer.

But...

"But... why? I don't understand. Hell, I still don't understand your feelings towards me!" Portugal shouted, feeling the anger that he's been suppressing. "What is keeping me hostage here with you going to accomplish other than making me suffer!"

Brazil groaned in annoyance. "I thought I told you before, papa. I love you _and_ hate you at the same time."

Portugal clenched his fists, and he frowned at his ex-colony. "The hatred I understand, I really do, but nothing you've done proves that you love me, much less care about me!

"Oh, but I do care about you," Brazil said darkly, standing up, and for a moment Portugal was worried that he made his little brother angry. "If I hadn't, you would have suffered the same fate as Spain."

"But _why_ keep me here?"

"Why, it's so simple, Portugal! I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet," Brazil laughed merrily as if it were all just a joke, and he gripped Portugal's shoulder _tightly_. "We're trading roles here, papa. From now on, you'll be the scared, anxious little colony who has no choice but to follow his nation's every command, which is me obviously! I'm the boss now."

"I know that much…" Portugal muttered grudgingly while Brazil snickered. He frowned as he tried to ignore the pain in his shoulder. "But what exactly is the point-"

"Shut up, I'm not done yet." Brazil hissed as he slapped a hand over Portugal's mouth, much to the latter's dismay, and he smirked. "So, by trading roles, you'll finally begin to understand how I felt the whole time I was under you. You'll know what it's like being suddenly thrown into a new hostile world, and you'll finally understand my pain… But even then, you'll find yourself happy in the middle of all this chaos, and you'll love me."

Portugal paled and pushed Brazil's hand off his mouth to look at his insane ex-colony in disbelief. "Excuse me?!"

"And when you'll love me, we can finally be a family again! You and me, brothers, father and son, together, just like the good old days!" Brazil raved and continued as if Portugal hadn't spoken, his smile widening. "Oh, I just can't wait~ There's so many things I want us to do together that I've been wanting to do for YEARS!"

"Wh… What are you talking about, Xavier?" Portugal demanded, feeling honestly rather terrified by the deranged look on Brazil's face.

"We'll feast, we'll slaughter, we'll bathe together in blood…!" Brazil laughed like a madman and he directed his chilling gaze towards Portugal, who felt a chill down his spine. "You'll be just as cruel and bloodthirsty as you were then, you'll be just like my Papa, who if you remembered vanished thanks to you. But he'll come back, his memory will live on with us!"

"Don't be ridiculous! I'd never stoop to your level!" Portugal shouted, horrified at the very idea.

Brazil snarled at him, enraged at the notion. "Oh, but you **_will_**. When I take you to _that_ place, you'll be-

 _BANG! BANG!_

Portugal jumped and he could have sworn he almost had a failure at the interruption, not that he wasn't grateful, and he saw an elegantly dressed Mexico with two frying pans.

"Xavier… Tio…" Mexico announced in a rather dramatic fashion. "El almuerzo ya está preparado!"

Portugal swallowed and looked at Brazil, who for a moment looked rather conflicted before he smiled tightly. "Perfect! Obrigado, Mexico."

Anxious to get away from Brazil's gaze, Portugal inched away and looked at the impatient Mexico. "What are we going to eat?"

"Oh…" Mexico said, her face expressionless before a smile slowly spread across her face. " _Meat_. Now get in here before it gets cold."

"Sim…" Portugal stiffened when he felt Brazil wrap an arm around his shoulders. "We wouldn't want you to miss Mexico's food and spoil all her hard work, would we?"

Portugal cringed.

Dinner was… awkward, at least for him. Everyone else seemed to be having a great time as they laughed and talked about this and that while Portugal quietly ate his food, which tasted good he'll give Mexico that, hoping that he won't get noticed.

But then Argentina cleared his throat.

"Hey, did any of you hear from the news?" Argentina piped up cheerfully, smiling ominously. "I heard… that there's been reports of mass genocide of Muslim immigrants in the Nordic countries. No one's being spared, not even the children and babies. I even heard that they found a boy's corpse hanging from a utility pole."

Portugal froze. What…?

"Hmm, good for them, especially Sweden." Ecuador happily remarked, grinning. "If he kept going at that rate, then he was completely fucked. He'll finally be able to get rid of all those no-go zones of his."

"Language, hermano." Colombia chided.

"Aw, come on, sis!"

"But wait, is he getting rid of the legals or the illegals?" Venezuela asked curiously.

"Who cares? The last thing Sweden needs is for all that in-fighting and crime in his country to distract him." Peru said gruffly, slicing a piece of meat. "Besides, I bet he's gonan get a load of humans from other countries soon enough."

"I also heard that the capitals of Algeria and Egypt were bombed, in the same day and at the same hour." Argentina announced with a wide smile, and he turned to Brazil. "Hey, Brazil, you said the Africans were behind that one, right?"

"Sim, all them," Brazil confirmed, grinning back. "They were also the ones behind the little incident at Belgium's place. You know, with the deaths of the entire royal family, the prime minister and every member of the parliament? The country's kinda in a state of chaos and anarchy."

Portugal almost dropped his utensils in shock. What were they…?

"But why Belgium?" Chile inquired, visibly. "The only connection she has to those five is through Netherlands, who's also one of South Africa's targets."

"Nope, apparently it was part of a test and a gift for a new member: DR Congo!" Brazil chirped. "He was Belgium's African colony, remember?"

"Ohhhhh…" Everyone said in realization.

"Hey, and did you guys hear about the death of France's president?"

"I never liked that guy."

"Me neither."

"What about the uprisings in Hong Kong and Macau?"

"The state of chaos in Poland…"

"The Caribbean is practically done for-"

"Hungary and some others joined with the-"

"When is hermano going to cut off trade with all those pu-?"

"El Salvador's in custody right now, and they're still working on his-"

Portugal couldn't take any more. He stood up from his chair and began to walk away, only vaguely aware of all the chatter stopping.

"Hey, papa!" Brazil exclaimed, and Portugal sighed. No more, no more… "What did you think of the meat?"

Oh, was that all he wanted? Portugal turned around to see all the unnerving smiles from the South Americans. "What?"

"The meat…" "Did you… like it?"

It took a while for Portugal to respond. Why were they all staring at him? "It was… very good."

Then they all burst out laughing.

"What?!"

At receiving no answer, Portugal got fed up and left. But if he had stayed a little longer, he would have heard a snippet of Brazil's conversation with Mexico.

"Very good, huh? Did you hear that, Mexico?" Brazil wheezed from laughing. "He thought it was very good! He liked it!"

"I know, and I'm so happy he liked it! It would have been a shame of he didn't!" Mexico grinned and laughed along, before winking at Portugal. "Believe me, it wasn't easy cooking parts of a _Spanish_ _pig_."

/ / / / /

Dying sucked.

And all the notable times where Hong Kong died sucked too. Then again, it's not people like them would die in the most pleasant ways to go.

There was that time when the bubonic plague killed him back in 1894.

There was that time when Japan impaled him with a katana when he won the battle in his home.

There was that when he starved to death after that.

There was that time when he pissed off some Japanese soldier too much and wound up getting shot three times. One in the stomach, then in the eye, and lastly in the heart.

There was that time when Hong Kong stabbed himself with a piece of wood he tore from the ground with his bare hands when the hunger wound up being too much for him.

Wow, he sure died a lot when Japan occupied him, huh? No wonder he did. Life under Japanese occupation was _torture_.

And then... there was that time when Egypt (that bastard, ass, camel-fucker...) got angry and decided to take it out (why?) on Hong Kong (why him of all people? Why?) by ripping out his heart from his chest... he tried to kill him, for good.

Hong Kong's memories of it were a little fuzzy. He remembered feeling all proud for finally beating Belize, no small thanks to his amazing explosives, before he felt someone grab him and then he saw Egypt look so furious that he ripped out his heart. There was this awful pain when it happened, and it felt like his soul was ripped out along it with it too.

Egypt tried to kill him.

He nearly succeeded too.

It hurt so much-

And why Hong Kong? What did he ever do other than the aforementioned killing of Belize? And her death was only temporary! What did he decide to inflict that pain and fear onto him?

He won't get away with this. One day Hong Kong will find him and…

Hong Kong coughed, and suddenly his eyes burned. Ugh, where…

"He's waking up." That voice sounded familiar…

Wait. Did this mean he's alive again? So why did Hong Kong still feel like hell?

"Leon…" The voice… Mongolia? He felt someone hold his hand, and Hong Kong held it tightly. "Can you hear me?"

"M… as… ter?" Hong Kong barely managed to say? What the hell happened to his voice? No, what the hell happened to his throat?

What the hell happened while he was out?

He heard chuckling. "You're back. Thank the ancestors…"

"Wh… ere?" Hong Kong coughed. "Wh..ere am…"

"Shh, don't force yourself to speak much. Your throat's still regenerating," So something did happen to his throat?

"I…"

"Macau is here with me. Do you want him to come over? Please nod or shake your head for the answer."

"Don't… get that… gambling freak…" Hong Kong weakly rasped out, ignoring the suggestion. "I'm…. not… in the… mood…"

"He'll be alright." Mongolia laughed.

/ / / / /

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Botswana asked again for probably the twentieth time.

Namibia tried not to groan, despite feeling on the verge of snapping from all the stress and nerves from just being in South Africa's land again. It's not like she's happy about coming back to this place again, especially after that recent disaster, but she's had about enough waiting for South Africa to pay any attention to them. They could either wait for an eternity or just go over to South Africa's house.

Despite everything, Namibia chose the latter.

There were several issues going on here in the continent, besides the usual and ongoing ones, ever since they returned to their homes, and Namibia and the others wanted answers. She was starting to get sick of being trapped, their bosses and many government figures were missing, attempts to contact the Europeans failing, so she had no choice but to go to… _him_.

Namibia looked at him in slight annoyance, though she knew Botswana meant well. "Well, he's not answering any of our calls, so he's either ignoring us or busy doing God-knows what. But I'll be damned if I wait for that jerk any longer. Botswana, honestly, if you didn't want to come with us after all, then no one's stopping you from leaving."

She regretted how rude her words came out as soon as she said them, but Botswana only frowned at her. "I just don't want anyone to get hurt."

Botswana readily agreed to help out once Namibia approached him about that matter, which didn't surprise her or anyone. Her dark-haired neighbor was kind, and the probably the most patient of the group. If any of them were going to play the role of the mediator, it'll be Botswana, but Namibia highly doubted that his 'skills' will work with a psychopath like South Africa.

Still, if it'll stop them from getting eaten…

"Namibia's right," Angola nodded, expression serious.

Angola's as fed up as Namibia was, so it didn't come off as a surprise either when she immediately agreed to the idea of finding South Africa. But it didn't stop her from reminding them to be careful every five minutes, though she also meant well.

"Stop worrying so much, pretty much nothing's happened since we crossed the border. Chris wouldn't maul us over that…" Zimbabwe mumbled in annoyance, and then he paled nervously. "…right?"

She'll be honest when she says that she didn't really expect Zimbabwe to agree without that much persistence from their part, since he's a pretty laissez-faire kind of guy, and she reckoned that he'd probably want to stay far away from the nation who could easily destroy him. But Namibia supposed this was too much even for him, and he's probably more obsessed with finding answers than anything else.

"How about we save the worrying _when_ we find South Africa?" Mozambique suggested calmly, shrugging. "Pretty much nothing has tried to kill us so far, so…"

Mozambique was a bit reluctant at first, but then also jumped on board when she realized that her lying skills could come in handy and that it could give her a chance to visit Portugal, who according to her was last seen with Brazil, so she was obviously worried about him.

"Um… I wouldn't be so sure about that, Mozambique…" Botswana said anxiously, looking pale all of a sudden.

"Huh? Why?" Mozambique raised an eyebrow.

"What's with you, Botswana?" Namibia asked her neighbor in concern. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Botswana gulped. "Look around."

Namibia and the others did just that, and then she saw what got Botswana so scared.

It was the locals, South Africa's people, they were going about in their everyday business, but for some bizarre reason, a good amount of them were _glaring_ at them. Even as they walked, worked and stood in the streets, from the younger ones to the adults, they were all glaring at them in distrust and anger, as if they _knew_ Namibia and the others didn't belong here.

"Does… anyone else sense a bit of a xenophobic vibe from South Africa's people? Like, more than usual?" Zimbabwe whispered in a nervous voice. "A _lot_ more than usual?"

"Ja."

"Uh-huh…"

"Sim."

"Yup."

The humans still glared at them. How did they know they weren't from here?

A worried Angola nudged Botswana, "All those in favor of avoiding the locals and leave before something really bad happens to us say 'aye'."

"Aye."

"Aye! AYE!"

"Aye…"

"Aye!"

"Then let's get the hell out of here before someone tries to kill us."

Luckily, no one screamed bloody murder or followed them in their hasty escape, which was good, because they were massively outnumbered and Namibia didn't want to get assaulted in South Africa again. Once they got away, Namibia decided to vent out her frustrations a little.

"Oh great, now the whole country's out to get us…" "

"Perhaps, but I admired your courage for coming here."

Namibia found herself shrieking at the voice behind her, which accidentally caused Zimbabwe to scream as well, who then caused Angola to scream in alarm and take out her knife, which then freaked out Botswana, while Mozambique only flinched.

"Shush! You have already made enough of a ruckus! Do you want to give the humans a reason to come after you?"

"Ruckus? We're not the ones…" Angola trailed off once she turned around. "H-Huh?!

Once Namibia got over her shock, she turned around as well, and then she received an even worse shock. The voice belonged to a very skinny old man wearing nothing but a cloth around his waist and a pair of sandals. A wave of familiarity came over her.

Was that…?

"Um… may we help you?" Mozambique asked, though she looked rather confused as well.

"Y-Yeah, who are you?" Zimbabwe stuttered. "What do you want?"

"No, but you will need my help, and I will give it to you." The familiar old man replied calmly. "As for what I want, I simply want you five to leave here in one piece."

"Hey, you… you look familiar…" Botswana remarked confusedly, stroking his chin. "Have we met before?"

"Yes, a long time ago, actually." The old man nodded, and he smiled. "I am Khoisan. Now, come with me before the humans get too angry."

 **Yeah... I know, I didn't cover Malawi and Senegal, the Middle Easterners, some Europeans, etc, but I'm thinking of coming back to them next chapter (along with getting back to the main plotlines, which I'm very eager to write), so don't worry. I'm thinking of continuing some of these in the next one too. Sorry if I disappointed you though... It's hard handling all these characters...**

 **Please review, if you have a minute.**


	58. Justice: Cliffhanger

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, NadiaJA627, Eternal Nexus Warrior and a guest for reviewing. Welp, sorry for the wait... again. But I think I'll be able to update weekly again now for a while. Hope the very long and (hopefully) interesting chapter makes up for it! Now on with the show!**

Russia couldn't tear his gaze away from Belarus, no matter how much he wanted to.

Perhaps it was out of guilt, or more likely because he was still frozen in shock at the horrible reality in front of him. It haunted him to see glassy eyes look back at him, as if saying _'Why didn't you come home earlier, Vanya?'_

He still hasn't moved from his spot on the floor. How could he? How could one just simply move on from seeing the bloody corpse of their little sister?

Hell, he was still trying to get a grip on himself and sort out his thoughts. How? How could this have happened?

Ukraine was crying, of course she was crying, and she was at Belarus's side, sobbing and crying out her name over and again in horror. But she… Ukraine didn't know about the _other_ thing, did she? Even though Russia had already briefly explained that nations have already been killed and wiped off the map.

"N… Nat…" Ukraine sobbed, lightly shaking their little sister gently as if that could somehow bring her back. "I… I don't understand… What happened to her? Who did this? Why? Why does she look so _pale_?"

"I…" Russia faltered, unable to provide an answer, despite knowing it himself.

"How could anyone do this to her? Sh-She's so tough too!"

"That's… right…"

"And w-where are Estonia and Latvia? I already expected Lithuania to be a-absent, but…" Ukraine trailing, wiping some of the tears drenching her cheeks, and she gave Russian an upset look. "Vanya, why aren't you answering me?!"

Russia flinched, but he couldn't bring himself to speak.

Someone cleared their throat, Egypt, who looked extremely uncomfortable and disturbed. "Ukraine… Forgive my blunt manner, but I'm afraid that Belarus is… gone. She won't ever come back, that hole in her chest, and the partially destroyed heart over there is the proof."

Russia stiffened and gave a ferocious glare to Egypt for daring to break Ukraine's heart with this information, despite it being inevitable. Couldn't he see that Ukraine was heartbroken?

Ukraine's eyes widened in horror, then she looked to the hole in Belarus's chest and the organ dumped on the ground. After a few seconds of trying to connect the dots, the expression that formed on her face broke Russia's heart.

She opened her mouth, probably to say that she didn't believe it, probably to try to spout out whatever argument she could think of that could disprove it, but no words came out, only pained sounds. Then she teared up and began crying even louder than before.

Russia gave Egypt another glare and couldn't do anything but watch his sister… now his only sister… wail over their sister's cut and beaten corpse.

As painful as it was for him to remember now that he was seeing her dead on the floor, Russia remembered all the countless times he'd hide in his house or in his fort specifically made to guard against his obsessed little sister as she scratched the doors and screamed for him to come out and marry her, calling him cruel and heartless. And at the same time, all the times he'd cry for her to go away and disappear from his life…

Now?

Even more so at the brutal nature of her demise. He grimaced. Belarus may been cruel, harsh and tended to strike unnecessary terror into the hearts of many nations, but she didn't deserve to _die_ , much less like this!

Cuts all over her arms, two large open wounds on her legs as if someone drove a sharp object through it to keep her pinned but failed the first time, dried blood in the inside of her dark purple dress that Russia himself gave to her as a gift (and which she has worn since), bruises on her face… Russia growled in seething rage. Whoever did this to her obviously tortured her before finishing the job…

Whoever… did…

Who…? Who did this to her?

"Who… Who is responsible for this?" Russia asked as he slowly stood up, speaking with a coldness that he reserved for events in which he was _especially_ _enraged_. "Who was the traitor who killed her?"

Egypt obviously detected his rage and oozing aura and frowned uneasily while taking a cautious step back. "I don't know. Like you, I just found out about this. It could have been anyone really, but-"

"WHO DID THIS?!" Russia roared, not caring for what else he had to say, startling everyone present. "WHO DECIDED TO ATTACK ME THROUGH MY LITTLE SISTER?!"

"I-I already told you that I don't _know_ -"

"Is this supposed to be some form of revenge for something I did?" Russia snarled, and he punched the nearby wall, gritting his teeth. "Who did this to her? I want to know NOW! Who killed her?! America? Prussia? _Lithuania_?"

"I told you-"

"I'll KILL THEM! THE COLD WILL BE THEIR GRAVES!"

"RUSSIA, ENOUGH!" Ukraine screamed for the first time in what felt like years, and Russia instinctively froze. "WOULD YOU JUST STOP?! I understand, I really do, but flying into a fit of rage won't help anyone here!"

"It will by avenging our sister!"

"How? You don't even know who killed her!"

That stopped Russia, admittedly, and he faltered while hastily trying to figure out who could be the person most likely to be the culprit. Who? Who could have known exactly where to find Belarus, Estonia and Latvia? And who acted on that information? Who would be really stupid enough to piss him off and hurt him in ways unimaginable?

Remembering the names and faces he saw on the album, he began singling out those who were very likely to feel a great deal of hatred for him. At first, he began to struggle with this little murder mystery, but then a certain realization dawned on him.

"Lithuania."

Ukraine sniffed and looked up at him baffled. "What?"

Russia narrowed his eyes. "Perhaps… I think… that it is very likely that Lithuania was the one who killed Natalya, da?"

Ukraine's eyes went wide at the possibility, and she shakily asked, "W-What? Toris? How… I-I know that he's o-one of them, _and it makes sense_ , but… what makes you think that he's the one who did it, Vanya?

Russia took a deep breath, not proud of what he was about to say.

"Naturally, since I did not know of his true nature at the time, I… invited him to my house and sent him the address just in case." Russia admitted hesitantly, and very guiltily. "W-While he could have given it to anyone else too, it's seems only logical that… Lietuva would be the one to come here and take his fellow Baltics… And given how… how poorly Natalya treats… _treated_ him, and since she is _my_ _sister_ …"

Russia trailed off, not wanting to say any more, and he felt that he didn't need to as the reasons were as clear as day. Judging from the horror dawning on Ukraine's face, she understood as well. Then he felt his earlier return with a vengeance now that he had a good guess of who could have done it… He smiled tightly.

"Da, I'm sure that Lietuva was the one who did it…" Russia gnashed his thoughts and clenched his fists, then he screamed. "THAT TRAITOR! Does that pathetic welp really think he stands a chance against me?! Especially after committing such a heinous crime against a member of my _family?!_ "

He really thought that Lithuania should've learn from previous experiences that messing with Russia would bring him nothing but pain and suffering for him and his people. Lithuania especially should have learned that after all the times Russia would punish him for disappointing him or misbehaving, rather harshly too.

Well, clearly all those punishments taught him _nothing_.

Grinning, he rested a hand on Ukraine's shoulder for comfort. "But not to worry, Kat. I promise that I'll stop at nothing from reducing that _ublyudok_ to nothing but a broken piece of shit, and his country will be wiped off the map along with him. Belarus will be avenged, you have my word."

He felt Ukraine stiffened, and she kept crying, tears falling from her face. Russia began to feel concerned.

"Kat? Sestra, did you hear me?" Russia blinked, shaking her gently. "Do you not believe me? Are you worried? I understand, but there's no need to! Lithuania is nothing compared to me, da? It shouldn't be too difficult eliminating him."

Ukraine shrugged off his hand, and Russia flinched when she looked up at him with an angry expression. "I'm not thinking about _any_ of that, Vanya."

Russia tried to ignore the pain of hearing her harsh tone, and he looked at her in surprise. "Th-Then what-"

"You still don't get it, do you?" Ukraine said quietly, giving him the accursed upset look that Russia loathed. "You don't need to say it. It's written all over your face. How have you not realized it yet? I didn't believe you could be this blind and stubborn

"What do you mean?" Russia asked, genuinely curious, and that was when Ukraine became angry.

"I mean about Lithuania, Vanya!" Ukraine snapped, and Russia flinched at her anger. "If he really did kill her then… Can't you see? This is exactly what I meant earlier! This wasn't just done out of spite or revenge for how Natalya treated him, this was also his revenge for everything _you_ did to him! This happened because of all the suffering you put him through! You pushed and pushed him to the brink of insanity until he finally _snapped_!"

Russia cringed, he had forgotten how frightening his sister could be and what happened when she was truly angry.

"But even so, even when the consequences of your actions are right front of you, you _still_ refuse to feel guilty or admit that you are at least partly _responsible_!" Ukraine spat, and she shakily got on her feet. "You never see what's really wrong about everything as if you're a child! Well, you're not a child, Vanya! You are an adult, and I say it's about time you act like one!"

"Nyet, I am not a child." Russia managed to say under his sister's scrutinizing gaze, and he tried to stand his ground. "And you are wrong, sestra. I have accepted responsibility, and I e-even tried my best to you and Nat's forgiveness after the Soviet Union-"

"You only sought forgiveness from me and Nat because we were your family and you didn't want to lose the people least likely to leave you!" Ukraine retorted bitterly. "But even so you _still_ attempt to lie and avoid accepting responsibility!"

"That is not true!" Russia exclaimed desperately, but Ukraine wasn't done yet.

"Honestly, Vanya, I'm getting tired of all of this! Why can't you accept responsibility and accept that a lot of your actions were cruel and unjust?! Why do you always have to hide behind the excuse that you just wanted friends?!"

"But I do want friends! All I ever wanted was to have friends!"

"But that's no excuse for your cruelty and your actions." Ukraine effortlessly retorted. "You attempted to spread a poisonous ideology since it was doing _so well_ for the Soviet Union! You mock America for all he did during the Cold War, when you were no different! In fact, you were _worse_! You wanted everyone to be equal in death, misery and poverty!"

"Nyet! The very reason I encouraged communism was everyone could be-"

"You took, took, took and drained others of their love, emotion and compassion. You caused just as much trouble as America did, if not _more_. You corrupted others, you made them cold and unfeeling, and you turned them against their loved ones! You did it to me and Crimea, you did it to North and South Vietnam, you did it to Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia…!"

Ukraine trembled and she buried her face in her hands, crying once again. Russia had no idea what to do or how to feel. Couldn't she see that this was not the time for… None of what she's saying was… But the New World Order was…

But then Ukraine snapped her head back to him, tears streaming down her cheeks and expression furious. Russia took a cautious step back.

"I love you, Vanya, believe it or not. But you make it so painful for me that it would be much easier if I just _hated_ you!" Ukraine screamed in despair, and Russia felt his heart crack. "Your people used me as a battleground for your civil war, you banned my language, culture, the very existence of me and my people, you forced millions of my soldiers to fight for you in World War II! You used them as pawns and made them go through _hell_. You deny the _Holodomor_ … all the pain and suffering I went through thanks to your inhuman demonic sack of _shit_ of a boss… you and your people said it never even **_happened_**! You denied it to my face!"

"Y-You don't really mean that-"

"You denied that you committed genocide against me, your older sister." Ukraine stated coldly, not bothering to let Russia speak. "The massacres at Grishino and Feodosia, the slaughter of my insurgents, the list goes on! And despite all that, you dared invent the lie that I never wanted to _leave_ the Soviet Union!"

Russia gave her a hurt look. "But I… I thought…"

"I told you, Vanya… After you began to starve my people, remember? I…" Ukraine wiped her tears with her sleeve and glared at Russia accusingly. "I told you that as long you remain ignorant of your own faults and acted self-righteously, unrepentant of your actions… And I don't just mean what you did to me and Nat, I meant _everyone_ … Someday, it'll all come back to haunt you, and you'll end up losing the people who actually _do_ love you."

Russia tried to say something, _anything_ , but Ukraine snapped again.

"And now thanks to you, Natalya is _gone!_ Our little sister _died_ for _your_ stubbornness and cruelty!" Ukraine shrieked. "She was such a strong person, even if she went about it in a negative way, and she deserved to live despite how much she believed otherwise. She _loved_ you enough to _marry_ you for reasons I could never figure out! And now she truly payed the price for it!"

"I…"

"This happened because you insisted on remaining a cruel, cruel man. You pushed and abused others until they couldn't take any more, and they finally punished you by taking Nat, who also suffered from your actions" Ukraine stated hesitantly, and the tears fell again. "Why? Why couldn't you change? Especially after the Soviet Union! That was your chance to make up for what you did, but no…"

"Sestra, I'm…" But Russia couldn't say it, and Ukraine looked at him again.

"I've had enough of this. I think we'd both like to give Natalya a proper burial, right? Let's do that and then leave this accursed place…" Ukraine shivered and held her arms, giving Russia a sad look. "I'm still going with you, obviously. It's not safe. But I'm only staying with _you_ because I don't want to see anyone else die because of you."

Russia remained frozen in place, shocked by everything his sister said. No one… No one had said anything like that to him before.

Ukraine sobbed and kneeled down to close Belarus's eyes, and she looked up grievingly at the uncomfortable Egypt. "Um, Egypt, please, would you…"

Egypt quickly nodded and went over to her. "Yes, of course."

Once Russia realized that neither were going to speak to him anytime soon, he turned his heel and left, a maelstrom of emotions tormenting him on the way. He felt sad, yes, very much heartbroken by Ukraine's words. Never had his sister been so harsh and resentful with him like she was just now, not even after the Cold War or Crimea, so her words cut very deep, more than he cared to admit.

But he also angry, angry that his sister dared say all that. The Civil War (Russia was already suffering from a splitting migraine), Holodomor (it seemed like such a good idea at the time…), World War II (well, it was either him or the Nazis). Couldn't she see that Russia would never inflict such horrible torment on purpose? Order had to be maintained, and Russia didn't want her to leave so that's why he told Stalin…

Russia sighed and stopped once he stepped outside into the snow. But…

"GENERAL!" Russia shouted to the skies impatiently. "COME FORTH THIS INSTANT!"

Normally he would have been politer to his ally and tormenter, but he was not in the mood, regardless of possible consequences. The General owed him an explanation, and if it turned out that he knew and disobeyed Russia, he would vow that he would find a way to punish the spirit.

As always, General Winter swiftly arrived from the cloudy skies, arms crossed and obviously looking a little disgruntled by how Russia called him.

"You look pale, upset, angry. You were grieving yet seething in pure rage." General Winter noted unhelpfully, and Russia narrowed his eyes. "What has happened?"

It was at that Russia snapped, and didn't think twice at what he was about to say. "What happened?! I'll tell you what happened, General! My little sister has been murdered by one of my neighbors, never to come back to life! And now I am losing my older sister as well! That's what happened, da?! So why didn't you do anything, General? You were supposed to protect her and the Baltics from danger! Did you know that the killer was here? Or is all this just another plan to torment me?!"

Russia breathed heavily, staring at the cruel spirit of winter. Now that practically screamed all those words to the General, he began to somewhat regret saying all that in a such a rude manner. General Winter didn't take kindly to disrespect, but Russia was too busy boiling with rage.

The General remained quiet for a long while, looking almost pensive and a little puzzled. Russia wondered if he was thinking about what he just said or how to best punish him for his disrespectful behavior.

"I knew _nothing_ of your sister's demise until now, Vanya." The General spoke coldly, making it abundantly clear to Russia not to further disrespect him. "And as far as I was concerned, no one except the girl and those two quivering Baltics have traveled to your land."

Russia gaped at him in shock. "W-What? But how? You…"

Then Russia remembered something Egypt had said about the New World Order members. They have some sort of magic that prevented other nations from sensing them.

Did that magic also extend to the General as well?

Judging from the General's words and reaction, it did.

"Very odd that I did not see anyone, da?" The General remarked, and he gave a stern stare to Russia. "You know something that I do not. What else has happened?"

Russia's eyes widened. Ah, that's correct. General Winter didn't know, but if Russia told him, he would be better prepared. "There is another World War coming, General, perhaps even worse than the last. Those responsible are a group of nations called the New World Order, and I am now sure that I am one of the ones they intend to destroy."

General stared at him, though his expression remained as calm as ever. "Another war? Very well then… I will make sure to crush any armies than dare cross the border, and you are to free to call for my aid if very needed."

Russia forced a smile, especially since the General was thankfully in a more merciful mood today. "Thank you, general..."

"And…" General Winter began with an almost gentle tone. "I give you my condolences for the loss of Belarus. She was a special girl…"

As the General began to fly up and disappear, Russia looked solemnly down to the snow. "Da, she really was…"

Then he was alone, and Russia finally allowed himself to cry.

But even so, he couldn't forget about his rage, and it burned brighter than ever before.

/ / / / /

Lithuania was just finishing speaking with a few soldiers, who were informing him to his delight that everyone was already traveling through Belarus towards the Russian Border, where they would stay until further orders. Perfect. The preparations were nearly complete, now all he had to do was decide whether or not he wanted to go with his men and wait… or go with the other option Prussia told him about.

He was just wandering about in an empty alley as he pondered on this. Sure, he could also go back to his house and check up on how Vilnius was doing on warming up to Estonia and Latvia, something that admittedly worried him somewhat, but then there was his work, so he spent a little while being indecisive.

But then he felt it.

He stopped in his tracks as he felt a shock as a shiver went down his spine. Gasping, his hand went to where his heart was, which had nearly stopped, and he began to breathe heavily as he immediately recognized the familiar ominous feeling of doom.

"Wait, this is…"

Lithuania knew this feeling. He's felt it countless times back in the days of the Soviet Union, just before he'd get punished for some stupid childish reason by…

Realization dawned on him, and his eyes widened.

 _Russia._

If Russia already knew for a while now about Lithuania's involvement, and he was only feeling his rage and desire for inflicting pain just now, then… Could it be that…? Feeling that Russia wanted to murder him in the worst ways possible meant that…

He had discovered about what happened to Belarus.

He discovered that his bitch sister was dead.

And he figured out that Lithuania did it… or at least considered him one of the most likely to be the culprit.

He spent a few moments digesting this realization, before a smile slowly made its way to his face.

Russia knew.

And he must be devasted and wracked with guilt right now.

Lithuania burst out laughing.

HeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHeknowsHEKNOWSHEKNOWSHEKNOWS

Lithuania laughed hard.

This… This changed things! He should've known it was only a matter of time before… It's obvious Russia would've… HA!

Lithuania fell to his knees and then promptly collapsed in his fit of laughter, barely managing to breathe.

Now he _definitely_ needed to go with the idea Prussia proposed. He just needed to make a few calls…

Eh, but it could wait. He wanted to laugh for a little while longer…

/ / / / /

Thailand wasn't even sure what exactly compelled him to come here again after already visiting a short while ago, but he felt drawn to this place, and he couldn't resist its hold on him, not that he wanted to anyway.

He sat cross-legged on the grass, staring longingly at piece of rock in front of him and running a finger down its smooth surface. Thailand would never miss a chance to visit this place, especially when he felt that he had to. That was the beauty of their love, Thailand would think proudly. It never died nor faltered even when things were at their worst, or when South Vietnam… died.

In fact, and while this might sound outrageous or silly to some, if he could, he could stay here forever. Right here, right next to his only possible connection with South Vietnam's spirit.

Thailand smiled. Yes, it did sound rather ridiculous, didn't it? Spending his entire immortal life, however long it may last, in this spot in rural Southern Vietnam with only tombstones and the birds for company, mourning the past when he should be looking forward to the future and working to better his country. Well, it certainly sounded better than to deal with politics and his new king…

He forced out any negative thoughts on that last subject before he could focus on them too much, even though he wasn't in his country right now and there was no danger of him being punished. He shouldn't let such negative feelings get the better of him here, it'd be disrespectful to his love.

"Chinh, you know I'm always happy to visit you, but I can't help but keep wondering why I've been coming back to this place so many times this week, ana…" Thailand spoke gently to the stone, imagining it was South Vietnam staring at him curiously with his golden-honey eyes. "Hm, I'm even skipping work of all things, which surprised even myself. My boss won't be very happy with me…"

Again, he pushed back certain thoughts and bit his tongue to avoid the risk of speak those thoughts out loud. Thailand sighed and leaned against the rock, trying his best to clear his mind of any negative thoughts. He smiled and ran his hand across the surface again.

"But you mean much more to me than him, so much more…" Thailand whispered softly, and he smiled sadly. "Even though you're not here anymore, ana… Forgive me for sounding selfish, but you're worth more than any human, Chinh, Thai or not."

Goodness, he must sound silly…

But he didn't care. Even though no one knew, and he kept it a secret, he didn't care what others could think. What did they know? They abandoned South Vietnam to his-

"Thailand."

A gasp escaped his mouth and his eyes widened in alarm at the sudden interruption, as well at the possibility that someone _saw_ him…! Thailand staggered back to the ground and snapped his head towards, and he sighed relief when he saw it was Vietnam and South Korea, the former who was frowning at him and the latter smiling and waving at him.

Although he felt puzzled by their presence. What was Vietnam doing here? They never meet during the visits, it was part of the silent agreement between them. And South Korea, while Thailand certainly didn't mind his presence, it warmed his heart to see someone else come to pay their respects to South Vietnam, but he was an unusual choice for a companion.

Ah, where was his manners?

"O-Oh my, No- _Vietnam_ , South Korea, hello!" Thailand greeted amiably with a smile after a bit a bit of stuttering, and he mentally kicked himself for nearly calling Vietnam _North_ to her face. "Forgive me, but I certainly wasn't expecting you to come visit."

"Hello Thailand!" South Korea greeted with wide smile, though he lacked his usual cheer for obvious reasons. "We have come to visit like you said, da ze! And pay our respects too! We would have brought flowers or other cool stuff, but unfortunately-"

A disapproving Vietnam slapped a hand over his mouth before South Korea could very likely once again claim that something was or wasn't invented in his country. Thailand couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of South Korea still talking, though it was muffled, but then he felt his amusement vanish when Vietnam looked at him.

"E-Err, yes, hello Thailand…" Vietnam greeted awkwardly, somewhat avoiding his gaze, and she wringed her hands nervously after releasing South Korea. "I apologize for startling you and for not telling you about this but… I didn't want to interrupt you, so…"

"Oh… Thank you, Lien." Thailand gave a grateful smile nodding. It was for the best, seeing Vietnam here left a bit of an undesirable taste in his mouth. "And it's alright, no need to apologize for it. How have you been doing?"

Vietnam finally looked at him in the eye, frown still in place. "Good enough, for the most part. Though I haven't gotten much sleep in the past couple of days for some reason, and I've been feeling slightly… on edge."

Now Thailand frowned. From the sound of it, Vietnam's had a bit of a rough week. "On edge? How come?"

Vietnam sighed, and rubbed her head. "I wish I knew. I think the Europeans' anxiety is starting to affect me too, somehow. But honestly I have no idea why I feel like I should be on my guard _at all times_ …"

South Korea gave her a worried look. "You're worried that you might get attacked too?"

Vietnam shook her head, gritting her teeth. "No, of course not. I have no reason to suspect that anyone would be planning to launch an attack on my country, so I don't think that's it. And besides, why me? Why would anyone want to hurt me, my country or my people? Unless it was terrorists…"

 _Why would anyone want to hurt you…?_

Thailand tried not to clench his fists and made sure to smile as he looked up at South Korea. "Well, be sure to remember we'll all be there for you if anything happens, though I hope for your sake that nothing does."

Vietnam appeared to appreciate that reassurance and managed a small smile. "T-Thank you, Kasem…"

 _You have no right to call me-_

"No need, Lien. Now, if you don't mind me asking, how come you're traveling with Lien, South Korea?" Thailand curiously asked the younger nation, having been meaning to ask that question. "Were you visiting her?"

The cheerful nation grinned, though it looked rather subdued. "Lien and I are on an important mission, da ze! She wanted to stop by and ask you about where Laos could be! We would keep looking ourselves, but unfortunately-"

"But unfortunately, we keep coming out empty handed." Vietnam cut him off, giving him a stern glare before looking at Thailand with a concerned expression. "His humans and our neighbors haven't had much luck either. But there was still you, so it was worth a shot seeing if you've learned anything… and it wouldn't have hurt… visiting _him_ along the way…"

Thailand stared at her in surprise as he processed that information. So that's why they went to find him… "Ah, I see..."

"So… I don't know what you've been up to lately other than… being here but…" Vietnam began anxiously, grasping her hands together. "And… I know it's a bit of a stretch, considering that he and you are… but we barely talked about Laos's disappearance so… What do you think? Do you have anything that could help us find him?"

Thailand frowned at the question. "I doubt it."

"H-Huh?"

"I'm sorry, but I really have no idea where that brat could have gone off to." Thailand admitted remorsefully, despite how annoying his neighbor was. "He and I haven't spoken to each other for a few weeks now, and the last time I saw him was at the last ASEAN meeting we had over at Indonesia's house."

Vietnam's face fell, and she stared sullenly at the ground. "Oh."

"I'm sorry."

"No… No, there's no need to apologize." Vietnam assured him, shaking her head. "We'll just keep trying to find him. He has to turn up eventually…"

"I hope so…" Thailand agreed.

They fell into an awkward silence, much to his and undoubtably Vietnam's discomfort. This was exactly what they feared would happen if they ever met here. Now that there's nothing to talk about (Well, that's not necessarily true. Thailand could think of a few topics, but they don't seem appropriate at the moment), all that's left was the grave.

Thailand wasn't even sure if he wanted to continue speaking with her right now. As pleasant as she was, this place certainly put a strain on their ability to freely talk as friends.

It brought back dark and painful memories.

He glanced at South Korea, and he saw the boy looking back and forth between them, looking rather anxious and uncomfortable like them. But if anything would be willing to break the ice, it would be South Korea. Thailand just hoped he did it soon.

No matter how silly it might sound.

However, the awkward tension was broken was something.

"Oh great, what could he want now? I need to take this…" Vietnam grumbled, and put the phone near her ear. "China, whatever it is you want to talk about better be important. Laos is still missing, and I am not in the best mood right now…"

She trailed off as China's voice could vaguely be heard by Thailand, and soon the color drained from her face.

"What?!"

/ / / / /

Taking care of Igbo was tiring, but Western Sahara will be damned if she let that stop her from helping him and be there for him as the fool wanted her to do…

She didn't care if it left her exhausted or if it'll cause her to have some sleepless nights as she worried that Igbo might collapse as he choked on his own blood, Western Sahara wasn't going to let him get put through worse pain if she could help it.

Not that there was much she could _do_ to help him, honestly, despite how much Igbo kept thanking her after replacing his bandages again and singled-handedly drag him to the bathroom after collapsing from blood loss or when he was starting to show signs that he needed to vomit. Western Sahara did feel glad that she could at least make it easier for him, but it didn't change the fact that she couldn't do anything to stop his condition.

Igbo, of course, didn't care about that and was just happy to be with her. Alright, she'll admit it was nice having someone to talk to. He spoke about how things were back home, but as soon he got to the part where he escaped, he began vomiting blood again. Apparently, he couldn't get into detail on certain topics without Nigeria torturing him.

Still, Igbo was _happy_.

Western Sahara had to hold back an empty laugh. But she knew that she'd go through pain too, didn't she? That she'd had to be reminded again of her own uselessness and helplessness in helping herself and those around her from their problems. Time and time again, something painful will come her way and there was nothing she could do about it.

Whenever she did try to do something, it seemed that she only made things worse…

 _Igbo_ didn't seem to think so, though, and Western Sahara resisted the urge to sigh. She glanced at her friend sitting next to her drinking from his tea. He's stopped bleeding for the most part, and he hasn't coughed or vomited in quite a while, which led to Western Sahara if Nigeria took a break or was trying to give Igbo false hope that the punishment was over.

She highly doubted Igbo would ever let his guard down, however.

"I just realized that I never go to tell you this, but congratulations." Igbo said suddenly, then he softly blew to cool the tea.

Confused and flinching after being abruptly pulled out of her pessimistic thoughts, Western Sahara stared at him in bafflement. "For what?"

"For your independence, of course. Nigeria told me," Igbo cracked a wry smile, though it obviously looked pained. "I would have gone to visit you with Chantal and celebrate, but Nigeria… and not to mention Yoruba was hellbent on making sure I didn't end up in more trouble…"

Western Sahara blinked, and she felt her face heat up as she began to feel like an idiot. She palmed her forehead. Of course, her independence! She's been too busy brooding and cleaning up after Igbo that she's forgotten about it!

"Oh," Western Sahara said, feeling a little embarrassed for having forgotten about that, and managed to smile back. "In that case, thank you."

"You deserve it, my friend. I am glad that at least one of us will have finally gotten what we wanted." Igbo said fondly, and he raised his cup.

Western Sahara felt her smile broaden slightly, despite knowing the implications of Igbo's words. As long as their respective captors lived, Western Sahara will always be the only one of their group to ever attain nationhood. That didn't mean she was completely free, she wanted to remind Igbo. Western Sahara's still bound by a deal, she wanted to tell him.

"Please, don't give me that look, Saf." Igbo pleaded, giving her a disapproving frown. "You don't need to tell me anything to 'try to make me feel better'. I already accepted that my chances of freedom are rather slim."

Western Sahara bit back a retort and protest, not willing to start a fight with Igbo.

"What sort of plan do you have in mind for your country?" Igbo inquired curiously, looking at her calmly. "Are you going to arrange presidential elections? Or will you keep your current president? Most importantly, are you willing to appoint a human as your own boss, or will you rule the nation yourself like the New World Order do?"

Western Sahara grimaced, and put a bit of sugar in her tea. "Well, that is the most important decision, no? Will I do everything myself, thus making decisions without anyone to stop me and have things done my way? Rule the land that I represent? Or will I have a human do most of the work, at the risk of abusing their power and plunging the nation into poverty like about every nation in Africa?"

She inwardly groaned. Oh, for the love of Allah, she's starting to sound like Prussia, Morocco, and the others. But as much as she hated to admit it, her trust her humanity had soured throughout the years thanks to the Order. And she'd be lying if she said that she didn't get angry at the Polisario Front from time to time.

They… They did have a point when it came to the humans… History has proved time and time again what disasters they could cause once they were put in the position of power and they also had an unnerving effect on the personifications themselves. Western Sahara didn't want to end up like the other African nations, gaining independence only to end up stuck with a load of problems and corrupt leaders.

Perhaps taking the reins was the best choice.

She's sure that the humans won't mind. They know her, and she's a respected figure among the Polisario Front and the government. There won't be any anger over having a woman such as her in power.

"I… I think I'm going to rule by myself. I don't really want a boss…" Western Sahara finally answered. "Besides, what's the point in having a human for a leader if everyone else won't if the Order wins this war."

"I suppose that is a good point…" Igbo nodded. "Are you going to try to seek to establish relations with the nations that didn't recognize you before? The ones that'll survive, I mean. And forgive me, but are you going to seek out the other members too? As much as you hate them, it'll do your people good."

Western Sahara's hands shook, and she gritted her teeth. Whether she liked it or not, Igbo was right. "It was stated in the deal that as… a _reward_ for my loyalty, all members of the New World Order will officially establish relations with the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. So at least I won't have to go to their doors and ask them to. As for the others, I… I'm not sure."

Igbo frowned, a knowing glint in his eyes. "You're afraid how they'll react to discovering that you knew about _them_ all along?"

"It's not just that, Ike." Western Sahara hissed, setting down her cup to grip her head. "I gave them information, _secrets_ , secrets that people trusted me to keep, stole from my family…"

"All of which was done out of pressure instead of ill intent and were orders you couldn't afford to disobey." Igbo pointed out calmly, and he sip his tea. "They forced you to do all of those things, and you never enjoyed doing them. I'm sure they'll understand that."

"If they ever decide to trust me again." Western Sahara grumbled pessimistically.

"They will." Igbo insisted calmly, as if just _knew_ they would.

"Oh, how is it possible for you to be so optimistic when…" Western Sahara stopped herself from scolding hum when she heard the phone ring. She narrowed her eyes. "What the…"

"I think someone wants to speak to you, Safiyya." Igbo stated unhelpfully.

Western Sahara resisted the urge to sigh. "I know, but who?"

"Perhaps it's one of your family or friends." Igbo suggested, though Western Sahara could tell he was suspicious.

She snarled as she clenched her fists. "Or it could be Morocco coming to rub something in my face again."

"Either way, it's probably best if you go and check." Igbo remarked, pouring more tea for himself. Western Sahara sighed in defeat and stood up, but before Igbo said, "Who knows? It could be Algeria checking to see if you're alright."

Western Sahara froze at the possibility, but she shook her head. "I'd rather not get my hopes up…"

Still… If it was Algeria…

Taking a deep breath and bracing herself for any taunting remarks or news that might come her way, she picked up the phone. "Hello? Who is this?"

"Safiyya? Is that you?"

Western Sahara's eyes went wide. Her heart nearly stopped, and she almost wound up dropping the phone.

No… It couldn't be…

"Hello? Saf, it's me, Algeria. Can you hear me? Hello?"

/ / / / /

South Africa obviously knew of the little visitors in his country, and he didn't mean his friends, who were all currently in the same room as him.

He counted one… two… three, four… _five_ nations crossing into his border, all the _same time_ , and they _all_ felt familiar. He had a pretty good guess who each of them could be, since he recalled getting quite a few messages, missed calls, and angry voicemails from his many of his neighbors. And frankly, he wasn't expecting them to come to him this soon, especially when he was in the middle of work.

Was he angry? No, not really. _Annoyed_ would be the right word to describe his feelings, along with amused and curious. Just when they were getting to an exciting part, five Africans suddenly decide that now's a great time to enter South Africa's country _without his permission_.

 _Eish!_ Whatever, he'll deal with them later. South Africa will just have to somehow fit 'dealing with nosy nations' into his busy schedule. In the meantime, they should already be receiving a warm welcome from the humans. Who knows? It might scare them away. And if it didn't, then South Africa always had Izzy, his honey badgers and other animals if they cause trouble.

They, like his people, don't take too kindly to outsiders.

Now if you excused him, he needed to help Nigeria transport the last of the devices and teleport the group to Belgium.

/ / / / /

Bahamas didn't even remember how long she's been lying on the ground clutching her stomach in excruciating pain. She remembered holding Saint Lucia's air back as she threw up into a toilet before she saw what she was vomiting, and then soon after, she began to feel pain too.

Said pain felt like a thousand knives piercing her stomach and other organs. The pain never stopped, it only came back stronger again and again every few seconds, and after a while some of the pain would go up, slashing and stabbing as it did, until it reached her throat and made her want to vomit. She wished she could vomit it out. Why couldn't she…?

Bahamas coughed, and weakly looked up to look for Saint Lucia and how she's doing. Her vision was blurry, and the pain didn't help her senses, but she could make out a small body collapsed on the floor next to a blood-stained toilet. Saint Lucia?

Oh no, was she unconscious? Did the pain kill her?

Before she could begin to wonder more about that, the urge to throw up suddenly became strong and unbearable, and she finally began to get it all out.

She coughed and retched, holding her stomach even tighter. She's could fell blood coming out too.

Then she heard something that sounded like clinking as she threw up, and when she opened her eyes, she saw dozens of blood and mucus-covered nails scattered over the floor in front of her. Bahamas retched, and she saw more fall into the pile. It hurt so much…

"N-Nails?" Bahamas gasped, and she literally felt sick to her stomach. "Why am I…"

"That would be Hennrick's work, little lady…" Bahamas's eyes widened, and she looked up to see, to her horror, a tall man with glowing red eyes and a top hat towering over her. "But be grateful. It is not even the worst punishment he could offer."

Bahamas suddenly felt very, _very_ afraid, and she could barely get the words out of her mouth. "What? Who… W-Who are you?"

The man smiled cruelly, and his eyes glowed brighter. "Your baron and your killer."

/ / / / /

Believe or not, Hungary wasn't exactly over the moon about this either.

She didn't need Germany yelling at her for her to realize that having Liechtenstein investigate the basement of Switzerland's house wasn't exactly the best idea for many reasons. Since the very beginning when she got the idea to encourage Liechtenstein to search for the origin of Switzerland's neglectful behavior, she didn't like doing it.

But honestly, Switzerland as doing a poor job keeping Liechtenstein relaxed and happy when that's practically what he's been doing for years. What, did the announcement of no longer needing to play pretend and multitasking with… whatever the hell he's doing that has something to do with screaming make his acting skills diminish?

Either way, it still didn't make this right.

It felt… awful to use someone as sweet and kind as Liechtenstein and lie to her, even though it's for a good cause. Ugh, whether it's a good cause or not, it's still not right to put her in danger. She's a good friend, and she needed to be safe.

Hungary only wanted her to take a few photos of the basement and send them to her or at least tell her if there's an African nation tied up there, being brainwashed to serve her liar of an ex-husband. She didn't want anyone to go through that, but still…

Liechtenstein's well-being and survival was completely banked on Hungary's hope that Switzerland really did care for her, at least enough to not punish her severely.

And that's… not very…

"Hungary." She jumped and whirled around to find Germany glaring at her.

"G-Germany…" Hungary sighed in relief and offered a small smile at her ally. "You scared me… May I help you with something?"

Germany narrowed his eyes and looked at the phone in her hand. Hungary then immediately knew what this was about. "I still don't approve of this. In fact, I strongly condemn this. And if you weren't someone I respected and cared for so much, I'd-"

"I know, I know…" Hungary frowned, and she looked at him sternly. "I'm not happy about this either, but please, trust me on this. I just want her to take a quick peek then run the hell away, and if I sense anything off, I promise I'll get her to back out."

Germany growled something under his breath. "You better."

"I will…" Hungary reassured him, and she bit her lip. "I just… If Mauritius really is there, then… I don't want anyone to get brainwashed to work for _those two_ , don't you agree?"

"Ja, I know…" Germany nodded, and he clenched his fists. "But I'd rather have Liechtenstein be safe too. She shouldn't get involved in this. We could have… found another way to find him and reveal the truth to Liechtenstein. There must have been a better way…"

Despite his anger, Hungary couldn't help but smile at his protectiveness. "You really do still care for her a lot…"

Germany stiffened, and a blush quickly spread across his face. "I-I, ja… I guess… I mean, I do! She is… She is one of the kindest and most innocent of all of us, and she was pleasant to be around with back when she… lived in my house… and…."

Hungary couldn't help a small giggle as Germany's voice faltered and his blush deepened. "Well, she is very sweet. And I'm happy to see you care for her so much. Look on the bright side, Ludwig. If Mauritius is there, maybe we can bring Lili with us while we're at it."

Germany perked up at the idea and sighed. "I hope so. I'm very worried about her."

"You think I'm not?"

"Nein, you don't understand." Germany shook her head, expression grim. "She's in grave danger, and not just because she's with Switzerland right now. Her situation is very troubling, and I'm worried for the consequences."

Hungary stared at him. "What do you mean? How could it be worse?"

"Don't you see? Lili depends completely on Va- Switzerland for support." Germany explained as he gritted his teeth. "If… _When_ we save her and get her to join us, thus making Switzerland her enemy, what do you think he would do in retaliation? Or worse, use it to _blackmail_ her?"

It took a few moments for Hungary to get it, and when she did, she was horrified.

"He'll completely cut her off." Hungary realized, and she covered her mouth as she stared wide-eyed at Germany. "And not only that, since she's so small and has no military, and Vash and Roderich live _right next_ to her…"

"He could invade her and annex her, maybe even kill her, in a matter of hours." Germany responded gravely and scowled. "He can crush her so easily in such a short span of time if he decides that Lili's not worth sparing."

Hungary cringed at the idea.

"Now you see why I hate this idea of yours so much? The consequences could be disastrous for Lili!" Germany snarled angrily, but then he calmed down a bit. "Which is why, when we rescue her, I'm going to try to be her new support. I'll send my men there to protect her, and I'll give whatever she could need."

He turned around and began to leave.

"But this will only be possible if Switzerland doesn't discover her first."

/ / / / /

Georgia couldn't believe everything she just heard.

"Y-You're joking…" Georgia stuttered, a hand gripping her head at the migraine she was getting from this load of information, and she looked at the calm America in disbelief. "If this is a joke, America, then this has to be the worst one ever…"

"No joke, I swear on ol' Washington's grave." America said stoutly, making a crossing motion over his chest. "Sides' like you said, that'd be a terrible joke. And lying about this kinda stuff's never been my type of humor, y'know?"

"M-Maybe, but it's still crazy!" Georgia protested, and she pulled her pigtails out of frustration. "I mean, a worldwide conspiracy that's been on for centuries? Nations pretending to be someone they're not? South Vietnam being _alive_ this whole time? This isn't something you can just casually break to someone and expect to take it all calmly!

"Woman, if this was all really just a load of shit, why would I remain in the same room as the capitalist pig here?" The gleeful voice of North Korea remarked, and Georgia saw the nation grin as he mopped the floor. "Would I really smile at him? Listen to his orders? You should have noticed something was off when we haven't insulted each other _once_."

"Well…" Georgia began, somehow expecting an argument to come out of her, and she sighed. "Okay, I can't argue with you there. But… you do know that this doesn't really prove that there's other nations in on this, right?"

America looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded. "Guess so..."

North Korea groaned, and Georgia couldn't help but flinch slightly. "She's still not convinced. We're going to be here all day at this rate, and we'll be late for the operation!"

Operation? Georgia tilted her head in confusion. What operation?

"I don't get why you're complaining, darlin," America said with a Southern drawl, and flashed a brief sly smile. "I remember hearing from Mongol that you were just like her when he spilled the whole story to you."

North Korea blushed (Georgia doesn't think she'll ever get used to that). "Touché…"

"Mongol? Mongolia's… You're saying he's a part of this too?" Georgia asked puzzledly, feeling a little uneasy.

America nodded. "Yup, but don't worry about him. He's harmless… least to us."

"In Mongolia's defense, he wasn't in the know back then." North Korea pointed out, offering a sympathetic smile. "Not until years later when Prussia came into the picture and made him accept certain _conditions_ if he wanted to be part of the fun. Well, at least to tone it down and promise not to invade anyone except Russia and China."

"That's not the point." Georgia shook her head, though she did appreciate the information. "I mean, how many nations are supposed to be involved in this again?"

America put on a thoughtful look, and he offhandedly answered, "Right now? Not counting… certain people, I'd say we're nearing fifty."

Georgia's jaw dropped to the floor. "Almost _fifty_?"

"Yup, almost fifty, and it'll go up at the war goes by." America added offhandedly, and Georgia started to feel dizzy. "Now, about proving that we're saying is one-hundred percent true, I kinda knew it wouldn't be easy, so I got just the thing…

"What is it?"

America gave a 'give me sec' gesture and reached into his pockets, and he pulled out his phone. "Photos and footages of us, the Order."

He tapped on the screen and then held it out in front of her. Georgia blinked and stepped forward to see it more clearly, only to be shocked by what she saw…

She saw a video of South Vietnam, very much alive and in modern western clothing, grinning as he got an autograph from a Disney character. She saw a photo of a smiling America in uniform with a grinning Saudi Arabia and Iran, who both haven't gotten along and given a genuinely happy smile in years, all three covered in blood. She also saw…

Georgia gasped. What the hell?!

"Okay, okay, I believe you now!" Georgia said quickly, not wanting to see the rest of _that_.

America sighed in relief and put his phone away. "Good."

"But now that you told me everything, that leaves one other question. Why did you come here?" Georgia asked carefully, crossing her arms. "Why tell me everything about the New World Order? Why me?"

"Well..." America hummed, then frowned and looked at her again. "Listen, I wasn't just being when I said you were a real sweetheart back there, I really do like you and I think you got lots of potential."

Georgia's expression softened. "Really?"

"Of course! If he didn't, then he would've killed you the moment you opened the door." North Korea piped up again. "He likes you so much, that he refrained from using the cloaking spell to hide our presence in your land and using the shortcuts, little devices that we have that help us get around quicker, to get here in an instant. Instead, he called you and asked if he could come over, so we could talk things out peacefully."

Georgia gaped at that information, and she looked at America for confirmation, who smiled sheepishly and nodded. "Wow… You really like me that much? Even though I'm not your closest friend? That's… That's so sweet! The killing part creeped me out, but still it's sweet."

America blushed in embarrassment and scratched the back of his head. "Well, I…"

"But wait, what do you mean talking things out?" Georgia stared at him puzzledly. "Does it have to do with…"

America nodded, and looked at her with a serious expression. "We want you to join us, Georgia."

Georgia flinched at the surprising statement. "W-What?!"

"You know, join the New World Order. That's why I came here, to recruit ya."

Once again, she gaped at him in shock. What? Her? Join the Order? "What? Me? You want me to join that organization of yours? _Why?"_

"Like I said, I like you, Georgia, and you happen to want the same thing me and some others want…" America said grimly, and his expression contorted into a scowl. "Russia's slow and painful demise."

Now _that_ caught Georgia's attention.

"Alright… I'm listening…"

/ / / / /

Although he didn't let it show, Costa Rica felt a little irritated by the lack of optimism from his neighbors.

Honduras was probably an exception, she always had faith in the group and hoped that everything would turn out okay one day, but this situation hit her hard too, especially after what a huge jerk Guatemala turned out to be. Belize was on board with this, but it didn't look like she was completely confident that things will turn out like they want them too. And Nicaragua…

Well, he didn't even need to say anything about Nicaragua.

Costa Rica did understand their unease about the situation, and he probably shouldn't be too confident, but there's nothing wrong with being optimistic! He had faith in Panama, who he honestly thought of as brother, and he didn't believe that it could have been all fake. And Austria wouldn't have told him about Panama just to get them all killed…

…Right?

Was that a stupid question?

"Here we are, Panama's house!" Belize announced proudly with a grin, hands on her hips, but then she glanced back at Costa Rica and Nicaragua. "This is Panama's house, right? I can't really tell in this city."

"Si, this is his house." Costa Rica smiled in amusement, and he stepped up to the door. "Let's just hope he's at home."

He heard Nicaragua snort. "Sure, let's."

Costa Rica frowned at his neighbor's continued pessimism. Sure, that's how Nicaragua was, but it's starting to get really annoying at this point.

Luckily, Honduras piped up and prevented Costa Rica from accidentally causing another argument.

"Oh, come on, Nica!" Honduras cheerfully nudged her sister, who only kept scowling. "Lighten up a little! I know it can't hurt to be careful, but nothing's tried to kill us since we've got here! And Emanuel's people have been nice to us! Maybe this is a good sign."

"Please, if anything, the little death dog probably scared them into leaving us alone with his stench." Nicaragua scoffed, eyes traveling to said death dog nonchalantly peeing near a tree in a suspicious glare. "Ngh… I still don't like this. How do we know this isn't all a ploy to get us to let our guard down?"

"Well, we're not gonna learn anything by standing here arguing!" Belize remarked in annoyance, tapping her foot impatiently, and she looked at Costa Rica. "Come on, let's go find out once and for all where Panama stands in this mess. And if things go south, we'll just beat the crap out of him together, simple as that. We got him outnumbered."

Costa Rica blanched at that mental image and scenario, while Nicaragua's expression softened somewhat.

"True, true…" Nicaragua said calmly, nodding. "Alright, let's get this over with. Costa, open the damn door."

Costa Rica would have scolded her for the rude way she said it, but he decided to ignore her and ring the doorbell.

They all waited, with Costa Rica swallowing down any nerves he might have and staring anxiously at the door, and he managed to spot Nicaragua gripping her bat and heard Belize tapping her foot again and Honduras humming a small tune to ease the tension.

When he finally heard footsteps, Costa Rica's heart nearly stopped. Soon enough, the door opened to reveal a puzzled Panama, whose eyes widened when he saw them.

"Emanuel!" Costa Rica broke into a grin at the sight of his friend. Panama looked a little tired, and his brown hair looked messy. Maybe they woke him up from a nap? "Hola, how are you today? I'm glad you're at home!"

Panama gaped at them, before his expression suddenly contorted in anger.

"So it _was_ you four!" Panama shouted at them accusingly, making Costa Rica flinch. "What are you doing here?! Are you all out of your minds?!"

Costa Rica staggered back in shock. What the…

"Now, now, Emanuel. We didn't come here for a fight…" Honduras carefully tried to calm him down, hands raised up in surrender. She smiled gently. "We just want to talk, is all."

"We won't waste time beating around the bush with you, Panama. We know what's going on, and we know that _you_ _knew_ about it all along." Nicaragua said coldly, much to Honduras's dismay, and she swung her bat. "So, you have one minute to start explain yourself, or we'll acknowledge you as an enemy and beat the crap out of you."

"What she said, though I'd probably give you three or four minutes." Belize shrugged, and frowned at the Panama. "So, what's going on with you?"

"What's going on with me?" Panama repeated, and he narrowed his eyes. "I'd ask the same thing to you."

"Huh?"

Panama took out a gun and pointed it at her, snarling. "New plan. You all have two minutes to start explaining why the hell you decided to make yourselves targets for the Order or I'll start making a few calls."

 **Yeah, I realize that I left about half of these on a cliffhanger so... sorry? This mostly served to set up for some interesting/exciting stuff next chapter. I really hope I get to introduce more characters soon (even though that only gives me more storylines to keep track of), including some European and African personifications (like Bantu as one reviewer suggested). Hmm, well, I'll do my best. I hope you liked this chapter! Please review if you have a minute.**


	59. Justice: Curiosity Killed the Cat

**Thanks to AquaEclipse and NadiaJA627 for reviewing. Ha, I managed to update weekly again! Hopefully I'll be able to do it next week as well. Now, on with the show!**

Time and time again, Panama wondered if he'd be better off if he didn't know the truth.

It's not like he wished to be a part of this, it just… happened. One day, back when he was still a kid, he was just playing in the wilderness when all of a sudden Colombia came and started going on and on about this great big plan they had for Spain. She wanted him to participate, to be a part of it with her.

But he couldn't.

Panama had no love for Spain, it was his fault things were like this, but he couldn't bring himself to a play a part in his demise. Bloodlust and bloodshed weren't his thing, those things disgusted him to no end.

Colombia wasn't happy with him, and she nagged him about it for a while, before she finally gave up and decided that she respected his wishes.

…Didn't really stop her from 'subtly' reminding him that he can jump in and join any time he wanted.

The other Central Americans, except for Guatemala obviously, were the only escape he had, especially his best friend Costa Rica (but some friend Panama was, huh?). They weren't murderous, they didn't have any kind of dangerous agenda, and he didn't have to watch them lie to the others for years. But even so Panama still had to live everyday with the fact that technically, he was lying to them too.

It wasn't fun. None of it was fun, but he did feel satisfied when he heard that Spain had been killed, it meant that everything wasn't for _nothing_. Now everything could go… Oh, what the hell was he saying? He can't say 'back to normal'… Maybe things could finally become normal? Or at least as normal the nations could be.

Panama would live in peace with his neighbors, they could all go hang out and stuff again (except for Guatemala), they would be one big family like Honduras always wanted.

But of course, Panama should've known it wouldn't be so simple.

Guatemala got captured by Honduras and Belize of all things, and Panama wanted to scream when he heard the news. Although he blamed Guatemala more than either of two girls, he wasn't really the best at diplomacy, and he had a bit of a reputation for being one of the more apathetic members of the Order.

 _But why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?_

Then things got even worse. Honduras and Belize went and brought along Nicaragua and Costa Rica along for the ride too, and learning that piece of information was what really pushed him over the edge.

 _WHY? Do you have any what you've done?! Now you're all going to-_

And now they're _here_.

Panama didn't feel proud of himself once he uttered the threat and saw Costa Rica's eyes widen then stare at him in horror and seeing the various negative emotions in them, but he was too angry to consider that his actions made him no different than Guatemala.

He saw the reactions play out with his fellow Central Americans. Costa Rica was frozen in shock, Honduras gasped, Belize's mouth dropped, and of course, Nicaragua was furious, and she was the first to speak as she stomped thunderously towards him.

"So you are one of them!" Nicaragua snarled hatefully, and she raised her bat. "I knew it! What did I tell you, Costa? I told you that he's just as rotten as the rest of them!"

Panama's grip on the gun tightened, and he pointed it at her face before she could get too close. "Don't move."

Nicaragua hissed at him, but Panama ignored her, and focused on Costa Rica. Did he really believe in him? Did Costa Rica… really trust him? Despite everything's that happened?

Again, some friend Panama was.

"No… B-But… Why?" Costa Rica stammered in shock, obviously having a difficult time processing all this. "You're with the Order too? I can't believe this… How could you…?"

Despite the colder side of his mind growling at himself, Panama faltered, and he was quickly hit with a pang of remorse as he frowned at his friend. "No, I'm not. I knew about them since the beginning, but I'm not a member. I didn't really have a façade either."

Panama made sure to add that last part to lessen the pain, and to reassure him that, yes, their friendship was one-hundred percent genuine. Many of the best moments of his life were shared with Costa Rica.

It seemed to work, he noticed that Costa Rica began to relax a little, but soon Panama was reminded that he wasn't the only one he should be worried about.

"So then what's the deal?!" Belize squawked, glaring at him angrily. "Why are you pointing that gun at us, huh?! We didn't come here to start a fight! Costa Rica convinced us to come all the way here so he could he _see_ you!"

Panama's eyes widened fractionally, and he looked at Costa Rica. "Is this true?"

Costa Rica swallowed, and slowly nodded. "S-Si."

If it weren't the situation, including that he was supposed to be threatening them, Panama would've blushed.

"And we wanted to see where you stood in this conflict and see if you duped us too." Nicaragua rudely interjected, looking at him in disdain. "And like I said, I was right."

Oh for the love of… If this was really who Costa Rica's going to be fighting alongside with, then Panama felt even more sorry for him.

"I told you, I know them but I'm _not_ one of them. And I didn't…" Panama stopped himself, knowing that it was pointless to reason with an angry Nicaragua. "But anyway, as for the reason I'm threatening you, I already you told you, I want answers. Why did you decide to make yourselves enemies of the Order? _Why?!_ "

The others flinched at his suddenly angry tone, with Costa Rica taking a cautious step back. But they were far from scared.

"What do you mean why?!" Belize exclaimed again, in her typical anger. "Guatemala's the one who came to _my_ house, acted all hostile and like the jerk he is, and then tried to beat me and Sophia up after we tried to stop him from putting anyone in danger!"

"But was it really worth it? Was beating Guatemala up, taking him hostage and joining with the enemy really worth the cost of the safety of you and your people?" Panama challenged, feeling himself increasingly upset. "Didn't it ever occur to you that people could die? Or worse, that all of you would _die_? Guatemala's cruel, but he's nothing compared to others!"

Belize quietly scoffed. "Hmph, well it's not like our countries were all that safe in the first place."

"That doesn't…"

"As for the whole people dying thing, we all know that and the other possible consequences." Belize interrupted him, speaking in a more serious tone. "But we'll keep on going anyways. I'll be damned if I let a bunch of crazies like the Order take over the world. I sure as hell don't see them as good leaders, and none of us want to live under _their_ rule.

"But…" Panama groaned and threw his hands up in frustration. "Ugh, no! There had to have been another way!"

Surprisingly, or maybe not-so-surprisingly, Honduras stepped forward to speak.

"Guate didn't leave us a choice, Emanuel." Honduras said softly, frowning. "We were protecting our friends, and if we stood there and did nothing, then… I don't think there was any way that it could have ended well."

"I guess…" Panama muttered, like he said, he did blame Guatemala more than anything. He turned to Costa Rica and Nicaragua. "What about you two? Guatemala didn't do anything to either of you, so what's your excuse?"

Panama wondered if he was staring at Costa Rica in an unnerving manner, because his friend gulped and nervously fidgeted his fingers. "L-Like Belize said… I don't trust the New World Order, and I know they're very dangerous. And I'm also worried about who else they'll try to hurt…"

Panama narrowed his eyes. "They're only dangerous if you mess with them and get on their bad side, like you all did."

"Besides, a few of them killed Costa and me, twice." Nicaragua recalled bitterly. "I think that ruins any possibility of talking it out."

After that bombshell was dropped, Panama felt his heart almost stop as he looked at them in horror. "WHAT?! They _killed_ you?!

"Si, twice, but as you can clearly see, it was only temporary."

"You're _lucky_ that it was only temporary!" Panama yelled, gripping his hair. "You're all lucky that you haven't suffered worse!"

"Yeah, well, we'll do our best to make sure that we won't. Now can you put away that gun now?" Belize asked a little irately with an annoyed scowl. "You got what you wanted. We told you why we're in this mess, so can you chill out now?"

Chill out?

No…

"Yeah, and just so you don't get any ideas, we have a death dog with us, and we're not afraid to use him!" Belize said confidently.

Death Dog? No, wait, that's not important right now…

But before Panama could open his mouth, Costa Rica spoke. "S-Si, that's right, Emanuel! Calm down, there's no need to fight. Why don't we talk?"

 _Talk? Costa Rica, I can't-_

Wait.

That's right. If they talk, then Panama might be able to talk them, or at the very least Costa Rica, out of participating in the war. He knew things they didn't, and if he told them those things then they might…

Mind made up, Panama nodded and put away his gun. "Fine. Let's _talk_."

/ / / / /

"I'm glad to hear you're doing alright Mr. Germany." Liechtenstein said kindly to her former caretaker, who was blushing while Hungary giggled next to him. On her friend's suggestion, she went with a video call so that Hungary and Germany could also see what's going on. "I was worried you'd be so stressed with everything happening…"

The blush on Germany's cheeks deepened, and he rubbed the back of his head. "J-Ja, well, I actually am still quite stressed… B-But I am feeling better by the day… sort of…"

Liechtenstein smiled at him. "I'm glad to hear that. I hope things will be better soon."

"Ja… I hope so too." Germany muttered, before shaking his head. "A-Anyway, are you really going to…?"

"Oh, that's right!" Liechtenstein quickly walked to the door. "Just let me unlock the door."

Taking one last look at the key in her hand, Liechtenstein put it in the keyhole and after a few twists, opened the basement door. Despite her nerves, she felt a sense of satisfaction that she's managed to pull all this off, with Hungary's help of course.

"Alright, I'm in, Miss Hungary." Liechtenstein informed her friend/partner-in-crime.

"Good. So, what do you see so far?" Hungary asked eagerly. "Anything spooky? Suspicious?"

"Well…" Liechtenstein held out the phone so that Hungary could see as she went further down. "I see that there are stairs and… Oh! I think I can see a door from here!"

"Shh, be careful, Lili!" Germany shushed her, looking a little pale, before he blushed again. "Maybe you should keep your voice down..."

"Ja, sorry, Ludwig." Liechtenstein whispered, but she smiled again when she finally reached the bottom of the stairs. "Look, here's the door, and there's a small window too! I think I see someone in there…"

"Well, this is it…" Hungary breathed.

Germany muttered something under his breath that suspiciously sounded like a curse before telling her, "Take a small, quickly peek, then step back and tell us what you saw, alright?"

Nodding, she carefully tiptoed towards the door and peeked through the small window. She saw…

Her eyes went wide at the sight through the window, and Liechtenstein staggered back in shock then collapsed to the ground, speechless.

"W-What…?"

/ / / / /

Watching Morocco use Mauritius to satisfy his carnal desires was… a little dull at best.

With the usual emotionless expression that he kept on his face, Cameroon silently watched his companion eagerly kiss and lightly bite the island in various places where the flesh was exposed whilst straddling him… as well moaning every certain number of seconds. Morocco was smiling. How could he not be? He had longed for this sort of pleasure for a while.

Morocco had also, a bit _too_ eagerly if Cameroon could add, removed Mauritius's shirt and pulled his shorts down a little, but otherwise hasn't made any attempt to _completely_ violate him…

Although Cameroon was sure that he spotted Morocco's hand sliding towards Mauritius's crotch just as he closed his eyes for a moment to clear his head, only to find both of Morocco's hands behind Mauritius's back by the time he opened them a few seconds later.

Hm…

This had been going on for a little while, but Morocco seemed to be becoming more ecstatic with every minute. He was clearly enjoying this far more than Mauritius was, who appeared a little uncomfortable or confused, but still seemed to be too drugged to be aware of what's going on and even seemed to respond to and enjoy Morocco's advances somewhat.

Probably because Morocco commanded him to, which meant that the procedure was _working_.

Cameroon just might be able to forgive Switzerland if things kept going this well.

Anyway, he felt happy for Morocco, even though he was beginning to think that his friend was starting to overdo it a little. But Cameroon was starting to feel a little bored right now, and watching Morocco shower Mauritius with 'affection' wasn't exactly entertaining, though it was _slightly_ amusing, to watch. Well, he wasn't about to complain. Morocco had waited patiently for his turn…

But he didn't think he could ever understand what Morocco found so gratifying in these sorts of activies…

Cameroon snapped out of his thoughts and turned his attention towards Morocco as his companion sighed happily while Mauritius gasped for air. "Ha… That felt so good… Oh, I've been wanting to do this for _weeks!_ Are you having fun as well, Mauritius? Do you think I am a good kisser?"

As expected, Mauritius only stared up at him tiredly, and again attempted to formulate a sentence. "I… s-st… why…?"

"Why am I asking you this? Well, I merely want you to relish the experience like me." Morocco responded cheerfully, ruffling his hair, even though that likely wasn't even his question. "But now that I think about it, I guess it's a bit of a rhetorical question."

Morocco chuckled and smashed their lips together again for the umpteenth time, and Cameroon was sure he heard his friend moan in pleasure.

After almost a minute, Morocco parted with a satisfied smile, again leaving Mauritius desperate for air, and the boy opened his mouth to speak.

"G-G… aw… ay…" Mauritius tried again, and it ended up as successful as the previous. Cameroon narrowed his eyes. He was beginning to look _pained_.

Morocco raised an eyebrow, and he seemed to actually look concerned. "What's wrong? Do you want more?"

Mauritius made what looked like a grimace. "N-No…"

Huh, an entire word.

That ruined Morocco's mood, and the nation pouted.

"Hmm? Why so upset, recruit? You were willing a few moments ago." Morocco asked innocently, before a smirk quickly spread across his face and he grabbed the boy's chin. "Perhaps you forgot the order I gave you. Enjoy this… embrace it… **_I_ _insist_**."

Mauritius began to tremble. It was at this that Cameroon felt that he should intervene.

"You shouldn't get too cocky." Cameroon warned him, feeling that Morocco needed to be reminded of this. "It's only been a short amount of time. We shouldn't expect him to completely listen to us or obey our every command just yet."

Morocco hummed as he smiled at Mauritius and released him. "Yes, you are right. I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself."

Cameroon stared at him as he… _caressed_ Mauritius, and he snorted. "As long as you're careful…"

"Well, I think feel rather satisfied anyway, for now at least." Morocco said contently, although the way he kept staring at Mauritius said otherwise. He got off him and smiled at the island in a deceptively gentle manner. "I hope we'll do this again another time. I'm really looking forward to when you're completely _willing_."

The stoic nation watched them some more, before he decided to speak again.

"I don't think I'll ever understand what you find _'fun'_ in this…" Cameroon blankly remarked, and Morocco looked at him oddly. He wasn't sure what was compelling him to speak of these feelings, but he was always one to speak whenever he felt the need to. "Or why you're so obsessed with seeking _this_ sort of pleasure. It's puzzling, in my opinion."

It was something that always puzzled Cameroon since he met Morocco. He could, however, understand where it came from and how it came to be, but he couldn't understand why Morocco was obsessed with completely possessing Tunisia, why he often participated in _games_ with Macau, and the like.

Morocco tilted his head, and he smiled kindly. "The same reason why _we_ like to eat meat and torture, because it feels _good_."

"I know that… I don't see the appeal, is all." Cameroon muttered emotionlessly, and he pushed up his glasses. "I prefer bloodshed."

"Well… perhaps because you haven't truly gotten a taste of it…" Morocco grinned and walked up towards Cameroon, who only kept staring at him blankly. "Maybe if you knew, you'd understand why I like it so much… and we could _see_ each other more often."

"Perhaps…" Cameroon murmured, and Morocco took this as encouragement.

Morocco's grin became hungry, and his hands went and touched Cameroon's face. "We can do it here, right now. I promise that you won't regret it."

Cameroon frowned. Morocco was probably still a little _too_ eager from his session with Mauritius, he was always like this after getting very excited. But… even so, Cameroon knew that it wasn't a method to satisfy his own desires, he wanted Cameroon to have fun, he believed this would make him happy.

Still, as touching as this was, the answer was still no.

Taking a deep breath, Cameroon's expression softened, and he carefully grabbed Morocco's wrists, then gently pulled them down.

"I think… you're not in the best state of mind right now." Cameroon told him in the least offending way he could manage, and he nearly scoffed when Morocco pouted. "Thank you for offering, but I don't need these sorts of things."

"You don't have to _need_ it, you just have to want it."

"Then I don't want it either."

Morocco sighed in disappointment, but still smiled, nonetheless. "Hmm, too bad. Well, if you ever change your mind, please do let me know. After all, it's only a matter of time when I'll settle down with Tunisia. I can teach you many things!"

Cameroon smirked at that. "I don't think that's necessary. I've watched you and Macau enough to-"

Cameroon cut himself off when he spotted a flash at the corner of his eye, and his cold gaze went to the door and at the small window. There, he could have sworn that he saw…

"What's wrong?" Morocco asked him, frowning in worry.

Cameroon snarled at the door. "I saw someone through the window, and they vanished."

"You did?" Morocco looked at said window puzzledly, and then back at him. "And vanished? How odd. Switzerland wouldn't do something like that, would he?"

"Non…" Cameroon gritted his teeth, and he stormed towards the door.

But once he opened it, he saw no one. However, Cameroon wasn't stupid…

Someone was _here_.

"What do you smell, Cameroon?" Morocco asked him quietly, pulling out a knife from his sleeve as a hissing Abarshane began slithering out in preparation of any danger. "Can you detect their scent?"

Cameroon sniffed around, growling ferally, and he scowled. "Oui, I can. I smell flowers, specifically roses and lilies, tea, a bit of perfume…"

But Cameroon didn't even need to tell from the scent to know _exactly_ who it was.

"Lilies?" Morocco blinked, and a sly smirk began spreading across his face as he reached the same conclusion as Cameroon. "Oh my… Looks like Vash really is overconfident."

"Oui…" Cameroon clenched his fists. He was going to kill that man.

"But I wonder how she found the key to the basement, Vash wouldn't even tell us where he hid it." Morocco wondered, stroking his chin. "And why did she go and investigate in the first place? Since when has she began to suspect Switzerland?"

Cameroon turned to him with a feral grin. "Why don't we go **_ask_** her?"

/ / / / /

One of the voices whispered to him again. It was about Igbo… _again_.

But this time it didn't warrant Nigeria going into a flying fit of bloodlust and rage, no. Igbo hasn't done anything _this time_ , except for maybe picking one of the best locations possible for Nigeria to cause some mischief and mayhem. In fact, the issue didn't really have anything to do with Igbo, he just had misfortune of being there.

The issue was with Western Sahara, the nation whom Igbo had decided to stay with for the time being.

She's going to snitch about her situation if no one stopped her, and she was dangerously close to learning that Algeria and Tunisia were not in the continent.

Now, usually Morocco was the one who took care of any matters related to her, but that didn't mean Nigeria and the others couldn't have their fun every now and then too. She was their toy, after all. Besides, Nigeria had a feeling his friend was busy having his own fun… And what sort of friend would he be if he just interrupted Morocco and took him away from his fun?

Also, this was urgent, and Nigeria was the only one of them who knew about the problem _and_ the only one who could do anything about it right now. He must act.

It's time for Nigeria to take control.

He smirked and began concentrating.

Too bad he won't be able to see it.

Oh well… He could have his fun with him later…

/ / / / /

By Allah, it really was Algeria! Unless this was some sort of cheap trick… What were the odds that Igbo would right about this?

Realizing that she's been standing there gaping like an idiot while Algeria kept calling out her name, Western Sahara trembled and shakily answered her friend. "K-Khalida? I-I mean, yes, I can hear you. But- I-I… Algeria, is it really you?"

She hated how she stuttered, but she felt a small smile on her face when she heard Algeria laugh in joy. "Of course it's me! Who else could I be? Oh thank Allah, you have no idea how happy I am to hear you again! O-Oh, and I'm here with Tunisia too! I'm sorry it took us this long to contact you, but we've been-"

"Wait, Tunisia is with you?" Western Sahara asked in shock, accidentally cutting her friend off. Curses, she forgot about Tunisia! How could she? She practically promised herself to…

"Th-That's right," The voice of none other than Tunisia himself answered, and he chuckled nervously. "Hello, Safiyya. I'm really happy to hear from you again! Algeria and I… We've been staying together for a while now, so…"

Tunisia sounded as he normally did… but that proved nothing. Morocco had to have made his move by now. How much has he toyed with him since this all began?

"But that's not important right now. How have you been, Western Sahara?" Tunisia suddenly asked worriedly. "Are you alright? You didn't show up at the Africa Union meeting."

Western Sahara's blood ran cold. Shit, of course they'd ask about the meeting…

"Yes, that's right! Where have you been, Safiyya?" Algeria demanded, but in a concerned way. "Why didn't you come to the meeting? While it might have been for the best, it's still concerning! And Rahim hasn't been very helpful, so… What happened? Are you hurt?"

Western Sahara stiffened at all those questions, and she felt dread pour into her being. Allah, this was the moment she dreaded for years. It looked like they didn't know anything about her situation. But how was she supposed to explain all this? Where should she begin? They deserved the truth but…

Those two weren't the only ones with burning questions on their minds. Western Sahara had a lot of things she needed to ask to the both of them, especially Tunisia, but Algeria's presence sort of complicated that part. Well, no matter. She'll find a way to converse with Tunisia alone at some point… somehow.

But scratch that. Speaking of being hurt, Western Sahara just realized that she didn't know what happened to the both of them in the meeting and after.

"I should be the one asking you that last question." Western Sahara murmured, and she bit her lip. "Are _you_ two alright?"

"We've went through several things for the past week, but we're fine at the moment." Tunisia answered anxiously, which didn't help ease Western Sahara's worries all that much. "And I think we're safe for now, at least."

Safe for now?

"Yes, that's correct but please don't change the subject…" Algeria interjected, and began asking questions again. "What happened, Safiyya? I heard you got independent. I'm very happy for you! We both are. But… are you hurt?"

"I'm… fine, for the most part." Western Sahara answered truthfully, sort of.

Algeria let out a relieved sigh. "Thank Allah… Listen, I don't know what you've been up to for the past week, but something very crazy has happened."

"I… I know." Western Sahara admitted, and bit her tongue after she did so.

"You do?"

"I… know a lot, actually…" Western Sahara said nervously, before she lapsed into self-deprecation. "I shouldn't know, but thanks to my own stupidity, I…"

She trailed off when she started hearing footsteps and a looming presence behind her.

Forgetting about her current conversation for a moment, she turned around…

And she was greeted by a painful fist to her gut and a malignant grin by none other than Igbo.

Western Sahara's eyes went wide, and she opened her mouth to speak, but only a pained noise came out.

Why…?

"Now, now, Safiyya…" Igbo spoke with an uncharacteristically cheerful and cruel tone as she stared at him in shock. "Don't you know that no one likes a snitch? Or promise-breakers for that matter?"

Western Sahara yelled in pain before anything else, dropping the phone from her hand to topple to the floor as she held the place where she was struck and coughed. That hurt, a lot. Igbo gave a surprisingly strong blow despite his condition. How the hell could he do that and move despite his many wounds? But nevermind that, what in God's name just happened?!

It was a little hard to think clearly through the pain in her abdomen, the shock from the out-of-nowhere attack, and confusion at what the hell could be going on this time, but she knew some part of the answer. Igbo, dry-witted, considerate, friendly, and too indifferent to his own well-being Igbo, just went and attacked her for no reason!

"I-Ike…?" Western Sahara managed to rasp out as Igbo towered over her, sporting a familiar smirk on his face. "W…What are you _doing?!_ What was that for?!"

 _"Safiyya?!"_

Western Sahara's eyes widened, and her gaze went to the phone. Shit, Algeria…!

"Hmm…" She looked up at Igbo, who stared at the thing indifferently. "Well this just won't do."

Igbo looked back at her and grinned madly, an expression that just looked horribly wrong on someone as good as him.

"We can't allow them to learn more than what they already did, now can we?" Igbo said sweetly and picked it up from the ground. "Just give a few seconds…"

Before Western Sahara could protest or even scream, thunder crackled from Igbo's hand and the piece of technology was reduced to ash. Igbo smiled and wiped off his hands, as if proud of himself, and once again turned to her.

Out of shock, she could only ask, "Why?"

Igbo gleefully took off the elastic bandage from his arm and stretched it. "Shutting you up before you could reveal _too_ much, what else? As for the second question, same answer."

"That's not what I…" Western Sahara gritted her teeth as hugged her stomach. "That's not what I meant! _Why?!_ "

Igbo responded by kicking her in the face, and she was once again sent to the floor. "Because I was told to. Normally this would only happen whenever _I_ do something extremely foolish, but today Nigeria made a special exception _just_ … _for_ … _you~"_

If Western Sahara wasn't too busy groaning in pain and holding her bleeding nose, she would have shuddered at Igbo singing sadistically as Nigeria would…

Nigeria…

"What do you mean Nigeria told you?!" Western Sahara demanded, wiping the blood from her face. "Since when did you follow his orders so happily?! And orders to attack me no less!"

"Because Nigeria is making me _think_ and _feel_ this way." Igbo said with the smile of a madman. "He _wants_ me to enjoy this, and I don't intend to disappoint him."

Nigeria made him to? Did that mean Igbo was being controlled? Despite the horrifying realization, Western Sahara did feel some relief at the fact that this wasn't a betrayal. Not that it would have made sense, but still…

"I would have tried to warn you about this, but unfortunately that too fell into the 'do not tell' category." Igbo lamented with faux-sadness, before smirking. "That, and I didn't really expect you to just quickly confess like that. So I guess the fault also lies with me…"

And from the sound of it, Igbo was perfectly aware of it.

" _What_ are you talking about?" Western Sahara spat, already beginning to feel fed up. "You're not making any sense. If you -"

"I don't need to go off expositing everything to you! Especially if it's to stall and give you enough time to recover and retaliate!" Igbo snorted, cutting her off, and he began to walk towards her with the bandage in hand. "Now, be a good girl and stay still... "

After one last kick, Igbo kneeled down and extended the bandage, then began to wrap it around her neck.

He intended to strangle her.

Western Sahara must have shown her panic, because Igbo's smile grew even wider. "Oh, don't worry, old friend. I only aim for a temporary death. I am sure that Morocco does not want to let you go just yet.

With that thought in mind, and adrenaline kicking in, Western Sahara scowled and stopped him from tying it up by giving him an uppercut. Igbo grunted and fell backwards. Not wasting any time, Western Sahara hastily removed the bandage from her neck and went and reluctantly stomped Igbo's stomach and punched him in the face.

She cringed and felt a pang of remorse as she saw him yell in pain. This was still Igbo, a good friend. But if it'll break Nigeria's hold over him…

"Ike, explain, now." Western Sahara snarled, holding him up by the collar. "And I'll beat you back to normality in a less painful way."

"Do you really think you can intimidate me?" Igbo sneered.

"Just _tell me_ , for Allah's sake."

"Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't figured it out sooner." Igbo remarked, and he snickered. "I guess Morocco was right. You _are_ quite stupid."

Western Sahara's eye twitched, and she made a mental note to hit him for that. "And what were supposed to be the clues or hints?"

"Oh… Well, how about Nigeria knowing that I made the mistake off gathering a few certain objects and delivering them to the enemy. How he can torture me from afar... How he knows where I am…" Igbo trailed off and laughed. "How I knew… Oh… wait… I'm not supposed to tell you that either…"

Western Sahara raised an eyebrow at that, but she just wanted to get this over and done with. "Just get to the point."

"Safiyya, despite everything and my foolish attempt to flee from Nigeria, I am still just the representative of a group, not a _part_ of him." Igbo calmly reminded her. "So, unlike with you and Morocco, it would be harder to keep us in line, track us, prevent us from leaving, and make sure we're not off doing any suspicious activities. But luckily, Nigeria just had the solution to that problem…"

He trailed off again, much to her frustration. Western Sahara stared at him with her eyes narrowed at his green orbs…

And _that_ was when Western Sahara realized something was off, and she wanted to bash her head against the wall for not seeing it sooner.

Green eyes…

Igbo had _brown_ eyes.

"HE IMPLANTED A PORTION OF HIS SOUL INTO EACH OF US! SO HE COULD KNOW WHERE WE WERE AND WHAT WE WERE DOING AT ALL TIMES!" Igbo suddenly screamed. "BUT MOST OF ALL, TO REIGN US IN AND PUNISH US BY GIVING US TERRIBLE PAIN…"

He took a deep breath, calming himself, and he smirked at her.

"Or making us do things we were bound to feel great remorse for… and help him in the process if possible." Igbo explained more calmly, and he grabbed her wrist. "I happen to consider you one of my closest and dearest friends. I would do _anything_ to protect you. I would _die_ for you. And you unintentionally violated one of the terms of the agreement…"

Western Sahara hoped that she wasn't blushing after she felt a small surge of pleasure at hearing Igbo happily admit all that. Did she really mean that much to him?

After he finished speaking, Western Sahara saw Igbo's hand glow and narrowly avoided being burned by wrenching out of his grip just as it erupted into flames. She backed away and watched him get back on his feet.

"So what better way to punish me… and _you_ by having me torture and kill you?" Igbo said darkly and licked his lips, relishing the thought. "And take sweet, _delicious_ pleasure in doing so?"

By God, how strong was Nigeria to be able to twist him this much?

Western Sahara bit her lip at the display, admittedly feeling unnerved by this, this corrupted version of her friend. Of course Nigeria was behind all this. Of course Nigeria had a part of his dark, twisted soul inside of Igbo. He was acting just like him!

But at the same time, she felt her blood boil in rage, and she clenched her fists. She was going to kill Nigeria the next time she sees him…

Western Sahara wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of hurting her or Igbo. She'll free him… somehow…

This was going to be difficult, and probably very painful. Igbo had magic under his disposal after all, which made up for his injuries. Still, Western Sahara has been through worse…

"Oh, for the love of Allah…" Western Sahara muttered angrily under her breath. "I'm never going to get a break, am I?"

/ / / / /

People would probably think, with how friendly and tolerant Georgia sometimes bragged herself to be, that it wouldn't be possible for her to truly, deeply _hate_ and _despise_ someone with every fiber of her being and wish for them to suffer the worst this world had to suffer.

Well… that was wrong. Like, very, _very_ wrong.

Don't get the wrong idea, she loved being warm and friendly towards friends and people kind enough to visit her and her country. But even so, there's still people that grind her gears to no damn end. People that she hated with all her heart…

Georgia _hated_ Joseph Stalin, especially the fact that he came from _her_. He disgusted her, and just the sight of him in an old photo made her want to puke blood. He was a complete and utter psychopath, and anyone who looked up to him or admired him would earn nothing but Georgia's scorn. He had the nerve to support the Red Army's invasion of her, and in a instance during her brief time as an independent nation that made her want to rip his head off, called her 'the kept woman of the Western Powers'…

In case it wasn't clear, he essentially called her a prostitute. Truly, an ideal role model…

She secretly celebrated his death, along with other members of the Soviet Union who went through shit thanks to him. But even so, Georgia had to say that she hated that tall creep Russia even more than him. Although Abkhazia and South Ossetia were tied for the top spot with him too.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia, those entitled arrogant bastards, didn't deserve independence. They both liked to point fingers at her and accuse her of being a tyrant and trying to carry out genocide (she did nothing like that, that was all Russia's delusional fantasy), oh please, they treated _her_ citizens in their territory like garbage!

And Russia… Oh, Russia. Georgia would be here all day if she began going on and on about him. She'll never understand why Armenia was so _head over heels_ with him. Russia's nothing but a big bully! Why couldn't Armenia see that? At least Azerbaijan was smart enough to be careful around that bastard. And she knew it wasn't just a one-sided hate! Russia always loved picking on her whenever he could.

Grr…

…So, she's willing to hear out America's proposal.

"Revenge is the reason about more half of us are here." America explained grimly as he wringed his hands. "In fact, now that I think about it, I guess _all_ of us want revenge one way or another, even the ones who didn't join for that reason. For example, the Nordics, _especially_ Sweden, want to get back at the Muslims after all that immigration shit."

Georgia nodded in understanding, and she frowned once a question popped in her mind. "I can't say that I blame them. But what about you, Alfred? Who made you angry enough to go through all this trouble?"

America's blue eyes looked up at her, and a sardonic smile tugged at his lips. "Take a wild guess."

Georgia hummed, and went with the first name that came into mind. "England?"

"Bingo." He gave her a thumbs-up.

"I don't think I'm surprised. He loves pissing people off."

"Yeah, well, he just happened to push me and some others over the edge." America grumbled, his tone dripping with resentment. "And, no, it's not just the whole colonization thing. Everything he did over the centuries managed to gradually turn that hate into something _worse_."

Georgia shivered, and she laughed nervously. "Then I kind of feel a bit sorry for him then. You're pretty terrifying when you're angry."

"Heh, believe me, you ain't seen nothing yet." America said ominously, which made Georgia feel both nervous and curious at the same time. But then his expression softened again. "So you understand, right? That some of us just can't take any more shit, and the desire to pummel and then destroy someone you utterly hate with all your heart?"

Georgia nodded. "I do."

"Good. There's several targets, but the one we're focusing on right now is _Russia_." America sneered at the name, and then went for a bitter smile. "Sweet ol' Motherfucking Russia."

Georgia had to smile at that.

"Even before all that crap with the Soviet Union and what had to be **_the worst forty-five years of my life_** , the guy's been on peoples' hit list for centuries." America flashed a brief, humorless grin. "I'm sure you know Prussia, Denmark, Sweden and Mongolia used to hunt him for years. Well, what you don't know is that Prussia wanted to _kill_ him, like for good."

Georgia's mouth dropped a little at the revelation. "Wow, really? I mean, I knew that Prussia used to chase him a lot back then, but kill him? Why?"

It was probably a rhetorical question, but that was before Russia turned into gigantic piece of-

"Well, Prussia had a feeling that he'd grow up to be powerful and bat-shit crazy, therefore a great threat." America answered, and then grimaced and quietly added. "Even though _we_ have our fair share of bat-shit crazy people…"

"B-But then if Prussia knew how to kill him, why didn't he do it?" Georgia demanded hotly. "Doesn't he know how much suffering we could have been spared from if he just finished Russia off then? What stopped him?"

"The General." America answered, and Georgia immediately understood. "The guy couldn't do anything to fight them, cause y'know Prussia was used to cold weather and stuff, but that sure as hell didn't stop him from coming down from the sky and scooping Russia away to safety. But even so, Prussia and the others swore that they'd kill him, and take his land."

"So that's what they're going to do in this war…" Georgia realized, eyes widening.

"Yep. There's also Lithuania and Bulgaria, oh, and North and I are gonna be part of the action too." America added, monetarily glancing at the smiling Korean. "It's a lot of nations, but Russia is huge, so that's a good thing. We're more than happy to share… if you join us."

Georgia's breath hitched in her throat.

"Sounds really tempting, it really does, but I don't know if you're forgetting something…" Georgia pointed out dryly. "How are you going to get pass the General? He's crushed armies before, I don't see how this time could be any different."

At this, America chuckled, which honestly surprised Georgia a little, and he smirked at her. "Are you kidding me? Do you seriously think that we hadn't thought of that? No, worse, you _really_ think that we don't have a plan for that old coot? Especially considering how much trouble he could cause?"

Georgia felt a little stupid after that response, but didn't dwell on it, because now she's even _more_ curious.

Her mouth dropped a little as she looked at him in shock. "You mean you have a plan to defeat General Winter?"

"Yup, and it's guaranteed to at least keep him busy for a long time..." America stated proudly, smirking darkly, and Georgia wanted to know more. "But him being destroyed is also a likely outcome, depends on how angry and hellbent _she'll_ be."

"She?" Georgia tilted her head, and she puffed her cheeks angrily when America's only response was a smirk. "Aw, come on, America! Don't play the pronoun game with me! What's this plan you have? Who is this _she_? And how can she defeat General Winter?

Much to her annoyance, America's smirk only widened. "Sorry, no spoilers. I want to keep it a surprise. But I'll gladly take you to her to prove that she is someone you wouldn't want to mess with, and that we're serious."

Georgia 'hmphed' and crossed her arms. "That's so not fair…"

"Aww, don't get all grumpy about it, Bedisa." America chuckled good-naturedly. "So, how about it? Will you join the New World Order? Join us in the attack against Russia?"

Well…

"So if I join you…" Georgia began carefully to make sure she's got this right. "I'll be able to get back at Russia for everything he did? I… I can make him suffer however I want?"

"And completely destroy him." North Korea cheerfully added, grinning widely at the thought. "He will die slowly… painfully… and horribly… Heh, I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it!"

"He won't violate your sovereignty anymore." America also added.

"He won't bother you ever again, nor support Abkhazia and South Ossetia."

"Speaking of which, we'll help you get those territories back under your control, and you can punish them however you want. You can even kill them if you hate them that much, they won't ever try to rebel again that way."

Georgia's eyes went wide at that, and the offer became all the more tempting. Abkhazia and South Ossetia back under her control? No Russian homewreckers to back them up? Beat the shit out of that bastard who tormented her for too many years? All that was something that'd only happen in dream, or at least that's what Georgia thought until today.

Despite how much she wanted to make Russia suffer for what he did, she knew that it was an impossible dream. He was too powerful, and if she even attempted to smack him, he'll just find a way to punish her for it.

But now? Now she's been offered the opportunity of a lifetime.

"My God…" Georgia muttered as she gripped her head. "This almost seems too good to be true."

"If you don't want to join, we'll understand, and we promise you won't suffer any repercussions for it." America reassured her calmly. "We'll even promise not to involve you in the coming war. However, if you don't mind, we'd like you to give us permission to use your border with Russia to invade him in case we need it."

"My border?" Georgia repeated, and she swallowed. "I… I'm sorry, Al. Just give a few…"

"Sure, will do." America nodded in understanding.

Georgia took a deep breath and decided to go on a short trip down memory lane.

The first thing that popped in her mind was the time the Red Army attacked her. She tried her best, but she still lost, and her people suffered a lot for it.

Georgia thought back to time of the conflict with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, seeing them rebel with Russia smiling and promising to his help in their quest for independence… only to fail to protect South Ossetia's people. And still he blindly worshipped Russia, maybe because he was his biggest supporter.

She remembered the Russo-Georgian War, god, the Russo-Georgian War. That bastard used the excuse of her so-called 'aggression against South Ossetia' to launch this unnecessarily big invasion of Georgia. _'Peace enforcement my ass'_ Georgia thought bitterly.

She remembered when Russia happily declared that he officially recognized the independence of those two idiots, after they kicked out her people out of their 'countries'… And in doing so he violated the ceasefire agreement. Of course he violated the ceasefire agreement, that greedy sadistic jerk! It's Russia, after all…

And now she has a chance to have things go the way she wanted. To have the deaths of her people not be for nothing…

And this organization doesn't sound like a pushover….

Her decision? Well that was obvious.

But still… there's some things Georgia wants to be sure about, and she needed to see if she could really trust America with this deal.

"I'll accept, but on three conditions…" Georgia finally answered grimly, holding up three fingers. "It's nothing extreme, I promise."

"Name it." America said immediately, nodding, which Georgia was happy to hear.

"The first condition is that I want to be there when that bastard is finally finished off once and for all." Georgia snarled, clenching her fists, and she looked at them determinedly. "I don't mind not being the one to snuff him out, but I still want to be there to see it and personally give him hell with my bare hands."

America managed a small smile in her direction and nodded again. "Done. We all agreed on doing everything as a group, except for some place where'll we need to split up into groups, so you won't miss out anything important. What's the second condition?"

Well, here goes…

"Turkey… He… Is he planning on doing anything to Armenia?" Georgia asked carefully, swallowing nervously.

America put on a thoughtful look before answering. "He mentioned that he'll do something 'if he felt like it' or if he gave him a good reason to. It's nothing set in stone. The real Turkey's like that, y'know?"

Georgia frowned, but she let out a small sigh of relief, that meant she could probably… "My first condition is that Armenia won't get hurt, or worse, by anyone."

America raised an eyebrow at that. "Really? You want Armenia to be safe? I'm not too surprised, but how come?"

I… I know we have our differences and I hate that he's so close with Russia, but…" Georgia clasped her hands together tightly, and she gazed down at the floor in pain. "I don't want him to die, even though he'll probably never forgive me for helping kill Russia. I'd never wish that for him. The same goes for Azerbaijan. I don't know how Turkey really feels about her, but I don't want her to get hurt either…"

"If you don't want them hurt, then I promise that nothing will happen to them. I'll send Turkey the memo as soon as possible." America assured her, and Georgia felt like collapsing to the ground in relief or tackling the blonde in a grateful hug.

"He won't mind?" Georgia asked, blinking.

"He is someone more driven by amusement than by anger or hate." North Korea informed her with a malicious grin. "Though he isn't very fond of humankind."

"Yeah, what Hyung said." America agreed, nodding, and he pushed up his glasses. "And you don't have to worry about Azerbaijan, she's in the clear and not in anyone's hit list. Turkey even requested that she be protected."

"Wow, really?" Georgia smiled, and she finally decided to leap and hug the blonde. "That's great! Thanks so much, Alfred!"

She heard America stammer and fumble on his words as he awkwardly returned the embrace. Georgia couldn't help but giggle a little at this. Aw, was he embarrassed?

"Um, I… W-Well, I, uh… yeah… no problem, Bedisa." America managed to say quickly after he finally got over his stammering. Georgia looked up at him and grinned when she saw that he was _blushing_. "It's no big deal really…"

"Aw, no need to be so flustered, Al!" Georgia giggled, smiling up at him warmly. "I'm just showing my gratitude."

"And I'm happy that you're happy… It's just…" America trailed off, and he swallowed nervously as he avoided her gaze. "Uh… You might want to let go before Hyung grabs a knife."

"Huh?" Georgia blinked and looked behind her, where much to her horror, North Korea was staring at her with the same fearsome look he once gave to America. "Oh… sorry?"

"You're forgiven…" North Korea said grudgingly with a sneer. "Now, _please_ get on with the third condition before we get too… _distracted_."

America groaned exasperatedly. "Hyung…"

"N-No, it's okay. I'll tell you the third condition." Georgia assured him as she finally released him, and she looked at them determinedly. "This one might be a bit of a toughie, and it might seem like I'm asking too much of you, but I need to be sure I can fully trust you."

"Why? What is it?"

"You said that if I joined you, you'd help me get rid of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, right?" Georgia asked, and at receiving a nod, she crossed her arms. "Well, that's just it then. I'll join you… if you help me bring their heads and get their land back under my control. Prove to me that your organization is the real deal and that you really do want to help me... please."

Georgia added that last after feeling a bit guilty about asking such a thing from them, but it was fair, right?

"Alright, you want it, then we'll help you get it." America smiled and nodded, and Georgia grinned at that. "I actually expected you to say something like that. Let's do it. In fact, we can do it right now."

"What?" North Korea gaped at him.

"Really?" Georgia stared at him.

"Yeah, really." America's hand went into his pocket again. "But we're gonna need a bit of help. Let me just make a few calls…"

"Hold on, Alfred." North Korea interjected dryly, glancing at her in annoyance. "Do we _really_ have time for this? The invasion on Russia is in about three to five hours!"

Wait, what?

"THE INVASION IS IN ABOUT THREE TO FIVE HOURS?!" Georgia exclaimed in shock at that _lovely_ surprise. Say _what?!_ They were going to invade Russia _today?!_ How much time did that give her to mobilize her troops? "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME EARLIER?!"

America flinched and raised his hands up in surrender while keeping his cool. "I didn't want to pressure you."

"Oh, well I guess that's…" Georgia trailed off and blinked, before she lapsed back into her panic. "WAIT! NO! Pressure or not, why couldn't you have come to visit me earlier?!

"Hey, I was busy!" America said defensively, raising his hands up in surrender, and then grimaced. "I mean, now that I think about it, I probably should have made a schedule, but…"

Oh no…

"Alfred, you know, I always admired your optimism…" Georgia began gently as possible, before she burst. "But seriously, how are we supposed to pull this off? You can't invade Abkhazia and South Ossetia, find them, kill them, and reincorporate their land back into my country in the time it takes to bake a wedding cake!"

However, to her surprise, America gave her his infamous bright grin.

"Maybe you can't, but _we_ can!" America stated confidently, and then took out his phone. "We'll just need the right allies…"

/ / / / /

Somehow, Seychelles's feeling even more depressed than earlier.

And lonely, too. She's been wandering around ever since Egypt left to blow off some steam, or at least try to. She also felt kind of angry, you know at Egypt, but it's been fading away, leaving her feeling sad instead.

It might sound of selfish of her, as everyone had their own problems to deal with, but Seychelles hated being stuck alone with no one to talk to. France was busy out looking for England, who Seychelles didn't really have any intention of approaching after the way he snapped at her earlier. Monaco was helping France look for England. And Seychelles was seriously starting to doubt that she'll see Mauritius again anytime soon.

She still hasn't given up hope, though. It wasn't really their fault, but Seychelles was getting frustrated at the lack of progress. Well, at least Hungary was helping out with Liechtenstein… but Germany didn't seem very happy about it.

And Egypt… Well, Seychelles still felt very upset with him.

…Had… Had she been too harsh on him?

…N…No! What Egypt said was wrong! And he should be ashamed of himself… right? Yeah, right. How could he be so cold and uncaring towards his own people? A-And even though he didn't say it, Seychelles just knew that he was going to call them something mean.

B-But now that she's upset with him, what should she do now? What should Egypt do?

Seychelles just knew that he's going to try to apologize when he comes back, but she wanted him to apologize because he realized that he was being callous instead of trying to make her feel better. So… she'll just hope he'll do the right thing.

Should Seychelles say something to him? What could she tell him?

Well, maybe she could think about what she wanted to say to him after going to the restroom.

She sighed, and distractedly went towards the door.

Just as she registered the foul smell coming from the place, Seychelles had already opened the door and walked in, and she immediately froze at the sight that greeted her.

She felt her blood run cold. W-What…

There was blood splattered all over the floor along with some puddles, and in the puddles were countless amounts of nails and a few substances that made Seychelles feel sick to her stomach. Saint Lucia and Bahamas were both lying motionless on the ground, with gaping holes on their chests. The younger girl was facedown while the other girl had her eyes wide open and glassy, and…

A man with a top hat was hunched over Bahamas, and he was tearing out and eating her stomach, taking huge bites and pulling the innards with his teeth until they were ripped away and he crudely chewed them into his mouth.

Seychelles felt her legs buckle, bile rise up her throat, and fear fill her entire being.

The man frozen, and he slowly turned around to face her with a grin, mouth and teeth stained red. Seychelles gasped. His eyes were a glowing red.

He stared at her hungrily, and his grin became even wider. "Bonjou, madame."

 **That's right, I continue a chapter with cliffhangers with a chapter with even more cliffhangers! I finally got to the exciting part of Liechtenstein's part (sure took a while). I'll definitely focus on other characters next chapter, especially now that I've finished this part of the Georgia segment. Please review if you have a minute.**


	60. Justice: Germany, We Have a Problem

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, Redbayly, and NadiaJA627 for reviewing! Here's an... _even longer_ chapter for you guys to make up for the wait! Oh, and if you want, please check out my new hetalia fic Abscond to the Other Side. Now, on with the show!**

"So… Uruguay?"

"In the know too."

"Paraguay?"

"Him too."

"Guyana?"

"Yup."

"Suriname?"

"Also Suriname."

"French Guiana?"

"Yup, but we had to fight tooth and nail to convince Cameroon and Morocco not to kill her."

"Oh…"

"I know, right?"

Panama narrowed his eyes at the memory. The arguments weren't pretty, and some people did get hurt in the process, but at least no one died. One, probably Brazil since he's closer to the Africans than anyone else in the continent, could make the excuse that it was their first years in the group and the colonization process did a number on their minds, but Panama didn't think it excused them for what they did.

They were desperate to hurt France, yeah, but that's no excuse to drag someone like French Guiana into this mess. She's innocent in this, there's no other reason to get rid of her, and she promised to stay out of it like Panama and the others did.

"So… that's pretty much our situation." Panama said dumbly, and he sighed. "Even though we're not a part of the group, we're still protected by them… on the condition that we don't get involved in the war. It's a… nice deal."

Or at least it was until Panama found out what his neighbors were doing.

"Oh… well…" Honduras did her to smile and glanced at the others. "At least not everyone lied to us. That's good, right?"

"More like some people still technically did lie to us but weren't fakers." Belize corrected her, though she smiled a bit.

"That's… actually good to hear." Costa Rica smiled at the Panama, who returned it with an awkward one, and he nudged a still grumpy Nicaragua. "I knew you wouldn't have joined them! I guess I win the argument after all, Nica."

Nicaragua scowled at him. "Don't go off boasting yet, you idiot. I still don't like this. And we're still going to sic the death dog on him if anything bad happens."

Panama spotted in the corner of his eyes said 'death dog' not far from them drinking water from a bowl he left for it… him. And he hoped that it'll stop him from pouncing on him if he ever got angry, because frankly, Anubis was a little terrifying. Panama shuddered.

"So… Have any fun adventures in your suicide mission?" Panama didn't mean to sound very bitter, but he couldn't help himself. "You managed to convince Egypt to let him borrow his death dog, that's really interesting. What else happened? Anything that supposedly makes this entire thing worth it?"

Belize groaned loudly and slumped against her chair. "Oh my god, you're still on about that?"

"This isn't something stupid, Belize!" Panama snapped, standing up and slamming his hands on the table "You try dealing with the fact that you spent centuries playing along with this sick operation, with the only consolations you have being that the 'whole world will finally know peace' and that your family in Central America will be okay, only to find out that they up and joined the enemy!"

"I told you, blame Guatemala!" Belize squawked angrily.

"No, I blame Haiti and the others for not finishing the job and Egypt with his magical powers and his fellow Africans for ruining everything!" Panama threw his hands up in frustration and then he facepalmed. "Gah, why?! Of all the places they could've ended up in, it just had to be _your house_! It's like the universe wants to punish me!"

"You mean like karma?" Honduras said innocently, putting on a thoughtful expression. "I hear the Asians believe in that kind of stuff."

Panama almost wanted to lash out at her too, but that innocent remark struck a chord with him.

Could it really be karma? Was God, the universe, whatever, he had no idea what to believe in anymore… were they punishing him by taking away one of the only comfort and reassurance he had in all of this? But why? Why him? Panama knew he made mistakes, but…

"Heh, who knows? Maybe it is karma…" Panama said defeatedly as he fell back into his chair. "But why me? All I did was keep my mouth shut. There're people who deserve that kind of punishment a lot more than I do, and they're doing okay as far as I know."

"Hmm…" Panama merely grunted, and he sighed. "But seriously, what happened after you guys went out? And what's this about Costa Rica and Nicaragua dying twice?"

"What's worse is that it was technically still in the same day…" Nicaragua muttered with obvious chagrin.

"We really need to get better at this…" Costa Rica sniffed with a depressed air around him. Panama didn't blame him. He's dead if his skills didn't improve.

"They don't keep you updated here in Order territory?" Belize asked dryly, getting back to the main topic.

"Not really, unless it's something really important, like Spain's death for example…" Panama paused as the others either cringed or frowned at the reminder. Like the Spaniard had that much time left anyways… "Or all of you running off and joining the enemy."

"Are you going to keep giving us a hard time for that?"

"Whenever I want to, and I already told you why it's justified. So, what happened after the _incident_ at Belize's house?"

After that was said, Panama watched and listened as Honduras and Belize tried to give the 'abridged' version of what happened… in no chronological order. First, they explained that Costa Rica and Nicaragua died after they met with at the airport and were ambushed by some members (Sweden and Finland, no wonder…). Then they explained about how they _all_ died in a skirmish in Paris, which Belize angrily recounted when she got to the part of her death at the hands of Hong Kong.

Then they explained that before arriving, they and the Africans they teamed up with (damn them to hell) split up. With one group staying at Belize's house for their safety, Egypt leaving to Paris with a captured Guatemala in tow, and one other group to find the three remaining Central Americans, which were obviously Costa Rica, Nicaragua and…

El Salvador…

"Oh, which reminds me! I can't believe I forgot about that. Panama…" Honduras began carefully and softly, but there was underlying steel in her tone. "Do you know anything about where El Salvador could be? And… would you happen to know why he'd suddenly seem… unstable?"

That's… tch.

Dammit, he'd forgotten all about El Salvador. It didn't occur to Panama to ask one of the others how El Salvador was doing. Last he heard about him; it was from overhearing a conversation that he should already be experiencing 'the symptoms' by now.

Panama felt sweat trickle down his neck. He was not prepared for this. "I don't know where he could be, and as for the second question, I… I can't tell you."

"So you _do_ know something!" Shit. He shouldn't have worded it that way! "Why? Why won't you tell us? Aren't you worried about him? I know he's always grumpy, but you know he never means any real harm!"

"I do care about him, Honduras! But you don't understand!" Panama exclaimed, and he wanted to groan. "Look, I can't tell you. And even if I do tell you, what's the point? I can tell you that there's nothing you can do for him. Trust me, you'll be a lot better off, not to mention _alive_ , if you don't try to look for him."

"How can you say that?!"

"If you've really been to his house, then you'd know what I mean." Panama responded gravely. "I don't know that much either, but you should've seen that he's completely lost it by now."

"That doesn't mean he's lost forever!" Honduras cried out, and Panama wanted so badly to disappear right now. "Felix, he's my brother and your neighbor! If he's hurt, then we should try to help him! And you said that you don't know everything-"

"I told you, I can't tell you anything!" Panama exclaimed angrily.

"S-Sophia…" Costa Rica anxiously piped up. "If Emanuel says that he can't, then there's-"

"Well, at least give us some hint as to what's going on with him!" Honduras demanded.

"Listen, if you're going to hound me for answers that'll get me and my people in hot water if I tell you, then you can just _leave_!" Panama snarled with venom. "For someone who's so worried about family, you sure are one selfish bitch!"

The silence that followed was so deafening that you could hear a pin drop. Panama felt a… small pang of remorse for insulting Honduras, but he meant what he said. They had to understand, as much as he wished to tell them so that they won't end up… _hurt_ in the future, a promise was a promise and breaking that promise will have serious consequences. Panama wasn't about to betray one of the organization's darkest secrets.

This wasn't fun for him either, he wanted to remind them again.

Panama looked at the others, having expected them to immediately jump to Honduras's defense, especially Nicaragua who was out to get him at this point. Belize was staring at him disapprovingly, but she made no attempt to comment. And Costa Rica… Well, he was actually restraining Nicaragua and covering her mouth to prevent her from starting a fight.

Costa Rica was looking at him sadly.

"I'm sorry." Honduras said quietly, not meeting his gaze.

"Hmm…" Panama's face was blank.

This was getting even more painful…

"Now that I think about it, you should all start to leave…" Panama sighed as he rubbed his head, feeling another headache coming in. "I get it. They hurt you and it'd be cowardly and shameful to just bow down and give up. I understand…"

Everyone exchanged glances, they looked kind of uncertain, even Nicaragua.

"Wait…" Costa Rica piped up. He stared at Panama. "That's it? We're just going to leave you here?"

"Well, si, this is my home after all." Panama said with a small humorless smile. "And while I really did appreciate that you all came here because you were worried about me, I don't need to be rescued or anything."

Then there was that awkward silence again… Panama could speak for everyone when he said that he felt very uncomfortable right now.

"This is pretty awkward." Belize muttered loud enough for all of them to hear, then she looked at Panama. "And I guess there's no point in trying to convince you to come with us, right?"

Panama flinched at that statement. He raised an eyebrow. "How? As a prisoner?"

"No, I mean, maybe if you want us to be alive that bad, you could join the club." Belize suggested innocently, shrugging, and she put on a thoughtful look. "Or something like that…"

"Or maybe you can just come to watch." Costa Rica suddenly suggested, and everyone stared at him as if he grew a second head. He smiled at Panama. "I know you wouldn't join us, since, I mean, you care about Colombia too, right?"

Panama blinked, worried about where this was going. "Si, I do. And…"

"And you still want to try to understand our point of view, right?"

"Just what are you trying to suggest, Felix?" Nicaragua asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes. "This better not be one of your stupid ideas again."

Costa Rica smiled. "Just hear me out…"

/ / / / /

They were now in Belgium, which a little looked worse for wear.

Figures, they were in a state of anarchy. South Africa didn't think there's any significant authority left that wasn't rotting in the palace or in somewhere else… or in DRC's stomach… or in the sewers of somewhere. When's the last time DRC went to the bathroom again? Ugh, whatever. TMI, even for him.

Everything was going smoothly for them.

Nigeria was at the proposed location setting everything up and feeding CAR meat to give him enough energy to be able to massacre a city, where he'll become stronger and stronger from there. Meanwhile, South Africa decided to accompany DRC on his trip to Belgium's house to capture the woman for certain important reasons.

"Why are you coming with me to Belgium's house again?" DRC asked coolly, but politely, not meaning to sound rude.

"Because I like helping people." South Africa answered simply, and he smiled at the confusion in DRC's face. Unable to resist, he decided to harmlessly tease him. "What? You don't want me to help you? Eish, you wound my borderline non-existent heart! I thought we were friends now!"

DRC's eyes widened, and he shook his head, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks. "N-Non, that's not it at all. I appreciate the offer, I really do, but… why exactly do you want to help me with this? And why do you assume I need help with this in the first place?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Non, I don't think so."

"Oh, come on! It's not that hard of a guess!"

DRC gave him a deadpan look that South Africa found hilarious. "Why must you be so cryptic about everything? No offense but it's starting to get a little annoying. I understand you like giving surprises, but would it kill you to give a direct answer for once?"

South Africa burst out laughing. "Nee, but I like being mysterious."

"Well, can you be direct with me this time, please?"

" _Fine_."

South Africa stopped grinning and decided to be a little serious for this topic.

"The Netherlands is the reason."

DRC's eyes widened fractionally. "The Netherlands? What about him?"

"I heard that he's at Belgium's house, so if you want to get her, you'll need to get pass the Netherlands." South Africa calmly explained, and he crossed his arms. "If you face him head-on, he'll keep you busy for a while. He's a stubborn man, and pretty clever. Fight him, and he'll buy Belgium enough time to escape."

DRC's eyes narrowed dangerously at that, almost looking offended. "Impossible. I won't let her escape, not after I'm finally allowed to get revenge. And do you-"

"Don't get the wrong idea, Dikembe. You're strong, I know it and I've seen it, but it'll be hard defeating the Netherlands, especially after he finds out that _you_ were the one who destroyed her government." South Africa warned him, and a few memories of a pissed off Netherlands popped up in his mind. "Trust me, you don't want to underestimate him."

That's actually one of the first things he learned when Netherlands made him his colony, and the first mistake South Africa made with him. He learned after exasperating the man and pushing him a bit too far that despite being obsessed with money and cleanliness, the Netherlands wasn't stupid (for the most part), and he certainly wasn't weak. It impressed South Africa, and he began respecting the Netherlands more after that.

DRC scowled, but appeared to understand his point, and he began to calm somewhat. "So you're going to come with me so that you'll fight the Netherlands so I can I take Belgium while Nigeria and CAR start massacring the locals, am I correct?"

South Africa smiled again, nodding. "That's right, DRC. I'll keep my dear big brother busy while you go snatch his mind-bendingly annoying little sister, and in the meantime, CAR will cause enough mayhem to weaken her, thus making it easier for you to capture her, while Nigeria gets everything ready. It'll probably won't be as easy as it sounds, but Belgium will be yours."

DRC seemed to like that idea. "Very well then."

"You just leave it me." South Africa cheerfully patted him on the back. "Things will go _our_ way. I got your back."

/ / / / /

True to Western Sahara's suspicions, this was turning out to be a difficult confrontation.

"You're not making this any easier for yourself, Safiyya!" Igbo shouted over to her, and he threw another fireball. "Resisting means that I have to hurt you even more, and that's what Nigeria wants! And you're only delaying the inevitable!"

Western Sahara was about to make one of her usual retorts, but she narrowly avoided getting scorched alive. It was practically her current strategy: run and dodge while she tried to reach for something to hit him with without getting beaten, burned, electrocuted or cursed until there was a good chance to strike him.

It was cowardly, but it was getting harder to get close to him without getting hurt. And then there's the fact that _she didn't want to hurt him_. He wasn't unstoppable, especially with his injuries, but he was very stubborn, just like her.

Foolishly, a part of her hoped that Igbo would suddenly start to struggle and fight against Nigeria's control, perhaps give her an opening to knock him out, but no such thing happened, and probably never will. No matter how many times he tried to injure her, with some attempts succeeding, and in the times when she did manage to hit him, it never looked like he was even close to struggling to break free.

"It's not like you're making this any easier for yourself either!" Western Sahara finally shouted back to him, and out of desperation, she tried to reason with him. "Ike, please, you're injured. If you keep trying to kill me, then…"

Igbo smiled darkly, and his hand crackled with lightning. "How cute. You think I care that I'm hurt right now, _or_ that I feel pain."

She should've known…

Western Sahara's eyes widened, and she ducked just as he shot the lightning towards her, and she could've sworn she heard something break. She narrowed her eyes, when this was over, _someone's_ going to _pay_ for the damages… literally of course.

As she heard Igbo's laughter, Western Sahara avoided a punch from him and another flicker of lightning. She had never been electrocuted before, and she had no intention of finding out how it felt, especially when it's meant to kill her.

Western Sahara didn't have any weapon on her person, and the knives and guns that she had were beyond her reach and she seriously doubted Igbo would be generous enough to let her go run for them. So, she had to rely on her fists and the good reflexes she had honed from training with the Polisario Front and from putting up with the African Five, which as of now have saved her more than once. At least those long years gave her something _useful_ …

She kept her distance, since she was forced to do so, and kept waiting for a good opening. But that was easier said than done. Igbo (or rather Nigeria, or whatever, she had no idea how this worked) was _good_ , and he never seemed to get _tired_.

But it didn't change the fact that Igbo was injured, Nigeria did a very good number on him, and it _showed_. Every now and then Igbo would stagger or stumble, wince, or grit his teeth in what looked like pain. Nigeria might be motivating him to hurt her, but he's done almost nothing to make it easy for him.

Key word 'almost'.

But then he hissed and held his right arm where one of injuries were, and as much as Western Sahara's worried about him, she wasn't about to waste a golden opportunity. Now was her chance to hit him.

She charged and kicked him in the stomach, then did it again in the lower leg, and sending him collapsing to the ground. He yelled in pain, and looked up at her angrily, eyes full of hatred, but Western Sahara stomped on his stomach and grabbed his wrists before he could retaliate with his magic. He yelled again, and Western Sahara had to cringe. God, she hoped Igbo will forgive her for this…

Western Sahara tightened her grip as Igbo tried to break free, and again tried to reason with him. "Ike, enough! Let's talk for at least a minute before we end up killing each other. I know you don't _really_ want to hurt to me…

"On the contrary, old friend, I think I _really_ want to hurt _you_!" Igbo grinned as he tried to generate lightning again, but Western Sahara stopped him by twisting his wrists. "Gah… No, I want _more_ than that. I want to kill you, then take you to a dark cell where no one will find you, where I'll be free to show you _true_ pain and see that pretty face of yours contort in pain. I wonder how good it'll feel to do just that…"

" _Fine_. I know you don't actually want to do that to me…" Western Sahara narrowed her eyes. "This isn't you, it's Nigeria."

 _"I know."_ Igbo hissed as if it was the most idiotic statement in the world. "You really haven't been paying attention to what I've been saying, or to this entire fight. Or did you simply just forget about it?"

"I can't believe you're completely alright with it."

"You haven't really grasped the concept of controlling one's mind, have you?"

Western Sahara growled, and tried another tactic. "Well if I can't reason with you, would you at least… somehow… I don't know how that connection between you two works… tell Nigeria that there's no reason to go this far to punish me for such a small mistake?"

"Sorry, but unless Nigeria suddenly decides to be merciful, he won't let me stop until you're bleeding on the floor." Igbo shrugged, flashing a taunting smile. "Besides, I don't think I'm in the position to question orders."

"But this is ridiculous!" Western Sahara exclaimed at him, scowling. "You said it yourself, I _unintentionally_ violated of the terms of the agreement. No… In fact, I don't think I've done anything wrong at all!"

Igbo's smile vanished, and he narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Algeria contacted _me_ , not the other way around, and before you say that I should've hanged up on her…" Western Sahara glared at him. "Why did Nigeria feel the need to punish me for speaking with Algeria and Tunisia? They're African nations, and they now know the truth, so what's the problem with me telling them I knew all along? I think he'd enjoy that."

After that bold question, Igbo seemed to… shut down or be in very deep thought. He stared at her with an unreadable look for an infuriatingly long period of time, and Western Sahara began to wonder if he was trying to find the best way to lie to her or if he was finally starting to fight for control. But no such thing happened.

"True… But it occurred to Nigeria and the others that perhaps they should stay in the dark about you." Igbo finally responded in a calm tone. "They have their hands full right now, so the last thing they want or need is angry and rebellious nations interrupting their fun after hearing how they treated _you_."

That's… actually a decent point.

While Western Sahara had no doubt that the African Union made it painfully clear that dissent and attempts to harm them won't be tolerated, knowing Algeria she'd be absolutely furious (if she didn't decide that she was angrier at Western Sahara) at Morocco and the others, and she'd at least convince half-a-dozen nations to join on going on a rampage.

"Ugh… Fine, I guess they have a point there…" Western Sahara reluctantly admitted, though she didn't feel completely convinced. "But still…"

"But nothing." Igbo said coldly. "I'm still going to kill you."

"But how was I supposed to know that I broke one of the terms of the agreement?!" Western Sahara exploded, having run out of patience with this cryptic nonsense. "No one ever told _me_ to keep quiet even after the African Union meeting! And they made sure to drive home the fact that I _can't_ contact any non-member outside the continent. If they were so concerned with Algeria, then they should've told me earlier!"

She hoped that'd make Igbo, and hopefully Nigeria, see reason and in the process be freed, but her friend merely chuckled. "You know, you have a good argument, you really do. But unfortunately for you, there's a few other reasons why you still must be punished..."

Western Sahara snarled. "Oh please, like what?"

"ROC, for one."

Western Sahara recoiled in shock, and the memory of his demise flashed in her mind. "I… I-I… but I didn't mean to-"

"Aw, where did that precious confidence of yours go?" Igbo cooed mockingly. "You were so bold a few seconds ago. What happened there?"

She couldn't bring herself to retort.

After a disappointed sigh, Igbo smirked. "Huh, well isn't that something. Oh… and another thing. In case you don't remember, which considering your track record it's very likely that you didn't, I'm also doing this because I gave away crucial evidence, so…"

A few seconds later, and he suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke. Western Sahara flinched and took a couple of steps back as she coughed.

Dammit, she forgot about that trick!

She started looking around frantically to find where he may have gone, and she got her answer when she heard footsteps. She turned around… and the sandal slammed _right_ into her stomach, then pain exploded in her gut.

Western Sahara dropped to her knees, coughing and wheezing. She didn't even need to look up to know that Igbo, and Nigeria she supposed, was smiling at her pain.

When she spotted Igbo's fist, crackling with lightning, flying towards her try to finish her off, Western Sahara could still barely breathe, but miraculously, thank Allah, she dropped to the ground and rolled to the side. But even the effort made her cry out in pain. She gave another wheezing cough as she began to feel sick in her stomach. Curses, this was what she got for letting him get to her.

She also made the mistake of forgetting about Igbo as she dealt with her nausea, and he took the opportunity grabbed her throat. Western Sahara tried to stand or punch him, but her muscles wouldn't let her.

"You lost." Igbo said simply, it was a fact, at least to him.

"D…Don't…" Western Sahara wheezed.

But he ignored her and smirked as he conjured up lightning again. "I think I will."

"Y-You can't take me back… to them…" Western Sahara, and maybe she was trying to stall. "The deal…"

"What deal? The one you broke?"

"But I…" Come on, move!

"Stop stalling."

"Prussia will… not allow…" Western Sahara coughed, but she got the words out easier now. "He keeps… promises."

"I'm sure they'll give a compelling argument. Now _enough_. **_Die_**."

In a bizarre rush of adrenaline, or maybe it was more out of panic or instinct at the terrifying prospect of being back with Morocco and the other Africans again, she ignored the pain and shakily reached out and grabbed his arm…

One of them screamed.

/ / / / /

Liechtenstein panted as she sat down on the grass, still reeling from what... what she saw down there in the basement. Even now, she couldn't believe it, and Switzerland... Why would Switzerland have them down there?

She probably had over a hundred questions on her mind that she really wanted to ask her big brother, but now Liechtenstein wasn't sure if she wanted to ask him or know the answers. How would he react to discovering that Liechtenstein took the key and saw what he's hiding?

She really had no idea what to expect when she went down there, but it didn't cross her mind that she'd find Morocco doing something that Liechtenstein desperately hoped wasn't rape to Mauritius while Cameroon watched indifferently. She made a mistake staying there even after seeing that, and she couldn't hear what Morocco and Cameroon were saying but...

She should've left. She shouldn't have gone there. Now what was she supposed to do? Cameroon likely saw her and-

"Lili? Lili, are you alright?!" She heard Germany shout to her, and she finally looked at her former caretaker.

Liechtenstein shook her head uneasily, and she wanted to bury her face in her hands. "No... I mean, I'm not hurt, Ludwig. I just... What was that? Why are Mauritius, Cameroon and Morocco in bruder's house? Why would Vash-"

"Lili-"

"Why, Ludwig? Why are they here? I thought they were- Why is Mauritius tied up?" Liechtenstein asked anxiously, feeling herself starting to swear. "Is _that_ what Switzerland keeps going down there for? To torture him? Mauritius, he looked like he was drugged!"

"Lili, please-"

"Vash would never-"

"I think I have a few theories… none of them very pleasant…" Hungary muttered bitterly, and then frowned in worry as she looked at Liechtenstein again. "What happened, Lili? All of a sudden we heard you gasp and run away."

"I… I'm scared." Liechtenstein shakily admitted, unintentionally avoiding the question.

"As you should be." Liechtenstein's eyes widened in horror and her head snapped up. There, standing in the open doorway, was a smiling Morocco and horrifyingly angry Cameroon, looking like he wanted to kill. Morocco waved in greeting and walked towards her, still smiling kindly. "Hello there. little one. How about joining us for a cup of tea?"

They found her.

/ / / / /

After the little mishap with South Africa's people and bumping into the old man, who _apparently_ was the personification of the San and Khoi people, and Angola would have been lying if some of them didn't shift nervously at the possibility, they quickly headed back to the car.

When they got back to the car, there was an awkward situation when they all realized that there was only room for _five_ people. But Khoisan insisted that he was okay with going to the very back in the large space behind the seats, even though most of the group didn't really think it was nice having an old person there with no seatbelts, but he wasn't having any of it.

"Hey, I may be old, but that doesn't mean that I can easily snap like a twig." Khoisan had snapped at them. "You'd be surprised at how able I am."

So, with Angola at the wheel, they drove away from the town, then they finally began to ask questions.

"I'm sorry, but I'm still having a lot of trouble processing all this…" Angola couldn't help but remark as she tried to concentrate on the road. "You're one of us? No, on top of all that, you're the representative of the Khoisan? _How?_ I- We thought that everyone like you were… well, _gone_."

"Most of us, yes, but not _all_ of us." Khoisan explained nonchalantly. "Bantu, Yoruba, Igbo, and others… they're all still alive and kicking. Most of us owe our survival to Chris and the others, some of us are even bring kept alive thanks to them with magic… and would fade away if they ever decide that they're not worth it anymore."

"What? That's terrible!" Botswana exclaimed in horror. "But… what about you? Would you fade if you…?"

"Oh, don't worry about _me_." Khoisan shook his head, smiling without worry. "I survived mostly on my own, though barely, and Chris helped… and made it difficult at the same time. Your leaders didn't make it any easier either… not that I blame you, of course."

Botswana cringed, as well as a few others, but Khoisan decided to continue with the conversation.

"You might be wondering, 'why would they do all that?' The answer is a lot less complicated than you think. They've lost many things throughout the years… their sanity, their memories, family… So, they wanted to cling onto what they had left, in other words, _us_."

A brief silence settled into the car.

As much as she hated to admit it… Angola could relate to that… sort of…

She had lost a good portion of her memories of her old life when Portugal took her in, including of who took care of her before she was colonized and who the hell Kongo was, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get them to come back. It felt like a part of her died.

But apparently Namibia wasn't so sympathetic.

"Oh no, you are _not_ going to make me feel bad for Chris." Namibia grumbled angrily, and Angola could see that she was scowling. "You're supposed to have lived with him for who knows how many years, you should know how… horrible he is."

Khoisan snorted. "Believe me, I'm not. Like you said, I've lived with him, and I've tried one too many times to convince him to not go down the path he was going. I can tell you with absolute certainly that he's irredeemable. I just want you all to understand mostly why he and the others are the way they are now."

"I still don't really get it." Zimbabwe admitted helplessly, with a hint of anger and frustration. "Why didn't he tell us about you, other than because of all the 'pretend' stuff?"

"Well… there's quite a few reasons for that." Khoisan said grimly, and he looked thoughtful. "First of all, he was worried that after you all submitted to him, you'd try to go to me for help, and I think I've annoyed him enough to justify that. Second, he didn't really trust you with my safety… Very ironic, don't you think?"

There some murmurs of agreement, then Botswana asked another question. "If you don't mind me asking… Why are you helping us?"

"Because I care about you all, why else?" Khoisan responded as if it were a rhetorical question. "Besides, by going into South Africa without his permission, you all painted a target on your backs. You all saw how the humans were looking you, they feel his rage, his desire to hurt you five. Now, everything living being, both humans and animals, in South Africa are out to kill you… or _worse_."

He paused to let that all sink in, and frankly, they didn't take it really well.

"Great…" Zimbabwe groaned, muttering a few curses under his breath as he crossed his arms. "Just… great."

"I knew this was a bad idea…" Botswana muttered as he rubbed his head.

"Didn't really stop you from coming along." Mozambique reminded him dryly, which earned her an annoyed frown from him.

"We knew we'd probably run into trouble; we just didn't know it'd be this bad!" Namibia said defensively, before grimacing. "Okay, maybe we should've known it'd be this bad or worse, but still! Chris just kept ignoring us, several important humans are missing, and we just got tired of waiting!"

"I understand your frustration, but you should have known better than to find like this." Khoisan remarked disapprovingly, and he shook his head. "You're all lucky that I foresaw your not-so-smart decision to go straight into South Africa's land."

Angola raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean you 'foresaw' us coming?"

"You'll see when we get to the settlement."

"So will Chris come for us?" Namibia asked with a slight scowl.

"Oh, he'll come for you, alright. I'd be surprised if he didn't." Khoisan said gravely. "I'm sure the only reason why South Africa hasn't teleported to where you were and lynched you is because he's busy having fun with a mission, and he wasn't about to let you ruin his mood."

"Killing and torturing people is more important to him than us?" Angola said incredulously, feeling herself get angry again.

"That… hurts." Botswana winced.

"That's Chris for you." Khoisan shrugged, a frown on his face. "And the other Africans involved for that matter."

"Um… I appreciate you telling us all this stuff, I really do, but I think you owe us an explanation for another thing…" Mozambique pointed out calmly. "You told us to go to the settlement because it's safe, but why? And how are you going to help us?"

"Good point." Angola noted, nodding, and glanced back at the old man. "Khoisan, it's been great to see that you're not… _dead_ , but we still need to see Chris, danger or not. It's really important. So… what kind of plan do you have in mind?"

"There's a few reasons why I want us to go there, but…" Khoisan trailed off for a moment, then continued. "Chris is less likely to resort to violence with me around, so you won't have to worry about him punishing you five for coming here without his permission. You can ask him your questions when he finally appears there while I try to keep him in line."

"You think you can convince him not to hurt us?" Mozambique asked, tilting her head.

"I hope so…" Khoisan said wistfully, though he didn't sound that confident. "I won't let him hurt you, I'll promise you that. Oh, and there's one more reason why going to the settlement is the best option for you."

"And what's that?"

"It's rather far from any animal that'll try to kill you."

/ / / / /

Overall, Macau would say that things were going great, both for him and Hong Kong. Most of the PLA had been either killed or driven out of his land, and the remainders pose no threat, as they'll disappear soon enough.

Things were so well that Macau deemed it safe for him to leave to visit Hong Kong and maybe help, whether he accepted that help or not, him with his less-than-pleasant situation. Unlike Macau, there were still a considerable number of PLA soldiers and tanks wandering about, killing dissenters or hunting for the personification himself, and there's still a lot of fighting between them and the soldiers from Mongolia and North Korea.

Hopefully the arrival of more soldiers from other countries will help resolve things more quickly.

Macau attributed this difficulty to the fact that China sent more soldiers to Hong Kong than to Macau. He couldn't say that he was surprised, however. Hong Kong was the troublemaker of the two of them, and China was used to crushing any resistance from him, and adding the fact that the uprisings in Hong Kong were far more violent, it's only expected that China would focus on putting him down before doing the same to Macau.

If only it were that easy. A foolish bet, truly. The PLA were good, Macau will give them that, it's foolish to expect that it would be that easy, to assume that other nations wouldn't try to help him and Hong Kong. Macau wondered, were the uprisings somehow killing his brain cells?

Then again, China has been going senile for quite a while…

"It was truly fortunate that we stumbled upon you just in time. Lady Luck was truly on your side, Leon." Macau remarked good-naturedly, meaning it as a compliment, but Hong Kong only stared at him blankly. "It turns out that a few, generic PLA soldiers found you before we did."

"THEY WHAT?!" Hong Kong yelled, sitting upright, but Macau smacked him back into lying down.

"Shush, it's not polite to interrupt." Macau scolded coolly while Hong Kong rubbed his head in pain. "And for the umpteenth time, _no screaming_ , doctor's orders."

Hong Kong glared at him but complied. "Uh-huh…"

"Good. Now anyway, generic soldiers, they found you a little before we did and it appeared that you were close to reviving, because they crushed your throat, shot you thrice in the stomach, and kicked your head to prevent that." Macau informed him calmly. "Or perhaps they did that to keep you dead so you wouldn't wake up on the way and try to escape."

Hong Kong's hand went to his throat, perhaps out of reflex, and he seemed to be trying not to cringe. "Oh… so that… pretty much… explains it."

"But of course, we intercepted them, killed them all, and brought you to this hospital." Mongolia finished the tale with a proud smile. "And as you can tell, you're alive, but your wounds haven't vanished, so you'll be staying here for a while."

"Great…" Hong Kong muttered angrily under his breath. "That's what I get for being reckless…"

"Yes, quite right." Macau nodded curtly with a sly smile, and Hong Kong growled. "But not to worry, we'll both be here to keep you company and prevent you from dying of boredom. I've brought cards and chips so we can play poker!"

"Kill me now."

"Oh, come on. Would you rather I let you be bored in this gloomy place?"

"No, I'd rather you… do something useful." Hong Kong gritted his teeth, snarling. "Like kill or cripple China, for example. In fact, why don't one us try do that?"

Mongolia sighed, and he frowned at the boy. "Leon, you know we can't afford going against the prophe-"

"I _know_ we can't go against it." Hong Kong cut him off, but then realized his mistake, and paled. "S-Sorry..."

"No worries. what are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying… if we can't… get rid of him now…" Hong Kong smiled ominously, a rare but treasured sight nowadays. "Then let's… weaken him… won't go against the… I think… I think I know how to do it… I just remembered about… about…"

Hong Kong coughed, and a few drops of blood began to fall from his mouth and to the blanket. Macau's eyes widened.

"Hong Kong, breathe, speak slowly." Mongolia instructed him firmly while patting the younger one's back. "Your throat's still healing."

"Beijing… capital… under the city… there's… remembered when we…?" Hong Kong's voice sounded more strained now, and the blood started pouring from his mouth. "The remote's… it's in my… house…!"

What's he…?

"Hong Kong stop talking! That's an order!" Mongolia barked.

Then it hit Macau, and the same thing happened to Mongolia. They shared a meaningful look. Of course!

/ / / / /

Moldova may be still a child, physically and mentally, but he lived in a house on his own without any kind of adult supervision.

Bulgaria could recall the many times he would come over to Moldova's house with Romania. He'd also babysit him from to time, even though Moldova was capable of living on his own, but Romania's brotherly instincts kept insisting that _someone_ had to keep the child company.

Bulgaria liked Moldova, the little nation was fun, cheerful and he was a hard worker.

He briefly wondered if he'd be a good playmate for Vilnius, since they were both about the same, and she'd really like him. But Bulgaria quickly dispelled that thought once he remembered the reason _why_ he's here and why he's doing this, and he mentally berated himself for being so stupid.

Heh, if he said that in front of Lithuania, he'd probably say something like 'Well it's about _time_ you realized that!' Now that he thought about it, how was Lithuania doing, anyway? O-Oh, but anyway…

Moldova was blackmail material, and a toy for him and his beloved to break if necessary, nothing more. Bulgaria wanted to prove to Turkey that he can be decisive, to impress him, and the kid was the key to achieve that. Besides, with the whole kidnapping thing, he'd be a _terrible_ influence on Vilnius, and Bulgaria won't have that.

Bulgaria let out a wide grin, and he quietly giggled to himself, which didn't go unnoticed by Turkey.

"You're looking pretty excited; more than I thought you'd be." Turkey observed. "All we're doing is kidnapping a kid, not sleeping together."

Bulgaria blushed, and smiled sheepishly. "I know, I know… But I'm doing it with you! I'm so happy to be with you again!"

"Yeah, well, it's only the fifteenth time ya said it…" Turkey snorted, but he smiled slyly. "But I agree, feels nice to be walking around with you latching on my arm again… Wish you didn't cut off my blood circulation though."

Bulgaria blinked, and he realized that he's squeezing Turkey's arm a bit too tight. He immediately let go. "S-Sorry. I didn't mean- I got carried away…"

Turkey laughed and ruffled Bulgaria's hair affectionately. "Aw, don't get all depressed over it, birdie. I understand… I missed you too. And we're gonna make up for all the time we couldn't be together in this war. As the world plunges into chaos, we'll be there dancing over the corpses."

Bulgaria smiled at the thought. "I'd like that very much. So, what will we do after Moldova?"

"Aren't _you_ going to meet up with Lithuania in Russia?"

Bulgaria's eyes widened, and he facepalmed. "Oh, right! I can't believe I forgot about that! I'm supposed to meet up with him in about three-to-five hours!"

"Could have been a bit more specific if you ask me…" Turkey mumbled under his breath. "Who was the genius who planned that?"

Far away in Tbilisi, America sneezed.

"Thank goodness I remembered… Toris would kill me if I didn't show up!" Bulgaria exclaimed in horror, and he pulled at his hair in a horrible panic. "How the hell could I have forgotten? I've been waiting too long for this day. I need to kill Russia; I _have_ to kill Russia."

"I told you, Dimitri, as much as I'd like to rip that guy a new one, I wouldn't last two hours in that cold." Turkey said with evident distaste, and he grimaced. "Trust me, I know. But if anything happens, and you better tell me if anything happens, I'll be there in an instant. But maybe I can come after General Winter's gone."

"Oh…" Bulgaria looked down dejectedly. "Okay…"

"Don't get all depressed over it. You just go and have fun…" Turkey encouraged, and he linked his hands behind his head and smirked. "Besides, I wouldn't want to spoil it for Lithuania."

Bulgaria blinked and stared at him oddly. "What do you mean, darling? I know it looks like Toris doesn't like you, but I'm sure he wouldn't be angry if you came along. He'll be too focused on Russia to be annoyed with you… for the most part."

Turkey laughed, and he ruffled his hair again. Bulgaria giggled. "Heh, it's nothing you should be worried about for now, birdie. Just- Hey, look, there's the kid's house!"

Indeed it was, and so they went…

But then he saw the note on the door, and everything went downhill from there.

 _Romania was here, Bulgaria is a loser! =)_

 _Or if it's any other member of the New World Order… you're a loser too… especially if you just happen to be a certain shitty Turk._

 _Suck it,_

 _Vlad._

As the words sank in, he could almost hear Romania's mocking voice taunting him, cackling, gloating over his victory as Bulgaria realized what this meant, something in him snapped. His hands trembled and they began crushing the paper. Bulgaria failed. He gritted his teeth as pure _rage_ welled up within him.

Damn you, Romania… Damn you and that _brat_ to hell…

"Huh, looks like he beat us to it…" He heard his beloved say flatly from behind him, almost emotionless, except for maybe a hint of disappointment, which only served to fuel Bulgaria's anger. "Figures. We should've seen that coming. And we definitely should've come earlier, too bad we got stuck cleaning up the evidence… Oh well… that's a bummer."

Turkey's disappointed, disappointed in _him_.

With a growl, Bulgaria crumpled up the paper and angrily threw it away.

He could feel the fear and fury inside him twisting her mind, forming into irrational fury. He shouldn't fly into a fit of rage, he really shouldn't. Bulgaria would just be doing what Romania would've expected him to do. But Bulgaria couldn't forgive this, he couldn't not be furious. And the worst part was this all could've been prevented, and now Turkey's…

Bulgaria screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Dimitri."

Out of habit, he raked his fingers in his hair and began pulling them until it hurt, but the pain didn't bring him any joy. He screamed again.

"Dimitri, I'm talking to you!"

 ** _He'll kill him… He'll kill him…... He'll kill him… He'll kill him. He'll kill him. He'll kill him. He'll kill. He'll kill him. He'llkillhim He'llkillhim He'llkillhimHe'llkillhimHe'llkillhim HE'LLKILLHIM HE'LLKILLHIMHE'LLKILLHIMHE'LLKILLHIMHE'LLKILLHIM-_**

 ** _"Dimitri!"_** A hand reached out and grabbed Bulgaria's throat.

It happened so fast. He let out a choked sound as he felt the familiar warm sensation of pain in his throat. Bulgaria gasped. It felt _good_. His anger was starting to go away. And once her regained his sense, he looked wide-eyed as he realized that the person who was strangling him was Turkey, his face betraying no emotion.

To say Bulgaria's shocked would be a big lie. In their relationship, physical pain was extremely common. Turkey would use him to relive his desire to kill and/or maim others, and Bulgaria would just revel in the attention he, Turkey, would generously give him. Bulgaria lived for these kinds of moments with him. This wasn't the first time Turkey tried to strangle him, and Bulgaria hoped it won't be the last.

Bulgaria began to pant, even as it became harder and harder for him to breathe. As the pain got worse, or _better_ in his case, he moaned, only for Turkey to suddenly tighten his grip on his neck. Bulgaria yelped and looked puzzledly at Turkey; whose expression didn't change.

"S-Sad…" Turkey gripped even tighter.

" _Quiet_. I'm not doing this so you can get off from the pain." Turkey hissed with a very rare coldness; it'd be intimidating to anyone. He almost never got angry. Bulgaria flinched, and tears started to prick his eyes. "And don't start crying, you hear me?"

Bulgaria rasped for breath, but he quickly nodded.

"Good. Now that I have your attention, and you _better_ keep your attention on me, _listen closely_ …" Turkey ordered firmly, and he pulled Bulgaria close.

Somehow, Bulgaria managed to swallow as he struggled not to tremble under his beloved's piercing gaze. He was scared, _very_ scared. This was terrifying, no, he didn't think he could put in words. Turkey was angry with him. This shouldn't be happening. This shouldn't be happening. This shouldn't be happening. _How_ could this happen?

Still, he couldn't help but feel awed at how terrifying Turkey could be.

And Turkey was giving him _attention_. If he was angry, it's because he cared, right? If he's truly disgusted with him, then he wouldn't be trying to strangle him because Bulgaria would enjoy the pain and dying at his beloved's hands, despite saying that he wasn't doing it to please him.

If he really wanted to truly hurt him, then Turkey would have to… have to… ignore him or…

"Dimitri, honestly, stop all the screaming and crying and tantrums. It makes you look immature, and most of all, it's _pathetic_." Turkey stated coldly, and Bulgaria froze. It was like a knife piercing his heart. "Do you really think screaming like a banshee and crying enough tears to fill an entire canyon will fix anything? I know you get angry with stuff because of me, I like that about you, but this is just ridiculous."

Ridiculous, was that what Turkey's thinking of him?

Bulgaria honestly didn't know which was worse: Being hated by Turkey or him treating Bulgaria as if he didn't exist. At least by hating and insulting him Turkey would still talk to him and give him attention, even if it'll hurt.

Turkey's grip loosened a little, just enough for Bulgaria to speak and hopefully stop Turkey from looking at him like that. "B-But this was my idea a-and you were disappointed that we failed! You were disappointed in _me!_ I couldn't handle it!"

"True, I am disappointed, but not with you." Turkey said calmly, and he briefly sneered. "I also blame myself. I don't blame you at all in the slightest, I am the leader after all. But now? I think I _am_ a little disappointed in you."

Bulgaria started to cry. "I'm sorry!"

"Hmm…" Turkey stared at him, and he finally released Bulgaria. He gasped for breath. "I believe you, but I'm still not happy with you."

After breathing normally again, Bulgaria began to tear up again. "I-I won't do it again, I swear!"

"Oh, you'll do it again, as long as you don't work on that temper of yours." Turkey snorted, and Bulgaria felt that hope shatter. "Dimitri, if you freak out and throw at tantrum at the first obstacle that appears in our path, then you'll never get anything done. Were you seriously like this with Lithuania?"

Bulgaria froze as the question sank in. No, he wasn't like that. Lithuania's the one who got stressed, but Bulgaria was always there to comfort him. He just smiled and waited for things to resolve themselves, or if he saw it necessary, try to help, especially when Lithuania was vulnerable.

"Well, did ya?"

"N-No…" Bulgaria murmured in shock. "I wasn't."

 _"Why?"_

"B-Because…" Bulgaria gulped and wringed his hands nervously. "I knew things would turn out alright for us eventually."

"So…" Turkey looked at him expectantly, raising an eyebrow. "Why the change in attitude?"

Bulgaria didn't like raising his voice with him, but he did so anyways. "You saw what Romania did! You know what he wants! He wants to kill you, Sadik! I-I know you'd never die so easily but I'm not going to let anyone kill you! I hate him because he wants to _hurt_ you! I hate him so much! And seeing him that he beat us here and taunting us over it…"

"So you snapped, unintentionally playing into his hands." Turkey deduced coolly. "And because he won the first of what's definitely going to be many battles and challenges, you're worried that somehow this'll lead to me getting killed."

Turkey knew him so well, Bulgaria thought happily, and he nodded. "Da. And like I said earlier… I hated that I disappointed you."

Bulgaria expected another reprimand, which he more than deserved. He did act poorly, and ended up causing Turkey to be truly disappointed in him, so he'll accept any punishment if meant that-

He gasped when Turkey suddenly ruffled his hair.

"You can be _such_ a worrywart sometimes, Dimitri." Turkey remarked with an amused grin. "I don't blame you for that. That's my handiwork right there."

Bulgaria could only gape at him. "H-Huh?"

What's… going on?

"Oh, you're too cute, lover." Turkey purred "I made sure you'd practically worship me by the time I was done with you, so I guess I shouldn't completely blame you for acting like a child whenever you fail to please me. But I still say your attitude needs some work. Eh, we'll work on it as the war goes on."

Bulgaria still wasn't sure what was happening. "W…What?"

"What about what?"

"You mean you're not… angry at me anymore?" Bulgaria dared look up at him hopefully. "You're not disappointed in me?"

"Oh, I'm _still_ a little disappointed with you…" Turkey admitted flatly, and Bulgaria's face fell a little, but then he added. "But I'm over it for the most part. I won't torture you anymore. I don't want to be too harsh with you either."

Bulgaria nearly collapsed in relief, and he felt a big smile spread across his face. He hugged Turkey. "Oh, thank you, THANK YOU! I promise I'll do my best not to disappoint you again!"

But…

"W-Wait… But darling…" Bulgaria frowned and looked up at Turkey. "What are we supposed to do now? Romania has Moldova now. We failed."

"No, it's a setback, there's a difference." Turkey shook his head and wrapped an around Bulgaria, who felt ecstatic. "Listen, just because Romania now has Moldova, doesn't mean that the kid is now untouchable and one-hundred percent safe from any danger. Your idea is still genius, and it can still work. We'll have plenty of opportunities."

Bulgaria giggled to himself, feeling giddy. "He thinks my idea's genius…"

"And think about it, won't it be sweeter this way?" Turkey remarked with that sadistic smirk that Bulgaria loved. "Romania retrieves Moldova and believes that he'll be completely safe now that he's with him. He'll be all smug and confident that he'll win this… only to lose him soon after because of his own carelessness."

Bulgaria thought about it for a moment and began to smirk too. "I like the sound of that…"

"Yeah, so relax. The game's still far from over."

"Yes, Sadik." Bulgaria nodded happily.

"You know..." Turkey began innocently, smirk becoming more sinister. "I saw that you enjoyed me strangling you, despite me putting you down at the same time. It doesn't feel _right_ stopping when neither of us really enjoyed the act. How about we-"

He was cut off by his phone's ringtone. Bulgaria felt just as irritated as he was as he scowled and took out the thing to answer the call.

"What?" Turkey barked, then as the conversation went on his annoyed expression changed into one of surprise, then it became a smile, and then he looked interested. Bulgaria could only tilt his head. "Really? You want both us? When.…. Right now? Thank you! Yeah, you can transport us, yeah, in a couple of minutes."

He hanged up and grinned at Bulgaria, who finally asked, "What happened?"

"We're going to have more fun today!"

/ / / / /

"Okay, so we got a fucking machine gun, some pistols, a couple rifles and a minigun, a speaker, and a megaphone…" Molossia announced grouchily as he and the others dumped the stuff to the ground. "But we ain't got no golf cart. Seriously, how the hell are we going to find and borrow a damn golf fucking cart in the middle of Nevada?"

Liberia stopped staring with sparkling eyes at the pile of weapons plus the speaker megaphone like a kid to glare at his dumb excuse for a brother. Couldn't he spend one minute of his life without cussing like a sailor? It's really getting annoying.

 _But_ he supposed he should _try_ being a bit more grateful and even… bleh, _nice_ to Molossia, especially after he and his micronation buddies went through the trouble of getting all that stuff, most of which came from America's big but dusty and boiling hot attic in the house.

Hell, he should be happy that Molossia decided to have a little faith in him for once despite having no idea what Liberia's master plan and actually do without whining like a baby (so much) or rage-quitting or something.

…But it's Dumbassia, and it hasn't even been a full hour yet. Liberia's not gonna mature or forgive him so easily.

"Maybe we can't find one here in Nevada, be we will where we're going." Liberia stated confidently, grinning at the grouchy micronation he's unfortunately related to. "Just calm down and trust me on this, brother. Everything's gonna turn out great!"

"Yeah… except we have no idea what we're gonna do!" Molossia barked, and Liberia glared at him. "Come on, you bastard, just tell us what's this grand idea that's supposed to help us make up and bond

Liberia regarded his 'brother' with an annoyed look before he realized that Dumbassia had a point for once. He should probably get started with explaining his plan, or else he'll risk having Dumbassia angrily quit.

"Ja, would you please tell us what your so-called evil, nefarious, diabolical plan is?" Kugelmugel asked politely, which Liberia appreciated until he heard what he said next "I need to know if it's art or shit."

How could a plan to destroy your enemies be art? Shit's understandable since there's such a thing as shit ideas, but _art_? Liberia wondered if paint fumes could somehow mess your head.

"And if it's shit, I wanna see how I can make it better!" Ladonia smirked, and he put his hands on his hips proudly. "Then maybe I can be the leader…"

Liberia resisted the strong, strong, STRONG urge to facepalm and groan loudly at the annoying people he ended up stuck with. He's really starting to miss the other Africans… and also America, _especially_ America. Why did you pick today to leave home, America? No… Come on, Liberia, don't start complaining now.

"I'm so glad you asked, little brother and… _others_." Liberia said cheerfully, smile straining for a moment, and he quickly dashed off before Molossia could hound him for (rightfully) calling him the younger one, then he returned with a chalkboard filled with doodles of Liberia's plan. "Here's the deal. We're going on a trip to-"

"What the hell is that supposed to be?" Ladonia gaped.

"It's… It's…" Kugelmugel stammered in horror as if Liberia just showed him hell. "IT'S NOT ART!"

Hey, he worked hard on that!

"You have a fucking chalkboard with your damn plan drawn all over it!" Molossia growled, and Liberia could have sworn he saw smoke come out of his ears. "Is this shit what you've been doing for the past half-hour while we've been all the dirty work for ya?!"

"I had to demonstrate my plan somehow!" Liberia yelled at him. "At least I did something! Would you rather I'd sit around doing nothing?!"

"But it's abhorrent! Ugly! Despicable A crime against art!" Kugelmugel exclaimed loudly, and he glared at Liberia. "You've drawn us all wrong! I look like a girl!"

"Yeah, because you do look like one!" Liberia retorted easily, and Molossia and Ladonia even murmured in agreement.

"And at least you don't look like a porcupine! My hair's messy, not spiky!" Ladonia squawked, and Liberia wanted so badly to facepalm. "And Molossia looks like he's part shark!"

"Actually, I… I don't really have a damn problem with that…" Molossia quietly admitted to everyone's surprise, and he stared at the figure with large pointy teeth and a murderous scowl that's supposed to be him. "I look pretty cool looking all terrifying and like I want to murder everybody."

Liberia blinked at his brother, not really believing what he just heard, and for a second he wondered if this was the same Molossia. Did Molossia just… technically _compliment_ him? Then he remembered that they were supposed to act (slightly) nicer to each other now, and Liberia felt a smile form on his face.

He wrapped an arm around Molossia, despite his loud protests, and shot a victorious grin at the two brats. "See? Molossia likes it! And stop making such a big deal over it. Unless, you want to stay here while me and Maverick go have the time of our lives?"

That shut them right up.

"Great…" Molossia sneered and tried to get Liberia's arm off him. "Now can you stop touching me before I rip your arm off?"

"Nope!" Liberia snickered, and kept his arm firmly around his brother. He could get used to this brotherly affection. "Just stop struggling and pay attention to my awesome plan, little brother. It involves Sealand~"

Molossia stopped as he was about to chomp off Liberia's arm, and he stared at him. "Say what?"

"Here's how it's gonna go down…" Liberia began, and he pointed towards the first drawing. "Alfred just happens to have a lot of technical stuff in the basement here because this is where he and Tony would work together, _really_ _cool_ technical stuff. Like the _transporter_ he built from when he was in his Star Trek phase…"

"America built the transporter from that series?" Ladonia said in surprise.

"Like I said, Star Trek phase." Liberia said simply with a sheepish smile. "Al's still working on replicating it for everyone, and you can even find a few of these things outside of the U.S. in certain members' houses. But lucky for us, there's one fully operational transporter downstairs that's more than capable of taking us to England."

The micronation trio stared at him in disbelief. "England?"

"Yup, _England!_ Isn't it exciting? You're finally gonna go out and do something for once!" Liberia giggled excitedly, and then went back to explaining. "First, we're gonna go hunt down and kill Sealand. You three can pretend you're on a visit or whatever while I sneak in and go kill his… what, _four_ citizens? Not exactly the ideal massacre, but I'll take what I can get."

"Wait a damn second, you short bastard…" Molossia grumbled, then stared at Liberia oddly. "You mean I'll finally get to do it?"

"You will, little brother. I know you're all reluctant because you're afraid of upsetting Alfred by leaving, but think about it… If you kill Sealand, you'll also give England a great deal of pain, and Alfred loves seeing England in pain. It's a win-win!"

Molossia froze, and he put his hand on his chin, a smile slowly spreading across his face. "True… and I have really been looking forward to this."

"Exactly. So, if you two agree to help, I'll start explaining how we're gonna to steal a golf cart by storming into some random British golf course in order to-"

"LET'S DO IT! /LET'S GET GOING!" The two youngest micronations scrambled and ran out of the room, leaving Liberia rather dejected.

"Rude…" Liberia puffed his cheeks while crossing his arms. "They didn't even stick around for the best part."

"Stop moping and go tell them then." Molossia scoffed as he finally got Liberia's arm off, and suddenly he frowned. "Hey, Lib."

"Hm?"

"Don't ya need someone to stay behind with all the controls and shit so that they'll 'beam you up'?" Molossia asked with a puzzled expression.

Liberia smirked at his brother. "Yeah, but I _think_ I know how to fix that…"

/ / / / /

"Verdammt, Elizaveta! I knew I should've stopped you when I had the chance! I knew that this would end horribly!" Germany bellowed as he paced back and forth, terribly torn between punching Hungary or banging his head against the wall. "Damn you, Hungary!"

"And I told you, I'm sorry!" Hungary shouted, her hair a mess and looking close to tears. "How was I supposed to know that Morocco had his cobra with him?! Or that he and Cameroon are surprisingly stealthy?! But do you seriously think I don't feel bad about this?! That I don't blame myself?!"

"Good. You should blame yourself." Germany snapped at her, and he groaned into his hands. "Verdammt, I need to do something… I need to call my boss, no hell with that, I'll just call my military and tell them to head over to Liechtenstein to protect."

"Ludwig, that'd be an invasion, even if you mean well." Hungary reminded him, and Germany may not be in the best state of mind right now, but the idea of hitting her was becoming dangerously tempting. "And even if it wasn't, do you really think Switzerland will take this lying down? You might provoke him into doing the very thing you're worried that he'll do!"

Worried, worried, Germany's worried about too many things at this point. He's worried about Liechtenstein. He's worried about how he's going to prepare Italy for a World War even more brutal than the last. He's worried about informing everyone about the war. He's worried about what the hell his brother could be up to right now.

Germany was _also_ worried about the words Cameroon spoke to him before Liechtenstein was taken.

 _"Don't think I've forgotten what you did to me, Germany. You've done me a great favor by making yourself an enemy, it means that I'm free to kill you."_

He'll be honest, Germany has been suspecting that Cameroon could also be harboring a grudge against him for his suffering as Kamerun. Before France, before Germany lost the first World War, Cameroon _his_ colony, just like the other Germany colonies, they were treated rather… poorly. This just confirmed. But Germany was worried that Cameroon will take his anger for him on sweet, innocent Liechtenstein.

From what he's heard, Cameroon's inhuman enough to do that.

"Well, we have to do something! We need to head over to Switzerland, NOW!" Germany yelled, punching the wall, and he glared at his surroundings. "If only we had the necessary transportation. What the hell's taking them so long, anyway? "

"LUDWIG!"

In the blink of an eye, the doors opened, and Italy came speeding towards him, nearly tackling Germany to the ground. Of course, Italy, now a sobbing mess, was clinging onto Germany's legs for dear life.

And while Germany would normally pull him off _because he's really not in the mood for this_ , he noticed Italy's disheveled state

"Italy, why are you…" Germany paused when Italy's sobs became louder, and after an exasperated sigh, he continued after they died down. "What happened to you?!"

"G-Germany-san, we have a bit of a problem…" Japan said breathlessly as he finally caught up to Italy, and he also looked like a little worse for wear. "W-We tried speaking with Bosnia-san as you asked because you were busy with Hungary-san, h-however…"

"HE TRIED TO STRANGLE ME, LUDWIG!" Italy cried out in ridiculously high volume, that kind that made Germany want to cringe, but he didn't, because this was serious. "W-We just asked some questions, and I asked him if he'd like some pasta, but he just kept staring at us all creepy and stuff!"

"And then, after I asked him why he wants this 'it', he snapped and attacked Italy-san." Japan finished for him, still breathing heavily. "Fortunately, we managed to push him away and I followed Italy-san as he fled the room in a panic. Oh, and it appears that he wants to speak to you about something, Hungary-san."

"Me?!" Hungary exclaimed, just as baffled as everyone was. "Why me?"

"I don't know, but-"

"I'm baaaaack~" Romania decided to make his appearance as he strolled into the room, a suitcase and an anxious Moldova in tow. He grinned. "Hey, guys, hag, look! I found Moldova! I beat that lovesick bastard to it! Moldova, go ahead and say hi."

Moldova managed a slightly awkward smile and waved his overly long sleeve. He's no doubt still shaken by the truth. "H-Hi!"

Germany expected an awkward silence to follow, but Hungary gasped went toward the pair and scooped up Moldova in her arms as she smiled warmly at the boy, much to the child's delight and Romania's obvious annoyance. Germany supposed he should be happy too. This was another victory for them.

"I'm so happy to see you're okay, Luca!" Hungary said relieved before she gave a suspicious glare toward Romania. "I trust your poor rejected Twilight character excuse of a brother broke the news to you gently?"

"You know I'm a good brother, hag!" Romania hissed menacingly, baring his fangs, and he scowled. "And didn't you already use that insult, like-"

Then, before Romania could reprimand Hungary, a ray of light from the ceiling suddenly struck the ground near them, startling everyone. And then the ray disappeared as quickly as it appeared, revealing a stone-faced Egypt, an uncomfortable-looking Russia (Russia uncomfortable, what was this world coming to?), and…

"Ukraine?" Germany gaped, and he almost smiled in relief, almost.

Ukraine was frowning and crossing her arms, facing away from her brother, she almost looked angry. Did something happen? But when Germany spoke, she blinked and gazed at him, and her upset disposition seemed to vanish somewhat as she smiled weakly at him.

"Hello, Germany." She greeted gently. "How are you? Have you been well?"

 _BOOM!_ Of course, an explosion of dirt appeared nearby, and when it dissipated, it revealed the Central Americans, now with the addition of an unhappy-looking Panama.

"We're baaaaaaack~" Belize announced loudly, a wide grin on her face. She then noticed the number of nations in the room staring at them and puffed her cheeks. "Hey, are we the last ones to arrive?"

"Germany, we have a problem!" Algeria snarled, stomping into view, closely followed by an anxious Tunisia trying to calm her down. "We need to talk about Western Sa… Oh, they're all here already?"

"GERMANY, WE HAVE A PROBLEM, ARU!" China then shrieked as he stormed into the room. "I just found out that several nations from Southeast Asia have already been captured by the Order! We must act fast!"

"Alright, ENOUGH!" Germany boomed over everyone, feeling another migraine coming in. "One at a time! I'll have you all know that I'm not in the mood for nonsense right now! All of you just be quiet while-"

"H-HELP!"

Oh, great. Now who…

Wait, wasn't that Seychelles's voice?

The girl came in running, nearly tripping as she did, and was very out-of-breath. Egypt went and caught her just as she was about to collapse, and demanded, "Michelle, what happened to you? Are you alright?!"

There was a small bruise on her left cheek, as if slapped. Her face and blue dress were stained with a few splatters of blood, and there was a bleeding wound on her right ankle that looked dreadfully like claw marks. Seychelles was pale, she looked like she saw a ghost.

"Th-There- bathroom- both dead- H-He's after me and he's been _chasing_ me, and he wants to get _me_ too-" Seychelles stammered endlessly, gripping Egypt's arms. " _Grabbed_ my ankle- Hit me with a cane- I think he wanted to- wanted to-"

 _"He?"_ Germany exclaimed in shock. An attacker? "Who is 'he'?"

Egypt give him a slight disapproving glare, then directed his attention to Seychelles. "Calm down, please, and breathe. Who is the nation that attacked you?"

"N-Not a nation, couldn't be." Seychelles shook her head frantically, nearly hyperventilating. "I d-don't think he's human either."

"She is right." A new, unfamiliar, but chilling voice spoke. Germany looked to the door, and his widened at the stranger. "I am much more than that..."

…Dammit.

 **This... took a while to complete. Hope you liked it! Please review, if you have a minute.**


	61. Justice: A BIG problem

**Thanks to Redbayly, AquaEclipse, Eternal Nexus Warrior and NadiaJA627 for reviewing. And I'm back to the biweekly updates, again... but I've had a busy week and I've been working on the second chapter of Ascond to the Other Side, which I published a few days ago. I'm still trying to find a way to update the two stories on time. I hope you like this new chapter. Now, on with the show!**

Egypt felt Seychelles trembling in his protective embrace as he stared at the new, _unwelcome_ arrival.

The one responsible for Seychelles's bloodied state, for _hurting_ her, entered the room, covered in even more blood. He was a black man with short hair and his face painted rather realistically like a skull (or perhaps that's actually his skull…?) and glowing evil red eyes. He was dressed fancy, with a tailcoat and a top hat.

His appearance didn't ring any bells, Egypt was sure that he didn't recognize him from _anywhere_. But he was sure of one thing: this man wasn't human.

This being radiated of pure evil, and if that wasn't enough proof, there was Seychelles's injuries and her reaction upon seeing him, as well as the man's wicked smile and the aforementioned fact that he's _covered in blood_.

But Egypt did feel that he should at least _know_ where this man, or whatever this being really was, came from, and the answer came to him surprisingly quickly. Wasn't there a character from one of America's movies that somewhat resembled this man? And he recalled when the man spoke, he _knew_ that think accent… Then there was the time when he saw _Haiti's_ costume for a Halloween party…

Before Egypt could delve deeper into that, someone decided to _speak_.

"T-The baron!" Panama exclaimed, and one glance at the Central America revealed that he was pale with _horror_. "Santo Dios, please tell me I didn't let you talk me into coming with you at the same time you had the _baron_ over!"

"The who now?" Belize asked lamely.

Then Germany bravely, or perhaps foolishly depending on perspective, decided to ask the important questions. "Who are you and why are you here? Explain yourself this instant!"

"I am Baron Kriminel." Said 'baron' responded with his tone dripping with malice, and he tipped his hat. "A pleasure."

Baron Kriminel…?

"Oh NO!" Italy cried out in horror, and Egypt would've groaned like Germany often did if he weren't holding Seychelles. "I always knew this day would come! A _demone_ is here to kill us for all the sins we have committed!"

Nearly everyone turned to give Italy frustrated glares for perhaps unintentionally insulting the man who they don't know was capable of, but the baron seemed to be more

"A demon? Non, but close. I understand the red eyes can give the wrong idea at times." The baron shook his head, and he sneered. "And non, I'm not here to kill _all_ of you. But you seem annoying, so I will put _your_ name on the list."

Italy whimpered, and Germany promptly smacked him on the head.

"I am what one may consider a god or a powerful spirit, just like that dog over there." Baron Kriminel explained, pointing at the growling Anubis. "A member of the Ghede family of spirits. I have been… _invoked_ to bring swift judgement on the survivors of the Caribbean massacre by Haiti."

A god…

 _"Oh, don't you disrespect the gods, little fool. Derogate or deride them again, and I **will** make things worse for you…"_

That's right. Haiti had his gods and spirits as allies…

"Oh great, there's more of them!" Belize exclaimed in horror. "And they're Haiti's too! What's next, Greek gods?"

"You want to kill Bahamas and Saint Lucia?!" Germany growled.

"I believe that is what I just said." The baron shrugged.

Seychelles suddenly decided to slip out of Egypt's arms and weakly pointed at the baron, stuttering, "I-I wanted to tell you… that man… he killed Bahamas and Saint Lucia! He ripped out their hearts and… and…"

"You mean they're already dead?!" Algeria practically shrieked.

"Of course they're already dead!" Panama shouted. "Baron Kriminel is Haiti's hitman! Whenever there's someone Haiti can't kill, he just sends the spirit to do it for him, and he _always_ gets the job done!

"Wi, I'm afraid both Bahamas and Saint Lucia are now dead… permanently dead, thus completing my task so I _apologize_ if you were hoping to save them." Baron Kriminel informed them with faux-sympathy, and he smirked. "However, that was _too_ easy, not enough destruction."

"But your job is done." Egypt stated, and he tried not to cringe when the baron directed his red gaze at him. He had stared into the face of Set; this was nothing compared to that. "Why haven't you left yet?"

"The answer is simple, "More of you must die, including that girl, more _blood_ must be spilled. And I assure you that Haiti has given me complete liberty to do as I please."

Of course he did…

Egypt gritted his teeth, this was not good… Enemy nations were one thing, but a god? Even when one considered the fact that they have the advantage in numbers, but they're still likely very outmatched. If Anubis, a god of death, could easily defeat Nigeria _and_ South Africa, then how would Baron Kriminel fare against more than a dozen nations… most of whom, Egypt realized in horror, were _unarmed_.

…Not that such weapons would work against such beings anyway.

If he and Romania went up against him, would they face the same outcome as South Africa and Nigeria against Anubis?

Wait… _Anubis!_

"But first, I see someone who most definitely should not be here…" The baron he turned his gaze to… Panama? The Central America flinched. "You. I thought you were supposed to remain neutral. What is your excuse?"

Panama froze in place, as if he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't be doing. Then, he blinked as he snapped out his trance, and shook his head.

"I'm not… their ally." Panama said quickly, noticeably doing his best not to stutter. He looked surprisingly calm though. "I'm only here to observe, nothing more. Don't get the wrong idea… _please_. I won't get in _anyone's_ way either."

Everyone, except the Central Americans, gave Panama confused and almost angry looks while the Central Americans were either uncomfortable or guilty. What the hell was he talking about?! Didn't he-

"Oh… very then. In that case, you will be spared." The baron nodded, and then grinned nastily at the others "As for the _rest_ of you…"

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

With that 'battle cry', Romania sprinted forward and fired an enormous fire blast at the baron that might've burned down a good portion of the room if he hadn't aimed precisely at the spirit. Having been caught off-guard, the blast did hit the spirit, sending him flying back.

"You idiot!" Panama cried out in horror. "Do you know what you've done?!"

"Egypt, tell that death dog of yours to stop just standing there growling and bite off the baron's head or something!" Romania screamed at him impatiently, ignoring Panama. "Right now would be nice! I think I just pissed off the hitman god here!"

Egypt's eyes widened in realization, and he felt stupid for not using the opportunity earlier.

"Anubis, ATTACK!" Egypt ordered to his friend. "Defeat him while we escape! Use all your power if necessary!"

Anubis barked in, giving his agreement, and lunged at the baron, who merely sneered and shot him away with black fire, sending the dog flying against the wall. Egypt almost shouted in alarm at this, but his worry died down somewhat when Anubis quickly recovered and lunged at the enemy again.

They had to go, before Anubis showed his true form.

Not wasting any time, Egypt muttered a few certain words under his breath.

/ / / / /

Western Sahara felt like such an idiot.

The whole battle, she purposely held herself back and hesitated from truly fighting because she didn't want to hurt him, Igbo, he's been through enough pain. The whole battle, the blows she managed to land were intended to hopefully incapacitate him, and she continued putting herself in danger and pain as a result. No, forget about herself, by prolonging the fight to prevent further injuring, hurting, Igbo, she only caused him more pain by doing so.

By procrastinating and hesitating, she had allowed Igbo to taunt her and hurt her more than he should have, to _enjoy_ her pain, to further remain under Nigeria's control… when she could've minimized the damage done to him and herself if she just crushed her reluctance and just fight him head-on… even though it's easier said than done.

By holding back, he'll end up even more traumatized and horrified with himself.

But it's over now, wasn't it?

Western Sahara wheezed and breathed, carefully trying not to hyperventilate, as her eyes drifted to the unconscious form of Igbo lying a few feet in front of her. She still couldn't believe her luck. She won, barely, and thanks to a rush of adrenaline gained from the horrifying prospect of being returned to Morocco's _loving_ care.

The memory was still fresh in her mind. She had grabbed Igbo's arm, despite the churning pain in her stomach and the weakness in her arms, and she uttered one single impossible but convincing enough lie:

 _"I… **hate** you."_

Western Sahara had, in her nausea and misery, desperately hoped that'd provoke a reaction from him, and it did. She remembered his features contorting in surprise and his eyes widening in shock, then he appeared confused, as if he was wondering why he said that, because it _couldn't_ have been true, could it? No, of course not. Western Sahara would never feel that towards him, but it was necessary. Fortunately, as strong as Nigeria's hold over him was, it didn't corrupt him enough to react indifferently to that lie.

Igbo had kept stared at her bewilderment, then he winced, perhaps Nigeria was screaming at him in his mind to stop standing there like an idiot and just _end_ her. But just as Igbo regained his composure, the reaction had bought Western Sahara enough time to recuperate enough energy to _twist_ his arm…

One brief scuffle that went in Western Sahara's favor later, and Igbo finally couldn't take any more. He glared at her murderously, representing Nigeria's anger as well, and then promptly fell unconscious.

She won… mostly on pure luck.

But what strange, twisted luck she had. Western Sahara would end up in one painful situation after another, but she'd manage to get out of them alive and in one piece.

Tch, that's not important right now. She needed to _get up._

Shakily, she tried to force herself to stand up despite her weak knees and the nausea that doesn't feel like it's going to vanish for a while, but when she tried to stand on her feet, her stomach flipped and the nausea suddenly became worse, and she collapsed right back to the ground.

She let out a pained cry as she held her injured abdomen, but she immediately retracted her hands and bit back a sharp yell when she pressed the area. Right, bruised. Just… how bad was it? _Please_ tell her that it wasn't enough to cause internal bleeding or fractured bones. She wasn't in the mood for a hospital.

Suddenly her stomach churned again, and a burst of vomit threatened to push its way up her throat. She gagged and covered her mouth, eyes widening. It _just_ dawned on her that she'd been dealt a few _hard_ blows to the stomach courtesy of Igbo, and right now she's feeling the _results_ of it.

In fact, she had a feeling that she's going to feeling the results for a while…

Panic beginning to set in, she tried to at least _crawl_ to the bathroom. To her relief, she could crawl though weakly, albeit with a lot of effort to ignore the pain. Breathing heavily and praying that it wasn't light-headedness that she's also starting to feel, she wiped the sweat from her forehead and kept forcing herself to _move_. However, when she felt the vomit in her mouth, she stopped torturing herself.

Then, gagging and not bothering to pull back her long hair, she threw up on the floor.

Why did she have to be put through this?

Why, even after she's freed and she resolved not to get involved in the mess going on in the rest of the world, did she have to put through this? Didn't Morocco, Nigeria, and the others ever get tired of this? What did she ever do to Nigeria anyway?

No, this wasn't the time to complain. Igbo was unconscious, defeated, but that didn't mean that he's free despite how much Western Sahara wanted to believe otherwise. Nigeria could still be controlling him. Who's to say that he won't wake up while she's crying and puking with Nigeria's green eyes and his wounds healed and attack her?

And Western Sahara didn't think she could take another fight with him today, or any day.

She scowled just as her stomach gave another clench, and she threw up again.

Whether she liked it or not, there's only one person who could get rid of that problem, and that's Nigeria.

He's tricky and frustratingly stubborn, especially when it came to Igbo, but what other choice did Western Sahara have?

Now, where did she put her other phone…

/ / / / /

Nigeria had remained staring balefully into space after he felt and _saw_ Igbo get knocked out by Western Sahara. He wasn't in state of shock or anything, he was just feeling really pissed off.

"Biafra, you idiot…" He growled quietly to himself. "Why do you always have to be so… disappointing?"

Couldn't he do anything right?

Okay, maybe he was being a _little_ harsh on that stupid, hopeless, and especially moronic traitor, but just a _little_. Biafra was already in rough shape when Nigeria took control of his mind and not bothering to heal him out of spite didn't really help his chances, but still Igbo should've been strong enough to kill that damn rat!

But he didn't, because Western Sahara told such a blatantly obvious lie despite the good scowl she had and confused Nigeria. It wasn't that he _believed_ her words (like he said, blatantly obvious), and he knew that Biafra didn't either, so they were more baffled by what could she be trying to achieve with such a stupid lie.

And Nigeria realized too late what she wanted. StupidStupidStupid…

He took a deep breath to keep himself from setting the area around him on fire. So what now then? What's next, one might ask? Well, Nigeria still hasn't relinquished his hold over Biafra, so he'll still be his by the time he woke up, but he'll be way too injured to fight or do any sort of harm to Western Sahara. Nigeria could let him go… (ha!) and then wait until he recovered to have him attack her again…

But Western Sahara's wasn't that stupid, she'll be more cautious around Biafra from now on. Nigeria smiled, the fact that she'll act more distrustful around that traitor and that their little friendship won't be the same ever again at least brought him _some_ comfort.

Speaking of that rat, Western Sahara will obviously try to call him to yell in his ear about what an evil, cruel, heartless, callous living being he was and demand that he let Biafra go…

But Nigeria's not going to.

Seriously, why should he? And Western Sahara had no right to order him around.

Besides… disappointing conclusion aside, Nigeria had a lot of fun pulling the strings. He had already controlled Biafra a few times before, especially in the Civil War, but he's forgotten how much _fun_ it was to do it. Biafra's much more interesting this way, they actually got along that way. No glares or disapproving, patronizing frowns, only smiling and laughter and all kinds of family bonding.

And the best part was that Biafra's completely aware that Nigeria's controlling him, but of course, he didn't care.

Nigeria didn't want to stop just yet.

He should do this more often.

Who knows? Maybe one day, Nigeria could keep him like that forever. He wouldn't be disappointing, and would never ever betray him again, that way. An unquestionably loyal Biafra with Nigeria's sadistic streak and cruelty who'd gleefully kill or torture anyone he commanded?

Nigeria laughed out loud. Yeah, he should _definitely_ do that someday.

/ / / / /

South Vietnam only vaguely payed attention to Philippines's attempts to chat with a practically catatonic Malaysia as he meditated, but he couldn't help but listen it, mostly out of worry, partly out of pure curiosity.

He should be focusing on connecting with his people, try to reach out to them and start planting the seed for rebellion, but Philippines was seriously starting to worry him. Well, a few minutes of chatting with his friend and finding out what he's up to wouldn't hurt, right? South Vietnam could focus on his people later.

"You know, it never fails to surprise me how much you care about him." South Vietnam had to remark, but in a friendly manner. "Seriously, I've seen you two bicker and argue even before the war. I guess it's amazing what guilt can do, and I'd _really_ appreciate it if you stopped looking at me like that, Felipe."

That was a bit of touchy subject, because wow, if looks could kill…

"Sorry." Philippines growled; he didn't really sound sorry.

South Vietnam knew he's pushing it, but he couldn't help but ask another sensitive.

"Have you… ever thought about what you'll do next after Malaysia… finds the 'it' that he's looking for?" South Vietnam asked carefully, not even flinching when Philippines snapped his head toward him with a scowl. "I mean, I know I haven't really seen what your relationship is like, but do _you_ think he'll forgive you?"

Philippines looked ready to kill him, but he calmly answered. "I haven't really… thought that far yet."

'Or more like you don't want to think about it' South Vietnam thought grimly, but he didn't want to make Philippines angrier. "I see…"

"When he'll come to, whatever he wants to feel, I'll accept it." Philippines said gruffly, but South Vietnam frowned. He's _lying_. "I won't beg for forgiveness."

South Vietnam narrowed his eyes, but he only hummed in response. "So… why did you bring him again?"

"Because he's out of shape." Philippines answered simply as he played around with his knives, as if it was obvious. "He needs practice if he's ever going to find you-know-what and either Singapore or Indonesia, and he can't do that if he's stuck mumbling in his sleep. So, he's going to be helping with killing the Northern Vietnamese too."

South Vietnam couldn't help but wince at the mention of a certain detail of the grand plan. He never liked that part, if anything, if there was another option that wouldn't result in an unnecessary death, he'd try his best to convince the stubborn Philippines to take that route, but there _wasn't_ another option.

Not to mention South Vietnam was seriously reevaluating his opinion of Indonesia ever since the argument, but that was the least of his concerns right now.

"I guess that's… reasonable…" It really isn't, but it's Philippines. South Vietnam learned that making him change his mind is a near-impossible thing to do.

"But?" Philippines asked expectantly, obviously knowing better than to expect South Vietnam to just immediately go along with it.

"What if he suddenly starts killing himself instead of humans? Or has a breakdown in the middle of a fight?"

Philippines cringed at the question, but he shook his head. "Don't worry, I'll be there to make sure he doesn't do _anything_ dangerous to himself. And we have the medications and tranquilizers if anything goes wrong, not that it'll happen while I'm around, right?"

South Vietnam frowned, and shrugged. "Yes, I guess you're right…"

"I _am_ right." Philippines agreed haughtily, and South Vietnam snorted, which the former noticed. "Hey, don't laugh!"

"Sorry… But are you _really_ sure about this?" South Vietnam asked skeptically as he glanced at the unmoving Malaysia.

You just get back to mediating and trying to gain control of your people while I go back to trying to get Malaysia on the right track, Chinh. Everything will be _fine_."

"In other words, you want me to scram."

"Scram, leave, skedaddle, however you want to word it." Philippines waved his hand dismissively. "Let's just stop having this conversation so we can back at the stuff we _really_ need to do, Chinh. Like I said, everything will be fine."

Yes, everything _will_ be fine…

South Vietnam only nodded and closed his eyes again, once again tuning out Philippines's voice as his friend kept trying to strike up a conversation with Malaysia and then he went back to focusing on the connection….

/ / / / /

Egypt was very sure that this was the first time he had to teleport so many people…

He nearly stumbled, but he was unexpectedly caught by Seychelles (yet again). The aftermath was a lot less tiring than he expected, all he got was a feeling of mild disorientation, which he probably owed to the fact he only teleported a very short distance.

Egypt took a few deep breaths, attempting to clear his head, and when he felt his legs wouldn't give out anymore, he stopped using the poor girl as support. It took him an embarrassing number of seconds for him to remember what happened between him and Seychelles and for the awkwardness to set in, but to his surprise Seychelles spoke.

"Are you all right?" Seychelles asked worriedly, genuine concern etched on her features. Was she still angry with him?

"I'm fine… for the most part. I just need a few minutes to recover." Egypt said between pants, but he stopped when he caught sight of the bruise on her cheek, and he immediately felt worried about her. "Wait, what about you? Are you well? Are you badly hurt anywhere? Baron Kriminel, what did he do to you?"

Seychelles's face became pained, and she visibly started to tremble. "I think… I think he wanted to kill me too, or worse, he mentioned something about 'Samedi needing new company', but I'm not sure if I... H-He slapped me when I called him a murderer, t-that's where the bruise came from. And then I fell on top of Bahamas's… that's where the blood…"

Her face turned green, and she looked on the verge on throwing up. Egypt tried to tell her that she didn't need to continue, but she spoke again before he could say anything.

"When I tried to escape, he said something and some hands came from the ground and grabbed my ankles, but I got away…" Seychelles explained quietly, wincing and fidgeting her fingers anxiously. "I think he let me escape… I'm not sure… but he kept…"

Egypt decided that enough was enough, and he gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "Please, calm down, Michelle. You're safe now, alright? I won't let any more harm come to you."

Seychelles tensed at his touch and at the use of her human name and avoided his gaze, and Egypt immediately knew why. He'd be lying if he said his heart didn't sank at this. This wasn't the time nor the place, but he needed to know how she felt.

"Are you still upset with me?" Egypt asked.

Seychelles sniffed. "A little."

"I'm… sorry." He apologized, his hands trembling.

Seychelles frowned, which caused Egypt no end of discomfort. "For what you said or for upsetting me?"

"Both." Egypt admitted truthfully.

The look on her face softened, and Egypt dared hope…

Of course, that hope was quickly dashed when Belize decided that now was the perfect time to hound him for answers.

"Okay, what the hell, Egypt?!" Belize demanded hotly as he stomped over to the Muslim resting against the wall. "Don't get me wrong, I really appreciated you immediately taking us, cause not all of us are armed and we have a kid with us, but did you _really_ have to take the nations who actually have magic or have weapons with you? We might've been able to-"

"Could, not _will_ , Belize." Egypt shook his head. "Nations are one thing, but a god? There's no telling what could happen to us, and unlike us, they don't exactly stay dead if you rip out their hearts. We wouldn't have been able to defeat him."

"Not with that attitude you won't!"

"I agree with Egypt… for once…" Panama hissed at the African, who felt puzzled at the hostility, and his gaze went back to Belize. "You don't know anything about Baron Kriminel! Haiti's gods are crazy and immoral people, _especially_ the group the baron's from!"

"And how do you know that, da?" Russia asked with a sneer. "You seem to know a lot about our enemy. And I'd like to know why you declared yourself neutral.

"You don't _scare_ me, Russia." Panama spat with commendable bravery and surprising resentment. "Fear will get you nowhere in this war. Just you wait, you'll see just how pathetic you really are when America and the others-"

Russia pushed his pipe against Panama's throat. "I highly recommend you don't go provoking me, da?"

"Leave him _alone_ , Vanya." Ukraine said solemnly but firmly, crossing her arms. Russia faltered.

"ENOUGH!" Germany bellowed, and the bickering stopped. "I think… we can count on Egypt's dog to at least hold him off, right?"

Egypt nodded. "Yes, I am certain he stands a good chance."

"Then for now let's focus on filling everyone on what's happened, because I'm sure I can speak for all of us when I say that I'm _very_ confused right now." Germany growled while he rubbed his temples, and everyone murmured in agreement. "First of all-"

He was cut off with the sound of an explosion and monstrous growling, and the ground shook, taking everyone by surprise, but then it stopped but the sounds of the battle between the gods could still be heard.

"Yeah, um… how about we go do that outside?" Belize suggested dryly. "You know, where there's no roof to collapse in on us."

No one argued with her this time.

/ / / / /

"...And that's how I painfully learned that not _every_ hacker could be Russian."

Vilnius could only blink and stare in surprise at Estonia after he finished his story of when he thought Russia was the one responsible for hijacking all Estonia's site, when it was actually someone else, and Russia punished him for accusing him with his 'magic metal pipe of pain'.

Oh, how awful! Lithuania's told her plenty of stories about Russia's cruelty, but it still gave her the creeps.

"That's terrible!" Vilnius exclaimed, horrified. "Were you okay after that, Mr. Estonia?"

Estonia laughed, a laugh that even Vilnius could tell was fake, before he broke down in tears. "Noooo..."

Latvia almost seemed to tear up as well as he patted Estonia on the back in comfort. "It took Estonia over a week to completely recover after that, o-or two weeks if you count psychological damage..."

Estonia cried even louder, and soon enough Latvia started to cry too... for some reason. Did this kind of thing happen a lot?

Vilnius shuffled her feet in discomfort as she looked at her two crying 'brothers', she's starting to feel a little awkward here. Now she's even more upset Lithuania left, she puffed her cheeks angrily. He had a lot more experience with this kind of stuff like traumatized brothers and Russia-related stuff...

Not that Vilnius didn't want to try and cheer them up, but she's just met Estonia and Latvia, she didn't really know... No, bad Vilnius! That's no excuse to not help them! They're your family, and family were always there for each other, right?

Mind made up, she decided to say, "D-Don't worry, Estonia! Toris is going to make sure Russia doesn't ever bother you again! In fact, he won't hurt you or anyone ever gain by the time the war's over!"

"Wha…" Estonia gaped, before realization dawned on his face and he slumped against his chair. "Oh, right, I forgot that Toris and that psychopath Bulgaria want to destroy Mr. Russia…"

Vilnius frowned at the way Estonia said that, and hearing Bulgaria being called a psychopath… she remained optimistic. "That's right! Toris and the others have this big plan to take down Russia once and for all? What's wrong with that? Oh, and Dimitri's not a psychopath! He's just… um… _weird!_ Or at least that's what Toris says…"

This made Estonia very uncomfortable, and he shared a nervous look with Latvia. Vilnius didn't get it. Was it something she said?

"What do you mean… Bulgaria's not crazy?" Estonia asked slowly and carefully with a shaky smile. "Y-You mean… you don't know?"

"Know about what?" Vilnius asked, puzzled.

Estonia and Latvia looked at each other, then at her, then each other, then her, then each other, then her, and then they started doing even faster… Wait, didn't they already do this before when Lithuania introduced her to them? Was this a thing they did a lot? Didn't it hurt their necks?

When they finally stopped, Estonia smiled and laughed nervously, before he grabbed the equally nervous Latvia's shoulder and turned him around. Then, to Vilnius's dismay, they started whispering… a bit too loudly in her opinion, but not enough for her to figure out what they were saying and what they're talking about.

"O-Oh, nevermind!" Estonia waved his hands, with the same nervous smile on his face. "Probably just my imagination, ha… ha…"

Vilnius stared at him and swallowed. "Um… okay?"

"Ja, don't worry about it!" Latvia said a little loudly, smiling a _bit_ more calmly. "We were just discussing whether or not we…

It was at this moment when Estonia loudly coughed, which oddly sounded an awful like 'Shut up, Latvia!'

"…were wearing underwear?"

Vilnius felt her face burn bright at the information, and Estonia facepalmed. She let out a weak squeak. "…Oh."

An awkward silence followed, just like when Lithuania left them to go to… somewhere… but Vilnius did not want to go through with this again. You know what? This bonding time's been a little depressing, they should talk about something… less depressing!

Thankfully, Estonia broke the silence. "Did I mention that I once had a weird dream where all the male nations were girls?"

"Wow, really?" Vilnius gaped, now that's weird. "Was Toris there?"

" _Everyone_ was there." Estonia said, and he grimaced. "Even Russia…"

"Estonia said I looked really cute!" Latvia piped up with a sheepish smile, only to be smacked by a blushing Estonia. "A-And you told me not to tell anyone I said that…"

"What happened in the dream? Can you tell me?" Vilnius asked curiously.

"Jah, of course!" Estonia smiled and cleared his throat. "It's a really funny story, though not ha-ha funny, but I guess some people may view it that way. It happened on a Tuesday…"

/ / / / /

It was just a quick errand. It may not seem important enough for him to leave, but Switzerland always liked being cautious.

It was bad luck, or perhaps there's something more sinister afoot, when in the middle of going through his tools to find something to tinker the boy's brain a little, he discovered that his needles and ice picks were missing. They were missing!

Now, Switzerland, some idiots might say with an irritably condescending tone, there's no need to get all angry! Maybe you just misplaced them or something. Don't feel bad, people lose things all the time!

Oh, bull. Switzerland never misplaced or loses his tools; he wasn't some irresponsible idiot. The idea made no sense, especially when he never once took them out for the past few years and he clearly remembered seeing them when he returned home right before those four sadists...!

So, it went without saying that Switzerland figured out who were the culprits very quickly. But the problem remained: Which one of them took them? To get that answer, he interrogated the brute and the pervert.

 _"Which one of you dummkopfs took my needles and icepicks?" Switzerland demanded angrily, feeling very tempted to shoot them dead._

 _Morocco stopped staring at Mauritius with hungry and Cameroon's eyes snapped open as he was woken up from his 'nap', and they both stared at him oddly, the former more puzzled than anything and Cameroon, of course, was offended by the accusation._

 _"I beg your pardon?" Cameroon narrowed his eyes._

 _"Don't play dumb with me, Cameroon!" Switzerland spat, admittedly rather unwisely. "You give that whole rant about loyalty and trust and whatnot, and then some of my tools end up stolen! If anyone's a hypocrite, it's you!"_

 _"We did not steal anything." Cameroon growled, clearly trying his best to restrain himself from killing Swizerland right then and there._

 _"Lies! I remember seeing the tools in the drawer and I never once took them out." Switzerland snarled. "So, which of one of you took them?"_

 _"Oh come now, Switzerland. You can't go blindly accusing **us** without considering the facts!" Morocco chided in a disapproving tone, then he smirked at Mauritius and curled a lock of his hair with his finger. "If I had stolen them, I would've already used them to make this one mine."_

 _Switzerland raised an eyebrow, not convinced. Did he think he was stupid? "True, but you could be saving them in case you want to make some other poor nation you're infatuated with your adoring slave. Or you could be saving them as a last resort if your plans for Tunisia don't turn out the way you wanted."_

 _Morocco's smile vanished to be replaced by a sneer, he clearly didn't take the notion well, but then his usual smiled returned. "Oh, but it will, Switzerland! Besides, I'm currently planning to have him run into my arms after I convince him to stop lying to himself, though I might take him if I get tired of waiting. But either way, a lobotomy is out of the question. It won't be necessary, my friend."_

 _"Hmm," Switzerland said, still not completely convinced. Then he turned to Cameroon. "What's your excuse?"_

 _"I don't know how to perform a lobotomy." Cameroon stated with that flat tone of his. "Such things aren't my specialty. **But** if you must know, South Africa took the needles while Nigeria took the ice picks."_

 _Switzerland's expression contorted in anger, and he snarled. Of course! "What?! Why didn't you tell me earlier?!"_

 _"I thought you were accusing only us and not South Africa and Nigeria." Morocco said calmly, and he kissed Mauritius's hand. "Also, we didn't think it was a big deal. And they thought that you won't be using them in the near future, so they didn't see the harm in it."_

 _"And they couldn't have just asked me if they could borrow them?"_

 _"Would you have given them the tools?"_

 _"Nein, but that's not the point!" Switzerland snapped, feeling his face burn red in indignation. "And why did they want the tools? Who are they planning to reprogram?"_

 _Morocco giggled, and put his index fingers in front of his lips. "That's a secret~"_

And after some more pointless bickering, Switzerland threw his hands up in frustration and decided to go out and buy new needles and ice picks. Also, he made a note to himself to hunt down South Africa and Nigeria.

Switzerland was in no way happy to leave the house, thus leaving Liechtenstein at the mercy of those two if anything 'went wrong', in other words, use any excuse to torture or kill Liechtenstein... But it's more likely that they're too busy with Mauritius to plan behind Switzerland's back.

He growled and clenched his teeth. That was hardly any more comforting. Switzerland was sure that he could trust Cameroon to restrain himself, he was a loyal nation, but he could never trust Morocco to do something so simple. Switzerland wasn't blind, and not stupid. He's seen the way Morocco stared at Mauritius, and frankly it disgusted him to no end. He knew that there wasn't any point in threatening them, he just needed to come back before he found the two…

Why did this organization have to include disgusting people like them?

Well, better to have them as allies than enemies... and have people happily willing (too willing) to do the dirty work. Austria was very right in doing that, as always.

Now, Switzerland had acquired new tools, and already thought of some places where he could hide them so that the Africans won't steal them, and he's now back at his house. But when he got inside, a familiar voice caught his attention.

"Little one, I highly recommend that you don't test our patience." He heard Morocco say cruelly. "Abby here is hungry, and so is Cammy. Lie again, and they'll have your eyes and fingers as their next meal. I might even get a taste too…"

Switzerland's eyes snapped wide. What-

"I-I told you, no one…" Liechtenstein, that was Liechtenstein talking. She sounded scared.

Something inside him snapped, and he dropped the bag to stomp toward the living room, about to commit bloody murder if it's what he thought it was. As he feared, much to his wholly indescribable fury, he saw Liechtenstein shrinking in fear as Morocco's damn pet cobra slithered threateningly toward her, with it's owner smirking and Cameroon watching coldly.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Switzerland boomed, feeling absolutely livid.

Morocco's shit-eating smirk dropped, and both him and Cameroon snapped their heads toward him in surprise, and the cobra hissed at Switzerland. Liechtenstein jumped once she saw him, and there was a flicker of hope in her eyes.

"B-Bruder…" Liechtenstein stammered.

"Ah, there you are, Switzerland…" Morocco said coolly, holding his arms, and his eyes drifted accusingly to Liechtenstein. "We were starting to worry you might never come back."

Oh, they'll _wish_ he never came back.

"Morocco, Cameroon…" Switzerland said through gritted teeth as he walked stiffly toward the two. "You have a grand total of ten seconds to explain what's going on and you were threatening Liechtenstein just now."

The threat didn't faze either of them, though Liechtenstein flinched, and it was Cameroon answered angrily. "I'll tell you what happened, Switzerland! I told you that you should've kicked this bitch out when you had the chance, but you didn't listen! This brat here found the key to the room and spied on us; she _knows_!"

Now it was Switzerland's turn to flinch, and he became angrier. What?! How could that be? Why would she search for the key? Liechtenstein knew that he had long forbidden her from going down there. Instead of starting an argument with Cameroon, he then decided to turn his glare to Liechtenstein, who suddenly looked very afraid. Of what? His anger? Morocco and Cameroon? Being found out?

Switzerland clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms, to stop himself from _screaming_ at the top of his lungs.

Switzerland growled, showing that he would not tolerate any lies. "Is this true, Lili?"

Liechtenstein trembled under his scrutinizing gaze. "I… But why…?"

Somehow, this made Switzerland feel even more furious instead of guilty.

"Did you or did you not go up to my room, found the key to the basement, went down there even though I forbid you from doing so, and saw something that you weren't supposed to see?" Switzerland hissed menacingly. He didn't even to turn around to know that Morocco and Cameroon were enjoying this. "Answer truthfully!"

Liechtenstein looked down, avoiding looking at him in the eye, and her hands fisted her skirt. "Ja… it's true, Vash."

Suddenly Switzerland's burning fury evaporated, as if it were nothing, and he stared at her blankly.

Despite his confidence, foolish confidence now that he thought about it, his conversation with Cameroon made him think what could happen if, or when, Liechtenstein found out the truth, whether on her own or being told by Switzerland. He imagined himself feeling angry, frustrated, and then perhaps he would grieve the loss of Liechtenstein's trust in him. Then, he would be clear that he would not tolerate disobedience.

That would be the most likely scenario in his opinion.

Instead now he felt… nothing? No, he did feel something. He felt betrayed, angry, a little sad… Wait, just a little? Or perhaps he's so overwhelmed and shocked by this confirmation that he didn't know what he was feeling?

Or could it be that maybe he…

"…I see." Switzerland said quietly.

He was at a loss for words. Was he supposed to cry? Fly into a fit of rage? Switzerland wasn't sure. Out of foolish curiosity, he glanced behind him at the two Africans, and he found that they weren't smiling. Morocco's expression was unreadable, but he was clearly expecting Switzerland to do what he needed to know. And Cameroon… he was _waiting_.

 _Prove you're as loyal as you say you are,_ the taller nation told him with his eyes.

The memory of the conversation and argument with Cameroon flashed in his mind, reminding him of what Switzerland vowed to do if Liechtenstein eve rebelled, and now he knew exactly what to do.

"Alright…" Switzerland murmured, and reached out and pulled out a pistol, aiming it right at Liechtenstein. "You _really_ shouldn't have done that, Lili."

/ / / / /

The Netherlands wasn't stupid.

Something obviously wasn't right here, and he could see it in Belgium's eyes. Occasionally, her hands would tremble, and she'd flinch at any sudden noise as if she'd been struck. She was _paranoid_ , afraid, but of what exactly? Of the person or people who slaughtered the Parliament and royal family?

It wasn't Belgium who came up with the idea of having Netherlands and Luxembourg over to provide some comfort after that traumatizing incident, they decided to come over of because wanted to be there for her for as long as she'll need it. She's their _sister_ after all. But then Belgium would freeze up or panic whenever they'd leave for more than ten minutes, and Netherlands started to get curious.

Once he couldn't take it anymore, he finally decided to just ask her, even if it'll hurt her. This was important.

"I still don't understand why you keep insisting that we, or at least _I_ considering Lux's busy schedule, stay _here_ with you 24/7… not that I'm not worried about you." Netherlands quickly added upon seeing her hurt look, and he frowned. "I didn't mean… What I mean to say is, you shouldn't stay here holed up in your house. It's not like you."

Belgium remained silent before answering, shaking her head. "I can't… go…"

"I know that the… _what happened_ back there left you shaken, but you can't stay in your house forever." Netherlands tried to explain to her in gentlest manner possible. "Your country's an anarchy right now, and if you don't step up and lead the country like we're supposed to do in times like these, it'll plunge into chaos."

Belgium cringed. Okay, maybe he could have worded that better.

Netherlands felt Luxembourg rest his hand on his shoulder, he spoke gently, "Lars, Emma's tired. Why don't we give her more time to calm down and we can try managing the country for the time being? If that's fine with you Emma, of course."

"It's… fine." Belgium said slowly.

"Not until I get an explanation." Netherlands said firmly. "Emma-"

"Someone wants to _kill_ me, Lars." Belgium finally admitted before Netherlands could gently press her for information. She had a terrified expression on her face, and her hands began to tremble again. "I… I don't know _who_ but…"

Netherlands's eyes went wide at the statement, and he even stammered, "E-Excuse me?"

"I think- no, I know that there's someone out there who wants to hurt me and kill me!" Belgium practically screamed and she grabbed her head as tears threatened to spill from her green eyes. "For the past few days, I've had this feeling that someone's out to get me. I didn't say anything because I thought I was being paranoid, but now it's getting worse!"

Netherlands blinked and sat upright when he heard the doorbell.

He sighed and turned somberly to Luxembourg. "Michael, would you…"

Luxembourg blinked and looked back and forth between them, clearly wanting to stay for Belgium's sake, but he nodded. "Ja, of course. I'll be right back."

The Netherlands watched him leave, and once he vanished from his sight, he turned his attention back to his sister and narrowed his eyes. "And you don't have any guesses as to who could be after you? Or who killed your government?"

"I don't know…" Belgium said quietly.

Netherlands frowned disapprovingly. "You don't sound too sure about that."

Belgium flinched as if struck and she cringed. "It's… I'm not sure about it, but there's something I found weird that day. B-But I don't think-"

"Tell me, Emma." Netherlands insisted, now curious, and admittedly a bit eager that there's a chance they could find the culprit soon so he'll be able to- "If you have any suspicions or possible leads, you should say them."

"Well… the hands… remember that I told you that there was a pile of severed hands when I went in the building?" Belgium asked him anxiously, and he nodded. "About the hands… I can't help but think about-"

Before she could reveal anything, they heard Luxembourg _scream_.

Netherlands jumped. What in the name of- What was that? His eyes went wide, and he glanced at the equally shocked Belgium and quietly and quickly ordered her to stay here while he'll go see what the hell just happened. He wasted no time in bolting out of the room and rushing out of the room, _hoping_ that Luxembourg was all right.

What he _found_ when he finally arrived at the end was Luxembourg lying on the floor, _unmoving_ , with a bleeding wound on his chest. Netherlands froze at the sight before him as his feet touched the ground. His brother was dead, and it wouldn't worry him that much if it wasn't obvious that Luxembourg was murdered.

But just as he somewhat got over his shock, before he could rush over to him… in the blink of an eye Netherlands saw a blur and was promptly pounced and tackled to the ground. He yelled as the attacker pinned his arms against the ground, and when he looked up to see their face…

His eyes went wide. Why…?

"Hallo, Lars." South Africa greeted with an unfamiliar cruel smile, hovering over his face. "Been a while, hasn't it?"

For a while Netherlands couldn't find his voice. And when he did, all that came out of his mouth was a weak, "C-Chris?"

"The one and only!" His former charge proclaimed proudly.

Netherlands's mind was buzzing with so many questions. "Why are you here?"

"Eish, you sound pretty shocked, big _broer_!" South Africa laughed heartily, and that's when Netherlands noticed the blood on his mouth. "You even stuttered! It's not every day you see the Netherlands shocked beyond words. Not that I blame you of course. This _is_ quite a twist, isn't it?"

This wasn't right. South Africa was supposed to be missing along with every other nation in his continent, wasn't he? Yes, that's right. Netherlands had been worried sick about him when he heard about it, so much so that he tried to go to South Africa's house to find him. But every attempt to travel to South Africa to find him ended up foiled by the plane flights being cancelled and his damn boss forbidding him from trying.

And now his former colony was _here_ , pinning him down and very likely the one who attacked Luxembourg, and enjoying the shock on Netherlands's face way too much. That little realization about Luxembourg made Netherlands shake with anger.

He spent days worrying to no-end for his former charge's safety for _this_ betrayal?!

When Netherlands finally got his bearings, he started to feel a _little_ upset by this apparent betrayal. "W-What's the meaning of this, Chris? How are you here? I thought-"

"Well, you thought wrong!" South Africa cheerfully cut him off. "I won't beat around the bush, Lars. That whole Africa going quiet thing, I'm one of the people responsible for that! We did what you Europeans couldn't, take over the whole continent in one day! Or most of it at least…"

 _"What?"_

But how? Why? Netherlands was enraged by this, but he'd never admit that he a pang of pain at the revelation.

South Africa only smirked, not bothering to elaborate, and he glanced behind him. "Okay, now's your chance, Dikembe! Go and grab you-know-who quickly before Lars here gets _too_ angry with us!"

Then DRC came into view, emotionless as always. " _Merci_. I won't be long."

First South Africa and now the Democratic Republic of the Congo?! What the hell's going on here?!

"Wait, why are _you_ here?!" Netherlands demanded.

"Belgium. We're here for Belgium. We know she's here." DRC stated coldly, and he flashed a manic grin as he brandished a large knife. "Now, if you excuse me, I have a score to settle with that _pute_."

Netherlands's eyes widened. He would've tried to lash out at him for the vulgar way he insulted his sister if he didn't realize what this meant. DRC… Belgium… No, he was the one responsible for what happened to Belgium's government?

Realizing in alarm that he meant to capture Belgium, Netherland immediately felt his blood boil and he thrashed in South Africa's hold, desperate to escape before DRC could reach the stairs. "NO! Chris, let go of me! I don't know what's wrong with you but…!"

South Africa burst into mad laughter. "Oh, _broer_ , if only you knew… And _nee_ , I think you'll stay _here_. I can't have you interfering after all!"

Dammit! South Africa tightened his grip on Netherlands's wrists to a painful degree, he wanted to scream at the younger nation, but he wasn't going to act irrationally now. But when he saw DRC running up the stairs, Netherlands felt a rush of adrenaline and panic, and he miraculously gathered enough strength to push his forearm against South Africa's throat, making him yell and stumble back.

He couldn't help but flinch as he saw it happen, and he felt guilt well up within him. Netherlands wanted to berate himself for it, but… this was someone he considered a little brother, he raised him for certain number of years…

South Africa coughed and a hand grabbed at his own throat, but even so he _smiled_ at the Netherlands. "Ha… I _knew_ you still got it… You… You're not like those other…!"

Netherlands frowned at this, but he quickly shook his and he cursed at himself when remembered Belgium and used the opportunity to run off after DRC. But of course, he should've known it wouldn't have been that easy.

 _BANG!_

Just as he went up a few steps, a gun went off and Netherlands screamed as a bullet hit him in the shoulder and sent him reeling back, easily making him trip and fall on his back. Of course South Africa had a gun! How else did he kill Luxembourg?

He cursed, something that he felt was going to become a habit of him after today. And with Belgium's safety in mind and the painful reminder that DRC should already be at her room by now, Netherlands tried to fight off the pain and get back on his feet, but he forgot one very important and glaring detail…

"Oh no you don't!" South Africa called out him and before he knew it, a grinning South Africa appeared in his view and lunged at him. "You're not going _anywhere_ , Lars!"

Netherlands glared at him and tried to wrench free. "Let me go, Chris!"

"You don't have any right to order me around!" South Africa snarled, cheery disposition gone, and to Netherlands's horror his former colony suddenly pulled him close by the collar, used his free hand to rip off his scarf and a part of his shirt, and sank his teeth into his neck, _hard_.

Netherlands screamed at the pain at South Africa's teeth tearing into his flesh. Immediately he tried to push him away, but South Africa only sank his teeth further. He screamed even louder. But then his former charge pulled away, and Netherlands felt his stomach churn by what he saw. South Africa was happily chewing the flesh he tore off.

He's eating it!

"You taste good, Lars, you have a very… _clean_ flavor." South Africa remarked almost mockingly. "As expected from a neat freak like you."

Now he felt _livid_. When South Africa seemed about to lean over again, Netherlands punched him in the stomach, sending him reeling back.

"Are you insane?!" Netherlands exclaimed, holding his neck as he tried to stop the bleeding. He glared at him with venom. "What's gotten into you, Chris?! First you attack my brother,

He trailed when South Africa laughed, shakily standing up, and somehow, he looked even _more_ deranged than before.

"Ja… ja… that's it…" South Africa breathed, rubbing his cheek as he grinned from ear to ear. " _That's_ the Netherlands I know and love! _That's_ the face I've been dying to see for years!"

Netherlands scowled and held his shoulder. "What are you talking about?"

"Your anger, obviously! Seeing you so pissed off reminds me when I'd push you over the edge back when you first took me in, remember?" South Africa recalled fondly, and he smiled in a sweet manner. "That's when I started to look up to you, you know. You're no Zulu, but you're a formidable country and I'll give credit where it's due. Seeing you terrify and outsmart others are some of the things I most love about you."

Despite the pain in the places where he was wounded, the Netherlands could only stare in pure bafflement at this sudden change of attitude. He already knew South Africa was bi-polar, he was infamous for that, but even this was ridiculous! One minute, South Africa was cannibalizing him, then the next he's being affectionate with him?

"But, unfortunately…" South Africa lamented with faux-sadness, and he suddenly smirked. "There's also some things about you that I _hate_ with every fiber of my being."

There it was again, Netherlands scowled.

"DRC's not the only one who wants to settle a score, you and I also have some unfinished business." South Africa said darkly, and he licked his lips. "You see, I'm not very happy with how treated a certain someone's people, and you were a real _kak_ sometimes too so… I do _sort of_ hate you, and do you know what that means, _broer?_ "

Netherlands could only stare at him in disbelief. He still held a grudge about _that?_ How come South Africa never told him that before?

"It means that you're going to suffer. I am going to see you _bleed_." South Africa laughed without bothering to hear Netherlands's reply as he kept closing in on him. "Or as my people often like to say when they're about clobber someone…"

He lunged again, fist connecting with Netherlands's face.

 ** _"EK GAAN JOU MOER!"_**

/ / / / /

DRC honestly felt a little hesitant to go on while he heard the screams and shouts of South Africa fighting the Netherlands, and he felt tempted to turn around and go back to help South Africa. He wanted to help him. They could take him on together and finish him quicker. But Belgium might find a way to escape if she figured out that the Netherlands had been defeated, thus ruining their plan…

He sighed in annoyance at himself and a hand rubbed his temple while the other tightened the grip on his knife. He was still new to caring about other nations outside the very few he considered real friends, and he wondered if this guilt was going to be a common occurrence whenever there was a situation where someone ordered him to leave them behind…

No, he had to trust South Africa. If he didn't, he wouldn't have trusted them with CAR's safety and recovery, he wouldn't have joined this organization in the first place. For now he had to do as South Africa wanted, and as DRC had been for the past several days, focus on Belgium.

Today's the day she's going to _pay_.

His eyes darted around in search of the door leading to her bedroom, and they narrowed. Where was she? He wasn't in the mood for guessing games. And if he spent too much time looking in the wrong rooms…

But once again luck was on his side today, his eyes settled on a door left just open enough for him to make out a bed and a dresser. He smirked; he had her now.

DRC could barely keep himself from erupting into laughter as his body tingled in excitement. Oh, he's waited too long for this… He had many things planned for her! Things that'll make the tortures his people went through seem like _nothing_.

Wasting no time, he hastily walked over to the door and threw it open. As expected, the bitch was there, and she flinched and yelped at his sudden entrance. She became even more surprised when she realized exactly who it was.

"Dikembe?" Belgium's eyes widened, clearly shocked.

"Hello, _Emma_ ," DRC felt revulsion as he uttered her human name, saying it was nauseating. Her whole being disgusted him, hell, even seeing her like this, alive and healthy, made him want to vomit. No matter, that will change. He smirked again. "We need to _talk_ …"

/ / / / /

CAR kept giggling to himself as he followed Nigeria out to the city of Brussels. From what he understood or remembered, they were keeping a 'low profile' while Nigeria searched for the perfect place for CAR to start having his meal, but passing by all the meat- the locals, was only making him even more excited.

He kept getting distracted, he's starving. When will Nigeria find the right place?! He hugged himself as he tried to restrain himself for DRC's sake, he's counting him, trusting him with this and CAR didn't want him to regret giving him this amazing opportunity. But CAR didn't think he could hold it in any longer, he needed to eat! He whimpered and once again his eyes followed all the humans passing by.

So… much… meat…

CAR could feel his mouth water, and he felt himself getting giddier to the point of almost fainting. Oh, he just couldn't wait! He wondered how good they'll taste. Maybe European meat will taste cleaner and less like dirt and mud than African meat! Maybe it'll taste even better! Maybe he could ask Nigeria which meat tasted better.

He wondered if he'll get more chances like this to eat a lot of meat in the future. Maybe the others will consider if CAR did a good enough job… if that's the case, then he'll make sure not to leave a single human alive.

"Okay!" Nigeria's voice snapped CAR out of his stupor, and he bumped into his back when Nigeria suddenly stopped. "This is the place. The narrow street here is the perfect place to start and gather strength before we can move on to the wider, more populated areas. Also, it'll be harder for them to escape here."

CAR blinked, returning to reality, and he looked around. Yes, there weren't that many people here compared to the previous areas they've been to, here there's thirty… forty at most? CAR couldn't really tell. They were all either sitting in restaurants, inside a few shops or just passing by. This did seem like a good place to start.

He looked up at Nigeria hopefully. "So… I can go ahead and start eating now?"

Nigeria grinned and ruffled CAR's hair. "Of course you can! Whenever you're ready, CAR."

CAR wanted to scream in delight, but he stopped himself, he didn't want to attract attention. He stared at Nigeria. "But what about you?"

"You go and have your fun and gorge yourself up, CAR." Nigeria encouraged as he patted his back, smiling wide. "Don't worry about me. I'll make sure no one gets the jump on you, so go knock yourself out. As they say, good eating!"

CAR brightened at this and he nodded vigorously. "Oh, thank you, thank you!"

Then, he grinned as he turned his attention to the humans, and he gripped the large knife he'd been given tightly.

 ** _TIME TO EAT!_**

/ / / / /

Good God, where the hell did England run off to?!

France along with Canada and Monaco have already scoured this gloomy city and visited numerous pubs, and they've found no sign of the man! And he doubted England would be willing to answer their calls, _especially_ if he's drunk. In fact, he bet his glorious hair that that's what exactly what England did: He got himself drunk.

But still, France had decided to be optimistic for his siblings' sake.

"Alright, mon little _frère et soeur_..." France began after a few deep breaths and gave his little sister and brother a smile. "I know you both must be feeling exhausted and perhaps a little irritated, and believe me, I think I'm the most irritated out of us three, but do not fear! This time I'm sure that Angleterre is in this pub! As they say, twelfth time's a charm!

"But Francis, didn't you say nearly the exact same thing at pubs number three to eleven?" Monaco inquired innocently, and she pushed up her glasses. "At this point, I am highly beginning to doubt the truthfulness of that phrase and its different forms."

France deflated, but he didn't dare get all depressed. "Oui, I did… But this time I'm _sure_ that he's here."

"I think you said the same thing at pubs number one to eleven too." Monaco remarked quietly.

"I know, but we can only hope…" France stated more grimly, sighing. "We know it's imperative to find that stubborn man before he does something horrendously foolish, and if it's even possible, bring him back to his senses."

"What can Arthur do?" Canada asked quietly, hugging his bear to himself. France blinked. Did he always have that with him? "I mean, what else can he do other than getting himself hurt?"

"Clearly you don't know much about what he'd do to keep his 'siblings' in line." France found the words slipping from his mouth before he realized exactly what he said, and he paled when he saw Canada's expression become pained. "Mathieu, I-"

"N-No, it's okay." Canada obviously lied, shrinking. "I understand…"

France wanted to smack himself. God, don't make things worse you fool!

"Ah, there is the bartender, all the way to the back." Monaco suggested calmly, thank God for her, as she pointed at said human in the far back. "Let's hope this one knows where England is this time."

France looked at the man and nodded. "Ah, oui, oui… Let's go."

They went over to the human, where France decided to clear his throat.

"Excuse me, monsieur." France asked politely as he approached the bartender with a smile. "Have you seen a hideous, foul-smelling man with a terrible attitude?"

Canada elbowed him, and France nearly inelegantly yelped. He then wisely decided to rephrase his question.

"Er, what I meant to say was…" France laughed nervously as Canada glared at him disapprovingly. "I don't suppose a blonde-haired man with a foul temper and equally foul tongue has visited your pub recently? He has green eyes that remind you of moss, his fashion sense could use some work, and he gets very overbearing when drunk."

France uneasily inched away as Canada's glare became even more severe.

The human didn't look too sure. Oh dear… "Huh… I'm not sure… Could you be a little more specific?"

"He also has caterpillar eyebrows." Canada added helpfully. Oh, that part he didn't mind?!

"Oh yeah! Now I remember!" The bartender smiled, and France dared allowed himself to get his hopes up. "Yes, he came here not long ago and got horribly drunk, annoyed a lot of the other customers too."

Just when France was about to groan in misery over yet another failure, he froze when he fully registered the bartender's words and he straightened up. "He was here?!"

"Oh my…" Monaco remarked, looking quite impressed. "Twelfth time's a charm after all."

"Is he still here?" Canada asked.

The human gave them a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, lad, you just missed him."

The three of them moaned in displeasure, and France wanted to let his head hit the counter. Oh, for the love of all that is holy and Joan of Arc! They've spent who-knows-how-long searching for that Brit and when they finally find out which pub he decided to go to drown in self-pity, it turns out that he already left?

"I don't suppose you might have a clue where he might have gone, would you, monsieur?" Monaco asked in that politely sweet manner that France often fell victim to. "We really need to find him."

The bartender looked up thoughtfully. "Hard to say… He did spend a long while chugging down enough alcohol to kill and ranting about some people mocking him or something, I think I heard him an 'Alfred' or a 'Chris' but maybe that was just me. Oh, the crazy wanker also mentioned something about payback and 'screw the prime minister'. Who can blame him?"

At the mention of 'payback', France immediately straightened up, and he couldn't help but gulp. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know, honestly. He said something about 'their lungs burning' and 'cities reduced to nothing' and… radiation? God, you really ought to take him to see a psychiatrist or something."

Lungs burning? Cities reduced to nothing… Radiation? When it comes to nations and those three things, there's only one logical conclusion… No… No, no, no, _surely_ he wouldn't be mad enough to… Yes, they're enemies but one must know where to draw the line! Hong Kong's so small! Such a thing could… And did _no one_ learn from 9/11 and Pearl Harbor what happened when one…

France looked at both of his siblings, Monaco looked dreadfully pale and Canada appeared to be in a state of denial. They've both reached the same conclusion as he did.

"Shit." France hissed, and he quickly began to pull his siblings out of the bar as he gave a forced smile at the helpful bartender " _Merci_ , monsieur. Er, have a good day or whatever they say in this gloomy dump! _Au revoir!_ "

Then he quickly exited the place with his brother and sister in tow before France could freak out in utter disbelief at England's never-ending stupidity and cause a scene, and when they got outside to a more private area, France got straight to the point… and started to freak out.

"Mon dieu, England intends to bomb Amerique and the others!" France exclaimed, too busy panicking to care that his voice raised a few octaves, and he pulled his hair. "I understand that this is all difficult to take in, but I can't believe it! Has he finally gone mad?"

"A-Arthur would never do that!" Canada squeaked, sweating profusely, and he shook his head in denial. "He's upset, he's angry, but he'd never be crazy enough to do that!"

"Mathieu, I don't know about you, but I am extremely sure and certain that he's currently crazy enough to do it!" France very nearly shouted, but he had to try to remain as calm as possible. "This is bad, really bad!"

"N-No! He wouldn't!" Canada insisted, looking on the verge of tears. "Arthur wouldn't do that to them!"

"Well, it very much looks like he will!"

"He was drunk!" Canada said desperately, the poor boy. "You know he says all kinds of crazy stuff when he's drunk!"

"As much as I want to agree, you must acknowledge he also has a history of doing outrageous and harmful things while drunk." Monaco interjected grimly, pushing up her glasses with a nervous expression. "And adding the fact that he's quite unstable right now, I doubt that he was just bluffing."

Canada flinched as if struck, and he looked at her then at France, looking for support, but he got none. "But his government would never let him do that! How is he supposed to get the bombs or missiles to Al and the others without his government's approval?! And the people are bound to ask questions!"

"I doubt he cares what his government thinks." France grimaced, and he frowned at seeing Canada so devastated. "And what's stopping him from coming with a lie to convince his people to launch the missiles and drop the bombs? Mathieu, this is not the time to argue! We need to find that foolish Brit, NOW!"

They needed to find England before he could make his already angry ex-colonies even _angrier_.

 **Despite what online translators may tell you, 'Ek gaan jou moer' means 'I'm going to f*ck you up'. Also, I'm gonna introduce some more characters next chapter, might as well start. Please review if you have a minute.**


	62. Justice: Payback Time

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, Redbayly, ilovepasta, and NadiaJA627 for reviewing. Okay, another late update... I had a little bit of writer's block... But I'm sure there will be regular updates from here on out for a long while. A little warning for this chapter: the DRC part might be kinda brutal. Now, on with the show!**

A part of Switzerland's mind honestly couldn't believe that he was doing this, but the rest of him was far too busy wondering which part of Liechtenstein's body he should shoot first.

It also astounded him how little guilt he was feeling as he pointed the barrel of the gun at Liechtenstein's forehead, even as she stared at him, at the gun, in obvious fear, but this was punishment for her betrayal, a part of him rationalized, she _deserved_ it. He was disappointed, Switzerland realized. That might also explain why he was hardly feeling _anything_ at all. But Switzerland wasn't sure what he was feeling in the first place.

It's not like Switzerland _wanted_ to do this, of that he was sure. Liechtenstein, she… Did she really deserve to…

But still there was something twisting his insides, he felt that something didn't sit well with him. Was this guilt? Anger? Disappointment? Or maybe, _just maybe_ , it was the infuriating fact that Switzerland was doing exactly what the Africans wanted him to do.

Or maybe… Switzerland suddenly realized, it's because he _still_ didn't know exactly _why_ Liechtenstein betrayed him.

"…Why?" Switzerland had to ask, trying not to have his hand tremble and let his hesitation show.

Liechtenstein nervously tore her gaze from the gun threatening to blow her head off at any given moment, and she looked at him with confused eyes. "…What…?"

"Why did you do it?" Switzerland demanded quietly. He could feel Morocco and Cameroon's impatient eyes boring into his back, but he didn't care. "Tell me, and I might just consider letting you _live_."

"I was worried about you." Liechtenstein admitted quietly, her little hands fisting the skirt of her dress. "I was just _worried_ about you, bruder…"

Switzerland froze, and he almost felt tempted to lower the gun. He stared at her. "You were… _worried_ about me?"

"Ja, of course I was!" Liechtenstein unexpectedly burst, actually making Switzerland flinch. "You were being so angry and cold to me, and you wouldn't tell me what's wrong, so I started to worry about you! And I kept hearing the screaming from the basement… A-And then I saw what M-Mr. Morocco did…"

Switzerland's eyes went, and his head snapped back to said nation, who was glaring at Liechtenstein. "What did Morocco do?"

"I-I'm not sure…" Liechtenstein stammered, probably due to how Morocco looked like he wanted to kill her. "But it looked like Morocco was raping-

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Switzerland yelled at Morocco, who didn't even flinch.

Morocco raised an eyebrow at him, not impressed, and he almost looked offended. "Don't be ridiculous. I didn't rape Mauritius, and I ought to rip that girl's jaw off for insinuating that I would do such a thing. We were just… playing. And the brainwashing allowed me to _persuade_ him to reciprocate my advances."

…Surely, it wouldn't count as a betrayal or a crime deserving of the death penalty if he shot Morocco dead right now, right?

Switzerland turned accusingly to Cameroon, who was as indifferent as always. "And you let him?"

Cameroon shrugged, staring at him coldly. "…I did."

At this rate, everyone in this room will be corpses riddled with bullet holes.

"You little… Oh, nevermind. I'll deal with you two later." Switzerland growled, and he turned his attention back to Liechtenstein, gaze softening just a little. "So you sneaked into my room and stole the key to the basement, went to the basement behind my back and spied on what these two monsters were doing because you were worried about me."

Liechtenstein nodded slowly, frowning. "I knew that I'd be betraying your trust, bruder, but I wanted to… I didn't mean to hurt you. B-But I don't understand, why do you have Mauritius down there? What are you doing to him?"

Oh, _there's_ the guilt. Switzerland inwardly cursed.

So, Liechtenstein was just worried about him… Switzerland wanted to laugh dryly, well, of course she was. After how he treated her since she arrived? And how he didn't take precautions hiding Mauritius's presence here from Liechtenstein, that was a stupid decision as well. He was foolish to blindly believe Liechtenstein was loyal to a fault.

In the end, she's still her own nation.

In the end, this was all Switzerland's fault.

Reluctantly, he began to slowly lower the gun, starting to doubt the necessity of shooting her, and he could feel his own resolve crumbling…

But of course, it couldn't have been that easy.

"Oh, would you just look at that?" Morocco's annoying voice spoke from behind him, and Switzerland felt a chill down his spine when he felt the other nation grab his shoulders. "How _sweet_. She betrayed you because she was _worried_ about you. I honestly feel torn between barreling over in laughter and heaving into the toilet."

Switzerland gnashed his teeth, now feeling tempted to shoot him instead of Liechtenstein, and he tried to shrug him off. " _You_. Don't touch me, or I'll shoot you instead. And stay out of this, you demented-"

"Oh, hear me out, my friend. I promise I won't bite…" Morocco whispered huskily in his ear, and Switzerland tried to punch him, but the African caught his wrist. "Now, isn't this quite the conundrum? I pity you, really…"

"What are you talking about?" Switzerland tried again to have that bastard stop touching him.

"I mean, what will your precious Austria think when you failed to deliver the proper punishment? That you chose her over the group?" Morocco asked slyly, and Switzerland froze in horror at the question." Whatever happened to his loyal friend who he could trust with carrying out any task without question? Who he trusts more than anyone? I believe he'll have a hard time trusting your competence after this."

Liechtenstein's eyes widened and she looked at her brother for answers. "What's he talking about, Vash?"

Switzerland felt rage explode from within with at the notion, and he wrenched himself from Morocco's grasp. "Shut up! How dare you assume what he might think! As far as I'm concerned, Lili doesn't deserve death. If anyone deserves it, it's-"

"Oh, but I believe she does, Switzerland…" Morocco smirked in the most infuriating way possible. "You see, I'm afraid you only know half the story."

"Rahim is right," Cameroon stated angrily, sneering at Liechtenstein, who recoiled at his anger. "That witch is lying! She wasn't just doing it out of worry; she did it because Germany and Hungary, our enemies, have convinced her to do so! We saw her speak with them!"

 _What?_

Snarling, Switzerland snapped his head toward Liechtenstein, who looked pale as a ghost, as if she had just been caught doing something she _shouldn't_ have been doing. The guilt was written all over her face.

Liechtenstein was with enemy. His sister betrayed him to the enemy. She betrayed him for that witch and that failure…

Immediately, Switzerland once again aimed the gun at her forehead and without hesitation he pulled the trigger.

 _BANG!_

/ / / / /

"So… you think anyone's gonna notice the shaking, god lasers and fires of doom and inhuman sounds from the building?" Belize asked flatly as she along with any others stared at the building they just exited. "Seriously, is anyone gonna notice and ask questions?"

In all honesty, Egypt wasn't sure if he wanted to answer that. Anubis and Baron Kriminel obviously weren't making any sort of effort to conceal their fierce battle, and Egypt's sure that even if he somehow remembered to order Anubis to be quiet in his battle, the result would've been the same.

Beams of light or darkness, fires, and even in one time a large skeletal arm that seemed to have missed its target would fly out the window at random times. The noise from the crashing, growling, shouting obscenities, and all other sorts of inhuman sounds in the battle could be clearly heard, even from outside. It surely must be chaotic in there.

"I thought it would be a little worse, really…" Panama admitted unhappily.

"Maybe they'll think it's just special effects?" Costa Rica offered hopefully.

"Well, humans can be pretty gullible sometimes…" Nicaragua remarked dryly.

"It kind of helps that it's a little far from the rest of the city," Honduras piped up helpfully. "Although, they might still see the lasers and fires… Ooh, what if we make them think it's a test for a Halloween fireworks and lasers party!"

"It's a bit too early for Halloween, don't you think, Honduras?" Algeria asked skeptically, looking very exasperated. "And how the hell are we going to explain the shaking and shattering windows?"

Honduras thought about this for a moment, before she brightened up again. "We'll say that the building's haunted by ghosts!"

Algeria facepalmed, muttering something about Westerners and whatnot, while Tunisia tried to calm her down. Egypt's eye twitched. Oddly enough, that wasn't the _worst_ idea he ever heard in his long life.

Italy shrieked, and latched onto the nearest nation, who unfortunately happened to be Russia. "G-Ghosts?! Where? Germany, we're being haunted by ghosts!"

"See, it's working!" Honduras said proudly.

"Da, and you can be a ghost too, Italy." Russia said darkly, his dark aura showing again and terrifying Italy.

"The people finding out what's going on inside is the least of our problems!" Germany yelled, getting everyone's attention. "What we need to do right now is to discuss what happened with each of us before we arrived here and-"

Hungary screamed, cutting Germany off, and this time Italy jumped into the arms of Honduras, who was more than happy to comfort him. Egypt gasped and put his hand on his chest, goodness could that woman scream.

"What?! Hungary, what's wrong?!"

"I FORGOT BOSNIA!"

/ / / / /

Bosnia couldn't believe this, and he hugged his knees as he sat in his little prison and as the building shook again. Where the hell were the others?! Was this a battle? If so, then Hungary should've come here to drag him away to 'safety' again.

Could it be that they… forgot about him?

Did they… abandon him?

Unless… they were already dead. Bosnia sincerely hoped this was the case.

Bosnia's face darkened and he gritted his teeth as he once again pulled against the chains binding him to this damn room. He needed to get out. He needed to leave and find 'it' before it's too late! It's getting harder and harder to remain in control of himself, and he could feel his mind tearing itself apart.

He's going to get out; he _needed_ to get out, even if he needed to bite these things off in the process.

But that plan soon changed when the building trembled again, and something crashed through the ceiling. Bosnia screamed in alarm, and not girlishly he'll have you know, nearly dying of a heart attack. What the hell was that?!

It turned that the 'something' that crashed into the room was a dark-skinned man dressed fancily, a person Bosnia had never seen before, and he watched as the stranger muttered something angrily under his breath and picked up something, which turned out to be a tophat, and put it on as he stood up. Then the stranger noticed him, and Bosnia froze.

"You." He… It… whatever… said.

"Uh… Um…" Was all Bosnia could say.

"You… You're one of the trapped ones, are you not?" The scary-looking man with the glowing red eyes asked with a toothy grin. For some reason, Bosnia nodded, which made the man's smile grow even wider. "Perfect. You can go cause chaos in my stead."

The man raised his hands and screamed something that sounded like gibberish to Bosnia that made the stranger's hands burst into purple flames. Bosnia almost jumped, what the… But then the stranger aimed his hands at Bosnia, and he paled. Oh, goddamit.

But to his surprise, instead of setting him on fire, the stranger fired at the chains binding Bosnia's body, and they immediately vaporized into nothing. Bosnia rubbed his wrists, and he looked at the stranger in awe.

"I-I…"

"Your gratitude is unnecessary, and not asked," The stranger said politely, tipping his tophat, and he smirked nastily. "But if you truly want to repay me, try to make those beings miserable, will you?"

And with that, he vanished in a puff of red smoke, leaving Bosnia a little bewildered as to what just happened. But then _the voice_ spoke again, and immediately after it did, Bosnia find himself feeling _very_ motivated.

 _"You heard the man, let's get this show on the road!"_

Smiling, Bosnia nodded and shakily got back up on his feet. "As you wish, Sadik."

/ / / / /

Herzegovina paced back and forth in the living room, her ponytail whipping each time she abruptly turned around and her brow furrowed in worry and muttering a few words in her native tongue under her breath.

Alright… now she's starting to feel _really_ worried about Bosnia. The dark haired woman clenched her fists and resisted the urge to chew on her fingernails out of sheer anxiousness and frustration she was feeling. Oh, where could that naïve husband of hers have gone off to?! He doesn't usually disappear for this long and he often had the decency to least tell her where he went and to let him stay for a few days…

Until Herzegovina marches to whoever's house he was in and pulled him by the ear back to their country, because God forbid she did all the paperwork by herself and that wacky idiot slack off again.

And oddly enough, Bosnia never seemed to learn that he shouldn't tell her where he ran off no matter how many times she painfully dragged him back to their house. Herzegovina even reprimanded him for it! Well, what was she supposed to expect? He was always the slow one…

But apparently, all of a sudden, Bosnia suddenly realized that telling her where he was a stupid idea and now Herzegovina deeply regretted ever scolding him for it in the first place! Oh, _why_ did she scold him for it? Stupid, stupid Herzegovina…

When she came back home from buying more cigarettes for Bosnia, since the idiot claimed he had a headache and practically _begged_ her to go, she was surprised to find that he was nowhere to be seen. At first, she wasn't too surprised. Bosnia loved sneaking off to Slovenia's house to hang out with him, Serbia's house to beat him up (that one she didn't mind), Montenegro's house because he went the wrong way, and even Croatia's house to just laugh and be happy…

What it did say about their marriage when her husband got along better with her cousin instead of his own wife?

So, Herzegovina went out and did her usual search for him while waiting for the usual call… only for it to never arrive and for her to discover that Bosnia wasn't at Slovenia's, Serbia's, Montenegro's or even Croatia's houses. Yes, maybe Bosnia was taking a longer while to get there, but he's nowhere to be found.

He's missing! Herzegovina then paled when she realized the other possibilities. Worse, what if he got kidnapped? He's definitely naïve and slow enough to be an easy target. So, what should she do…?

Herzegovina stopped her incessant pacing when something dawned on her.

There was… _one_ nation who Bosnia just _adored_ and who Herzegovina hasn't asked yet.

Hopefully Turkey wasn't too busy.

/ / / / /

Well, this sucked.

Kosovo let out a tired sigh as she continued her trip to her big bro Albania's house to lay low for a few days, scratching her short brown hair and long braid. Everyone's either busy or in a bad mood, and it kind of depressing to see things were this day, even though it's understandable. She did understand really, she wasn't naïve. But it made her feel a little lonely, as silly as it sounded, and it almost scared her. Almost.

You know things were bad when the only nation Kosovo had been seeing regularly for the past few days was _Serbia_ , she grimaced in disgust. And it wasn't because he was worried about her, and even if he was, he'd never ever admit it even if you had a gun to his head, he kept calling or coming over to use the current situation to try to convince her to 'stop pretending and come back with him for her own safety'.

Kosovo would always end up kicking him out and running into her room to vent out her frustrations about that-

She stopped herself before completing that thought, taking a deep, calming breath. Okay, remember what Mr. America told you. Chill out, Kosovo. Chill out, Kosovo… Or was it 'Chillax, Kosovo?' Or did he use both of them? Well, both of them had the same meaning, so it didn't really matter.

Speaking of Mr. America… Kosovo frowned. He's been pretty busy lately and quiet lately, and who could blame him? She hoped that he'll have more free time soon. She'd really like to see him again, and Mr. Turkey too! Wonder where they could be right now…

Well, hopefully they'll be available before Serbia decided to 'visit' again.

When Serbia's stubbornness wasn't just plain annoying, it's almost frightening. So much that Kosovo would wonder if he'll use this situation to-

No, Kosovo quickly shook her head at the thought, that won't happen. Serbia always bit off more than he could chew.

And she could always trust Albania to be there for her like he always was. She smiled fondly. He never abandoned her, no matter how difficult and painful it got for him. He always put her safety before his own, which wouldn't worry Kosovo so much since Albania's pretty tough if a war wasn't on the horizon.

She perked up when she got closer to his house, and she ran up to his door, ringing the doorbell.

After about a minute, an older, messy dark-haired man opened the door. It's Albania!

" _Mirëdita,_ Valon!" Kosovo greeted cheerfully, happy to see him.

"Oh, Lindita!" Albania's face brightened at the sight of her, and he broke into a big smile. "I had a feeling it was you. How are you? Are you well? Serbia hasn't tried to hurt you or drag you back, has he? Because if he did, I-"

Kosovo's mouth twitched at Albania's protectiveness, though it's one of the things she loved about him, and she quickly stopped him before he could jump to conclusions. " _Jo, jo_ , I'm fine. Serbia came over a few times and he's been leaving a lot of voicemails, but that's it. You know how he is."

Albania still didn't look very pleased, and muttered a few Albanian curses under his breath. "Dammit, I should go over there and give that bastard a warning… I'm really getting sick of him."

"Sounds fun, but can it wait until later?" Kosovo asked with a sheepish smile. She didn't want to get into drama again. "I wanted to stay over here for a couple of days.

" _Jo_ , not at all!" Albania said immediately, gesturing for her to come inside. "Come in! You're always welcome here!"

Kosovo nodded, grinning. "Thank you, Valon!"

"Anytime, little sister."

When she came in, Kosovo was sure she felt a chill, but she didn't think anything of it. That always happened with Albania…

/ / / / /

"Tina? Oy, Tina? Where are youuuuuuu?" Australia called out loudly as he wandered around aimlessly around East Timor's little rural house. "C'mon, uh… Come out, come out, wherever you are! Blimey, since when did you get so bloody good at this? You gotta teach me sometime!"

But once again, he got no response from the little kid, not even a rustle from the leaves or her cute giggling. Australia blew out a puff of air and rubbed his head, but he smiled widely despite it all. Aw, that clever little Sheila. Of course she'd know better than to answer him.

They'd been playing this little (bloody long) game of hide and seek for what had to be hours now ever since Australia arrived to babysit East Timor, but he found that she wasn't in her house or anywhere near it for that matter, so he just assumed she was waiting to play hide and seek with him… while already hiding. Hey, that could be a thing!

Or at least, he _hoped_ it was a game of hide and seek, Australia thought nervously. He _really_ hoped it was.

"Tinaaaa! Tiiiiiiiinaaaa…" Australia called out again, looking around. "Where are you, Lil' Sheila? I love hide and seek as much as the next critter hiding from carnivorous animals but I think you got me beat! I give up, honest!"

Again, no answer. Dang it…

"Come on, I mean it! If you finally come out right now, I'll…" Australia tried to think of something, and he felt a light bulb go off over his head when he saw his koala on a tree. "Uh, I'll lend you Kyle for a week, or maybe even a month! You love it when he hugs you, right, Lil' Sheila?"

Australia looked around with a big grin, waiting to hear East Timor's giggling and to see her leap out of a bush or something to run towards him and hug him… but… it didn't happen.

"Oy, if you don't come out or at least tell me where you are, I'll call Indonesia! We both know how she is when she's angry, and we don't want that!" Australia warned her… if she was really out there. No, think positive, Aussie! "I _really_ don't want that… and she's still a little mad at me for that whole Israel thing, remember? And she might ground you again, so… Eh… come out, pretty please?"

When he received nothing in response, Australia deflated to the ground, horrified with what this meant. Wait a minute, this meant… Australia jumped back to his feet, pale as a ghost, as he realized what this really meant.

"East Timor's missing."

Another nation bites the dust…

"…Indonesia's going to kill me, is she?"

/ / / / /

Western Sahara had fortunately managed to force herself to limp all the way to the bathroom before she could puke more on the floor, and she heaved into the toilet, desperate get the rest of it out already. She retched and coughed, then grimaced as she saw what came out of her. How utterly disgusting. This brought back too many unpleasant memories…

Rebelling and making a dangerous attempt to become independent was 'fun' while it lasted, but Morocco had awful ways to get back at people.

When that… very unpleasant experience finally ended and Western Sahara was sure that wasn't feeling the need to throw up anymore, she finally left the bathroom (though not before cleaning herself up, Western Sahara didn't even want to go into that), albeit weakly, and she found Igbo still lying motionless in the position and in the same spot where she left him.

He's still unconscious… right? Western Sahara immediately felt unsettled at the thought. The image of Igbo grinning up, eyes still green, and revealing that he was only pretending that he was unconscious before setting Western Sahara on fire was frankly rather terrifying.

So, she swallowed her nerves and she reluctantly and quietly walked over to Igbo. As she did, she kept a close eye on him, on the lookout for any sign that he could be faking it, while clenching her fists ready for a punch if needed. He hasn't moved a muscle so far…

Once she stood in front of him, Western Sahara then dared crouch down, wincing at the pain in her stomach which served as a painful reminder what would happen if she's not _careful_ , and her hand shakily went and gently grabbed his shoulder. They were now close enough for one of them to punch the other, or for Igbo to unleash his magic with Western Sahara having no way of dodging in time.

She shook him, smiling hopefully. "Ike…?"

No response… and no reaction. Igbo didn't move, he didn't even stir.

But, feeling paranoid Western Sahara tried another method to see if Igbo was truly unconscious. "Nigeria is a piece of shit, and not just because of his skin color."

Western Sahara felt her face burn red in embarrassment, and she covered her mouth, grimacing. By Allah, she couldn't believe she just said that! What would the others say if they caught her saying such a thing? She glanced at Igbo and found that he still hasn't moved. Still feeling paranoid, she decided to try again… Oh Allah give her strength…

"I… once accidentally ate a mint during the daytime in Ramadhan?" Western Sahara cringed horribly, and she suddenly felt compelled to defend herself. "I-I just woke up, so I was all drowsy and forgot that Ramadhan had begun, and the box just happened to be _right there_ …"

Wait, why the hell was she explaining herself?

No reaction. Well, one more time wouldn't hurt.

Please don't make her regret this…

"Chantal's the one who lost your favorite talismans." Western Sahara tried not to smile in exasperation at that. Now THAT should trigger a reaction.

But nothing. She shook him some more, only to yield the same result.

Igbo's… still out cold.

She sighed, feeling relieved… along with a twinge of disappointment at this. Western Sahara frowned to herself. What's she disappointed for? She's the one who didn't want to deal with another fight at her hands, and she didn't want to get hit in the stomach again. And Igbo being unconscious meant that she didn't have to see him act like Nigeria.

Western Sahara sat down on a chair, gaze still fixed at Igbo, despite how much the sight of his injuries, now worse than before, plagued her with guilt.

Well, maybe it had something to do that. Guilt. The sooner Igbo woke up, the sooner she'll stop feeling horrible over beating him up, even though it was necessary. And maybe she's foolishly hoping that Igbo woke up, he'll be back to normal again… But that's just stupid, no? Nigeria didn't have a reason to let him go… or did he? Agh, Western Sahara didn't know! She never understood all this magic poppycock.

Not to mention it _severely_ contradicted to what Islam had established about magic… B-But she'd gotten over it! Err, for the most part…

Speaking of Nigeria… Western Sahara narrowed her eyes in a glare. Maybe now was a good time to call him. The sooner the better, before Igbo could wake up. She got up and went back to looking for that phone she was looking for earlier before she'd been forced to take care of _other things_.

She found the phone with not much difficulty, and she immediately dialed Nigeria's number. That shit better answer…

Western Sahara tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for Nigeria to pick up. And just when she thought he wasn't going to answer; she heard his obnoxious voice…

"I was wondering when you'd call."

Western Sahara didn't even bother to hide her resentment.

"You piece of _shit!_ " Western Sahara hissed hatefully without considering the consequences, lamenting that Nigeria wasn't here so she could punch him. "You're a horrible, terrible, cruel, evil man and I hope you die in the worst way possible in this war and that you rot in the deepest pits of hell for eternity! You, and the others, you're a curse on us all!"

"That's nice, Western Sahara. But I think the insults and ranting could use a bit of work, don't you think?" Nigeria said dryly, not even bothered. He almost sounded _bored_. "I think you've already used the 'I hope you rot in hell' part like, a hundred times now? Come on, be more creative for a change!"

Western Sahara could already feel her face turning red, but she refused to take the bait. "How could you?!"

Nigeria hummed. "Eh, I think you've kind of overused that one too-"

"Oh, knock it off, Nigeria! You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about." Western Sahara snapped, and she gritted her teeth. "I can't believe you- No, I should've _known_ you did something as horrible as that to keep him in line. How could you have made Ike do that to me? No, how could you put a part of your soul in him?!"

Fortunately, Nigeria dropped the act, and he burst into cackles. "Are you serious? First of all, I think Biafra already told you _why_. I saw some potential consequences, so I took action by taking control of Biafra and having him beat you up, and enjoy the while, as part of his punishment. Two birds with one stone~ Am I clever or what?"

"What indeed…" Western Sahara muttered in annoyance. Was he always this self-confident? "Clever? Oh please, more like _demented_."

" _I heard that._ Anyway, as for the second question, I believe Biafra happily told you why I did that…" Nigeria's tone became darker and bitter, and Western Sahara tried not to cringe. "It was necessary to make sure another civil war wouldn't occur, don't think my mind can take another one. Besides, a traitor like him _deserves_ it. And I think I like him much better when he's not giving me 'the look' at everything I do."

Western Sahara bristled with anger. "If anyone deserves to suffer, it's you! All Ike wanted was to have nothing to do with your plans, but you had to make a bloodbath out of it and starve him and his people, who are also _your_ people, when you could have let him go!"

"Oh well, _excuse me_ for feeling upset for being betrayed!" Nigeria snarled, suddenly angry. "And let him go? Oh please, sooner or later, Biafra's conscience would've gotten the better of him and he'd have turned against me! But now he has no choice but to stay with me! He's _mine!_ "

"Well, maybe he'd have stayed neutral if you haven't tortured him like you did before and during the war!"

"I told you, he'd switch sides eventually! He's kind, almost _too_ kind for my taste." Nigeria growled in distaste, pausing for a moment before chuckling darkly. "When he's under my control, on the other hand…"

Western Sahara grimaced, and she muttered bitterly, "He's no different than you."

"Exactly! He's way more fun that way!" Nigeria cheerfully agreed. Of course he did. "And let me tell you, he really enjoyed beating you up! You should've seen what he had planned for you. I don't want to spoil it in case I need to unleash him on you, but let me tell you, I was pretty impressed! You know, sometimes I forget that we're related."

Don't let him provoke you. Don't let him provoke you. Don't let him provoke you. Don't let him provoke you…

Western Sahara decided to change the topic before her anger got the better of her. "B-But this, splitting up your soul, it's insane! And aren't _you_ worried?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure how your magic or _anyone else's_ magic works, but you can't tell me that there isn't _some_ kind of drawback from splintering your own soul!"

"Oh, there is a drawback! It reduces your humanity for one, but I don't think that's going to be a problem for someone like me." Nigeria said uncaringly, snorting. "Not like I had a whole lot of it to begin with."

Western Sahara had to groan and smack her forehead. "It's still better than being completely heartless!"

"Oh, relax, Saffy." Nigeria laughed at her. Seriously, how wasn't he worried? "My soul's still far from being reduced to the size of a coin!"

"You- Ugh!" Western Sahara didn't know why she bothered. Honestly, sometimes he's more annoying than Morocco. "I can't take this anymore. Listen, I didn't just call you so I can yell at you, I want to know if… Ike's still under your control."

She could almost sense Nigeria's smirk, and the latter giggled. "Yep, I'm still controlling him. He's unconscious, and will be for a while, but I haven't let go of his mind. What about it?"

Western Sahara frowned. "In that case, let him go."

 ** _"No."_**

Western Sahara couldn't help but flinch at that immediate response, and she felt incensed. "W-What do you mean _no_?!"

"Don't you know what the word means? I know you're slow, but not that-"

"I know what it means!" Western Sahara barked, face burning. What the hell was it with them assuming that she was stupid? "Why won't you let him go? I'm bruised, burned, and I just threw up on my own floor… So _why?!_ "

She heard Nigeria scoff on the other side of the line. "Of course I'm not letting him go, you idiot. Why should I? He's a lot more likeable this way. We can do all sorts of fun stuff together in this war! Oh, and let's not forget that you don't have _any_ right to order me around."

"But he's injured and unconscious!" Western Sahara practically shrieked, feeling even more enraged. "And in case you've forgotten, he's in _my_ house!"

"I haven't forgotten, Saffy. But you seem to be forgetting that he has _magic_." Nigeria reminded her slyly. "Just wait until he gets better enough to teleport himself out of that desert dump, go to Yoruba's to treat his wounds, and he'll be as good as new when he comes back to kill you."

"You're _still_ going to punish me?! Even after-"

"Uh-huh. And no argument from you will convince me otherwise."

"But-"

So, that's how it going to be? If so, then…

"…What do you want?"

Nigeria made a confused sound, and if he was here, Western Sahara was sure he'd been giving her a puzzled look. "Huh?"

She's probably going to regret this…

"I said, what do you want from me?" Western Sahara repeated grudgingly with gritted teeth. "In exchange for you letting Ike go. Just… what I can do to convince you to stop controlling him and not pit us against each other? What do you want?"

There was silence from the other line, not even his breathing could be heard. It looked like Nigeria wasn't expecting that. Was he that surprised? Well, Western Sahara supposed that she couldn't blame him. Then, Western Sahara cringed when she heard what could only be described as hyena-like cackling from the other nation.

"Oh? What's this? Are you proposing a trade? That you do something for me in exchange for that traitor's freedom? My, I knew you were stupid, but…" Nigeria trailed off and broke into cackling again. "Still, I gotta admit that this is pretty admirable, if not incredibly foolish, of you. Swallowing your pride and taking a dangerous risk for that traitor's freedom, that's cute. Now that's a true friend…"

Western Sahara was now very glad they were having this conversation via phone call, because if Nigeria saw her face right now, he'd be barreling over in laughter. But could you really blame her? What just happened? Did Nigeria just… compliment her?

Oh, nevermind. Now was not the time to get distracted by such things!

"So I take it that's a yes?" Western Sahara asked irately.

Nigeria hummed. "Mm-hmm, but first let's see how long that resolve of yours lasts."

"Just tell what you want, you demented witchdoctor."

"See, again with the uncreative insults. I'm telling you, they really need some work."

"I don't care. Just tell me!"

"Fine, fine, sheesh…" Nigeria scoffed. "I'll free that traitor, but not remove the portion of my soul that's inside of him, that's a big no-no… if you swear to _never_ attempt to contact Algeria and Tunisia ever again until we allow you to."

Western Sahara gasped, and her blood began to boil. "What? _Why?!_ "

"I'm pretty sure Biafra already told you the details."

"But don't you remember what I said? They called me, not the other way around!" Western Sahara screamed at him, not believing she was having this argument again. "And how was I supposed to know that-"

"Don't care. That's the only condition. Either do that or Biafra will remain _mine_. And make up for your mind quick. I'm kind of busy here…"

"But I won't say anything!" Western Sahara said desperately, perhaps a bit more than she would've liked, but she didn't care at the moment. "And they're probably worried about me, since you know, you had Ike attack me! If you're so worried about them rebelling, then you should let me explain what happened to me!"

"We'll take care of it." Nigeria said curtly, not leaving more room for discussion.

"Like hell you will! And what do you mean when you allow it? You don't have any right to order me around anymore!

"Oh, you really shouldn't get cocky, Saffy. We still have a deal and I'm sure you know that if you decide to fight us, you'll pay dearly for it." Nigeria warned darkly. "Now, do you want him back or not? No amount of whining is going to change my mind."

"You're horrible." Western Sahara snarled.

But then she recoiled when she heard a fierce growl from Nigeria. "I'm being _nice_ here, Safiyya. I know you'd actually do anything to save that traitor, and what do I do when you offer to do something, anything, to do just that? Tell you to return to Morocco? Have you tied to a stake and let DRC torture you for killing ROC as you rightfully deserve? No, I order you to not call those two siblings of yours. If that's not being nice, then I don't know what it is."

Western Sahara again flinched at the mention of ROC. How could she keep forgetting about that? And for once… Nigeria was right. In fact, Western Sahara had been expecting to be asked to do something much worse, but instead Nigeria asked her to not contact Algeria and Tunisia. It's a rather tame demand for someone like Nigeria.

"And I'm letting him go, right after I decided I wasn't going to…" Nigeria muttered bitterly under his breath. "So, you can probably see that this isn't easy for me either. But, if that's the cost of doing what's best for the organization, then I'll do it, albeit somewhat grudgingly. But no matter, there's always next time."

Western Sahara didn't want to wonder how there would be a next time.

"Buuuuut….if you're going to be so _ungrateful and rude_ …" Nigeria began maliciously, giggling. "I can always have you do something much, much _worse_ …"

"NO!" Western Sahara shouted immediately without thinking. "I-I'm sorry! It's a reasonable condition!"

"Good." Nigeria said, pleased. "Now then, do we have a deal? No speaking with family, except Morocco, until we say so."

Western Sahara gritted her teeth and glanced at Igbo's unmoving body once more, remembering how brutal and sadistic he was when he attacked her. Her friend was reduced to nothing more than a punching bag and a tool for Nigeria, and he ended up being more wounded than before.

She didn't want to go through that again. She didn't want Igbo to do that again, even if she had to leave Algeria and Tunisia like that.

Bitterly, Western Sahara swallowed her pride and her doubt and sighed.

"Fine, _deal_."

/ / / / /

DRC already knew that he was going to enjoy this, he's dreamed of this day for so along. But he's just _savoring_ the look of fear on Belgium's face, it's just as every bit of satisfying as he imagined it'd be! But if she was afraid, then that meant she must at least have a clue of what's going on…

"I can't tell you how long I've dreamed for this day to come." DRC couldn't help but remark snidely. "It almost feels too good to be true…"

Belgium gulped nervously; she'll be swallowing her own _innards_ soon enough. "Dikembe…? Wh… Why are you here? What's going on? Where's Lars?"

"Why am I here? What's going on? Allow me to answer, Emma," DRC hissed her accursed human name in disgust, almost _tasting_ the bile. "Revenge. Today, I'm going to **_kill_** you."

Predictably, Belgium flinched at that declaration. Well, it did sort of come from nowhere. "W-What? Revenge? Why-"

"I'm here because today's the day you'll finally pay for what you've done." DRC continued, ignoring the witch, and he glared icily at her. "I'll no longer see you treat me patronizingly, as if you know better. I won't be just another failure, and _you_ will never try to control me again. You won't be able to shy away from this one, _pute_."

Belgium was becoming more and more frightened now, and she paled as she. DRC wanted to scoff, as if that would save her. "W-What? What are you talking about, Dikembe?"

DRC blinked, and stared at her in blatant disbelief at the question. Was she just still confused and shock by his sudden appearance, or did she really think that she didn't do anything that would cause him to hate her? Or… did she think that she hasn't ever done anything wrong?

He felt his rage boil at the thought, and he gnashed his teeth as he glared balefully at the bitch. "Don't you dare try to act innocent, Belgium! You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about and what you've done."

"I-I really…" Belgium stuttred and stammered, so frightened she could barely speak, but DRC clearly heard the next few words. "I don't understand…"

 ** _How… dare… you…_**

A wave of rage overcame DRC as the memories from his past as the Congo Free State bubbled up to the surface. That should've been a blight on Belgium's reputation and a permanent scar, like Germany with World War II or Russia with his countless atrocities, but somehow she got away with people either forgetting or ignoring it. Belgium may not like being overshadowed by her neighbors, but it's that obscurity that saved her from truly paying the consequences.

"THE CONGO FREE STATE, BELGIUM!" DRC roared, not holding back his rage, and Belgium fearfully backed against the wall. "You having the Force Publique chase me through the forests and sever my hands when I tried to escape! Not even trying to stop my people from being killed or having their villages razed when they refuse to work in hellish conditions! Not even blinking an eye at how the administrators treated my people. Doing nothing but smiling and wear your pretty dresses while my people, your workers and _slaves_ , died from pandemics…!"

Pitiful realization dawned on Belgium's face, and the horror on her face increased with every step DRC took towards her, but no, not at what she did. She was painfully obviously scared of him, which was also good. But God, she really did a good job suppressing the existence of the Congo Free State from her memory, didn't she? Well, DRC will gladly remind her, because he wasn't done _yet_.

He'll make sure that during every single minute he tortured, mutilated, disemboweled, burned, butchered, beated and taunted her, he'll happily remind that she only had her king and herself to blame for her fate.

"The _least_ you could have done after everything you put me through was to let me go and give me independence, but no, you couldn't do that…" DRC said darkly, suddenly reminded of the knife he was holding. "I'm the only piece of land your people managed to snare, and even then, you weren't satisfied. You always hated being overshadowed, so you wanted to have at least _one_ colony you could boast about."

DRC knew this too well.

"This… This is all because of…? Because of what happened in the Congo Free State?" Belgium asked quietly, and DRC wanted to groan. Yes, Belgium, that's right. _Congratulations_ on managing to state the obvious. "Oh no… I-I had no idea you still felt that way… I'm so sorry, Dikembe."

After that moment, DRC once again stared at her in utter disbelief, though he had no doubt that his face was as blank and cold as it normally was. If he was someone more capable of feeling amusement, he would be laughing his head off at that statement.

But no, he's still… adjusting to his newly rediscovered feelings of happiness, joy, hope, etc. He had lately been laughing more than he did in the last century, but no, he didn't think he could make himself laugh at the things that brought him even the slightest bit of amusement yet. Moreover, he was quietly and inwardly seething in _rage_.

So, he instead backhanded her across the face.

Belgium shrieked, a sound DRC immediately liked, then she staggered and fell off her bed, a fuming DRC watching all the while. He opened his mouth to scream at her to stop lying, but then he realized something… This… This was the first time he ever hurt Belgium with his own hands, wasn't it?

He stared at his hands in awe, as if he couldn't believe he had finally done it. Then, a smile crept its way to his face, and he threw his head up, laughing.

It felt… It felt amazing! It felt so satisfying putting the cunt in her place.

"Sorry? Ha! Don't you dare try to lie yourself out of this too!" DRC growled, and he gnashed his teeth to stop himself from lunging at her before he could finish speaking. "We both know that you're not sorry! You nor your government or your pathetic royal family have ever apologized for the atrocities you committed, so there's no reason you'd suddenly feel sorry now!"

Belgium's hand went to her cheek and she looked up at him fearfully, on the brink of tears. How pathetic. "Y-You hit me…!"

DRC wasn't having any of it. He cruelly punched her right in the throat, and he relished her pain. Oh, he was really enjoying this.

"But I promise, by the time I'm done with you, you _will_ be." DRC promised with a manic grin, cracking his knuckles.

But he couldn't keep tormenting her here, no, not here, not now, especially with South Africa fighting the Netherlands. It would be selfish of him to risk South Africa getting seriously hurt when they could leave now.

Yes, DRC thought eerily. Instead he'll show her a fraction of what's coming to her.

So as his free hand lunged forward and forcefully pulled her up, with her screaming and crying and begging him to let her go or not to hurt her, DRC decided that now was the perfect time to brutally _incapacitate_ her, as he desired for years.

But the banshee decided to screech with her grating voice again. "W-Wait, don't! I'm sorry! I… You can't do this!"

"Why? Why _can't_ I do this? Because it's cruel? Because you don't deserve it? Or is it because you're a _woman_?" DRC mocked, glaring at her murderously again. Did she really think _that_ would save her? "I don't care what _you_ think. I'm going to kill you and destroy this miserable country; your people will suffer and die just like you will."

 _Just like I did._

Almost as if on cue, Belgium's eyes widened even more and her hands flew to her stomach. Then, a scream tore from her throat as she started to bleed from her stomach, mouth, and other parts. The skin was tearing itself open, as if…

Admittedly, this mildly surprised DRC a little, but he quickly figured out what it meant. He looked out the window, smiling fondly. "Gabriel's beginning his rampage on the city…"

DRC turned back to the still shrieking Belgium, and she met his eyes. Now then…

Twirling the knife in his hand, DRC flashed a feral smile and quickly before she could react and attempt to defend herself, stabbed her in the stomach three times, not nearly enough to kill her. Belgium cried out in pain and fell back to the floor, sobbing like the pitiful child she was. Not willing to leave it there, DRC yanked her up by the hair and slammed her head down to the ground.

DRC, as much as he wanted to continue, had to stop for a moment to enjoy the sight in front of him, relishing seeing her in pain, and he smirked. This was almost too much. He's always wanted to do this, and now it's just as fun as he'd imagine it'd be.

Now that Belgium was lying helplessly on the ground, DRC gleefully took the opportunity to kick her in the groin. She screamed and DRC laughed. Oh, if he's having this much fun now, imagine how great it'll feel when he got to the better parts. DRC pulled her back up and plunged the knife in Belgium's right breast, a particularly sensitive area for women, and grinned as Belgium's sweet screams rang in his ears as he dragged the knife, careful not to cut the heart, across her chest, carving it open.

He wondered; just how much was it hurting her? How much pain was she in? Whatever it was, it's nothing compared to what he's been through.

DRC yanked the knife out of her chest, causing blood to spill out from the open wound. He stared wordlessly as Belgium's cries became louder, and he narrowed his eyes. In the blink of an eye, his fist connected to her face, sending her reeling back towards the bed. DRC caught her by the collar, barely giving a glance at her tear-stained face and the blood spewing from Belgium's mouth, and he punched her again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again… Eventually DRC lost count of how many times he punched her. Eventually Belgium's cries faded, and all he could see was _red_. His rage was getting the better of him. Instead of enjoying this, he's focusing on taking out all his anger on her.

But then he eventually had to stop, albeit with difficulty. DRC was pleased to see horrible bruises decorating Belgium's pretty little face and blood falling from her mouth.

Was she alive? Dead? DRC decided that it didn't matter, and he collapse, but then he caught her by the arm. His eyes then widened slightly when she heard weak sobs coming from none other than Belgium.

So, she was alive…

…This made things even better. She'll spend the entire trip writhing in agony.

DRC smirked at the bloodied and still sobbing Belgium, dragging her through the door.

This was only the beginning, Belgium.

Now then, South Africa's waiting~

/ / / / /

"What's wrong, Lars?" South Africa asked mockingly as Netherlands spat some more blood. "You used to be so good at this! Were you too busy cleaning your spotless kitchen for the billionth time to stay in good shape?"

Netherlands gave him a sharp glare and wiped the blood from his mouth. He spit a retort. "I had no reason to… agh… no reason to continue practicing, especially after my empire fell. And I didn't care…"

He was unable to complete that sentence as he felt more blood rise up his throat, and he coughed as he started to choke on it. But South Africa wasn't going to wait.

"Hmm, maybe… But that's your problem, _broer_ ," South Africa lamented with faux-sadness, and smiled as he spread his arms wide. "You never really…. You know, give it your _all_ in life or even bring yourself to truly _care_ about something, unless it involves money, cleaning, maintaining your less-than-decent garden, money… or fucking _very_ young prostitutes."

Netherlands's eyes snapped wide at that last part. Did he just… Was this some attempt to provoke him? Because as much as he hated to admit it, it was working. He couldn't remember the last time someone brought up… But what did South Africa know about it?

Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it.

He turned and glared at his former charge. " _What_ are you trying to imply?"

Maybe that was a foolish decision, Netherlands thought bitterly as he bit his tongue in anger at himself for taking the bait.

"Oh, nothing, nothing…" South Africa said distractedly, waving his hand dismissively, but the smile on his face said otherwise. "I'm just trying to remember the word the Japanese use to describe men like you… It's kind of like a pedophile, but-"

Before he knew it, Netherlands suddenly felt _very_ energized and _very_ furious, and he found himself pinning South Africa against the wall with his hands squeezing the African's neck. A part of him wanted to stop, but all he could see was red and he was dead-set on strangling him. But South Africa's hands managed to loosen Netherlands's grip enough for him to speak.

"E-Eish, did I touch a nerve?" South Africa asked mockingly, smirking. "Did I tread on forbidden territory? Cross a line? Aw, but there's no reason to feel bad about it, Larsie, especially when you never did in the first place. Why else would it be legal? But you should really work on _erasing_ the evidence. Shame, Larsie, shame…"

Netherlands was _really_ starting to hate South Africa.

"Why the hell are _you_ criticizing me for being immoral?" Netherlands demanded, beginning to really lose his temper. "I just found out that you were a liar, a traitor to your fellow African countries, and a cannibal!"

"Huh, good point…" South Africa admitted, blinking in surprise. But to Netherlands's dismay, the smirk came back. "But as one of the so-called, 'good guys', aren't you supposed to be more… oh, I don't know… _moral?"_

"I am compared to you." Netherlands snarled.

"Suuuure, you are…" South Africa snorted.

"I have you pinned against the wall and I'm about to strangle you. Do you _really_ want to make me angrier with you?"

"CHRIS!"

South Africa's savage grin vanished at the new voice and he looked behind the Netherlands, with the latter doing the same, and was frankly horrified by what he saw.

"I got her, South Africa! I did it!"

DRC was stepping down the stairs wearing a psychotic grin almost identical to South Africa's and he was carelessly dragging a bruised and beaten Belgium behind him, looking completely worse for wear, not even caring that she was hitting her head on the stairs. Belgium looked like she was dying, and her cheeks were stained with tears.

Rage exploded from within Netherlands. That bastard…! Out of pure instinct, he leaped toward DRC to _rip his head off_ , but as soon as he did, several bangs rang in the air and Netherlands felt fiery pain as the bullets pierced his stomach. Try as he might, he fell to his knees and collapsed to the ground, but he didn't die.

He groaned and rolled over in pain, desperate trying to get up, but the wound in his stomach wouldn't let him. As his vision blurred, he managed to see South Africa and DRC and his sister that _needed_ him right now….!

"I'm sorry if it sounds abrupt, but I'm afraid that's my cue to leave, _broer_." South Africa called out gleefully while waving his gun around, and then he spoke to DRC. "Congratulations on getting your girl, Dikembe. Love the new look you gave her."

Come on, _get up!_

"Merci," Netherlands heard DRC say politely, "Forgive me. I would've arrived sooner, but I got a little distracted with this bitch's denial. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just a few bruises." South Africa said calmly. "And no need to apologize. She's yours, so you can do whatever you want to her. Now, let's go. We should join in with CAR on the fun while we still can."

They were leaving…!

"N-No…"

South Africa looked back at him, and he broke into another malignant grin. "Oh right, there's still you…"

"How annoying," DRC scowled, and glanced at South Africa "What are you going to do with him?"

"I have a few ideas…" South Africa looked at him. "You go on ahead. Give Nigeria a call and he'll come pick you up."

DRC nodded and began to leave with Belgium in tow, and Netherlands tried desperately with all his might to get up and try to stop him, but it was no use. Netherlands gritted his teeth as South Africa walked back to him, stepping on Luxembourg's body in the process.

"Look at you now, Lars, at my mercy." South Africa remarked gleefully. "Must feel pretty humiliating, huh? Now then, what to do… what to do…"

Netherlands felt a chill.

"I could do so many things to you right now, and there's not a thing you can do to stop me…" South Africa said darkly to himself in realization. "But the question is, what should I do with you? What do I _want_ to do with you?"

Netherlands offered no response. He only glared at him and coughed out some blood.

"Ah, I can capture you and take you back to one of our prison houses. That's the most obvious route. I was thinking maybe you'd like the one where Indonesia is being kept in…" South Africa pondered, and Netherlands froze at that last part. What? Indonesia… South Africa laughed at him. "Oh, that's right. I forgot to mention, one of the others captured her, and she's not the _only_ one."

If it was possible, Netherlands's anger grew. "Y-You…"

"But that would be too boring, too simple, and too… anti-climactic." South Africa clicked his tongue and put his hand on his chin in thought. "Nee, how about I take you somewhere where no one will find you and torture you to my heart's content until you're at the brink of insanity? Sounds more… _expected_ of me, don't you think?"

"I d-don't care…" Netherlands rasped, struggling more and more to speak as blood spewed from his mouth. "B-Bring her back…"

"Oh! Speaking of insanity, that gives me another idea!" South Africa brightened, ignoring the Netherlands, and he grinned wide. "I can capture you, take you to a certain room, and break your mind so I can rebuild it in my image! We can be partners, you and me! Oh, and then I can unleash on you on Belgium, and she'll feel the despair of being tortured by her own brother."

Netherland's eyes went wide. "You can't…"

"Or, better yet, I can kill you right now…" South Africa whispered darkly as he whipped out his gun. " _Ja_ , it does have a more tragic feel to it, don't you think? I have these… special bullets, you know. These have the power to kill a nation, but believe it or don't believe it, it won't change the outcome. And in case you're wondering, _ja_ , Luxembourg is dead, as in _really_ dead. He won't ever come back."

He couldn't believe it. "No… you're…"

"You can die here while you're helpless and bleeding, and you'll never see your sister, Indonesia, Portugal or anyone else again. You'll die a _failure_ , and I can be a _little_ more satisfied."

Portugal…?

"I can even eat you. Wouldn't that be nice? You do taste pretty good…" South Africa licked his lips, and he sighed. "Oh, what to choose…?"

Netherlands tried to open his mouth to demand what the hell did he do to Portugal, but he felt another wave of pain and he coughed again while South Africa paced around in deep thought, pondering his options.

Then South Africa stopped pacing, and he smiled again.

"So, then… I choose…"

Netherlands closed his tired eyes, not wanting to see him anymore. It was cowardly, but he just wanted this over and done with. So, he waited for the inevitable, quietly apologizing to Belgium and Luxemburg for failing them.

"…Nah."

What? Netherlands opened his eyes, half-expecting it to be a trick, and he saw that South Africa was no longer smiling and he was putting away his gun. "…Wha… are you… agh… doing…?"

"I changed my mind," South Africa simply, as if it were obvious, making another 180° again. "Killing you here would be way too... easy. Where's the fun in that?"

 _Fun?_

"Besides, you don't deserve to die before that British _bliksem_ , especially not like this." South Africa shook his head, frowning, but it quickly turned into a smile. "I actually liked you. I'd never live with myself if you died while that worthless piece of shit kept breathing. And if it weren't for you, I probably never would have learned about a lot of things, like farming or realizing what idiots the humans, regardless of race, are. I'd be much stupider."

That… didn't make much sense… or perhaps that was Netherlands's senses failing him.

"So, in summary: I like you, so I'll let your roam free for a little while longer. Will I regret it? Who knows, really? But I've made up my mind. And at least you'll get to live with the humiliation and failure of this day. So… Goodbye, Lars.

So then South Africa began to leave towards the door. But just after he took a couple of steps away from him, he froze.

"Oh, and one more thing," South Africa turned around, wearing a much kinder smile. "I lied about the bullets. I just wanted to see the look on your face and watch you sink into despair. Ja, it's cruel, I know. But hey, at least it's not true, eh? I do have those bullets, but the ones I used on you and Luxembourg were ordinary bullets, so both of you will live. Hooray for you."

Wha… Netherlands really had no idea how to respond to that. He's pretty much speechless.

South Africa shrugged, and looked out the door. "This city will be plunging into chaos soon enough, and if you somehow get up, which is very unlikely considering you're dying, or revive in about an hour or two, you'll end up getting eaten by the Central African Republic just like all the other humans…"

After trailing off, he guffawed, and covered his mouth as he turned back to the Netherlands.

"Heh, won't that be just unlucky?" South Africa chuckled with a sardonic smile. "You'll die, come back, only to die an agonizing death. In fact, there's no guarantee that he won't rip out your heart and kill you for good…"

He trailed off again, remaining silent for a few moments. And before the Netherlands knew it, he found himself held at gunpoint.

"Consider this act of mercy as gratitude for being a somewhat decent caretaker, for old time's sake," South Africa stated evenly as he pointed the barrel of the gun on the Netherlands's forehead. "Go, get stronger, _angrier_ , _hate_ me with every fiber of your being, and you'll understand what it was like for me. And when you wake up, go to England, _London_ , if I remember correctly. You'll find your allies there."

Netherlands could barely register the words before South Africa smiled and waved goodbye.

"Until next time, _broer_!"

 _BANG!_

/ / / / /

Romano wanted to fucking die. Hell, he'd probably off himself if his desire for sweet revenge wasn't motivating to keep going.

How the hell was his luck this bad? First they delayed his flight to Brazil _three_ fucking times, and when he got on the damn plane they delayed it four more times before the damn stupid pilots finally got the plane to fly (probably because Romano threatening to blow their brains out of they didn't).

Then things suddenly went from fucking bad to fucking worse. The food was terrible, but that's not a surprise, and he got stuck next to a guy who turned out to be someone Romano recognized as part of the mafia, and he freaked out a little… And by freaked out, he meant that Romano ran the hell away and locked himself in the tiny-ass bathroom for five hours.

And then it turned out that the bastard didn't come alone, and he brought the whole family with him, and before Romano knew it, he-

You know what? Romano didn't want to want to remember. Long story short: Shitty ass plane ride, and he had to steal one of the bastards's credit cards to afford a ride to the carnival bastard's house.

It took about a day, but for Romano, it felt like he's been at this for _months_ … Like it took months for him to finally get to this point.

But now Romano was here, and he'll finally get his revenge once and for all! He smirked tiredly. It's about damn time!

Someone's gonna pay big time.

…Now, where could Romano buy a gun or a knife? He lost his backpack when he had to flee from the mafia. Eh, he'll find something.

/ / / / /

Prussia spied on the gathered members of Parliament and other members of the German Parliament through the ventilation shaft, including the chancellor, he sneered in disgust. So many greedy, hypocritical humans, it honestly disgusted him. Many of these humans were responsible for ruining the country of Germany, and by extension Prussia himself as East Germany, just a couple of decades after they freed themselves.

Although there were a few… _decent_ ones, Prussia will admit. But even that won't save them, for his goal and for his plan to work, all these humans must be killed. While he was no sadist, he wouldn't mind making the chancellor's death more painful than the others.

Germany will definitely feel the excruciating effects of this massacre. It will be quite painful. Prussia frowned. What a pity, that he had to put him through this pain…

But no matter, Prussia will make it his mission to improve this country and return it to his former glory. If his brother won't do it, then he will! After he got rid of the government, there will be no organized opposition in his next goal:

The return of the country of Prussia.

He has been grateful to America for giving him a sizeable piece of land to prevent him from fading away, but he belonged in Germany and the land taken from him.

Sorry about this, little brother…

But you should know from experience that you _reap_ what you sow!

 **Credit to melondramatics from devianart for the Kosovo and Albania OCs, her work is great! And I'm glad I finally got around to introducing new characters! Hope you liked them! Please review if you have a minute.**


	63. Justice: Mercy?

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, Redbayly, NadiaJA627 and a guest for reviewing. Now, on with the show!**

How the hell did Molossia forget that America had another Star Wars phase in the early 2000's? And that he spent most of that phase here?

Molossia started at the sight in front of him while Kugelmugel and Ladonia gawked like idiots as we stared at Liberia's damn 'genius idea' that was somehow supposed to impress us. Speaking of the cocky bastard, 'Mr. I'm so cool because my land is bigger and I'm totes (not) the big brother' himself was giving them a shit-eating grin that almost made Molossia want to punch him (almost) and nodding his head as if he now knew the secrets of the fucking universe.

How the hell could Liberia so damn confident of this plan? This was crazy, like bat-shit crazy! And stupid, pretty stupid. It was crazy stupid! And this was seriously the best Liberia could think of? Hah! And he said Molossia's the bad planner!

"Observation: It would appear the immortal meatbags are surprised at the discovery of my existence and are too stunned to properly react. Shall I blast them to get them to stop looking like malfunctioning idiots, African meatbag?"

That annoying voice belonged to none other than HK-47, a hunter-killer assassin droid and Jedi hunter from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, this cool-ass videogame that Molossia remembered America just loved to death so much that it was all he'd talk about for years. Molossia didn't blame him, it's pretty damn awesome. But what America loved the most were the _characters_. Again, who could blame him?

So… combine that love for characters with the favorite being a killer droid too crazy sadistic for its own good, A Star Wars phase, and the great-ass technology of the US of A and you get this walking, talking, shooting replica of the character.

And boy, did America make sure he's just as annoying as the original.

But Molossia felt a little bit of sick satisfaction when Liberia's smile turned into a scowl and he glared at the droid. "I told you, my name is Liberia!"

"Statement: I am aware, thank you very much," HK-47 sounded really annoyed. "I believe now is not the time for obvious statements."

"Then why do you keep calling me meatbag?!" Liberia demanded angrily, face red. "We've known each other for years!"

"Answer: Because you are not my master and you are a meatbag, you immature, whiny, talentless meatbag."

Molossia failed to hold in his snickers and he got a nasty look from Liberia when he burst out laughing for a short bit. Boy, when you're not the one being insulted, this guy could be pretty damn hilarious!

Liberia groaned and buried his face in his hands, cursing under his breath. "…scrap. Ugh, whatever. Ladonia and Kugelmugel, meet HK-47. HK, meet the European micronations. You already know Molossia, right?"

HK-47 seemed to nod. "Answer: That is correct, meatbag. I will be unfortunately entering your services now and not used for my primary functions while you immortal meatbags go perform actions that I am _primarily functioned for_ …! Oh, how I miss my master."

"You're not the only one." Molossia and Liberia both remarked dryly.

Molossia felt someone tug his sleeve and he saw Kugelmugel looking like he either was about to freak out or explode in pure joy. "I can't believe it. Your brother built an actual droid? It's… It's ART!"

"We're going to use the transporter, we met a real live droid, and we get to attack Sealand in a whole day!" Ladonia grinned excitedly, eyes sparkling… for some reason. "This is going to be the best day ever!"

"Smug Statement: Well, of course I am a perfect replica of the original fictional HK-47." HK-47 stated, well, smugly. "My master put great care and effort into making sure I am perfect in every way possible and I did not disappoint him, unlike two certain meatbags here."

Molossia and Liberia both snapped their heads toward the trash-talking droid, gritting their teeth. Boy, see what he said? He's funny and all, as long you're not the one he's throwing shade at for no reason. That bastard's got some nerve! Liberia's the disappointment, not him!

Forcing a smile on his handsome face, which unbeknownst to him made him a little like the Joker, Molossia stomped towards his dumbass little brother and pulled him by the ear away to a corner where they could talk… in private.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow… Hey, Dumbassia, cut it out!" Liberia thrashed around but Molossia kept a good grip on him until he finally let go "Hey, what's the big idea?"

"I'll fucking tell you what's the big idea!" Molossia snapped, eyes twitching behind his shades."HK-47? Seriously?! The crazy droid from KOTOR? _This_ is the guy who we're going to leave behind to beam us back to Nevada?!"

"Hey, it was either him or the robots from Mystery Science Theater 3000!" Liberia snapped back, looking just as over the moon as Molossia was. "I don't know about you, but I can't stand spending five minutes in the same room as them when they're not riffing movies!"

"Yeah, good point. But come on, are you sure about this, Lib? Don't you think that maybe, just maybe, this is bad idea?!" Molossia hissed. "I know he's programmed to the obey the commands of the New World Order, but how the hell did you get him to agree to help us without telling the boss?"

Liberia suddenly froze, and he smiled nervously. "Well… I kinda promised him that I'd convince Alfred to let him participate on the front lines…"

Molossia blinked, and he facepalmed. "Oh my fucking god…"

"Oh, don't be such a buzzkill, Molly. This'll be fun!" Liberia cheerfully waved it off, and before Molossia could _kill_ him for using that nickname, his little brother gestured toward HK-47 who was talking with Kugemugel and Ladonia. "See, they're even already getting along!"

"I told you, I'm a _boy!_ " Kugelmugel protested angrily.

"Offensive question: Then why is it that you and look dress like a female meatbag, you appalling little female and immortal meatbag?" HK-47 asked mockingly.

Molossia raised an eyebrow at Liberia, who only laughed and didn't look the slightest damn bit ashamed. "Well then, let's get going, guys! The sooner we leave, the less we have to put up with this bolthead."

"Obvious Statement: I can _hear_ you, meatbag."

/ / / / /

"Where's Gabriel? Is he all right?" Had been the first thing DRC asked Nigeria after greeting him.

As soon as South Africa left the house after putting Netherlands down for a little nap, he was pleased to see that Nigeria had teleported not long after DRC called him, bringing with him a jeep he had hijacked to make their travels to the other cities easier. They couldn't always burden poor Nigeria. He needed to preserve his energy after all. So, they went in, stuffed Belgium in the trunk, and drove away to find CAR with Nigeria on the wheel.

It shouldn't be too hard to find CAR, should it? All they needed to do was follow the trail of blood and unrecognizable corpses and try to locate where the screams were coming from. It's how Mandela used to track him. Oh, that clever old coot…

Nigeria responded to DRC's question with a grin, and he flashed a thumbs-up. "I think he should be somewhere east of here, in one of the more narrow streets. He's doing great! And he's having a lot of fun and food! Oh, and don't worry, I got rid of the local police, so one can stop him now."

DRC sighed in relief, and he leaned back into his seat. "Good. I'm glad he's happy, and I'm glad you're watching over him, but are you sure he'll be all right?"

Nigeria threw his head back laughing. "With that appetite and the way he's going on a murderous rampage? I wouldn't worry about him if I were you. He's making good progress."

DRC didn't look very sure at first, but he smiled and chuckled darkly. "I suppose you're right."

"And congrats again for capturing Belgium, Dikembe! I'm happy one of us is finally getting what he wants." Nigeria's grin became even wider, and he gazed at South Africa. "So~ judging from the lack of a body, did you kill the Netherlands and leave him to rot? Ooh, how painful did you make it? Did he cry?"

Oh dear, now South Africa will feel guilty for disappointing Nigeria. But what's done was done, and South Africa made his choice.

By the time he finished telling him what transpired, South Africa was delighted to see that Nigeria understood. "Hmm, I see… I had a feeling you'd consider doing that actually. Finishing him off so quickly is not like you."

"Exactly." South Africa agreed, nodding. "It would've felt way too rushed if I just finished him right there and then."

And Netherlands would've died without knowing the full story!

"I _still_ can't believe you let him live." DRC muttered in disbelief, as if South Africa had committed an unspeakable sin.

Well, wouldn't be the first time, he thought amusingly.

South Africa had told him what had happened with the Netherlands after he left to call Nigeria, even the part where he poked fun at his old colonizer for doing the you-know-what with they-who-must-not-be-named, prompting DRC to ask him how the hell did he know that, to which South Africa slyly responded that he liked researching a lot about people.

He just loved finding skeletons in the closet!

And after South Africa finished telling him the full story, DRC was understandably confused.

South Africa tilted his head toward DRC, putting on an innocent look on his face that DRC clearly wasn't buying for a second, and grinned. Oh, he had expected such a reaction from DRC, and who could blame him? It would seem like a horribly wasted opportunity to him and anyone with common sense. And DRC was a direct and no-nonsense person, and he's still _new_.

"Oh, don't worry about me~" South Africa grinned toothily, it's so nice to have such good friends. "I can spare a life or two every now and then."

"You had him incapacitated and completely vulnerable, and you threw that chance out the window." DRC deadpanned, though not meaning any offense. "Moreover, I can't believe you someone as forgettable and unimportant as _Luxembourg_ live too. _Luxembourg_."

"I really hate to say this, Chris, but I have to agree a little with Dikembe here," Nigeria playfully pouted at South Africa. "Why let _him_ live? He's unnecessary, and he would've been a perfect meal. It's one of things we've been looking forward to for years, no? And even better, CAR could've had his first taste of a nation."

DRC gaped, forming an expression that appeared to be either shock or horror. "How… did I not think of that?"

South Africa laughed, and he leaned back comfortably in his seat, hands linked behind his head "Well, Netherlands is going to need _someone_ to help him get through the war, and I figured I'd let this day _not_ be a complete failure for him. I wouldn't want him to break before I can give him a better death _after_ England's gone."

"You let someone like him live so Netherlands would have someone to cling onto after Belgium's gone?" Nigeria asked in surprise, before his mouth formed a twisted grin. "Aw, Chris, you're so sweet~"

"Oh, I know." South Africa smugly, and Nigeria cackled. Then he looked at DRC, smiling pleasantly. "And as for my stingy colonizer, I told you before, Lars deserves a better death than that, hell, he _deserves_ to outlive England."

"Why?" DRC asked, perplexed.

"Because I actually liked him," South Africa responded simply, and he smirked mischievously. "Besides, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have learned lots of things! I would've been pretty stupid. Oh, and I wouldn't have learned to appreciate the beauty of nature, and I wouldn't have ever learned how to be a farmer! I owe him for that."

DRC stared at him as if South Africa had just grown a second head. "…I really can't tell if you're being serious or not.

"What? The Boers were interesting humans once you got to know them better!"

"I'm sorry, it's just… I never expected this from you." DRC smiled awkwardly, but a good attempt nonetheless. He really was improving on expressing his emotions. "The real you is so cruel and ruthless, and you threatened to bomb Lesotho and Swaziland of all people when we all thought you loved him to death, so seeing you spare someone like the Netherlands is… very surprising to me."

South Africa hummed in thought. That did seem rather baffling in his point of view, but like South Africa said, DRC still didn't know him that well yet. "Hmm, I guess, but you don't know everything about me. I told you, I can spare someone every now and then."

"Oui, I suppose you're right… But…"

"But?"

"Why did you shoot him instead of leaving him to bleed to death? You shot him in the stomach, didn't you?" DRC asked him with another perplexed look. "He would've died even if you hadn't put him out his misery, so the action was rather pointless. Then why? Why did you do that? Did you also do it out of mercy?"

Mercy…? Him, merciful? Now wasn't that something?

"Ja…" South Africa said distractedly, barely noticing the strange look DRC gave him. "I guess so."

/ / / / /

It had been after the blood splattered and when Liechtenstein lifelessly on the sofa that Switzerland fully registered what he just did.

Switzerland fired thrice, both out of caution and rage. He watched the bullet pierce her head in a split second, the blood from the impact fly and splatter floor and the wall, and Liechtenstein collapsed on the couch, eyes still wide open with shock, _dead_. His hands trembled as Switzerland took in the sight of her dead body, a sight he had never seen before. Even when he found her on the verge of fading away, she was still _alive_.

Had there ever been a time where she died before he found her, Switzerland wondered? He never asked her that before, and he had never wanted to, not wanting her to relive bad memories for the sake of his curiosity, especially since she would do that for him. But she had to have died before; every nation had to have at least died once or twice in their lives.

And in the slight chance that she didn't, then…

He, Switzerland, caused her first true death, and what's more, he's probably the first to murder her.

If he had more of a twisted sense of humor like Turkey, Switzerland would've laughed emptily at the unbelievable _irony_ of the situation. He saved her from death. It wasn't even an order or anything, though Switzerland did feel a strong sense of pride when he saw how pleased Austria was. Switzerland saved her, provided her with everything she needed, protected her for years and they practically lived together… and Switzerland _shot_ her.

So what was Switzerland feeling right now? The answer was, he had no idea. He was feeling so many emotions right now…

The decision to shoot Liechtenstein was automatic, a result of his uncontrollable urge to kill anyone any dared oppose the organization, and the wholly indescribable anger he felt upon discovering that his 'little sister' truly did betray him after all. When he discovered that she cooperated with Germany and that **_bitch_** …

A part of Switzerland sneered at Liechtenstein, another felt a little horrified, while another wanted to kick her. _'How could you?!'_ He wanted to scream at her, even though she couldn't hear him. He could have done worse things to her, she deserved…

A part of him actually wanted to _cry_.

So that's what he did, he began to shed some tears while still staring at his little sister emotionlessly. Switzerland felt an unbridled rage not just at Liechtenstein, but at himself. You idiot, this was your fault, you caused this... But Liechtenstein should've _known_ better to anger him, to _betray_ him. She deserved it… Who was the one who truly deserved it? That little two-faced, ungrateful traitor, _obviously_.

Switzerland was brought back to reality from his inner conflict and tensed when he felt a hand gently grab his shoulder, and he clenched his fists. He didn't even need to turn around to now that the unnerving presence behind him was Morocco, and just as Switzerland suspected when he looked at him, the other nation was _smiling_. Typical…

"Well done," Morocco commended softly, not even bothering to hide his delighted grin. "I admit, I also had my doubts about you, but I'm glad to have been proven wrong. You cast aside your mockery of an attachment to this waste of space to deliver swift punishment. I know it mustn't have been easy, but you what was necessary, and for that I applaud you."

Switzerland stared at him coldly, not wishing to respond.

"Aw, there's no need to look at me like that, Vash. I was just complimenting and comforting you," Morocco said innocently, and he smirked chillingly. "You _deserve_ it. And you accomplished it so ruthlessly and efficiently too. Such coldness… I like that in men."

Morocco couldn't seriously be flirting now of all times, could he?

Switzerland grimaced in disgust and rapidly shrugged off Morocco's hand. "Don't get all friendly, yet. We still need to talk about Mauri-"

An odd laugh stopped him from completing that sentence, and of course, the laughter belonged to Cameroon, who of course was over the moon with what Switzerland did.

"I can't believe it, you actually did it…" Cameroon muttered while his fingers twitched, a wide manic grin splitting his face. "You kept your promise. I should've known you would."

"I told you that I'm loyal to the organization above all else, didn't I?" Switzerland remarked dryly, feeling a little peeved that he thought otherwise, though he inwardly admitted that it did felt nice to have Cameroon not scowl at him for once. "You better trust my loyalty after this, Cameroon."

Cameroon nodded vehemently, expression turning blank again. "Oui, I will. Although I admit I am quite disappointed that you can't _dispose_ of her... permanently."

Switzerland resisted the urge to snort, and he looked at him coolly. "Was it that obvious that I didn't use the special bullets?"

"One doesn't need to be a genius to figure it out," Cameroon responded a little sarcastically, but calmly. "Firstly, there is no reason for you to bring the special bullets with you on something as quick and unimportant as an errand, as the chances of you being attacked by an enemy nation is extremely low, as they have no way past the border, no way to know where you are, and it's quite unlikely they'd just happen to teleport to where you were, if they're so foolish to attempt such a thing in the first place."

True, true… Switzerland nodded. The enemy would need to have astronomical luck if they happened to teleport to the same place he was. And even if they did teleport to a public space, they'd have the _humans_ to worry about.

"However, I am aware that you always bring a pack of the special bullets with you just in case, going with your usual method of 'better safe than sorry', which I approve of. But you couldn't have put the bullets in that gun you always carry with you while you were gone, there's no reason to. We haven't been notified of an attack. And you could not have done it when you returned to your house and overheard us interrogating Liechtenstein, as despite what people may think, you do not 'shoot first then ask questions later', even with us."

A rule that Switzerland followed sometimes rather grudgingly, he acknowledged.

"And even if you did shoot us, it would be with normal bullets. Also, as a loyal member, you are aware that according to the rules, killing a member, temporarily or permanently, without a justifiable reason, is punishable by **_death_**." Cameroon's tone turned dark for a moment at that last moment, eyes widening slightly. "It would have gotten you executed, considering why we were doing it, and you, being a cautious person, would rather not _take_ that risk. So in summary: there's no way you could've used the special bullets."

Switzerland quirked an eyebrow, but he couldn't bring himself to make a dry or sarcastic remark right now. But he will admit, Cameroon was very perceptive, and Switzerland did feel impressed at how he figured that all out in a short amount of time.

"Astute logic as always, Cameroon!" Morocco cheerfully complimented, clapping his hands, and he smiled pleasantly at Switzerland. "A man with just as much brains as he has brawn, isn't he wonderful? Just like the Nordics."

No, the Nordics were actually _pleasant_ people once you got to know them.

"Your compliments are unnecessary, Rahim." Cameroon stated emotionlessly.

"And he's modest too!" Morocco chirped in delight, and he chuckled. "As for me, I sort of knew you couldn't have used those bullets the moment you shot her. Like Cameroon said, there's no reason you'd have the bullets in the gun. So, if you truly did want to _kill_ that annoying mouse, you'd have gone over to her and ripped out her heart with your bare hands. It wouldn't have taken you ten seconds."

Switzerland scrunched up his face in distaste at the thought. "Ja, ja, very perceptive and clever and whatnot… And may I ask you two _why_ are you disappointed that she hasn't been permanently killed? I proved I'm capable of putting my foot down, didn't I?"

"I never said I wanted her permanently killed." Cameroon said with his expression as stone-faced as ever, shaking his head. "Although, if the leader welcomes it, I would be more than happy to be the one to accomplish that task, should he prefer not to cause you pain."

"Liechtenstein is my responsibility." Switzerland hissed. She depended on him.

"Unless or until Leader orders otherwise." Cameroon pointed out distractedly. "Who knows? It might occur _when_ he finds out that she was cooperating with the enemy."

"Austria is fond of Liechtenstein and it is for this reason and because of her innocence that he decided to include her in the new world." Switzerland reminded them sternly. "And I highly doubt that he would even consider having her killed. She may have cooperated with the enemy, but she's just as much of a threat as the Vatican City is to our organization."

The taller nation considered this, and he stared at him with just a little more emotion in his eyes. "You better be right."

"So, I trust that I have your trust from here on out?"

Cameroon appeared to mull it over, before he nodded. "You proved yourself just I like I wanted you to. That's all I asked for. So oui, you do have my trust. But I hope you will handle the… situation with her properly."

Switzerland nodded. "I will."

"Ah, so the conflict between you two has been resolved. How splendid~" Morocco gleefully announced, clapping Switzerland's shoulder. "So then I guess that only leaves me for you to scold, right? But I assure you, that sister of yours greatly exaggerated."

Flinching, Switzerland narrowed his eyes in a glare towards Morocco. Yes, there was still _that_ matter. " _Right_. So you admit it? Just like that? Did you figure that there was no point in hiding it now?"

"Oh, Vash, I was never planning on hiding it. I just waited for you to leave so I'd have plenty of time to do it before you'd scold me." Morocco shamelessly admitted, shrugging and smiling pleasantly. "It wouldn't do good for our relationship as comrades if we lied to each other, after all. Besides, I never liked hiding the things I do."

"Of course you don't…" Switzerland muttered, rolling his eyes. "So, tell me, what's _your_ version of the story that Lili supposedly 'greatly exaggerated'? Please let me remind you that I still have several bullets loaded in my gun."

In response to this, Morocco simply smiled, and Cameroon scowled and put himself in front of his friend. "Rahim would never rape, no matter how desirable they may be. If you hurt him-"

"Cam, I'm grateful for your concern, but don't let me ruin things between you and Switzerland just when you two patched things up," Morocco advised calmly as he stepped out from behind Cameroon and smiled at the taller nation. "All will be well."

He sounded confident...

"Temporary death is a rather lame threat, don't you think?" Morocco pointed out in an innocent manner, cocking his head to the side, and then he grinned once more. "But wouldn't that be exciting? If you shoot me dead, then there's nothing stopping you from doing whatever you want to my corpse!"

That outrageous remark, as well as the hidden meaning behind it, made Switzerland want to gag in disgust. What sort of person did Morocco take him for?! To think that Morocco thought that Switzerland would… No, don't think about it! Don't risk conjuring up a mental image of that!

"And of course such threats won't work on him. What did I expect?" Switzerland grumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes again. "Oh forget it. I'll just pretend you never said that. What's _your_ side of the story?"

Morocco smirked hungrily, and Switzerland already felt like sighing. "Well, after you left, I watched as Cameroon started doing his part with Mauritius, and it appeared that he is doing _well_ by the way. I became enamored with helpless and vulnerable and _lost_ he looked. He looked so handsome… I could hardly contain myself, and it was a perfect opportunity. How could I have resisted?"

Switzerland resisted the strong urge to roll his eyes again and slap his own forehead. "Ja, ja, I already figured _that_ out."

"It was nothing serious, Switzerland. I was gentle with him…" Morocco promised sweetly, and he clasped his hands together, looking all too proud. "I kissed him, obviously. I kissed him, savored him, and bit him, though not enough to chew that sweet flesh of his off as tempting as it was. Don't be surprised if you find several bruises in certain parts of his body, especially since I took off his shirt…"

"You took his shirt off?" Switzerland asked in horror. Of course, he was horrified and disgusted at the other things, but he was too speechless to berate him for it until he mentioned _that_ little detail. "Are you kidding me?"

"And maybe pulled down his shorts a little, but I stopped myself before I could get too excited." Morocco added very unhelpfully, smirking. "But no rape took place, I promise you that."

Switzerland groaned, and gave in to the urge to facepalm. That's one consolation… But it still didn't change the fact that Mauritius got violated again… Ugh, Switzerland will have to make some tweaks to make sure that the island won't turn out to be… similar to Morocco.

"This has got to be one of the worst days of my life…" Switzerland groaned, rubbing his head.

/ / / / /

"Huh… Hong Kong's apartment building looks surprisingly undamaged compared to the rest of the neighborhood…" Macau remarked as he and Mongolia went up the stairs to Hong Kong's apartment. "How curious. It appears that Lady Luck is on Leon's side after all."

"Perhaps the people knew not to cause chaos here; perhaps Leon subconsciously influenced them to stay away from his residence." Mongolia guessed as he glanced back at Macau with a mysterious smile. "It wouldn't be nice to destroy your leader's property after all."

Macau hummed in thought. "Hmm, perhaps…"

A pity that the elevator was still out of the order then. If only Hong Kong had been more careful with his rockets that time and decided to bring dynamite with him… Macau had to stifle a chuckle. Oh dear, was he a complete mess when he came out.

They proceeded through the rest of the stairs in silence.

The decision to heed Hong Kong's plea to execute his little plan was rather unanimous. Despite their previous agreement to wait until a little later after the invasion of Russia to get rid of China lest they risk the possible consequences said to happen, those said consequences would only happen if they invaded China. So, they decided that they were allowed to deal a blow to the senile old man.

And frankly, weakening him right now was a good idea, and if Hong Kong's plan went as well as he thought it would, then China will likely be put out of commission for a long while by the of it. It was a great plan.

They finally arrived at Hong Kong's apartment room, which they opened with no problem, and the inside was just as undamaged as the rest of the building was. It's a little disorganized though, Macau mentally added with a slight grimace.

But that's not important.

"Now then, Leon said that he hid the remote in the 'area where Leon hides things area', right?" Macau asked with an eager smile, and he clapped his hands excitedly. Finally, he'll learn the mystery of that area. "Ooh, if so, this should be exciting. I always wanted to know what's in the area where Leon hides thing area."

And _not_ get savagely attacked for it!

Mongolia chuckled at this, used to his behavior. "Yes, but remember, he explicitly forbid you from going anywhere near the 'area where he hides things area'. I believe he said, and I quote 'Macau, if you go anywhere near my area, I will shove those poker cards down your throat and up your-"

"Ah, but that will only happen if Leon finds out I went anywhere near his hiding area, my friend." Macau pointed out slyly, winking. Oh, how he loved a loophole! "This could be our little secret."

"I'm afraid that's not possible. Leon made me promise not to let you see his personal things," Mongolia lamented with a sympathetic smile. "But if there's anything important that warrants your attention, I'll let you know."

Macau sighed sadly, well, it was worth a shot. "What a shame, but very well…"

"Instead, you could go find some movies to bring to the hospital, preferably something that has Chinese humans dying horribly, and maybe something with comedy to make Leon smile and laugh for once. Yes, or even better, a horror comedy, or maybe something with Jackie Chan. The poor boy's been bored out of his mind. And I'm sure he'd be happy if you bring him his favorite movies."

Macau brightened considerably at that, and he perked up. Hong Kong happy and smiling… excellent! "I would like that… Yes, very well then, I'll look for films that ought to cheer him up."

And so as Mongolia smiled and nodded before leaving to go search in the 'area where Hong Kong hid things area', Macau happily hummed as went to the drawers next to Hong Kong's TV to search for anything that Hong Kong would really enjoy.

Which… might be a little… difficult to some.

One small problem was that Hong Kong had a lot of movies, and perhaps that was even an understatement. He had many… many… _many_ movies, both from his own home and from the West and other countries, even from Japan. Fortunately, Macau has been over to his home enough times to know where his favorites could be located. Macau opened one drawer and started sorting through it.

"Let's see… Ah, there's Jackie Chan, romantic dramas, gangster films, supernatural, several generic martial arts films… Ooh, that's a good one."

He started taking a few of those out, mostly martial arts movies with Jackie Chan. Hong Kong would definitely enjoy seeing one of his favorite actors beat up people. And Macau started going through another drawer.

He took out a few more before sorting through it again, and eventually he found a certain movie that he hasn't seen in decades.

"Ah, this one brings back memories." Macau stated fondly as he held a copy of _Mr. Vampire_ in his hands. Oh, the nostalgia.

Macau remembered how back in the eighties through the nineties, Hong Kong suddenly grew fascinated with the mythological Chinese vampire… or zombies… it's more similar to a vampire though: the _jiangshi_. _Jiangshis_ were peculiar creatures, frightening but silly at the same time. They were reanimated corpses that moved around by hopping around with their arms outstretched, although he recalled a few instances where they could fly in some films. They absorbed qi, or life force, and could be immobilized or controlled with a talisman.

It was a peculiar phase. Hong Kong loved reading about those creatures. He grew so fond of them that his people started making movies that had _jiangshis_ in them, and in return they quickly grew to be Hong Kong's favorite movies. He even went dressed as a _jiangshi_ many times in Halloween, and went to great lengths to stay 'in character' by hopping around and poking or biting China to try to absorb his life force. Oh, Hong Kong was just so adorable!

He seemed to have grown out of that obsession. But even so, Macau would often Hong Kong find completely engrossed reading or watching something _jiangshi_ -related to this day. He must still be obsessed with them deep down.

"And he says I have odd tastes…" Macau muttered with an amused smile. Well, he did, but this is the pot calling the kettle black. "Although, in all honesty, my tastes could be considered ten times more disturbing…"

But he never understood Hong Kong's obsession with those creatures. Their way of movement was rather silly… although they could be intimidating at times, and some media have portrayed _jiangshi_ characters to be quite formidable opponents. But who's to say how dangerous they were in real life? None of them had ever seen a real one before.

And that's saying a lot considering how several of their comrades had connections with spirits, gods, and other mythological beings.

"Are you having fun there?" An amused voice whispered in Macau's ear, making him jump. Acting out of instinct, he turned his hand and raised his hand to deliver a sharp jab to his attacker's throat, but a hand grabbed his wrist and he saw who it was. Mongolia. "Oh! Sorry for surprising you."

"Oh no, I should be the one apologizing." Macau chuckled sheepishly as Mongolia let go of him, and he noticed the remote in his friend's other hand. "So you did find it…"

Mongolia smirked and inspected the small thing in his hand. "Yes, I did. Leon hid it well. This is the remote that can activate the bombs, fireworks, and dynamite hidden underneath Beijing's large and unsuspecting population, striking right at China's heart."

"Perfect." Macau smirked as well. "Well then, we should leave to return to the hospital. This shall be an excellent get-well present for him."

"Indeed." Mongolia nodded, and his gaze went to the movie case Macau was holding. His smirk abruptly vanished. "Oh, I remember that movie…"

"Yes, it's one of Leon's favor…" Macau trailed off when he noticed the look on Mongolia's face. He frowned. "Is something wrong?"

Instead of responding to that, Mongolia opted to stare at the case in quite an unnerving manner, not uttering a single word or moving a single muscle. It was a looked Macau had never seen on him. This puzzled and even worried him, so he looked at the case to see if there's something wrong it. Hmm… no, nothing odd except for the cover as far as Macau's concerned. So what provoked this?

He decided to try asking again. "Mongolia? What's wrong?"

Mongolia's eyes widened fractionally, but when he turned to face Macau, he had his usual smile on. "Oh, it's nothing, just… _reminiscing_."

That's an obvious lie, the first half at least.

Macau narrowed his eyes and stared coolly at Mongolia, trying to decipher the other's thoughts, but to no avail.

"Oh, sometimes it's rather frustrating that I can't tell what's on your mind." Macau sighed, but he smirked anyways. "However, it's also very intriguing, exciting even. Would you be as kind to providing me even a tiny hint as to what you're thinking?"

Mongolia quirked an eyebrow at him. "I thought you liked being completely left in the dark to figure it out yourself."

"Oh, I do. But I can never tell with _you_." Macau remarked, and then he frowned. "Besides, you looked worried there for a minute. So as a friend and generous ally, I want to know what's going on to see if there's any way I can help."

Mongolia stared at him unreadably (see, this was what Macau meant!) for a while, before he finally responded.

"…Sometimes Hong Kong's reckless behavior worries me greatly." Was what he said before he turned around and walked towards the door, leaving Macau a little puzzled.

So, that's his clue…

"Sometimes Hong Kong's reckless behavior worries you greatly, eh?" Macau echoed as he took one last look at the drawers. He smiled, savoring the challenge. "Hmm, I think I can work with that."

/ / / / /

"Any luck?" Hungary asked worriedly for the umpteenth time.

Egypt tried not to express his slight annoyance with her persistence, though understandable as they couldn't afford to have Bosnia on the loose, as he kept telepathically conversing with Anubis by pressing his index and middle fingers to his forehead. Well, the process was more complicated than that, but it was what he was doing.

"I am still awaiting his report." Egypt hissed quietly, trying his very best not to sound rude, though he suspect from Hungary's scowl that he failed in that regard. "Please be patient."

At Hungary's behest and since it was their best option because entering the building right now was too risky and dangerous, Egypt decided to contact Anubis and ask him to take a small break from fighting Baron Kriminel, not without incapacitating for enough time, to search for Bosnia.

 ** _"I found no chains but I have found a room with a hole in the ceiling. I suspect the spirit had fallen through it when I dealt with a strong blow and he freed him. He, Bosnia, is nowhere in sight. Forgive me for causing his escape."_**

Egypt momentarily froze at this revelation, and he inwardly cursed. So they were too late… He swallowed down any negative feelings before he could make them known and he decided to first reassure Anubis before anything else. His friend did his best.

 _"It is not your fault, Anubis."_ Egypt assured his longtime friend. _"You were only doing as you were instructed. We will try to take care of it, in the meantime put all your effort in defeating the spirit and restraining him if possible."_

After Anubis grunted his affirmation and said that he would do his best, Egypt bid his friend goodbye for now cut off the connection and turned to his fellow nations, who especially Hungary were all looking at him expectantly. Egypt sighed. Why has he become the bearer of bad news lately? Misfortune seemed to love happening around Egypt, and there's the issue of Belarus's death…

Well, there's no use complaining or stalling. Might as well get this over with, and they all still had lots of things to talk about… such as Belarus's death. Allah, forgive him for being selfish and a coward but please do not let him it be him to gives the news.

"He's gone." Egypt announced blankly. "Anubis says that he didn't find the chains, but there was a hole in the ceiling. Kriminel may have fallen through the room where Bosnia was kept and set him free."

Everyone collectively sighed, groaned or cursed, just as Egypt predicted.

"I can't believe I lost Bosnia for the second time in a row when the same thing happened yesterday!" Hungary wailed.

"Well, look at the bright side, hag. If he up and vanished yesterday then mysterious came back, maybe he'll do the same thing today!" Romania gave a fanged grin in response while giving Moldova a piggy-back ride. "This whole thing with him is crazy and not making a single bit of sense enough for _that_ to happen."

Hungary whirled around and pulled the vampire by the collar. "Yeah, you're right. _Maybe_ Bosnia will come back, _really_ reassuring, you bloodsucking bastard, _maybe_. But did it ever cross your mind that _maybe_ Bosnia is in danger right now?!

"Hey, I'm just trying to be an optimist, hag!" Romania yelled defensively.

"Wait." Algeria interjected, appearing to have realized something. "If he already left the building, how come we've never seen him leave?"

"He could have left the building while we were busy trying bickering and trying to leave the building ourselves, Algeria san." Japan pointed out.

"Or maybe he jumped out of a window behind the building like one of those cool actions movies and the noise from the battle prevented us from hearing it!" Honduras suggested happily as she mimicked the sounds of explosions. "I wonder if you can actually do that without getting seriously hurt, though."

"Or maybe Baron whatever his name is teleported him to somewhere. Who knows? Maybe somewhere a gazillion miles from here." Belize also suggested while picking her teeth, and she shrugged. "You know, whatever happened, we don't really have any way of finding him."

"Oh my god…" Hungary paled.

Eventually Germany had enough. "ENOUGH!"

As usual, everyone quieted down.

"All right…" Germany took a deep breath, and was visibly struggling not to explode. "Bosnia is missing, we can worry about that later when there aren't two gods fighting to the death…"

"But Bosnia-" Hungary wanted to protest, but Germany held up his hand.

"We can worry about him along with _other_ nations later." Germany gritted his teeth and spoke in a surprisingly angry manner to Hungary, who flinched and backed down. "But as I said before, we're all very confused here. So, if there aren't going to be any further interruptions, I suggest that before we do anything, we each explain exactly what happened to each of us with what we were doing."

Egypt tensed, something he hoped that the others didn't notice, despite the inevitable.

"So…" Germany took yet another deep breath and turned to the Central American group. Egypt felt puzzled when he noticed that Panama was glaring at him in pure hate. "Belize, I think I'm most curious about what happened when you went to get Panama and I'd like to know why Panama seems to know about our enemy."

Panama merely rolled his eyes.

"Right, here's what happened in our _magical_ trip to Panama…" Belize began, sarcastically using air quotes when she spoke the word magical. "Things looked all great when we first got there. No one tried to attack us and nothing exploded, so there's that. But when we met up with Panama at his house… He… Oh, how I do I put this gently so you guys won't explode…?"

Belize didn't have the courage to be brutally honest? Oh dear, what was the world coming to?

"It turns out that Panama here knew about the Order all along." Nicaragua finished bluntly, and very bitterly, for Belize.

After that was said, everyone who weren't the Central Americans turned their gazes in gaping shock toward Panama, who was less than pleased at suddenly being in the spotlight. Egypt's mouth dropped a little and his eyes widened. _What?!_ Panama knew?!

Then again, Egypt supposed he shouldn't be too surprised considering his close ties to America and Colombia, as well as the fact that he knew who that voodoo spirit was and that he declared that he wouldn't help nor hinder the others. But what were the Central Americans _thinking?_ What was the point of bringing someone like Panama to their group? Wouldn't it risk comprising their position?

But if Baron Kriminel managed to find them…

"Oh, would you just relax?!" Panama barked, visibly annoyed at all the attention directed at him. "I'm neutral! It's part of the deal! I could stay out of this and not have to worry about my country's safety if I promised not to take any sides, including the Order's!"

"What do you mean you're neutral?" Germany demanded suspiciously, looking on the verge of receiving another migraine.

Panama looked at him as if Germany had just said the stupidest thing imaginable. "I just told you, and I said the same thing with Kriminel! I promised not to take sides! I didn't want to be in on the whole mess with Spain, although the _puto_ deserves it because he's the one who made the others crazy in the _first place_ -!"

"Emanuel, we talked about this!" Costa Rica pleaded to his friend, grabbing his arm. "You said that you wouldn't-"

"I know what I said, Felix." Panama cut him off, before shooting him an apologetic look. "And I _told_ you they wouldn't take it well."

"Didn't really stop you from coming along, did it?" Costa Rica pointed out with an angry look.

Panama blushed red, and he crossed his arms, stuttering. "T-That's because I still wanted to see this for myself and because I'm not going to give up on you, remember?"

Germany yelled, getting the two Central Americans to stop bickering. "Mein Gott, you two, shut up! I said this one, I said this twice. This is not the time for arguing! Costa Rica, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, may I ask why you brought Panama here?"

"Why would you bring someone who's clearly not our ally?" China screeched in a slightly annoying manner, and he glared at the scowling Panama. "Who's to say that he won't go and tell the Order what we're doing, aru?

"I knew you weren't on our side the moment you spoke the Baron's name." Russia said a little smugly, frowning. "What are you planning, da?"

"I'm not telling you again, Vanya!" Ukraine warned him in a furious tone, and Russia winced.

" _Santo Dios_ , are you people deaf?! I just said I'm neutral!" Panama exclaimed indignantly, and he turned to his neighbors with an 'I told you so' look. "You know, this is exactly why the Order wants change. You _burros_ are corrupt, deaf, and delusional and don't do _anything_ right! At least the Order gets things done, in the _right_ way."

"Emanuel, buddy, hermano, whatever… I respect your opinions and all, as crazy stupid but understandable as they are…" Belize began happily and calmly enough, laughing, before she predictably exploded in a rage. "BUT YOU'RE NOT DOING YOURSELF ANY FAVORS RIGHT NOW OR HELPING OUR CASE BY ROOTING FOR OUR ENEMY IN FRONT OF EVERYONE!"

Egypt winced and covered his ears. Allah, that girl could _yell_.

"Very bad PR strategy." Honduras said agreeing with Belize, crossing her arms and nodding in a childish manner.

"But Panama is neutral, honest!" Costa Rica insisted, and he desperately looked to Belize for help. "Vanessa, come on, tell them!"

"It's true, and let me explain before _Panama_ makes things worse." Belize said in a forced happiness as she shot a warning look at Panama, who actually cringed, before calming down somewhat. "There was this little scuffle at first and Panama was really angry with us for beating up Guatemala, gathering up Costa and Nica and deciding to against the Order… Buuut we eventually managed to get him to calm down and we had a little talk, y'know, try to understand each other…"

Realization dawned on Egypt as soon as Belize spoke that last part, and a mix of apprehension and slight guilt welled up in his gut, though in the end he had no regrets. So… the reason why Panama regarded him with so much hate and anger was because if it weren't for Egypt, the Central Americans wouldn't have gotten involved and become enemies of the Order.

Were they going to be spared after all?

"Panama still wasn't very happy with us, but he wasn't mad at us anymore!" Honduras jovially continued after Belize trailed off, gesturing toward Panama. "He wanted us to back out and didn't really get why we were doing this, and we had a couple more arguments before Costa Rica came up an genius idea that'll be a win-win for all of us!"

"Si, 'genius'…" Nicaragua said sarcastically with air quotes. "But I guess it could've been worse…"

"We need a deal. I'd go with them, but I'd keep my status as a neutral nation and I won't be forced to help out, so that I can see if you're really better than the Order, which you're not, but I like to keep an open mind." Panama said simply, glaring at them (especially at Egypt) although he didn't look very proud of himself. "And along the way, I can keep trying to convince my neighbors to abandon this suicide mission."

"You came with the Central Americans because you want to convince them to leave?" Algeria asked skeptically. "Don't you think it's a little too late for that? What makes you think they'll be spared?"

Now Panama glared at her for a change, but it seemed to be faltering. He looked down at his feet. "I'm… sure that I can put a good word for them, and they can be surprisingly forgiving if you swear not to get in their way, you know, as long as you haven't done something unforgiveable."

Belize suddenly coughed, though it sounded suspiciously like she said 'Guatemala' between coughs, proven by how Panama gave her an annoyed look.

"While it's not exactly a ridiculous reason…" Germany remarked, narrowing his eyes at Panama. "Can we really trust you?"

"Not like there's anything I'll say that'll change your minds…" Panama shrugged, indifferent, until he seemed to realize something. "Although…"

"Although?" Germany repeated.

"Felix and the others told me that you _pendejos_ somehow got ahold of one the albums of members of the New World Order." Panama stated darkly, and he raised an eyebrow. "If you really did go through it, you'd know that that album contains the names and photos of **_Order members and Order members only_**. But you obviously didn't find me there, did you?"

Though the answer was obvious, Egypt attempted to recall the names and faces he saw in that album to see if he ever saw Panama among them, and he found no such memory. Panama wasn't there, and if he was, then why did the Central Americans go to Panama's house to verify his allegiance?

Still, Egypt didn't feel very convinced. "You do realize that still doesn't mean that you won't help the Order or believe you what you say, right? You say that you're neutral, but you can still be a spy."

"He's not!" Costa Rica exclaimed, jumping to Panama's defense. "He promised! He could have hurt us and told the South Americans about us, but he didn't!"

Panama sighed, and shook his head, turning his back to them. "Believe me, don't believe, have someone keep an eye at all times, I don't care. I'm neutral and I just want to see how you intend to fight Order, since you're _so_ better than them, and maybe convince Costa and the others to back out. There might be hope for them yet. So I'll be sticking around for the time being, whether you like it or not. Deal with it."

With that he stomped away from the group towards a street light, presumably having had enough of them, without a word. Costa Rica jumped, and shot them an accusatory glare as if they're to blame before going after him.

"Well, now he's mad again…" Belize complained, stomping her foot, and she turned grumpily to Germany. "Aw, come on, Germany! Trust us on this. We wouldn't have brought him if we weren't sure if we could trust him! If you want, have one or two nations keep an eye on him like Emanuel _himself_ suggested!"

While Belize and Germany descended into rather loud bickering with the Central American girl begging and pleading with Honduras occasionally doing the same and trying to encourage Nicaragua to do the same, and with Germany trying to say something before getting constantly cut off until he finally had enough.

" _Fine_!" Germany said finally, exasperated at the Central Americans' persistence. "We'll let him stay. And we'll have someone with him at all times for the first few days and we'll take turns taking shifts."

"Yes! Thanks a-"

"But later we'll make a vote on whether we should let him stay."

"Oh…" Belize promptly deflated, but she quickly straightened up, grinning. "But it's still a win, and that's what matters!"

 _"Victoria~"_ Honduras sang joyfully, hugging her sister Nicaragua much to the latter's dismay.

"You can't seriously be considering letting him stay." China said disdainfully.

"I said we'll leave it to a vote when we're all gathered together again, and if he stays, we'll keep an eye on him. That's what I decided." Germany stated firmly, not wanting to hear more objections. "Now then, on to the next topic… Seychelles?"

Said girl jumped at having her named called out, and her head shot up, blinking. "O-Oui?"

"I know this will be an unpleasant question, but where did you discover Bahamas's and Saint Lucia's corpses?" Germany asked gently at the island girl, who noticeably paled at the question. "It wouldn't be right leaving their corpses there like that."

"O-Oh… well…" Seychelles began rather nervously, wringing her hands, and Egypt contemplating comforting the poor girl, if she'd accept him. "I was on my way to the girl's restroom but when I came in, I saw them…"

She gulped, her face turning a little green. Egypt felt obligated to intervene for her sake, but thankfully Germany did it for him.

"T-That's all we needed to know, danke, Seychelles." Germany said quickly.

"I can't believe they're really gone…" Belize sniffed, trying very hard to look like she was grieving, and she crossed her arms while Honduras tried to comfort her. "A couple of days when I said that I'd help them out too… Haiti, that jerk! How could he… Ugh!"

'Haiti would've gone after them sooner or later' Egypt wanted to say, but he quickly realized that that would sound way very insensitive right now and would warrant him a strong punch courtesy of Belize.

Then someone unexpectedly piped up. "…Dead..? They're… dead…?"

It was at this exact moment that everyone save Romania suddenly remembered that they had a child in their presence. Moldova looked around with a painfully confused look on his face, as if he had no idea that… Wait, did Romania even explain the permanent death part to him?

"Um, it's… kinda complicated, kiddo." Romania forced a convincing enough laugh and he gave a fanged grin at his little brother. "Don't ya worry, your big bro here will explain it later when things… you know, quiet down a bit."

Moldova didn't look very convinced, but he nodded. "Oh… ok…"

"We'll give them a proper burial later." Germany promised her, and he turned to Ukraine. Egypt admittedly a little peeved about how quickly he's brushing this off, but he supposed that Germany's suffering under enough pressure with everyone's problems. "U-Ukraine, I'm sorry that I didn't greet you correctly…"

"I-It's fine, Germany. I understand." Ukraine assured him kindly, and she smiled awkwardly at everyone. "Um, _dobryj den_ , everyone. I know I'm late, but I've already been told what's going on and I will try my best to be of use."

Her gentleness helped ease the tension if only a little, and a good number of nations smiled back at her. Romania grinned and the two shook hands, and little Moldova smiled toothily and waved Ukraine hello, nearly falling off of Romania's back in the process. Even Hungary, with her currently bad relations with Ukraine, managed to wave in greeting.

But Egypt felt no such comfort; he inwardly cringed at the fact that any moment now, someone's going to ask...

"B-But w-where's Miss Belarus?" Italy stammered, looking around frantically as if she might be hiding behind a bush or something, and he hugged an exasperated Germany's waist. "Please tell me t-that's she not hiding somewhere!"

Would it be considered childish and immature if his dislike for Italy increased two-fold after that question?

Egypt sighed. No, it's no use getting at angry him for this. It was inevitable.

He just hoped that no one will get murdered.

/ / / / /

It was a necessary sacrifice, and Georgia was willing to do just about anything to prove herself, but that didn't mean she was happy about it.

The twin braided nation stared with a haunted look at her hands, one of which was holding a handgun, and she half-expected her hands to start trembling. However, no such thing happened. She supposed this meant she fully understood that this something she had to do. But did this also mean that deep down she didn't feel any guilt at all? No, she didn't regret doing it.

Her boss's corpse was slumped over her desk, a small pool of blood forming under the old woman's head. It was a little tamer compared to deaths to the rest of the faculty here, whom America and North Korea took care of. Gosh, _especially_ North Korea, that guy was sadistic.

Apparently, it had been decided that there'd this kind of a tradition for new members recruited in the war where they'd kill their government's most important officials (bosses, prime ministers, vice-presidents, etc.) as proof that they're willing to be follow orders and since from now on, nations will be ruling their countries, not the humans.

Georgia's not gonna lie, when she heard that last part, she actually became a lot more willing to do the deed. After putting up with her previous boss, and the cruel leaders appointed during the years of the Soviet Union, she'd _love_ to be the one in charge.

True, there's still the part where she'll feel a brief but horrible moment of pain the moment her boss and government staff were killed, but America already had a plan. He and the others knew how to cut off the connection with their governments.

First, you'd have to discard any and all feelings you have for them, even hate.

Then, if you're strong-willed enough, focus on finding the connection you have to your government.

And when you feel the connection, focus all your willpower and desire into picturing the connection getting snapped. Will yourself into destroying it… until you feel the connection getting cut and now the government had no power over you.

It's… kind of hard to describe. And it was a lot harder than it sounded, but sheer grit and determination to prove herself and have her revenge on Russia proved were great motivators and made things quicker.

So when Georgia killed her boss, she felt no pain, no feeling that a part of her body got severed or anything.

"You did it." Georgia's eyes widened and she whirled around to find America smiling at her, North Korea calmly standing by his side. "You killed her, I knew you would."

Georgia smiled tiredly back and nodded, briefly glancing at her boss's corpse. "Yeah, I did. Did you and North Korea…?"

"We slaughtered all the staff here; we made sure no one escaped. We killed the vice-president too, so we're all wrapped up here." America informed her and his expression softened, looking almost said. "How are you, buddy? Are you okay? I'm sorry I had to put you through but it's-"

"Alfred, I'm fine, really. It's not like I was close to any of them," Georgia quickly reassured him, not wanting him to worry. "But I appreciate the concern. So, what's next on the agenda?"

"If you say so, dude…" America looked at her uncertainly, and Georgia smiled. Oh, he's too sweet. Even as the real him, he's sweet. "But to answer your question, you'll be happy to know that now's the time when we're going to storm into Abkhazia and South Ossetia and help you get it back like we promised."

Georgia felt herself perk up at the announcement and she smiled brightly. Great! Oh, she almost couldn't believe that this was finally happening. She couldn't believe her own _luck!_ She's going to get one of the few things she wanted the most that she thought impossible for years! She'll finally show those two arrogant bastards that they don't _deserve_ independence.

"At least with the others things won't take so long. Hopefully we can finish this quickly enough to start the invasion" North Korea sneered, and he gave America a pleading look. "I want blood, my love."

America shot his lover (Gah, Georgia still couldn't believe it) an exasperated look. "Jeez, you're so impatient, you know that?"

Speaking of the others… they're not here yet. Georgia just realized that, and she decided to remind America.

"But wait, what about the allies you told me about?" Georgia asked curiously, and she looked around just in case. This group looked like they were full of surprises. "They're not here… I thought you were going to get some of the other members to help us."

"I did, and don't worry, they'll come. I just need to bring em' over." America reassured her with a grin as he took out his phone from his pockets, and he began to walk out. "Now come on, it's probably better if we meet them outside. I'll send the word out."

"Outside? Hey, Alfred, wait up!"

Georgia hastily followed America and a way too cheerful North Korea hopping over corpses while she tried not to trip or get left behind. Oh, what's with America and keeping secrets from her? She knew that she'll find out eventually but still, this wasn't fun! She didn't like being kept out of the loop.

When she and the other two finally got outside the building, she again demanded answers.

"Alright, we're outside, so what's supposed to happen right now?" Georgia asked a little tiredly.

"Now is when our allies are going to use the shortcuts to appear right here outside the government building as we agreed." America answered with a small smirk, and he glanced at his phone. "Okay, my gut tells me that the first guy to arrive will appear right about… NOW!"

Almost as if on cue, smoke exploded in Georgia's face.

 **Yeah, sorry for the less-than-decent chapter. I wanted to update weekly again and some of the stuff couldn't fit in this chapter, but the next one will be better, really! Please review if you have a minute.**


	64. Justice: The Next Plan

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, Redbayly and NadiaJA627 for reviewing. Now, on with the show!**

Malawi wasn't sure what he was getting himself into.

No, not about the whole getting involved in the Order thing and helping out South Africa and the others. He wasn't a coward. He couldn't leave South Africa, not again. Malawi meant about the whole thing with Senegal, whom he still didn't have a clue was thinking… or what the hell's causing him to act so crazy and out-of-character for that matter.

Malawi loved South Africa, he really did, but he really wished he gave him more information and context. It might help him know how to handle Senegal, because good God, he's really unstable. Ever since the little cannibalism incident, Senegal had remained in what Malawi decided to call his alternate personality. There were a couple of times when Senegal collapsed and seemed to relapse back into his old self, only for the alternate personality to win out in the end.

"Non, non, no, not now, not again…" Senegal muttered as he rocked himself back and forth, eyes wild and unfocused. "I won't be put to sleep again. Need to find Mali… but I can't do it now… I'm still needed…"

Malawi had no idea what any of that meant, and any time he tried to ask, he never received an answer.

Some people might wondered why he's not scared or nervous around Senegal after that incident that would've made Malawi want to throw up if he hadn't experienced his fair share of gruesome bloodshed. Well, he was a little nervous, mostly because he had no idea when Senegal's going to have another fit or carve stuff into his skin (and smile about it) or go back to his normal self…

But South Africa gave him his word that Senegal wouldn't hurt him, especially after learning of Malawi's wise and generous choice to help out. And Malawi decided that he's going to trust him. Because seriously, if South Africa wanted him gone or tortured, wouldn't he have done it himself back there?

Anyway, Malawi decided that fine, he won't press for information on the split personality or whatever thing, but he's definitely going to find out what the hell Senegal's planning and why he decided to drag him into it. Should he be scared? Nervous?

Yeah, he should probably feel a at least a little bit nervous, especially now as Malawi silently watched as Senegal eagerly packed weapons and bullet packs into his backpack for… some reason that Senegal had neglected to tell Malawi. What was Senegal planning? Please don't let it be a terrorist attack. _Please_ don't let it be a terrorist attack.

"So… if you don't mind me asking…" Malawi began uncertainly, twiddling his thumbs. "What exactly are _we_ going to do?

"We're going on a mission." Senegal responded simply, as if it was obvious.

"Um… okay…?" Malawi replied uncertainly while Senegal kept packing more supplies into his backpack. "Do you mind… I don't know, telling me what's this mission about? And… why I'm also going to participate? This really wasn't in the list of instructions…"

Senegal froze, and for a moment Malawi wondered if he shouldn't have asked, only to see the other nation look back at him with a smile. "Well, they told you to keep an eye on me and keep me on the right track, right?"

Malawi blinked, and he frowned. "Um, yes, actually, that's what Chris said…"

"So to do that you'll accompany me, and even if you feel like it, you also can help me annihilate my government and get rid of those worthless… _tasty_ … humans." Senegal licked his lips and laughed, kind of like how Nigeria did. "You know, _light_ things up. It's the first step to my recovery. It'll help clear my head and think more clearly."

"Oh… that's really great then…." Malawi said awkwardly, not really getting it, and he scratched his ehad. "But why and how would it make whatever's wrong with you help stop the mood swings? What _is_ happening with you, anyway?"

"Take a wild guess."

"I don't think I can. And is there… any other reason why we're going to do this?"

"Orders."

"What orders?"

"From the Order."

"Wait, since when did you get in contact with the Order? We've been in the same room together for hours and I never _once_ saw you call someone."

"Maybe you didn't see it."

Senegal groaned and looked back at him again, this time with a faux-angry expression. "Oh come on, don't tell me there hasn't been at least one time where you wanted to kill those greedy rats. Wouldn't you love to slowly torture _your_ boss to death? Choke him with his own blood? Set his lower regions on fire? _Anything_?"

Malawi cringed at that last example. Oh, that'd be painful. "That all sounds like something Chris and the others would do."

"…"

"But to answer your question, fine, I don't like my government and I wouldn't feel anything if those humans died, to be honest…" As cold and callous as this sounded, the officials were nothing but a bunch of corrupt bastards. The world would be better off without them. "But I don't think I'd torture them… I'm not like that."

"Hmm, I see. But you're still coming along, right?" Senegal asked eagerly like an excited child. "Orders aside, I'd really appreciate having someone around to keep me in check and stop me from doing anything… harmful to myself."

"Yeah, don't worry, I'll come along." Malawi assured him, nowhere near as excited as the other was.

"Yes! And come on; wipe that frown off your face. This can be a fun experience for you too!"

"I told you, I'm not like that!"

/ / / / /

Egypt watched in discomfort as Ukraine's expression became pained at Italy's question regarding her now late sister, and he noticed how Russia turned paler than usual then looked away from his older sister, obviously and understandably still hurt from… Ukraine's harsh reprimanding. He only wished that they wouldn't get a repeat of it here, once was enough.

But he briefly wondered how the others would react if they found out about Ukraine practically verbally pummeling Russia. Romania and maybe even Moldova would likely be pleased, and Hungary would grudgingly respect Ukraine for her actions. Italy would run for his life. Algeria and perhaps China would be enraged on Russia's behalf, but Egypt doubted that they could handle Ukraine's terrifying anger.

…Much less a caring older sister's grief.

Despite their stark differences in personality and feelings toward Russia, it was clear that Ukraine truly did care for Belarus and possibly vice-versa, and the pain from her little sister's demise was devastating. Ukraine will likely not tolerate more nonsense any longer.

The grieving woman trembled…

"My sister is dead." Ukraine announced somberly, sniffing.

As expected, once again, the news sent shockwaves through the group. Such reactions were understandable; Belarus was widely regarded as someone terrifying and not to be trifled or messed with. So to hear that she got struck down…

"Belarus is dead? A-Are you sure, Ukraine?" Germany asked her in shock, having trouble believing it himself. "I don't mean to imply that you're lying, but... she's dead? If so, then who was the one who killed her?"

"It's true. We found her corpse in one of the rooms, heart ripped out, and she looked like she had been that way for a while, perhaps for a couple of days." Egypt grimly confirmed, might as well explain it since they wouldn't have to. "Her death, judging from the many, was a gruesome one. We suspect that Lithuania may have killed her, as Russia gave him the address before he knew the truth, and given his… _history_ with her. As well as the fact that Estonia and Latvia were missing…"

With that new information, it seemed to have eliminated any doubts about Belarus's deaths. The area fell deathly silent, everyone possibly either silently grieving or in a state of shock, while Egypt lamented that they were too late to save her.

"I never thought a woman as unimaginably terrifying as Belarus-san would have already fallen." Japan said quietly, and he bowed his head in Ukraine's direction. "Ukraine-san, please accept my condolences for her cruel passing."

Ukraine managed to smile gratefully. "T-Thank you, Japan."

"Yeah, I really thought she'd still be around and help us kick ass and stuff. She would've been awesome at it…" Belize muttered sorrowfully, and she abruptly stomped her foot angrily. "Oh, I can't believe another one already kicked the bucket. This is so unfair!"

"At least Feliks isn't here to hear about this, he'd be devastated despite their recent disagreements…" Hungary smiled sadly, though tightly. "Belarus wouldn't have been happy with his death either. I hope they're together now, wherever they are…"

"Poor Miss Belarus…" Seychelles sniffed.

"First Poland and now it turns out he had already taken out the witch beforehand." Romania remarked in a mildly surprised manner, and he whistled. "Wow, Lithuania's on a roll. So, Russki, you finally ready to admit this _wouldn't_ have happened if you weren't such a jerkass?"

Said nation glared at Romania, but no dark aura or chilling smile made an appearance. Egypt felt compelled to palm his own forehead.

Germany coughed, fortunately trying to diffuse the situation before it could _become_ a situation. "Erm, Romania, it's not _actually_ confirmed that Lithuania was the one who murdered Belarus. He could have just as likely given the address to someone else and that person could have gone to Russia's house and killed her.

"Oh, come on, you're joking, right? Of course Toris was the one who killed her!" Romania scoffed, and he grinned nastily. "I mean, let's face it. Who else has a good motive and reason to go after Belarus other than just hurting Russia? Who has Belarus hurt and caused great emotional and physical pain for years? America? Finland? No, _Lithuania_. Egypt said it himself. So, I think this should've helped the big idiot learn a valuable lesson, don't you think?"

"Must you be so insensitive?" Algeria snapped angrily.

"Hey, don't try to pretend that Russia hasn't been a complete ass Algeria!" Romania snapped back, before calming down a bit. "I just want to make sure we don't have _another_ case of serious denial here that'll cause us trouble in the future. So, tell us 'O great and wise Mother Russia, what _lesson_ have you gleaned from this tragedy?"

"Couldn't you at least try to have phrased that less mockingly?" Egypt muttered exasperatedly under his breath.

"Let me guess, 'Lietuva's going to get the pipe for this unjustifiable" "Or my personal favorite, 'they're such meanies, I just wanted friends'…

"Don't worry, Romania. I already made it clear to Vanya that I won't tolerate any of his _nonsense_ anymore." Ukraine assured him with a bitter look towards Russia, who shrunk at her piercing gaze. "From now on, I will personally make sure that my brother learns from his mistakes and _never_ hurts anyone **_ever_** again. I won't let anyone else _die_ because of his cruelty and selfishness. I'm done with him, _forever_."

Everyone else had pretty much the same surprised reaction Egypt had when he listened Ukraine speak so angrily and bitterly for the first time since… well, he wasn't even sure if there was a last time. But anyway, everyone quickly became _very_ uncomfortable as a tense silence fell into the area.

He was sure that the others were confused, curious or even afraid as to what happened between Russia and Ukraine back in the house after the discovery of Belarus's gruesome corpse, and many probably wanted to ask for details…

But seeing the angry look on Ukraine's face, it appeared that no one had the courage to ask. As result, everyone quickly became uncomfortable.

"Wow, you can actually _feel_ the awkwardness…" Belize remarked dryly, hands grasping air to illustrate her point.

Not helpful, Belize.

Apparently wanting to get rid of the extremely awkward tension as much as the rest of them, Germany cleared his throat and decided to speak with another nation. "China, what happened with you? What did you find out?"

Thankfully, no one objected, including Russia and Ukraine themselves, and China was more than eager to speak of his plight.

"Oh! I have just gotten off the phone with Vietnam and a few humans from my government and I found out about something terrible, aru!" China said urgently, and he swallowed before revealing this information. "Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Tibet… they're all missing!"

If Egypt weren't such a mute as people liked to think he is, he would've reacted more vocally to that revelation, because that left him feeling horrified.

"They're missing?! You mean…"

"It's the only logical conclusion, aru!" China exclaimed. "I already told Vietnam about the emergency meeting, and she thankfully agreed, for once, to help round out the remaining East Asians and also get Taiwan to come along while she's at it because that brat sure as hell won't listen to me."

"Can't say I blame her…" Belize grumbled.

" _Speaking_ of missing persons…" Algeria decided to interject at a rather inappropriate moment, stepping forward. "China wasn't the only attempting to get in contact with other nations. Tunisia and I tried to call Western Sahara, _since it doesn't look like we'll be going to visit her to see if she's alright anytime soon…"_

Algeria didn't even try to hide her resentment toward Germany, who noticeably tried not to wince.

It was no secret that Algeria had felt very concerned for her sister's safety ever since the day when they escaped, especially considering the fact that Western Sahara suspiciously never showed up to the meeting. She and Tunisia even had a heated argument about it that they've thankfully since reconciled.

Egypt did understand her concerns and frustration with Germany. She had to day after day without finding out anything about her sister. Now, Egypt may had never established with Western Sahara or even recognized her as the SADR, an action he now regretted seeing as he had literally picked a sadistic cannibal over someone who wanted independence for understandable reasons, but it didn't mean that he couldn't be worried for her safety.

"W-We did manage to get in contact with her, thank Allah, and we spoke for a small while." Tunisia quickly continued in his sister's stead before the atmosphere could get any more awkward. "She sounded very relieved to hear we were alright. However, when we reached the topic of why wasn't at the African Union meeting, she… revealed something."

"What did she say?" Egypt asked, concerned.

Tunisia suddenly tensed "Well… she…"

"When we started to explain about the whole mess, she said that she _knew_." Algeria said bluntly, crossing her arms. "And that's the last thing she said before… it sounded like someone attacked her, and after a bit of commotion, the call was cut off."

Egypt's eyes widened. Attacked? Could it be Morocco?

"What could this mean…?" Germany asked grimly.

This question immediately set Algeria off. "What does this mean?! You cannot be serious! I'll tell you what this means! It means that Safiyya is in danger and for all we know, she could be a bloody corpse like Belarus by now all because we decided that she wasn't worth our time! We abandoned her!"

"We didn't abandon her, Algeria." Germany said tiredly, once again looking like he's on the verge of getting a migraine. "There many things that needed to be done and we know next to nothing about Western Sahara's situation, so calling her first before anything else was the right thing to do."

Unfortunately, this did little calm Algeria. "Maybe, and as much as happy hearing Safiyya's voice again, all that call did was confirm that she was in danger! If we had just gone over there and rescued her, then she wouldn't have been attacked in the first place!"

"Well, who knows, Algeria?" Romania shrugged as he picked his teeth. "Maybe the reason she was attacked in the first place was because you called her and she got attacked before she could reveal anything super important."

Tunisia gulped and fidgeted his fingers as he glanced at his sister. "You know, I think he has a point there…"

"That's not the point, Romania!" Algeria snapped, and Tunisia flinched. "What I'm trying to say that you're not getting is that we should've rescued her! If we did that, then Western Sahara wouldn't be in any kind of danger, we'd be able to fully focus on gathering all the other nations!"

Romania huffed, and he stuck out his tongue. "Gee, I'm sure getting a lot flak today…"

"O-Oh, and um, I want t-to say that there's also still Lovino who I'm still very worried about…" Italy quietly reminded everyone nervously, still hiding behind Germany for some bizarre reason. "V-Ve, just wanted to make sure no one has forgotten about him…"

"We haven't forgotten about him, Italy." Germany reassured him.

"Of course you haven't forgotten about _him_." Algeria hissed bitterly, pointing at him accusingly. "He's a European, which means he's worth _infinitely_ more than us Africans. No, forget making up for the fact that most of you supported my depraved sodomite of a brother over her or just flat-out ignored her, we should all just stand here and wait for the next death or ambush to happen!"

Egypt resisted letting out a sigh. Oh dear, now she's getting angry.

"K-Khalida, please, calm down." Tunisia pleaded as he placed a hand on her shoulder, not doubt seeing where this was going. "I'm sure Germany's trying his best, and he's already under a lot of pressure. And I don't think doing this is going to solve anything—"

"While we were all out searching for our friends and family, you were just standing there and doing _nothing!_ " Algeria kept shouting. "Admit it, you were just walking around, yelling at Italy and getting headache after headache when _we're_ the ones-

It was honestly terrifying how quickly things could fall apart in a matter of a couple of minutes. As he swore he heard something snap, Egypt's eyes went wide when in the blink of an eye, the look on Germany's face became enraged and he grabbed Algeria by her headscarf… it looked like he was choking her!

Obviously, this horrified him. "Algeria!"

"Oh no! Ludwig's mad!" Italy squeaked, running and jumping into the arms of the nearest nation, which happened to be a puzzled Honduras. "Please don't be mad, Ludwig! It's scary!"

Tunisia turned pale as a ghost and wasted no time in trying to get the German to stop hurting his sister. "Germany, let her go! Algeria didn't really mean any of that! She's just worried for Western Sahara. She doesn't want anyone to get hurt!"

"Oh god… Mayday, mayday! Germany's snapped!" Belize panicked as she dashed back and forth. "I always knew this would happen someday!"

"G-Germany-san, please calm down! This is not the time for violence!" Japan urged shakily.

"Shut up!" Germany barked, shutting down most of the protests, before glaring murderously at the struggling Algeria. "How dare you accuse of doing _nothing!_ I've spent the entire day making sure we didn't waste any time bickering and cause the whole group to fall apart! I didn't ask to be leader, but it's a responsibility I'm willing to take for the sake of the world! And do you seriously think you're the only one with a loved in danger?! Before you all arrived, I've dealing with the fact that Liechtenstein is probably dead!"

That last part caused all the commotion to screech to a grinding halt, even Tunisia stopped trying to wrench his sister away from Germany's hold and the two siblings stared at him in shock. Well, Egypt certainly wasn't expecting this revelation.

Last he heard about the small nation was from… Seychelles, if he remembered right. She mentioned something about Hungary having Liechtenstein help them in finding out whether or not Mauritius was really being held in Switzerland. And Egypt did remember seeing Hungary speaking with someone on the phone a couple of times…

Germany kept seething in rage, breathing heavily as he kept his grip on Algeria. But then it finally dawned on him what he was doing, and his expression softened before he released Algeria, allowing her to gasp for breath as Tunisia caught her.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Algeria…" Germany apologized shakily as he bowed his head in shame. "I shouldn't have done that."

For a few moments no one dared speak, until Ukraine volunteered to voice the question on everyone's minds. "Excuse me, but… what do you mean Liechtenstein is probably dead?"

Hungary, who has remained silent for a while, cleared her throat and gazed nervously at the group. There was guilt in her eyes. "Erm… W-We're not actually sure what happened with her, but a-anyway, please let me explain…"

"Ja, please do." Germany growled with surprising anger. "Tell them about how she's in danger because of _you_."

All eyes turned to Hungary, who was less than pleased at the attention.

"It's your fault?" Romania gawked, and he narrowed his eyes at his rival. "Hag, what the hell did you do?"

"I didn't mean for her to end up in trouble!" Hungary snapped, and she groaned. "Just let me explain. Not long ago, I received a call from Liechtenstein telling me that she was worried about Switzerland, since he was acting off, and that she sometimes she could've sworn that she heard screaming coming from the basement."

"That could be Kelvin." Seychelles said quietly, sniffing.

"I started to suspect that too, and I wanted to know what that jerk was hiding." Hungary continued, and her face scrunched up in distaste. "So… I encouraged Lili to find the key to basement and sneak in to see what's going on… _without_ telling her about the New World Order."

Egypt could only stare at her in disbelief. Well, when she put it that way, it _did_ sound like a terrible plan!

"You convinced the kid to sneak down to what sounded like a torture chamber when she wasn't even aware of the super bad consequences?!" Romania squawked, "Are you freakin' kidding me, hag?!"

Hungary glared at him, looking like she didn't need any more criticism. "Yes, I know! But let me finish… because it gets even worse."

A number of nations groaned, Egypt included.

"After I found out about Hungary's plan, I decided to get involved to make sure Liechtenstein will be safe." Germany continued gruffly, gritting his teeth. "However, when she finally went down to the basement, we found something… unexpected."

Seychelles yelped, turning pale at that last part. "Unexpected? W-What do you mean unexpected? Did you three find Kelvin?"

Germany swallowed, turning his gaze away from Seychelles. His face became green, he looked like he was about to throw up. "Uh, Ja… But what we saw… was what _appeared_ to be Morocco sexually assaulting Mauritius."

Yet another period of dead silence followed, if you exclude the sounds of the battle between the two deities. Egypt's mind went blank with that news, and quickly enough he felt his stomach turn. What? Just… H-How… _What?!_

And then everyone exploded.

"W-WHAT?!"

"MOROCCO DID WHAT?!"

That was Seychelles and Algeria respectively, both looking the same amount of horrified and disgusted at the news.

"W-W-What do you mean… How… What do you mean Morocco assaulted Kelvin?!" Seychelles exclaimed in utter horror, and she began pulling her hair. "Mon Dieu, was he being violated the whole time we were busy in Central America and Europe?!"

Never before even when Seychelles cried for her friend's capture had Egypt felt so guilty for accidentally leaving Mauritius behind. Egypt had been told by Algeria of how Morocco molested Tunisia, his own brother, and it made things even worse. Not only did Egypt leave him to be captured and brainwashed, but he left him to be used as a toy by a psychotic pervert.

"I can't believe it. No, I should've known he would do something as repulsive as this. Allah, what the hell have we abandoned Mauritius to?" Algeria ranted in mix of horror and anger as she paced back and forth, hands covering her mouth. "Rahim, you bastard! It's one thing that you feigned being a Muslim and practiced sodomy, but now you must assault a defenseless person like Mauritius? Was Tunisia not enough for you?"

Egypt was sure he saw Tunisia flinch.

But Algeria was right. What the hell did they abandon Mauritius to? What did _Egypt_ abandon him to?

"B-But… are you sure, Germany?" It was Tunisia who asked that question. Egypt noted that he looked even paler than before, and his hands were trembling. He looked _pained_. "Maybe brother was just trying to eat him? Or did Rahim really…?"

Germany nodded gravely. "Ja, we're sure he did. And from the looks of it, it also appeared that Mauritius was drugged so he wouldn't fight back."

Seychelles sobbed, and she started breaking into tears. Egypt tried to comfort her.

"After we saw… that… Liechtenstein was understandably startled, but she kept spying regardless of our warnings." Hungary resumed telling the story as she frowned, the guilt becoming more evident. "Then we saw that Cameroon was there too, and then eventually he and Morocco started talking about something we couldn't make out. But then Cameroon saw Lili…"

"Lili ran back up the stairs. She was confused, frightened, and we had just convinced her to leave when Cameroon and Morocco caught her." Germany continued for her. "Cameroon destroyed the phone shortly after, but not before warning that one day he'll kill me."

Romania hissed aggressively, baring his fangs. "Then what the hell are you two waiting for?! We gotta go save those two! I've been to Switzy's house before; I can take you all there!"

"M-Mr. Romania's right!" Seychelles nodded furiously, louder and more confident than her usual voice. "We know where Kelvin is now, so now we have to go rescue him! They're torturing him! And what if they decide to move him to another place?!"

"Seychelles is right!" Egypt decided to finally voice his thoughts. "

"I agree! This is our chance to save them before it's too late! And my brother is there too! He needs to answer for his crimes!" Algeria agreed fully, but then her eyes widened in realization and she snapped her head towards Germany. "But, wait! What about Western Sahara?! You _still_ haven't told me how we're going to rescue her, Germany!"

"And what about Lovino?!" Italy cried out. "He's walking straight into danger!"

"ALRIGHT!" Germany boomed, though not as frightening as other times. "We'll just do what we did before: split up! And here's how we'll do it…"

/ / / / /

Switzerland almost gagged at the sight of the state Morocco left Mauritius.

In his own opinion, Morocco made a rather large understatement when he claimed that he was 'gentle' with Mauritius. Nothing of what Switzerland was seeing screamed 'gentle' to him, and he didn't even know how much Morocco _truly_ violated him. However, one _could_ make the argument that he was, in fact, being 'gentle' compared to when the African wasn't holding himself back…

He suppressed a shudder at the thought and resolved himself not to think about such scenarios as he picked up Mauritius's shirt. He wasn't in the mood for this. Also, he decided that he wasn't going to let them near Mauritius anymore. Now, if only he could find a way to make them listen…

Switzerland sighed. Why did those Africans have to make everything so difficult?

Anyway, Morocco was right when he said that he'd find bruises on Mauritius's body, and it was what made Switzerland want to hurl. He was no stranger to vulgar acts or debauchery, despite never partaking in such things himself (because unlike _them_ he had _some_ semblance of a moral code), but these activities always disgusted him to no end. Unless… _no_ , now's not the time to think about that.

After grinding his teeth and reluctantly checking the island to make sure he wasn't seriously hurt, he found the mark-like bruises on his beck, shoulders and arms, but fortunately he found no evidence of cannibalism. Again, Morocco was telling the truth after all. To make things better, Switzerland didn't find any… _liquids_ … on Mauritius.

He did gag this time.

Once he was done assessing the damage and putting Mauritius's shirt back on as quickly as possible (that look on Morocco's face could only mean trouble), he decided to move on to the next step: Informing Austria of… the Liechtenstein issue.

At first he hesitated, out of fear of hearing Austria's disappointment, but Switzerland swiftly crushed that hesitation. No, no more hesitation. He was a loyal soldier, and a friend. To hide this incident of him would be treason.

So, he quickly picked up his phone and called his old friend. As expected, Austria picked up quickly.

 _"Oh, Vash? Is that you?"_ His heart stopped for a moment the moment he heard Austria's calm voice. _"How have you been? You have been remembering to rest, haven't you?"_

Switzerland gulped, and he felt his heart hammering against his chest. Come on, calm down…

"…Hello, Rod." He said finally. "Something… happened."

/ / / / /

CAR had no words to describe how happy he was.

Laughing in delight without a care in the world, he gorged down more meat… _red_ , _raw_ , _tasty_ , _delicious_ meat... down his throat and into the gaping black hole that was his starving stomach, savoring its taste eagerly. It tasted so _good_ … just like before!

He barely knew what he was doing, he wasn't even sure how he was doing it, but he didn't care. He was just happy that he'll finally get to fill his stomach!

After he feasted enough, he threw what's left to the ground and blindly pounced on the nearest one before doing the same to what he did to all the others… He ripped out a body part, an arm CAR guessed. He's too drunk and giddy to fully know what's going around him and what he was doing. He bit on the limb, and ripped out the stomach for good measure that the human was down on the ground crying while bloody sprayed out, to CAR's awe.

He's lost count, not that he was really counting since he was too busy getting rid of hunger after all~, of how many humans he had feasted upon and killed so far. Oh, but he was sure that it was a lot! Why else would the air smell so much like blood and death?

There were screams all around him, so many bodies. But… they were trying to get away. They wanted to stop him from getting rid of this painful, awful hunger that's been torturing him for years! They wanted to keep him the way he was! But CAR couldn't let this happen. He couldn't. He couldn't. He couldn't. HE COULDN'T.

No. No. No. No. No. NO. NO. **_NO_**. **_NO. NO. NO. NO._** ** _NONONONONONONONONO!_** He **_won't_** let them get away! They were his meat! DRC trusted him with this! He gave them to him! He deserved this, DRC said so! No one will leave alive! NEVER!

 ** _HE'LL DEVOUR THEM ALL!_**

/ / / / /

Thailand was sure that he had never seen Vietnam so agitated in quite a while.

He and South Korea could only stand and uncomfortably watch as Vietnam had a rather heated conversation with China over the phone, with the occasional Vietnamese curse from his neighbor and a bit of screeching and many 'aru's' from their old teacher, not too different from their usual arguments, only this time no one's getting hit with a paddle.

Thailand's only clues to what they were talking about involved hearing them mention Laos, Indonesia, Tibet, and other nations that he recently discovered to have mysteriously vanished and there was also something about a meeting if he understood correctly. His brow furrowed in worry. Oh dear, what could this mean? Did China discover something about where they could be?

Well, he would've tried to politely ask Vietnam, but it wasn't nice to speak to someone while they were on the phone. But this went on for quite a long amount of time, so much that he lost count. One would be surprised at how long Vietnam could argue with someone, she was always pretty stubborn after all.

While normally he'd try to mediate between the two to prevent them from getting too angry, and more _importantly_ not to disturb South Vietnam's resting place with their loud arguments. Honestly, this was _very_ immoral, not to mention _very_ disrespectful if Thailand could add. Sometimes he felt that he's the only one who actually respected this place…

He shook his head at the thought, and proceeded to smile nervously as he nodded to a puzzled South Korea to help him gently drag Vietnam away before she could risk further angering the spirits of this place. Thailand wasn't sure if his methods of calming restless spirits would work on Vietnamese ones, he shivered.

Thankfully, after about a couple more minutes of arguing before finally calming down and speaking to each other less angrily, Vietnam muttered a quick goodbye and hanged up, sighing as she slumped against the car.

Before anyone could begin to ask her questions, Vietnam scowled and said, "We need to go to my house, _now_."

No one dared object.

"What happened?" Thailand had finally asked when they took off.

Vietnam stopped scowling for a moment, and she flinched a little before gazing at him worriedly. "Oh, uh, right. Sorry that you had to see that. It's just that I found out that China had no idea what's been happening with our neighbors and I got a little… _upset_ with him because of that."

A blush spread across her cheeks and she shifted uncomfortably, obviously ashamed that she'd lose her composure or act so irrationally in her point of view, and Thailand couldn't resist giving her an amused smile.

"Ah, that explains it." Thailand nodded in understanding, now it made more sense. "You thought he was being irresponsible and indifferent again, didn't you?"

Vietnam nodded furiously, and an adorably grumpy look appeared on her face. "More like more irresponsible and indifferent than usual… Tch, honestly, does he care about _anyone_ at all when it's about power or money?"

"I'm sure he's been very busy." Thailand reasoned, though he couldn't help but agree with that sentiment. "But at least he's interested in what's going on over here now. Better late than never, don't you agree?"

"I suppose so…"

"But China sure was pretty late, da ze!" South Korea chirped as he played on his phone. "I should know, because tardiness and old man crankiness originated-"

"Please… don't… start…" Vietnam gritted her teeth, and South Korea deflated like a balloon. She took a deep, calming breath before continuing. "Anyway, as for the other thing China and I were discussing about, he told me that he believed that he might know who is responsible for the disappearance of Laos and the others."

Thailand's eyes widened. So China did know something after all! "What? He does?"

"Apparently so, and he wishes to tell us about it in person here in my country." Vietnam affirmed, nodding, before adding, "But before he does that, he requested that we gather up all the remaining Southeast Asians plus Taiwan in _my_ house to make sure no one else up and vanishes and because, in a statement with which I agree very much, this concerns them too."

"So basically we're going to arrange an ASEAN meeting, only with half the members absent." Thailand summarized, and he smiled a little. It has been a while. "I'm surprised he suggested that we do in your house."

"He claimed that he was thinking of having the meeting someplace else, but he decided that my house would be a more convenient location."

"Ah, true, true…" A good point considering they all live very near to each other, Thailand thought in agreement. "So, should we start making some calls?"

"Yes, as soon as possible," Vietnam nodded, and she frowned. "Before someone could have the chance to make them disappear. It shouldn't take _too_ much to convince them to come."

While it might not be the best time, Thailand smiled and decided to joke a little to light up the mood. "Right, and if anyone gets stubborn, you always have your paddle to threaten them with. That ought to have them running for their lives."

Vietnam once again blushed, as if she happened to be thinking the exact same thing."I-If it's necessary…

"Yay, I'm going to be in an ASEAN meeting, which happened to also originate from South Korea!" The young Korean cheered, and Vietnam groaned again while Thailand chuckled. It's nice to see one of them remaining so cheerful and optimistic. "I always wanted to be in an ASEAN meeting, da ze! How come I was never invited?"

"Because you're _East Asian_ , Yong Soo, not Southeast Asian." Vietnam reminded him sternly, and she narrowed her eyes. "And if you weren't already so involved right now or at risk of also being attacked, I'd call your boss and tell him that you'd been ditching your work again."

South Korea paled in horror, and in the blink of an eye, he had his arms around Vietnam. "No, no, please don't tell him, Lien, da ze! He'll ban me from playing videogames or listening to BTS if he finds out! Don't you know that tattling didn't originate in South Korea?!"

Vietnam yelped and tried to get South Korea's arms off her while trying not to swerve off the road. "H-Hey! Yong Soo, stop! Can't you see I'm the one driving?! I didn't mean that I'd tell your boss, you idiot!"

Oh dear, there they go again…

South Korea stopped wailing and peered over from Vietnam's shoulder hopefully. "You mean it?"

"Yes, I promise." Vietnam sighed, and she glared back at him. "Now, please let me go."

"Yay, okay~" South Korea happily did as he was told and leaned back in his seat.

"Thank you," Vietnam sighed in relief just as she stopped the car to look at the both of them. "Now, as for who will call who, Thailand, I think it'd be best if you let me speak to Cambodia while you and Yong Soo-"

The conversation came to an abrupt and alarming stop when suddenly something crashed on the window next to Vietnam. W-What the… The sound caught everyone by surprise, and Thailand could feel his heart almost jump out his chest. What was that? Th-They weren't moving, so… He heard the same sound again, Thailand was sure he heard the glass break and then he heard yelling. Inhaling sharply, he turned to look outside, and what he saw stunned him.

"W-What on earth?!" Vietnam exclaimed, phrasing Thailand's thoughts exactly.

Humans. They were being attacked by humans, inhabitants of the rural areas and nearby villages by the looks of it. They were screaming at the top of their lungs in pure anger and rage, yelling profanities among other things in Vietnamese, and the hatred and ire in their eyes was startling. And it was then Thailand realized that the sounds came from the humans throwing rocks at the car.

The combination of all the sound from rocks crashing against the vehicle and the human screaming in feral anger was deafening, and Thailand ought to close his eyes and cover his eyes as Cambodia would in these types of situations until it all ended… But he didn't. He watched, mesmerized, until he was quickly snapped out of it by South Korea's panicked shouts.

"Eep! We're being attacked, Lien! And I know even though attacks by crazy humans didn't originate in South Korea!" The younger nation shrieked in fear and panic, covering his head.

"Lien, what is going on here?" Thailand demanded, and he nervously noted they were sort of surrounded.

Vietnam looked just as lost as they were, and not only that, she was as pale as a ghost. She looked terrified. "I-I don't know! I swear I don't know! My government- we didn't do anything to… W-We need to-"

A rock flew through the window and struck Vietnam right in the head, and the woman shrieked and held the spot where she was hit, which Thailand noted in alarm was bleeding. Good Buddha, they hurt her! He watched her wince in pain while South Korea kept shouting at her in worry, and Thailand decided that now would be a very good time to stop staring like a cowardly bystander and hit the gas for her. She was bleeding!

After a bit of difficulty, though he was quickly motivated after seeing a villager smash a glass bottle against Vietnam's shoulder in a failed attempt to strike her in the head again, Thailand managed to hit the pedal and they sped away from the crowd still screaming at Vietnam.

Once they were in the clear, Thailand sighed in relief and fell back to the back of his seat.

"I-I don't understand, Kasem. What just happened, da ze?" South Korea asked hopelessly, but Thailand could provide no answer. He's just as baffled as he was. The boy yelped. "O-Oh no, Lien! What do we do?"

Thailand flinched, and he slapped his own forehead at his own stupidity. Curses, Vietnam's still hurt!

"Find a clinic, a hospital, anyone who'll help her, of course." Thailand said quickly, sweating anxiously. Vietnam may be immortal like them, but that didn't mean they should disregard her injuries! What if the wounds got infected? "Yong Soo, can you try to tear out a piece of your clothes to make a bandage to stop the bleeding on her shoulder?"

South Korea quickly nodded. "Y-Yes, I'll get right on that, da ze!"

As South Korea started chewing on his own clothes, Thailand took off his sash and hastily began to wrap it around Vietnam's head. It looked like she was still alive, he could hear her breathing, but she'll more than likely get a concussion, unfortunately. While the blood already stained about half her face, Thailand at least managed to stop further bleeding from… His eyes widened.

Oh, right! The wound! It'll get infected if he didn't… Alright, don't panic. Thailand was sure he brought one or two bottles of water with him on his trip to visit his love… It should be right… here! He smiled.

While Thailand kept 'treating' Vietnam to the best of his ability, his mind wandered back to the mob of humans, and he frowned. What on earth was that about? He was sure that he hasn't heard of Vietnam's government doing anything that'd displease the inhabitants to this extent. And why were _they_ attacked?

Moreover, even though all of them were screaming deafeningly at once, Thailand still managed to understand many of the insults and profanities the humans used… and he felt his hands tremble as he replayed them in his mind.

 _Traitor. Murderer. Liar. Coward. Monster. Corrupt hypocrite. Communist whore._

Strange and even nonsensical choices, but…

Those were all names and insults Thailand vividly remembered that South Vietnam would bitterly use during his worst moments to refer to his sister… or those who abandoned him…

It couldn't be just a coincidence… right? After all South Vietnam wasn't the only one who used them… But then why did those humans attack? They somehow knew that Vietnam was the representative of the nation and the one formerly known as North Vietnam… But how did they know?

What did _any_ of this mean?!

/ / / / /

England wouldn't be bloody surprised if it's been five hours since he stared arguing with the member of the staff or whatever on the phone. Apparently the idiot here had forgotten all about following orders or loyalty to their own nation and kept stammering and objecting to his _explosive_ plan.

It was going to be difficult going about this plan without risking the higher-ups finding about this, so England had to resort to other methods. He decided that lying was acceptable especially if he didn't want the prime minister to get involved.

"B-But sir…"

"But nothing! What part of those orders don't you understand? Do you want the prime minister on your case and place your country in danger?!"

"Sir, I'm sorry, but this is insane! The prime minister couldn't have honestly ordered to launch the missiles and bomb those countries, especially the United States!" The human stammered. "Does she want to get us all killed?! The international community will-"

"To hell with the international community! Just execute the order already before it's too late!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that!"

England groaned and palmed his forehead. Oh bloody hell…

Stubborn, paranoid wankers… It'll take much more than that to make him give up!

They'll see… This'll teach them for laughing at him. Now they'll never laugh again!

/ / / / /

Sealand was _so_ _bored_.

He's been stuck here in the fort, his nation, for _days_ now with absolutely nothing to do. Okay, maybe that's not true. He still had his games, good internet, and his hamster to play with whenever he wanted. But he got bored of them. He wanted to go out, try to convince the other nations to recognize him, and visit the other micronations.

But noooooo… It's not safe out there, Jerk England said. People might come after you, Jerk England said. Stop being such an immature brat and understand the danger we're all in, Jerk England said. No, you can't go visit the other micronations or can they visit you, Jerk England said. Bloody heck, what a jerk!

And the worst part was that his people agreed with Jerk England! So he's been stuck here bored to death ever since! Could this get any worse?

But then it did.

Sealand was just practicing jump rope as he promised Wy he would, when all of a sudden he felt this pain in his heart. He yelped and tripped, falling on the steel ground. W-What's happening? It hurt so much… Why did it hurt so much?

He started crying and he screamed for the captain or _anyone_ to come out and help him. But no one came. Sealand felt scared and angry at this. How could they not hear him? There's five people here including him and the fort wasn't that big. Where's everyone?!

But then Sealand heard footsteps and his heart lifted with hope that someone finally heard him… only for Molossia to come out from the door, holding… Sealand shrieked. It was… It was… I-It was… It was the captain's head, and blood was dripping from it!

"Well, hey there, ya little bastard." Molossia greeted with a toothy grin as he approached him, and he raised the captain's head. "Your boss said hi."

"Or at least I'm sure he would've, if he wasn't screaming before Molossia ripped his head off." Another guy said as he came out into the view. Who was he again? He was a kid too.

"Kugelmugel and Ladonia have already killed off your fucking 'people', and now you're the only one left." Molossia smirked, and he threw the captain's head away before crushing it to mush with his foot. "You're all alone… just as you deserve."

Sealand whimpered. The others were gone too?!

"Now this is supposed to be where you piss your little girl pants and try to run for your stupid life…" The bloke teased with a cruel smile before he burst out cackling. " _Oh wait!_ You can't run away! This is a fort in the middle of the sea, there _is_ no escape!"

"Damn right there isn't!" Molossia laughed along, and he grinned at Sealand. "There's no way in hell you'll escape from I have in fucking store for you, _brat_."

/ / / / /

Georgia really wished America warned her about the whole smoke and literally popping up out of nowhere thing. That really wasn't a fun surprise, you know…

But now, looking at everyone gathered here, Georgia decided that she'll forgive America, although she's definitely going to later press him for answers on their so-called secret weapon that'll help them destroy General Winter, since she could tell that America didn't just randomly pick them. But… she was kind of confused at the some of the choices. She should probably trust America's judgment, but still, huh…?

Moreover, right now Georgia's feeling more amazed and surprised than anything at how different everyone was. Sure, she already saw America and North Korea (and their little relationship, hrrgh…), but this was like almost a dozen more people with personalities different from the ones she's seen her whole life. It's… weird… but at the same time, pretty exciting!

But mostly weird… really, REALLY weird… and maybe even a little creepy in some cases, but it's still exciting.

It looked like the only people close to 'normal' or 'sane' other than Georgia herself were America and Ireland, who was the first guy to appear actually. America mentioned him before, it turned out that he's also new to the organization too, and the star-spangled nation thought that this was a perfect chance for Ireland to get some 'experience' and that Georgia would be more comfortable teaming up with someone who was also in the same situation as her.

Aw, America… You know, for someone who's actually really serious and cold, he's really sweet! It felt nice to be reminded again that he did care about her. She'd hug him as thanks, but she didn't want to be nuked by North Korea.

The others… Well… Oh god, where could she start?

The Nordics were here… She found out that Norway actually did know how to smile and lighten up all along but after a while, Georgia decided that the smile looked a little creepy, especially since it never left his face. Iceland was little more snarky and cold. Denmark was the polar opposite of his fake self, being cold and expressionless. Finland was hot-blooded and kind of rude, while Sweden somehow looked and acted scarier than in his façade.

Georgia didn't really have a problem with any of that. It was actually kind of funny seeing them like that. But…

"Why are you all covered in blood?" Georgia couldn't help but ask as she stared at the Nordics, and she pinched her nose at the smell.

"Barbarians." Sweden responded coldly.

"Hypocrites." Finland hissed.

"Mohammedans." Norway smirked cruelly.

"Ungrateful bastards." Denmark growled bitterly.

"I helped Norway kill some Muslims." Iceland said nonchalantly as he fed a cracker to his puffin.

Georgia blinked. "Um… okay?"

"They're really bitter." America whispered to her.

"Yeah, I can see that." Georgia whispered back.

Then there were the Middle Easterners, and Georgia would be lying if she said that wasn't happy to see Iran and even Turkey. She was really taken aback at how Saudi Arabia and Iran were actually good friends, just like they were many centuries ago. Once she got over the shock, she was happy that this was the case.

Oh, and Bulgaria was also there with them, looking a lot more cheerful than usual.

There wasn't much difference in their personalities except for Saudi Arabia, who's a lot more relaxed and happy than how Georgia and the rest of the world knew him. Good for him, it must've been hard faking being a religious nut. Iran's still as sly and calm as always, except there was no trace of his bipolar problem, which made Georgia feel very happy for him. And as for Turkey, well, his real personality left Georgia smiling with amusement.

He's… a funny man. Take away the cranky old man aspect of his personality, turn up his cheerful attitude and mischievousness and then add an undercurrent of malice, sadism and cruelty and you'd have his _real_ personality. It sounded unnerving, but…

"Hey, Bedisa, long time no see!" Turkey had greeted her cheerfully as he walked up to her. "Nice to know you joined the club, as I expected. I knew you wouldn't resist. Someone as fiery and passionate as you would never pass up the chance for justice."

Georgia had stood there, stunned and not sure what to say. "Umm…"

Turkey cocked his head to the side. "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue, girlie?"

"What? No 'hello'? No 'Oh, hi Turkey, how are you? I haven't seen you in weeks? How's the whole overthrowing the world order thing going for ya?'" Turkey asked with faux-hurt as he tried to mimic her accent… horribly… and he smirked. "I'm hurt. And you pride yourself over being nice to guests…"

"Ignore him. He always likes to tease," Saudi Arabia said smiling with amusement. "He means no harm, most of the time anyways…"

Georgia, instead of just standing there speechless like one might expect, had to snort at that, and lips twitched into a smile "Well, it's nice to see you're not _that_ different from the Turkey I knew. Deep down, you're still the same stubborn and silly old man."

"Heh, well, what did you expect, a silent, emotionless, boring guy with _zero_ personality just like Sweden over there?" Turkey jokingly gestured toward said European, who didn't look very happy with the perceived insult. "And who are _you_ calling old? If anyone's old-"

He was cut off when Iran squeezed his shoulder. " _Anyway_ , shouldn't you be introducing your concubine right about now?"

Georgia felt immediately puzzled at that description. "Concubine…?"

"He means me, of course!" Bulgaria responded proudly, to Georgia's utter shock, and his face flushed, flashing an all too wide grin. "Oh, but don't get the wrong idea! My beloved and I's relationship is much more than being purely physical! It's something beautiful that cannot be put into words! You know, despite what Lithuania might tell you."

It took Georgia an embarrassing ten seconds for her to register what Bulgaria just said, and when that waiting period was over, she felt her eyes go completely wide and she opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, but she was too shell-shocked to say anything. As the realization began to sink in, she felt like someone dropped an anvil on her head.

SAY WHAT?!

Georgia glanced at the two of them back and forth. The worst part was that it looked like they were _enjoying_ her reaction. "W-Wait, y-you two are…?"

The two of them nodded, and as Georgia kept trying to process this, Turkey smirked and wrapped an arm Bulgaria. "That's right! We're together!

After _that_ fact fully sunk in, Georgia naturally felt inclined to ask. "W-Why and how did they…?"

"Don't ask." America said quickly, grimacing.

Georgia wanted to protest, but after a bit of thinking and theorizing, she paled and decided that maybe it's for the best. "Yeah, I shouldn't."

"You _really_ shouldn't."

"If you're all done chatting, now that we're all here, can we go on to the plan?" Finland butted in irately. It was weird seeing him angry. "I don't know if you've all forgotten, but we're _all_ on a tight schedule here. The clock's _ticking_."

"Oh, don't be such a sourpuss, Finland." Norway teased with a grin. "Everything will go as planned, you know that."

"I'm not a sourpuss!" Finland snapped.

"Well, I'm not exactly in a hurry for anything to be honest, but Finland's right, lad." Ireland remarked as he waved around his canteen. "How are we gonna do this, and under three-to-five hours too, no less? But knowing you, Alfie, you've got some genius plan up your sleeve, right?"

"Right, let's get right to it." America nodded and his hands dove into his pockets. "Okay, you guys, gather around! Like Finland said, we're on a tight schedule here so I'm not gonna be explaining the plan twice."

As everyone huddled together, America took out a folded piece of what appeared to be paper, then when he unfolded the paper, it was revealed to be a map of Georgia and her neighbors, including Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

"We'll be splitting up into two groups, obviously. One will go after Abkhazia and the other after South Ossetia." America announced as he laid out the map on the ground. The 'territories' of the two rebels were circled in red, and there were several arrows. "Group A's me, Georgia, North, Ireland, Denmark, and Iceland. Group B's the rest of you. Both groups will have a magic caster in case things go south and to meet up here quickly once we've acquired the targets and proceed with the reunification."

Georgia nodded along, it sounded solid so far. But one question popped in her mind "Wait, which group's going to where?"

"Well, that depends, woman. Which one of them do _you_ want to personally give them a taste of what's to come?" North Korea asked her with a sly smile, shrugging. "This is your idea and they're your brats, it's only logical that _you_ pick."

Oh, he had a point there… Okay, who should she confront first? Let's see… they've both conducted an ethnic cleansing of Georgians, but Abkhazia's the worst offender of the two when it came to that. She'd fought South Ossetia's the longest and he'd never once backed down from his stupid goal. That jerk never regretted anything! But then again, neither did Abkhazia after the ethnic cleansing, and he's the more hesitant one of the two!

Should she avenge the thousands of Georgian lives Abkhazia as he expelled or murdered them? Or should she avenge the Georgians who died throughout the years for their country in her many clashes with South Ossetia?

Oh, why was she debating this? She'll get her revenge on both of them eventually, so it didn't really matter who she picked. Georgia will go after South Ossetia, the bastard who put her through so much trouble in the first place.

Georgia wringed and rubbed her hands, ignoring the pain as she sank her nails into her palms. "I want to go after South Ossetia."

America smiled and flashed a thumbs-up. "Sounds good, dude. We'll go after that guy then. Bedisa, since they're your territories, you mind explaining to everyone how we can enter Abkhazia and South Ossetia?"

Georgia smiled and quickly nodded. "Sure, Alfred."

Okay, Georgia… How did the whole thing… Oh, now she remembered!

"There's one viable land crossing into Abkhazia from my country, in the Enguri Bridge near Zugdidi." Georgia explained, swallowing a bit, and she pressed her finger on the area west of her country. "There are three checkpoints to get to the other side where my officers check your passports and such, but I'm sure I can get them to let you pass. From there we can walk or hitch a ride on a van across the several hundred meter long bridge to the military checkpoint at the Abkhazian side."

"Where we'll dispose of the human trash and go rampage on the population to lure him out, right?" Denmark asked with a strange smile, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "A little more practice before Russia won't hurt…"

"Don't worry, Denny. We'll all get some practice." America reassured him, and he again turned to Georgia. "What about South Ossetia?"

"My border with South Ossetia's closed, so it's only accessible from Russia." Georgia continued as she slid her finger toward South Ossetia, which bordered Russia. "But even so, it takes a long while to get through the whole process, including checking passports and such. So, I'll try ordering my troops to open the border so you guys can pass through no problem."

But…

"But… there's _one_ tiny problem with Abkahzia and South Ossetia."

America narrowed his eyes. "What problem?"

"I'm… not completely sure where they exactly live." Georgia admitted with great shame, and she pulled her beret over her head in embarrassment. "I mean, last I heard they lived in their capitals, but then I was told that they decided to reside in some village or something…"

"They live in small houses in their respective capitals, very easy to miss."

"Oh yeah… I heard that… Wait, _what?"_

"We know where they live, dude."

Georgia blinked, gaping in shock at this revelation. "You have their addresses? But how?! My government and I've tried for years to find out where they live but…"

"We've a couple of people on the inside, getting as close to them as possible to find out any and all information we could find." America explained with an ominous smile. "You know how Venezuela and Western Sahara are friends with them? Those two are with us, or _were_ in Western Sahara's case, and they've supplied us will kinds of information."

What?! Those two snappy jerks were with the Order too?

"Bloody hell, Alfie…" Ireland seemed to share her reaction. "That's fuckin' genius!"

Yeah! She… _really_ could've used that information back in the wars when she spent days trying to locate those two troublemakers but whatever! Better late than never! Wow, America really came prepared for this.

"Thanks, Uncle Patrick. Anyway, once our respective groups cross the border, we'll drive straight to the capitals and wreak some havoc." America continued with the plan. "And don't forget to kill the 'presidents' or any other government figures before they can tell Russia. I recommend that one half of the group goes after the government while the other goes after Abkhazia/South Ossetia to capture them. When one group has finished with both objectives, they'll call the other group to inform them so we know when to meet back here."

Figures. Might as well get rid of those foolish humans before they could try to inform Russia of what's happening and jeopardize their entire plan. Good point. But there's one little thing Georgia still didn't understood.

"Hey… Hey, Alfred…" Georgia poked his shoulder, frowning. "I don't think you've really told me how we're going to do the whole reunification thing. Correct me if I'm wrong, but won't it take a bit more than just getting rid of Abkazia and South Ossetia to integrate their land back into my country?"

America oddly perked up tat hat. "Well, you actually can, but it's kinda complicated and really time-consuming, so to make things easier I ordered to have a certain something made. Hey, Norway! Mind showing her the documents?"

"Gladly, little brother." Norway grinned and started unzipping a backpack Sweden was carrying. He then took out two papers and held them out for Georgia to see them. "Ta-da~"

"They're... contracts?" Georgia said uncertainly

"How observant…" Finland remarked sarcastically, and Denmark smacked the back of his head. "Ow!"

"It's a contract, ja, but not just any contract… When those two sign these papers, their territories will immediately be officially reintegrated back into your country!" Norway explained cheerfully, grinning unnervingly wide. "And they'll lose their status in the process, practically turning them into humans! There's a few more bonuses of course, but let's leave those as a surprise for later."

Georgia looked on in awe. They could really do that? Amazing! And even with their status gone, they'll still be here, where Georgia will make them _pay_. And then, after that, they'll _finally_ disappear from her life forever!

"Alright, I think that's everything." America said, and he pushed up his glasses as he stood up. "Try to finish in about an hour or two at most. And good luck everyone. Let's move out!"

 **Phew, that sure took a while. Fun fact: Besides Algeria, the only other countries in the current main group to have recognized Western Sahara are Belize, Nicaragua and Panama, so it does make the situation very awkward. Please review if you have a minute.**


	65. Justice: Before the Mission

**Thank you to AquaEclipse, Gothythekiller, and NadiaJA627 for reviewing. Phew! This took a bit longer tan I've liked, at least for me, but here it is. I was considering leaving the chapter for next week... but eh, I figured I could finish it in time. Now, on with the show!**

It was a simple enough plan.

It didn't take long for Germany to think of it, and he wouldn't be surprised if some of the others had already thought of a similar plan. What he had in mind did feel like the most logical course of action, and he hoped everyone else would agree. If not, well, then, he hoped he won't strain his vocal cords.

"First of all, as for what we'll do with the situation with Western Sahara…" Germany took a deep breath, and he looked straight at Algeria. "I think it'd be best if we investigate her case after rescuing Mauritius."

Algeria immediately scowled and opened her mouth to protest, but Germany held up his hands.

"Before you get angry at me again…" Germany began calmly and carefully to prevent another _incident_. "Let me ask you something, Algeria. How can we be sure if it's safe to travel to Western Sahara, even if she's independent now? If she really has been… err… _compromised_ , then there's no way of knowing what could be waiting for us in her terri… I mean _country_."

Algeria's scowl softened a little, but she still didn't look happy. Then again, she was hardly ever happy these days. "What are you trying to say?"

"In the end, Western Sahara's case still remains ambiguous, although I think we can at least assume that she's not an enemy." Germany added that last part to pacify her, at least a little until he finished. "For all we know, there could be a trap waiting for us by the one who attacked her. They probably figured you'd go after her as soon as you realized she's in danger and could be using it as an opportunity to finally capture you and the others. Or can you tell me with absolute certainly that there's no way anything can wrong if we go to her house?"

"I…" Algeria closed her mouth and frowned with downcast eyes. "No, I can't…"

"Exactly. So I thought it'd be more prudent if we do the following" Germany said, glad that he was getting through to her. "Your brother's in that house. And I think we can all agree that there's no one who'd know more about what happened to Western Sahara than Morocco. Therefore, this is the perfect opportunity to capture him and then bring him here away from his allies to interrogate him. And that way, if we fail to rescue Mauritius, we'll at least a bargaining chip to get him back."

Algeria looked like she wanted to object to that idea in favor of going after Western Sahara anyways, but then she looked thoughtful. "That… actually is a good point… and a very good idea. If anyone knows what happened to Safiyya, it'd be my brother."

"You know, I don't want to be a downer, but we were planning to do the same 'bargaining chip' idea with Guatemala too." Belize brought up dryly, and she gave a sour look. "And as you know, it didn't really end well for us. I got burned by Hong Kong. But I'm so going to get my revenge someday."

"I was poisoned by Bulgaria…" Honduras said sadly, hanging her head in shame. "At least it wasn't the worst death I ever had."

"I got my stomach ripped out by a Viking." Nicaragua stated bitterly. "And Costa Rica, that idiot, got his neck snapped by Turkey."

"I found out one of my closest friends was a masochistic, lovesick nutcase." Romania said in an obviously fake cheerful tone. "And he's head over heels in love with Turkey, that bastard who I'm so gonna kill when I get the chance."

"Feliks got killed by Lithuania." Hungary reminded them grimly, a pained expression on her face.

"France ended up captured by his ex-colonies after they killed his boss." Egypt remarked blankly, and he then grimaced. "Then they tortured him in very brutal ways, including cutting his stomach open to stick a live snake inside if I remember correctly. And in the end, the Order got away with Guatemala."

Belize promptly deflated like a float and started moping. "A lot of us got our asses handed to us, especially us Central Americans! The four of us all ended up killed!"

Honduras patted Belize on the back for comfort. "Oh, don't worry, Belize. It wasn't your fault. You only got distracted with what happened with Poland and Guatemala. I'm sure we'll do better next time!"

"They stuck a snake inside of France?" Ukraine repeated in shock, and she shuddered. "Oh, that sounds repulsive, not to mention very painful! What cruel, cruel people.""

Romania snorted, and he sneered. "Eh, I've seen gorier stuff, but that was definitely a first. And don't worry, Ukraine, this guy managed to save the day by removing the snake! Now, if only I didn't have such a cruddy assistant.

"Hey, I was doing my best!" Tunisia exclaimed indignantly, looking a little pale.

Germany could feel a vein or two popping in his head and he scowled. "Hey, let's not get off-topic! Ja, I know that the last time you attempted this ended in failure, you've told me this before. But this time we're in greater numbers and strength, so with the proper planning, things could turn out favorably for our side this time."

China nodded. "I agree with Germany, aru. From what I understood of this little brawl you had; you all were woefully but understandably unprepared considering your circumstances. Not to mention it sounded like you didn't even bother with a plan. Very foolish, indeed, aru. But now you have the wisdom of your elders to help your cause."

He heard Belize scoff. "We're gonna get our asses handed to us, aren't we?"

China's eye twitched, and he glared at the Central American. "What's that supposed to mean, you little-"

" _Anyway_ , back to the plan…" Germany announced through gritted teeth before an argument could break out again. "I was thinking that we could split up into three groups. One will help and accompany Italy while we go look for his brother, another will go to Switzerland's house to rescue Mauritius, and the remaining nations, including those who can't fight, will stay here to continue organizing the meeting."

Germany glanced around at everyone, and he was pleased to see that no one seemed to have any objections regarding the plan. Good.

He hadn't really decided who should come with which group, he's going to see who would be willing to volunteer first. As for those who should stay… the first nations who came to mind were Moldova, Seychelles, Ukraine and Panama, obviously. Oh, and Russia and China should probably stay, even if only to help keep an eye on Panama.

"I know many of you are unarmed, but fortunately, I managed to bring several weapons among other things with me here, just in case something happened." Germany explained. It was very difficult getting them past security though. "There should be enough for those who need them."

Although, he wasn't too sure if Russia and Ukraine should remain together, as there seemed to be some sort of animosity between them, specifically from Ukraine, a lot more so than usual. Germany wasn't willing to intrude on personal matters, so he didn't plan to ask. B-But really, what could happen with the two of them other than a heated argument? Ukraine wasn't someone who'd physically attack out of spite.

Romania probably won't be too happy leaving Moldova with Russia, but perhaps Ukraine could take care of the child, despite her issues with Romania himself. But it was nothing serious, to be honest. And she was a kind-hearted woman. She wouldn't refuse to watch over Moldova if asked to.

Well, he could worry about that later.

"And as for who will be accompanying who…" He looked at everyone expectantly, and hopefully. Because he doubted that he'll go with Italy. "Are there any volunteers willing to go to Brazil, AKA enemy territory?"

Italy jumped, and started begging on his knees. "Si, si! Please help me rescue my poor, sometimes not very smart, fratello! Pretty please? I'm sure he'll be a little nicer to you if you save him from being eaten by crazy cannibal nations!"

Germany resisted the urge to groan. "Ja, what he said. So, any volunteers?"

To his relief, he saw quite a few hands shot up, specifically the Central Americans and Japan.

"Don't worry, Italy." Honduras happily reassured Italy as she patted him on the back in comfort. "We'll help find and rescue your grumpy brother! And if you get scared, you can hide behind me if you want."

Italy quickly perked up at this. "Really?"

"Are you all sure about this?" Germany asked them carefully, just to be sure. "This will very dangerous."

"Oh, come on, Germany. We're the best people who can help your boyfriend." Belize said smugly, smirking slyly with her two neighbors snickered. "We've been to Brazil more times than _you_ ever did, so we can make sure this guy won't get lost or something. And besides, we've got beef with Brazil."

Germany felt his face burn in embarrassment in horror, and he gaped at her. _Boyfriend?!_

"Might as well beat up Brazil for helping with Spain's murder and lying to us all these years." Nicaragua said aloofly, arms crossed over her chest. "And I'm sure Costa Rica would be willing to help, you know, as long as Panama doesn't try to convince him otherwise."

Germany's eye twitched. "First of all, that _dummkopf_ is _not_ my boyfriend. Second, remember, this is a rescue mission, not an attack mission. It's best if you avoid Brazil to prevent any trouble before he manages to locate you and focus on rescuing that damn idiot before he gets himself killed."

And knowing South Italy, it won't be easy convincing him to back down from his revenge, and that's something the Axis Trio knew all too well. Germany sweatdropped as he recalled what he and the others had dubbed 'the chandelier incident', and he grumbled under his breath. That idiot still owed him a new chandelier, along with a few tens of thousands of euros' worth of property damage.

Grr, he's definitely going to have a talk with Italy's boss about this…

You know what? Trying to get revenge Romano to change his mind actually sounded more difficult than breaking into Switzerland's house, possibly the most trigger-happy nation on the planet, fighting him and two African nations with deep psychological problems, storm into the basement and rescue Mauritius, drag him out of there while still avoiding the enemy, capture Morocco, and leave without any casualties and completing all the objectives.

…Yes, it'll probably be a little harder.

"Okay, fine! We won't pick a fight." Belize promised, though she didn't look very pleased.

"I would also gladly accompany Italy-san on this dangerous mission into enemy land." Japan declared in his usual blank tone. "I promise I will do my best to protect our group from peril and our enemies."

Italy's face brightened as if someone just handed him a pasta, and he jumped and hugged Japan in joy and gratitude, much to the latter's horror. "Oh, _grazie_ , _grazie_! I promise that after we save Lovino, I'll make you all tons of pasta!"

Japan turned as pale as a ghost, and he shakily nodded. "H-Hai, now please release me…"

"This is all well and good, but how are you going to find him, aru?" China asked skeptically. "That cowardly and cheap Westerner is almost stubborn as Taiwan, it'll already be hard convincing him of what's happening. Where exactly were you planning to start looking for him? And how are you going to locate him?"

That's a good point. How were they going to find him?

"W-We can try calling him or texting him..." Italy suggested hopefully as Japan tried to get him to stop hugging him. "I'm sure if we keep nagging him, he'll eventually get up and answer our calls! Unless… he decides to break his phone or throw it away… Oh, I hope he doesn't do that! It'll be the fifth phone he's broken this year! Oh… or was it the seventh?"

…Wait, South Italy's broken several other phones before? How could keep affording them?

"Perhaps we can trick him, as dishonorable as it sounds, but Romano might die if we do not take drastic measures. saying that Brazil's not at home and we know where he is?

"Maybe we can scare him to meet us in someplace by threatening to, I dunno, beat him up or turn him in to the mafia?" Belize offered nonchalantly, shrugging, and she grinned. "In the end, he's still a coward like Italy here… no offense."

"None taken." Italy mumbled in shame.

"But Bel, you're forgetting that Romano is much nicer to us girls." Honduras reminded her neighbor gently, and she smiled. "Remember how scared off that gang of delinquents harassing us before you could beat them up? And how he sweetly offered to walk us to our apartments afterwards and make us pizza?"

Belize positively brightened at the mention of that incident, and she went to talk animatedly with Honduras about it while Germany could only stare. Oh, right… He always forgot that South Italy's much friendlier and kinder to women than to men. It's just it's hard to remember that side of him when the nation in question

Grinning, Honduras raised her index finger in a lecturing manner, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I'm sure if we just ask him nicely using our feminine charms, and maybe with a few vague or easily misinterpreted promises of a date and more, we can make him forget all about Brazil in a matter of minutes!"

After stating _that_ genius idea, Italy stopped moping and in the blink of an eye was already standing straight up, gasping in awe. "That's a great idea, bella!"

"We'll dupe him with the help of our good looks!" Belize declared _too_ cheerfully. Wait, wouldn't she be underage?

Romania sputtered, apparently having been holding in his laughter, and he guffawed. "Oh my god, are you girls seriously going to make a hellbent Romano give up his quest for revenge for being duped and getting crushed by a chandelier in the process… by duping him? Well, if it worked once, it can work twice."

China shrugged, not appearing to care. "I've heard of scams and deceptions much crueler and malicious than this, aru. And besides, it's for the greater good, isn't it? If it's the only thing that'll stop that foolish Westerner from getting himself killed..."

"I think it's pretty genius, honestly." Hungary remarked.

"Belarus would often use her looks to her advantage too." Russia remarked quietly to seemingly no one, and he cringed when Ukraine glared at him.

"This feels a little immoral, not to mention mean." Egypt admitted solemnly, glaring disapprovingly at the girls chatting amongst themselves. "And to makes matters worse, it appears that they're looking forward to it."

Ah, Egypt was quite wrong on that one. There was _one_ girl who didn't seem very happy with this plan…

Nicaragua shuddered in disgust, and she shook her head vigorously. " _No_. No way. I'm not going to flirt with that moron."

"You don't have to flirt with him, Nica. Just be super nice to him and it'll work too!" Honduras assured her cheerfully. "And we don't _have_ to dupe him, really. Who knows? Maybe a date with him can be fun!"

"I don't care. I'm not doing it!"

Italy gasped in horror, and he sped toward the woman, begging on his knees once again. "B-B-But you have to, bella! My _fratello's_ life depends on your heavenly Latina beauty and terrifying personality!"

Nicaragua only gave Italy a deadpan stare, obviously not impressed, and she scowled at her two grinning neighbors. "…I don't have a choice in this, do I?"

"Nope!" The two girls chorused together. Nicaragua sighed.

Glad that that's taken care of, Germany moved on to the next task. "All right, that takes care of the Brazil group. So then, who's willing to participate in the more dangerous task of rescuing Mauritius and fighting several enemy nations? I'm obviously going, since-"

He almost immediately regretted saying that, as Italy jumped, and he came face to face with Germany with the look of a kicked puppy. "W-What? You're not coming with us?!"

Oh, great…

" _Nein_ , I'm not. Liechtenstein needs me more than you do right now, Italy." Germany told him in the gentlest tone he could muster, which wasn't a lot. "You have to understand. She could be dead, and I need to make it up to her for failing to keep her safe. And I don't want to hear _any_ objections.

"But-

"No objections!" Germany barked, and Italy whimpered. He sighed; he was being a little harsh on him. "Look, you're going to be fine. You'll have Japan and the Central Americans. And your chances of survival could get even higher if you decide to do something useful."

Italy looked thoughtful. Could it be that he's finally willing to stop being a coward? He then beamed. "Ve, something useful, huh? Ooh, like what?"

Germany facepalmed. You know what? Forget it.

"As I was saying before I was interrupted…" He resumed with the previous and most important topic, scanning everyone to see who wanted to come along. "Who's willing to volunteer to go help in the more dangerous task of rescuing Mauritius?

Algeria's hand shot up first. "I'd like to go, obviously. Morocco, the bastard, is there, and I personally want to be the one to capture him. Besides, I don't want Mauritius to suffer in my brother's _care_ any longer. Tunisia, you'll come with me, right?"

Her brother blinked in surprise, apparently having been distracted, and he stared at her. "R-Really? You _want_ me to come along?"

"Well, of course! There's a chance I might not be able to take him down on my own, but more importantly, don't you want to help find out what happened to Safiyya?" Algeria quirked an eyebrow, before her expression softened. "I won't let him hurt you. You know that, don't you?"

Tunisia seemed to relax somewhat at that reassurance, and he nodded. "Thank you, sister… Alright, I'll go."

"Good." Algeria gave her brother a small smile, and then she directed her gaze toward Germany. "Now, I personally think we should include France in this. He'd gladly jump into danger for Mauritius, and it doesn't appear his search for England is going anywhere. Why don't we try to call him back?"

Algeria raised a good point. In all the chaos and one problem appearing after another, Germany's forgotten all about France, Monaco and Canada. While he wouldn't say that their search was going nowhere, as they haven't really asked them yet, it felt like they were taking quite a while to find England. Granted, it's England and chances were that he's drunk, but…

France would likely drop their search if it meant rescuing one of his ex-colonies who _didn't_ want to kill him (maybe they could have Russia look for England, that'll make things easier and quicker). It's his little brother after all, and England's his rival. It's not a hard choice. Yes, they should inform him of this.

" _Ja_ , we'll give him a call, see if he wants to come help." Germany nodded in agreement.

"I'll go too." Hungary declared, smiling weakly as several pairs of eyes were staring at her. "I know it's my fault Lili's in this mess, and… I should've known better. But I want to make it up to her. If they hurt Lili, they're going to _pay_."

As if to illustrate her point, her frying pan materialized in her right hand and she put on an honestly terrifying expression that made Germany almost feel sorry for their enemies. Maybe he was being a little bit harsh on her. Oh, don't get him wrong. He's furious for her actions, and it'll take a little more time for him to forgive her if (when!) they rescue Liechtenstein. But he's glad to see that she saw the error in her actions and that she'll more than happy come along to help.

"Your help is very welcome, Elizaveta." Germany nodded again, and he lamented that he couldn't smile. He was always awkward around women "I'm… I'm sure Lili will greatly appreciate that you came to help her."

"Thank you…" She smiled gratefully, and then she punched Romania's rather roughly. "So, Blood Breath Bastard, are you going to be the one taking us straight to Switzerland's? You've been there once or twice before, right?

Romania hissed and bared his fangs at the insulting nickname, sneering. "Da, I have been to Vash's house, you gender-confused…"

"T-That's perfect then." Germany said, raising his voice. Again, now's not the time for childish bickering! "We have our teams then. Italy, Japan and the Central Americans will look for South Italy in Brazil with Egypt's teleportation magic, and please don't hesitate to return immediately if you find yourselves compromised. And Hungary, Algeria, Tunisia, Romania I and will go to Switzerland. The rest will stay here."

And they'll make sure to meet back here as soon as possible.

"Actually, Germany…" He found himself interrupted when Egypt spoke up, raising his hand. "I was hoping _I'd_ be the mage who'd accompany the others to Switzerland's house. I very much wish to also help recover Mauritius."

Germany stared at him. What?

"But I thought you told me that you've never been to Switzerland's house before," Seychelles pointed out quietly, wringing her hands. "And that's why you couldn't go see if Kelvin was there or not."

Egypt glanced at her and nodded. "That's true. I've never been to Switzerland's house; therefore, I can't teleport there unfortunately. But even so, I want to help. I'm the one responsible for letting him be captured, so I want to make amends for my mistake."

Oh, that's right. Didn't they mention that back in Paris…?

"Egypt, while I understand that you want to make it up to Mauritius, it's already clear that you can't teleport to Switzerland's house." Germany told him sternly. "I'm sorry, but you'll just have to help Italy instead, I'm afraid."

"W-What's wrong with being on my team?!" Italy exclaimed, hurt, but everyone ignored him.

Egypt gave him that cold stare that he'd often give in world meetings. "I know that I can't, I just confirmed that. I simply want to ask if there's some way Romania and I can switch teams and for me to somehow teleport to Switzerland."

"I doubt that there's-"

"Oh, for the love of- Okay, _here's_ how we'll do it!" Romania yelled to get everyone's attention, and he pointed at Egypt. "How about I just teleport you and the others to Switzerland's house and then I'll come back here, since you won't need me to take you back to London, to help Italy and a couple of others to teleport to Brazil to rescue his cranky unlikable brother?"

Egypt blinked, and he mulled it over. "That's… a good idea."

"Lovino's scary, not unlikeable…" Italy said quietly as he clutched his white flag. "B-But I also think it's a good idea!"

"Then it's settled then." Germany nodded. "Let's start preparing."

/ / / / /

 _"So… let me get this straight..."_

Switzerland tried not to gulp and make himself further look like a fool as he heard those words, and he started to prepare himself for the inevitable. Those words, and the obvious unhappiness in Austria's voice, weren't a good sign. Oh, well, of course Austria wasn't happy! He liked Liechtenstein! So, to hear that she stupidly but understandably but still very stupidly decided to investigate…

If it was possible, Switzerland felt even more ashamed of his failure now that he told Austria the whole story. He felt his nails dig further into his palm as he clenched his fist even tighter, not feeling an ounce of pain. Dammitdammitdammitdammit…

 _"Lili came to your house requesting to stay for a while, even though you **knew** that you're busy with the mission and that there's no way you'll properly attend to her… Well, I can't say I'm surprised. You have a big soft spot for her. But then Lili started to hear noises from the basement, and you began to neglect her and treat her coldly for no completely justifiable reason other than you were just stressed."_

How come his actions sounded even stupider and unwise once Austria summarized them?

Unwisely, or maybe he just didn't care anymore, Switzerland glanced back at the two Africans, and he felt some relief that they didn't appear to be enjoying his misery. Perhaps they really were aware that this was _their_ fault too and accepted it. Good.

Cameroon was as expressionless as always, no surprise there, but there was just the slightest hint of concern or curiosity in his eyes. Oh please, he couldn't possibly be worried about him, could he? Yes, they may have officially 'made up', but Switzerland thought that he of all people would understand and accept that his actions deserved _at least_ a harsh reprimand.

Perhaps he thought that Switzerland's actions have been rather (more like _very_ ) foolish, but in the end it all helped prove that Switzerland was willing to cast aside attachments in a heartbeat, therefore having proved his loyalty to the organization once for all, should have made up for all the mistakes?

Who knows? Even Switzerland had trouble trying to decipher what's on his mind-

And as for Morocco… well, he wasn't wearing that default polite smile that's always on his face for once. Also, more importantly, it appeared he hadn't used the phone call as an opportunity to molest Mauritius again, although it'd be foolish to cause trouble with one of the leaders of their group in earshot. Morocco wasn't stupid nor rude. If only he showed the same restraint when the leaders weren't around…

When Switzerland met his gaze, Morocco smiled in what's supposed to be in a supportive manner and flashed him a thumbs-up. He nearly wanted to roll his eyes.

Well, it's the thought that counted…

 _"…Alright, no, scratch that. It's the Africans. They'd drive **anyone** crazy, so I don't really blame you. it must've took a lot of self-restraint not to shoot their heads off." _

If Switzerland was more of a sadist, he would've smirked at the two troublemakers even though they couldn't hear their conversation. See? Even Austria agreed that this group was almost more trouble than they're worth! But no, now's not the time for that. He's still in trouble.

 _"But anyway, after Lili got fed up with your neglect, she was encouraged to investigate the basement by…"_ He heard Austria trail off, and Switzerland tried not to grit his teeth, because he _knew_ why. _"…Elizaveta. No doubt because she suspected Mauritius is here. And then Lili found the key to the basement while you were away on an errand because you discovered that South Africa and Nigeria took out needles and ice picks…"_

He knew it was rude to get distracted in the middle of a conversation, especially when he's about to get a reprimand, but Switzerland had to make a mental note to hide his new needles and ice picks somewhere where those Africans won't find them.

 _"And then Lili went down to the basement, she found Morocco sexually assaulting Mauritius…"_ Austria continued in obvious disgust, and Switzerland grimaced. _"Oh, poor girl …Verdammt that unrestrained… I thought I told him to tone it down…"_

Well, to be fair, what he did was likely nothing compared to what Morocco would really do if he had free rein. But surely Austria already knew that. And Switzerland was in no position to speak right now. He would only do so when asked to.

 _"Oh, well, be sure to tell him that the next time he does something like that, he'll be put away at the dungeon for two weeks."_ Austria requested politely, and Switzerland quickly nodded, even though they couldn't see each other. _"I know he's been holding back for years. But he shouldn't he at least find a **willing** partner? I suppose a sadist such as him can't help himself."_

He never seemed to help himself…

 _"Anyway, so when you finally came back, you found Lili being interrogated by Morocco and Cameroon"_ Austria said as he finally reached the final parts of the story, and he began to dound more dismayed. _"One thing led to another and you wound up shooting her dead, though not permanently, out of sheer rage when you discovered she was helping, although I highly doubt she knows the full truth of the situation, our enemies uncover information about your activities."_

Switzerland again tried not to feel nervous or anxious, he had already accepted his wrongdoings and misguided actions and he was ready for any sort of punishment. To resist and try to defend to himself, which he didn't want to do, would be immature.

One must accept that they committed wrong-doings and that there'll be consequences for those actions.

"And now after rightfully scolding Morocco for failing have any self-restraint, you decided to call me, inform me of this startling development." Austria stated darkly, and he sighed. "Well, is that it? I mean it as an honest question. Did I get it right or did I miss something?

Switzerland swallowed whatever nerves he had left and answered calmly, "Pretty much, ja."

 _"…I see…"_

And now he endured the ever-suffocating silence again as Austria seemed to ponder these events, more than likely (hell, Switzerland almost _hoped_ …) thinking how he should express his disappointment with Switzerland. He felt tempted to speak, try to apologize again, but he held his tongue. No, no excuses.

 _"…You seem awfully quiet."_ Austria noted, bringing Switzerland out of his thoughts. _"How come? I thought you'd be more… affected by this development, so can I assume that you're trying to hide it?"_

Switzerland flinched at the accurate accusation. O-Of course, as expected of Austria… "Is it… that obvious?"

 _"You never were that good in hiding your emotions from me."_ Austria explained in amusement, and he chuckled softly. _"So, be honest with me, Vash. Are you all right? Is there anything I can do to help? Anything at all?"_

Austria was… _worried_ about him… despite what happened? Did Switzerland even deserve it with his foolish actions? Shouldn't he be more preoccupied with the punishment? N-No, he shouldn't doubt him.

"I'm… still dealing with it. So… I guess I'm not all right." Switzerland said earnestly to his superior, but he still felt self-conscious with those two Africans staring at him. "I feel empty, honestly. One part of me feels guilty but the other doesn't. Also, I think I cried a little too. I couldn't help myself, but I was just so angry with…"

Who? Who was he _really_ angry with? Liechtenstein or himself?

"A-Anyway, there is something you can do to help, Rod." Switzerland hastily continued before he could further worry Austria. "I think I'll feel _much_ better after I'm punished for my actions and behavior, please. So, what's it going to be?"

 _"…Punishment? What do you mean?"_

Switzerland nearly choked at the puzzled reply. Was Austria serious? It wasn't in his nature to deceive him. He'd _never_ \- "W-What do I mean? What do you mean, Rod? Don't you remember what I told you? All this mess happened thanks to my foolishness and I wound up shooting someone who _you_ wanted to spare."

He didn't deserve mercy. He didn't deserve mercy. He didn't deserve mercy for going against that order.

But then he heard Austria chuckle. _"Vash, calm down and stop beating yourself up. And don't try to pretend that you're not. It's nice that you accepted responsibility for your actions, I can always expect that from you. But I'm not going to punish you. I don't see any need or reason for it."_

Switzerland opened his eyes that he had kept shut, and he was tempted to smack himself to make sure he's hearing right. "Wait… Huh? Did… Did you just say that… you're not going to punish me?

 _"That is what I said, ja."_

"But… But why?" Switzerland couldn't help but ask despite the part of his mind screaming at him for daring to question his friend. "I thought you'd be upset, Rod. And I've acted so irresponsibly as of late. Why wouldn't you want to reprimand me for it?"

 _"Oh no, don't get me wrong, I am disappointed with how poorly you treated your own little sister during her stay,"_ Ah, there's the disappointing tone Switzerland was expecting to hear from him. _"But you made up for that irresponsibility by handling the situation well enough in the end and putting Lili down for the time being, and I appreciate what you did. It must've been really difficult for you. So, I believe that painful action should have made up for your previous actions."_

Difficult? Oh, Switzerland didn't have the courage to correct him on that, despite everything. It'd shock or horrify anyone if they saw how quickly Switzerland decided to shoot her after he discovered that that _liar, traitor, ungrateful…!_

 _"And I doubt that you'll ever be so careless again after this incident, don't you agree?"_ Austria continued calmly while Switzerland tried to make sense of all this. _"However, I'd like to request that when Lili revives, that you confine her somewhere for the time being and take the time to explain to her the whole situation. And I can tell you're still bitter, but please try your best to be kind to her."_

Switzerland couldn't believe what he was hearing. N-Not that this was out of character for Austria, but… He nodded. "J-Ja, it will be done. I promise I'll do my best with Lili and to keep her unharmed. But, Rod, are you sure that…?"

 _"That I should let you off the hook? Vash, you overthink things way too much. Everything is fine. Why can't you take my word for it?"_

"Y-You're right, I'm sorry."

" _Good. Now, I believe this is where we say goodbye. Shouldn't you have more pressing matters to attend to right about now, after all?_

Switzerland blinked. "Not really. What did you mean by that?"

 _"If Germany and Hungary now know that Mauritius is now being held here, wouldn't they quickly organize a team to rescue him?"_

Switzerland froze at that revelation, and he felt his mouth drop from utter shock at his own continued. Of course, how didn't this cross his mind? Was he so busy worrying about Austria among other things to think about the consequences Liechtenstein's treachery brought?

"Shit. Should we move him?"

 _"There's no time. Have the Africans over to help you. If I remember correctly, I don't think they should be too busy right now, and Nigeria would gladly help you."_

"Right. I-I'll be right back in a minute." Switzerland stuttered, but he had too much on his mind to care, and he was foolishly about to speak to the others before he remembered who he's talking to. "I-If you don't mind, of course."

 _"Nein, not at all. Do what you have to do."_ Austria assured him.

"Danke." And he turned toward the two curious Africans.

They needed to start preparing. _Now_.

"You two, stop staring and give those friends of yours a call, won't you?" Switzerland barked at them. "If you really want _him_ to join you, then get all the help you can get. We're going to have some company soon."

/ / / / /

"All right…" Herzegovina muttered absently to herself as she dialed Turkey's number, crossing her fingers that she'll get a lead. "Here's to hoping that masked buffoon knows where or at least has seen Emir..."

And that said buffoon won't try to cover for her not-so-bright husband and give her a false lead, he's not above that. It wouldn't be the first time. Whenever Herzegovina and Bosnia would have some silly argument or the latter just got bored, he'd often sneak away to Turkey's house for a bit of 'family bonding'. At least he had the decency to leave a note.

Well, hopefully with some force, she could make him spill Bosnia's location or make him come over to the phone. Although… Herzegovina frowned. It's easier said than done, Turkey could be _very_ protective and extremely stubborn.

But in the end, it never proved to be enough to stop her from dragging her husband by the ear back to their house.

As much as Bosnia practically idolized Turkey and looked up to him as this amazing big brother, Herzegovina never really managed to adore him as her husband did. What Bosnia saw a strong, clever and caring older man that's still going on strong, Herzegovina only saw a fun but kind of annoying, somewhat dense geezer too stubborn for his own good. It's another thing they often argued about.

Which didn't mean that she _disliked_ Turkey or anything, not at all! She's very grateful for all his help throughout the years. Although, she admittedly did feel a little concerned about his growing influence over their politics. It never really sat well with her.

Bosnia only smiled and waved off her concerns, telling her that she's being paranoid, and that they could always trust 'big brother' to help them make the right decisions. Well, sorry for being worried about their free will! They already had trouble with their decentralized government, she didn't want Turkey to take what little power they had left!

Oh, she's getting too lost in her thoughts, dammit. There's a time and place for venting and arguing, but now's not that time. Herzegovina had a husband she needed find, and maybe rescue if her worst fears are confirmed.

She impatiently waited for the man to pick up, growing more and more anxious by the second, and she sighed in relief when Turkey finally answered. Herzegovina was about to give a curt greeting before demanding Bosnia's location, but Turkey beat her to it.

"You know, I was actually wondering when you'd call. I was starting to wonder if you decided that you just don't care anymore." Turkey's amused voice remarked almost mockingly. This made Herzegovina narrow her eyes. Was he looking to get a rise out of her? "Ah, but anyway, nice to hear from you again. So, how's it going, Lejla? How you doing lately?"

Shrugging off the weird and very rude greeting, she decided to greet him quickly before getting straight to the point instead of wasting time by scolding him. Time was of the essence!

Taking a deep breath, she spoke, " _Zdravo_ , Sadik. I'm feeling really stressed out, thank you for asking. I have a mild headache. I've been pacing in my room and chewing my fingernails for the past hour"

"Stressed out, huh? Oh, that sounds rough, Lejla. What's wrong?" Turkey asked, suddenly sounding concerned like he should. "Anything I can do to help?"

Herzegovina frowned at the question, and she replied accusingly, "I think you're _well aware_ what's wrong, Sadik."

"Oh, I do? Well, isn't that something?" Turkey laughed, obviously not doing him any favors of removing any suspicion off him. Was he even trying? And Herzegovina wasn't sure if she's hearing things, but she could've sworn she heard another voice in the background. "But what _exactly_ can I do to help?

"Where's Bosnia?" Herzegovina asked with a bit of exasperation in her voice. "You can start by giving me the answer to that question."

She heard Turkey hum, as if contemplating whether he should tell on his little brother. "Ehhhh, hmm, not sure, actually. Last time I saw him was… wait, should I count that or did the encounter back in… count?"

Herzegovina raised an eyebrow as Turkey began muttering nearly incomprehensibly to himself than to her, the very person he's speaking to, about things that didn't make the slightest bit of sense in her opinion.

Oh, she didn't have time for this!

"HAVE YOU SEEN HIM OR NOT?!" Herzegovina screamed at the top of her lungs into the phone.

"Hmm, yeah, I have," Turkey said cheerfully, much to her annoyance, but it was nothing compared to what he spoke next. "Why, you worried about him?"

Herzegovina wanted to groan in frustration. No, not because of Turkey's answer, she didn't believe him one bit. Why? Because judging from his words, he's _aware_ that Bosnia sneaked away again, so claiming that he 'wasn't sure' was clearly a lie. It had to be! And why did Turkey sound so nonchalant? Shouldn't he be more… energetic when it came to Bosnia?

"Wha- Of course I'm worried about him! I haven't heard from him in days and he's not answering my calls!" Herzegovina blurted out angrily, not even properly thinking about what she's saying. "Not to mention no one else seems to know where he wandered off to this time! Why shouldn't I be worried? He's never vanished for this long before! Are you trying to imply that I don't care? How dare you?!"

She breathed in heavily after going on that rant, and she sighed, rubbing her head. Dammit, she hated it when people assumed that just because she and Bosnia didn't get along all that well, they didn't care about each other! What sort of logic was that?! A-All right, she couldn't really blame them, but they still know nothing!

Herzegovina wouldn't go through the trouble of finding and dragging back Bosnia from his escapades _if she didn't care_. And Bosnia wouldn't give her a call each time he sneaked off to tell her he's fine _if he didn't care about her feelings_.

"And we're in dangerous times, don't you remember? He could be in danger for all I know!" Herzegovina continued going on her tirade, and she couldn't stop herself. "What if someone took him? Oh, you know he's naïve and slow enough to be an easy target! Or maybe he finally learned to not tell me where he is every single time he left home, I don't know!"

She sighed, and she felt that she really needed to lie down. This whole thing with Bosnia was stressing her out.

As Herzegovina breathed and lamented her rude outburst, she waited for Turkey's reply, almost expecting him to poke fun at her paranoia or something. But hopefully that explosion taught him to know better than to joke at a time like this.

"Hey… Hey, calm down, Lejla. I didn't mean to provoke ya…" Turkey said in a calmer tone, and Herzegovina was glad to hear that he actually sounded _guilty_. "Just saying, you don't have a good love story going on, y'know?

"Just because our union isn't perfect, doesn't mean that I don't care about him." And Herzegovina did love that naïve, wacky idiot even though she had trouble admitting it. "So, since you noticed that I'm in a foul mood, let's make this quick. Do you know where Emir is or not?"

"Well… no… and the kid's not here with me if that's also what you mean" Turkey answered, and Herzegovina felt her hopes get horribly dashed. However, Turkey wasn't finished talking yet. "Aw, but never fear, Lejla! Thankfully, I know who's extremely likely to be with right now."

Herzegovina blinked, and she stared at the phone in her hands in disbelief. "Wait, you do?"

"Yep!"

"Then what are you waiting for, old man?! Tell me, please!"

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you. Emir's with Hungary."

"W-Wha… Hungary?" Herzegovina wasn't sure if she should believe Turkey or not. "What's Emir doing with-

"Yes, Hungary, he's with Hungary. You're welcome. Well, I gotta go, Lejla. Try not to drag him back _too_ painfully by the ear, won't ya?"

"H-Hey, wait! Sadik, why…" Herzegovina tried to stop him, but it was too late. She groaned. "…And he hanged up on me."

…But she supposed one lead was as good as any. Hopefully Hungary's not busy right now.

/ / / / /

Molossia's been waiting too long for this.

He watched as Ladonia and Kugelmugel finished putting the duct tape over a thrashing Sealand's mouth (cause while hearing the people you hate scream was all kinds of fun, Sealand's voice just grated on him to no fucking end) and starting to finish tying him up to make sure he won't ever escape from this hell.

Well, not that the damn brat had anywhere to escape to, duh. But it'll be a huge pain in the ass catching him or risk having him jump overboard, now _that'll_ be a damn waste. Hopefully the brat's too busy dealing with the aftermath of getting his whole population killed… almost…

Since they didn't wanna risk seeing Sealand fade away as soon as they killed off the shitty humans, Kugelmugel and Ladonia made sure to leave their targets very slowly dying from either poison or blood loss.

So that _Molossia_ will be the one to deal the killing blow.

As he heard his annoying pain-in-the-ass-but-still-pretty-damn-cool-and-clever-for-helping-making-this-possible _little_ _brother_ Liberia giggle and squeal like a girl behind him, Molossia smirked as he saw the annoying brat cry like the loser he was, tears streaming down his cheeks and making muffled cries and screams. He could only imagine what Sealand could be saying to make them spare his worthless life.

What a wimp. All that rah-rah-rah about being a super-cool nation that'll somehow go from a gross fort to a huge empire one day and then at the first sign of trouble he's reduced to a crybaby? All that bragging and bitchiness and he puts up less of a good fight than a cat about to get a bath. Heh, this just confirmed everything Molossia thought of him since day one. That damn brat's all hat and no cattle. A loser.

In fact, Molossia bet his cool-ass shades that Sealand actually thought that England, damn that fucker to hell, was stupid for telling him to stay holed up in his smelly-ass fort (Seriously, what the _hell's_ that smell?! And he knew these guys were losers, but they couldn't at least hire someone to make the place look less damn depressing?) where it's 'safe' and thought that he didn't need to hide. Sealand could take on anything and anyone!

…Ha. Not so cocky now, are ya, Sealand?

"Oh, hold still, you whining _dummkopf_!" Kugelmugel snapped at the brat as he tried to finish trying up the final knot. "You're delaying the inevitable, you know! No one knows you're in danger so no one's coming to rescue you!"

Sealand started crying even louder. Oh god, that's annoying.

"I told you we should've brought some drugs and/or tranquillizers!" Ladonia hissed, and he punched Sealand in the shoulder to make him stop moving. "It could've saved us the past, what, ten minutes?"

"Aw, stop complaining. Take it from a master sadist like me. It's a lot better this way, you know." Liberia said smugly, and Molossia wanted to roll his eyes. Master sadist? Suuure… "Why can't you see how fun and satisfying it is to see your victims scream and squirm helplessly in your grasp? It's one of the best things you can ever see!"

"Yeah… really satisfying… only it's as satisfying as damn nails on a chalkboard." Molossia snorted at his little brother's statement. Leave it to the psycho here… "Hey, you two almost done, yet? I wanna get this shit over and done with!

"Hold on, we're almost… and…" Kugelmugel gritted his teeth and then let go of the rope along with Ladonia, leaving Sealand tied up with no way to move. "Done!"

Perfect. He cracked his knuckles.

Molossia nearly wanted to groan when he heard Liberia giggle again, and he saw the guy grin at him. "Ooh, make sure to leave his face all messed up for when the Brit finds him! Oh, and to break a good few bones. Each one for every time he had the balls to mess with our big brother."

"Yeah, yeah, no need to tell me twice." Molossia scoffed, and he searched his knife.

While normally he's not that much of a sadist like Liberia and the other freaks, this was for America's sake. And for his brother, Molossia's willing to do _anything_.

Molossia smirked at the terrified brat as he brandished his knife. "Let's see if you're _really_ made of steel and concrete, huh, brat?!"

/ / / / /

While everyone kept discussing about what weapons they'll pick from Germany's luggage, Tunisia used it as an advantage to slip away.

He really needed to be somewhere where no one could see or hear him, somewhere he could be _alone_. Keeping all his emotions bottled up was agonizing and he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep it to himself before the others, especially Algeria, would notice. This was something he just needed to do.

Tunisia finally managed to find a spot behind the building, where nothing could possibly fall on him, and he sat there, hugging his knees to chest, and he began to think…

He didn't know what to make of any of this. His brother, who lied to him, allowed the bombing on their sister's capital, seemed hellbent on harassing and molesting Tunisia until the guilt shattered his mind, harbored feelings for him that no brother should have and offered to give Tunisia what he'll never have but a part of him desperately wanted for so long…

Had… Tunisia felt bile rise up his throat, and he shuddered in disgust. He couldn't even bring himself to say it!

So, what was he feeling right now? Well… h-he's… Oh, where could he start? Where _should_ he start? He's horrified, obviously! His brother had taken advantage of Mauritius's helplessness to violate him! B-But after their little encounter back in France, and what Tunisia dreaded to think Morocco would've done if South Vietnam hadn't interrupted them, he wasn't sure if he should be surprised.

…Or should he? Tunisia didn't know anymore.

But on the _other_ hand, there was this sinking feeling in his heart that's paining Tunisia to no end and that he's scared to think about. W-Why was this hurting him? Part of him probably knew the _real_ answer, but he still went on list off all the reasons. Well, there's the fact that Morocco did such a disgusting thing… and that he possibly soured Algeria's opinion of… people like _them_ even more.

Algeria would probably sigh and shake her head like a disapproving parent if he said that to her, as she often did. She'd probably tell him that he shouldn't be surprised that Morocco would violate someone like that, considering what he did to Tunisia before...

He felt his face heat up, and he buried his face in his knees. But that didn't mean he was expecting that Morocco would do it to another man when he's…!

He looked up, a puzzled expression on him.

When's he's… already after Tunisia. But they weren't… ugh… together or anything (of course they weren't, they're brothers and Morocco's _insane_ ). So why…?

Tunisia felt his stomach churn in disgust, and he stared at his hands. Was that it? Jealousy? No, it couldn't be… Was Tunisia jealous and angry that his incestuous brother, the first man to show a shred of interest in him, molested some other male nation instead of just molesting _him_?

At that horrifying possibility, he shook his head vigorously and began pulling at his own hair. No… no, that couldn't be… Banging his head against the wall was starting to feel _way_ too tempting right now.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, _no!_ He _wasn't_ jealous of Mauritius! He didn't wish that he could be the one being violated by his own psychotic brother instead of him! Where did that even come from?! Perish the thought! Mauritius was tied up, drugged, and being tortured and used as a plaything! Why would Tunisia want to be in that position?! He knew he was a disgusting person, but he still his dignity and morals!

Yes… that's right… it wasn't jealousy. Tunisia's better than that, despite everything. Then why was this bothering him so much? Did he feel cheated? Disappointed that Morocco's also lusting after other people? But why?! Like he said _before_ , they weren't even together! And Tunisia didn't want _that_ to change!

A-And if Morocco's after him, then why's he also after someone else? That's what confused him. Was

Maybe… Morocco moved on from him? Maybe he got bored? Did he change his mind and decided that his bland brother wasn't worth the effort? Maybe he realized that there's no point trying to convince someone as hopeless as Tunisia?

Aside the feeling of his heart clenching at the thought that Tunisia quickly pushed aside, it didn't _feel_ likely. Morocco was never someone who gave up that easily, and Tunisia doubted that that aspect of him was a lie. He shared that stubbornness with Algeria, even though they'd probably never admit it, especially now. Tunisia blinked, and gazed up in thought. Now that he thought about it, _everyone_ in the family was kind of stubborn.

And Morocco _promised_ that he'd be back, something that Tunisia couldn't doubt no matter how much he wanted. Yes, he had no doubt that his brother would come to convince him to… to accept his love…

Tunisia still couldn't _believe_ that his brother said all that to him, and that he's interested in him. Did it count as a declaration of love? He supposed so, his brother looked and sounded so kind and genuine. So much that, to his shame, for a moment there he felt a little tempted to accept that offer

But in all honesty, he wasn't sure if he completely believed Morocco's words, or if his definition of love was what Tunisia (and any rational person) had in mind.

In the end, Morocco's deranged and sadistic. So… how would he ' _love'_ Tunisia? He felt kind of stupid for not asking himself that question before. Was he really that dense and desperate?

Tunisia stared into space as he thought about it, thinking back to how the real version of his brother acted, and he quickly paled.

That question _scared_ him.

He then groaned miserably and buried his face in his hands this time. He really should've figured this all out sooner, and Tunisia's only feeling even more like an idiot. So then… then what the hell's he getting so upset and depressed for?!

"Malik?"

A worried familiar voice suddenly snapped Tunisia from this self-deprecating rant, startling him. Blinking, he looked up and to his surprise he found Algeria worried gaze staring back at him. Tunisia immediately tensed, his nerves getting ahold of him. How long had she been standing there? How much did she see? Did she catch him sneaking away after all?

"S-Sis…?" Tunisia stuttered, unconsciously backing up against the wall. "W-Why are you-"

"I quickly realized that my brother, who was standing next to me, went missing and I saw you sneaking off to this place." Algeria explained sternly, and Tunisia shrunk under her disapproving gaze "Just because you don't speak much, it doesn't make you… err … what's his name? Oh, it doesn't matter. The point is, I don't like you running off without telling me."

"As for why I'm here, I believe that's obvious." Algeria continued as if he hadn't spoken, and her expression softened into a worried one. "I noticed that my brother was in pain and that he sneaked away because of it, so I got worried about you. It almost looked like you wanted to cry."

Tunisia felt himself pale, and he shook his head vigorously. "N-No, I-I wasn't...!"

"Oh, come on, Malik." Algeria rolled her eyes, before giving him that worried look again. "Do you _really_ think I wouldn't notice that my own brother was suffering?"

For the just the briefest moment, Tunisia felt a burning feeling in his heart, and he wanted to scream _yes!_ Yes, yes, she wouldn't notice him suffering. For years she hasn't been able to tell that her brother's pain and moments of depression _weren't_ about the state of his country's politics, or him cringing and flinching every time she ranted about 'them' and their unholiness.

So why and how would _she_ figure out what's the cause of Tunisia's pain when even _he_ wasn't sure what it was?

But Tunisia was better than that. He knew that his sister cared and that she never meant to hurt him, and that right now she wanted to help. So, he crushed that bitter and petty feeling in his heart and decided not to run away from her.

"I…I guess I should've known better." Tunisia smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, sister. I… didn't want to worry you"

Algeria sighed, but she smiled back at him, nonetheless. "Well, I can understand that, but it's still not right. I'm your sister, and we're there for each other. Why couldn't you trust me to tell me what's wrong?"

"I-I, well, that's, it's… uhm…" Tunisia stammered, having trouble finding the right words for it. "It's complicated."

"Is that so?" Algeria raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "Or do you just don't want to tell me?"

Tunisia flinched, and he suddenly felt even more nervous. "N-No, that's not true! I really don't know how to explain it to you. Hell, I don't even know what's causing me this pain in the first place, Khalida!"

Algeria flinched at his shout, and she stared at him in surprise. It's not every day that Tunisia had an outburst, after all. Algeria was normally, no, _almost always_ the one who would lose her cool. Tunisia was immediately flooded with guilt, and he wound up feeling even worse than before.

"I'm sorry." He apologized again.

Algeria didn't scowl at him as he feared, and she sighed again before she sat down next to him. "I think… No, I'm _sure_ I know what's troubling you, Malik. It's something I've been suspecting for a while and something we haven't quite discussed again today."

The guilt in Tunisia's heart was immediately replaced with pure and utter terror. Oh no… don't tell him that… But she didn't look disgusted at him and she hasn't treated him like worthless trash. So, what the hell has Algeria come up with?

"You're _still_ in denial, that's what."

H-Huh? Tunisia blinked and stared at his sister, and he was puzzled when he found a smile on her face. "W-What do you mean?"

"Oh, don't try to deny it, little brother." Algeria scolded him gently, smacking him lightly on the shoulder. "Admit it, despite what that bastard did to you back in Paris, molesting you, assaulting you, coercing you into coming along with him, and lying to us all these years… you're still holding on to that nonsense that deep down there's some good in him and whatnot."

Tunisia wasn't whether to be amazed at his luck or surprised and relieved that Algeria still hasn't picked up on his secret yet. Thank Allah!

But… him being in denial that Morocco was truly and deeply a despicable person? That Tunisia was still trying to find some reason, justification, and understanding in his brother's actions despite everything that's happened? T-That's… well, Tunisia hadn't really thought about that lately…

"I'll admit, I might be a little biased since you liked him while I _despised_ him. So that would explain my lack of understanding, but still…" Algeria clicked her tongue in distaste. "You know what? I think you might as well be a healthier version of England at this point, no offense to you. But you're much kinder and friendlier, so please don't take this the wrong way."

Despite her stubbornness and obliviousness to Tunisia's desires, Algeria was no idiot. In fact, he considered his sister to be very smart and perceptive, a lot more than he was at least. And she was usually startlingly good at telling when Tunisia was going through some sort of pain and could somewhat guess what's technically bothering him… somewhat. So… could Algeria have a point?

"Honestly, Malik, I know you're too forgiving and too nice for your own good, but this is ridiculous." Algeria shook her head disapprovingly. "Normally, people wouldn't think kindly of those who've lied, assaulted and molested them with no remorse, and here you are, grieving that there's yet again undeniable _proof_ that Morocco is irredeemably evil."

He felt a shock as his sister's words struck a chord with him, and realization dawned on him. Wait… Tunisia grieving that there was again undeniable proof of Morocco's malice? Was that it? Was that what's paining him? The fact that the only man who'll ever love him in a romantic way was a cruel and irredeemable monster?

Tunisia began to tremble, and he grasped his head, unable to hold in the pain any longer.

"…And I'm not saying of this to hurt you or make you feel bad, I just…" Algeria trailed off right when Tunisia started to sob, and he could vaguely make out her horrified look. "M-Malik, you… Oh no, you're crying. No, no, what did I say? What did I do? I'm sorry! I didn't want to make you cry. I just wanted to…"

"K-Khalida…?" He sniffed.

"Yes, what's wrong? What can I do?!"

"I'm sorry… but… can you hug me?" Tunisia asked her pathetically, not knowing what to make of any of this anymore. "Please?"

Algeria immediately nodded, understanding that he was in no mood to talk, and she gently wrapped his arms around her pitiful little brother. Tunisia didn't hold back the tears any longer, and he cried into his sister's shoulder while she tried to say some comforting words to him. He barely listened, he was just so tired…

He was such a sick person.

/ / / / /

Egypt hated how many times he's been put in awkward situations throughout this war. Was it just bad luck? Was it on purpose? Did people think he wouldn't mind because of his status as a relatively mute and stoic person? He wasn't fond of complaining, but why did this keep happening to him?

"Why can't I go with you?!"

This time the situation was more or less caused by Egypt himself… again… as well as Seychelles. Gods, just when he seemingly patched things up with her, sort of, he landed himself in yet another problem where Seychelles ended up upset with him.

After the whole group separated to start preparing for their respective tasks, Egypt found himself approached by the ever-but-understandably-nervous Seychelles. There was still the lingering awkwardness from their earlier… discussion. He still wasn't sure if Seychelles had forgiven him or not, and he was even less sure if there'll be an adequate time to address that anytime soon.

Especially now, he had no doubt Seychelles currently had a lot on her mind with Mauritius and all. Then there's what happened after they'd saved Mauritius too. He wouldn't be surprised if he found her staying by his side for days.

And he still felt rather horrified by what the Baron did to her. The blood on her favorite dress had begun to dry and she had fixed her messy hair as much as she could. The wounds were still there, and Egypt had offered to heal them or at least help wash them to prevent from getting infected. She agreed, thank Allah, and he accompanied her to a nearby restroom.

Seychelles was quieter than usual, and one couldn't blame her for it. She had witnessed the gruesome corpses of two of her fellow nations and was hounded by a psychotic spirit seemingly intent on inflicting her a fate worse than death.

Egypt highly lamented that he wasn't there for her, despite their argument. Thank goodness she made it out alive.

These events made what Seychelles had finally told him even more unbelievable and insane.

"What do you mean, ' _why'_?" Egypt felt tempted to shout, but he ended up saying those words in a gentler, narrowing his eyes. "Michelle, forgive me, but a while ago you had stumbled upon the corpses of two innocent girls, one of which was being _eaten_ by Baron Kriminel, and then you were chased by said spirit, narrowly avoiding death or worse. And now you… you're telling me that you _want_ to go near two cannibals and a trigger-happy nation?"

To his complete and utter disbelief and horror, Seychelles had requested with a determined face that she also be allowed to accompany them on the mission to rescue Mauritius, her friend and fellow African island nation.

His reaction was… well… a bit too explosive for his liking, but really, could you blame him after hearing that insane demand?!

"I-I know it sounds dumb and crazy, and I'm aware that it'll be dangerous!" Seychelles exclaimed, giving him a pleading look. "But we finally know where Kelvin is, and I want to go save him! I can't stand knowing that he's out there, suffering!"

"And that's why we, not you, will go to Switzerland's house to free him and bring him back to you." Egypt told her calmly. "I promise to you, in the name of Ra, that we will not come back without him."

"I believe you, I really do, but I want to help too! I've been worried sick about him and I'm tired of standing around doing nothing while they're torturing him!" Seychelles cried out desperately, which was doing Egypt's heart no favors. "Please, I won't ever ask to come along on another mission ever again!"

"You cannot be serious." Egypt said in horror. "I understand your desire to help Mauritius, but you can't seriously want to go when the Africans are there. They won't hesitate to tear you to shreds. It's too dangerous."

Seychelles seemed close to tearing up. "B-But…"

Oh, _please_ don't start crying that you don't get to go on a dangerous mission! Egypt wasn't sure if his heart could take any more guilt.

But… this was important to her… No, think of her safety.

"Gupta, _please_!" Seychelles kept insisting. "I promise I won't be in the way and I won't move unless you say so! Please, I want to see him again!"

…Curses…

/ / / / /

Good Lord, this search was going nowhere!

Ever since France and his precious younger, thankfully sane and forgiving, siblings found out England in his bottomless foolishness planned to bomb and/or nuke all his ex-colonies who were part of the Order, they've ran through this grim city, looking for any clues or asking the locals if they happened to spot a hideous, foul-smelling man with a terrible attitude and ugly caterpillars for eyebrows.

Erm… he may or may not have ended up elbowed by Canada several times for that. B-But that's not important! What's important was that time was of the essence! And if England somehow succeeded in his insane plan, then…

France cringed, and he shuddered. Oh, he didn't even want to think about it! Millions of humans will die, all the other nations unaware of what's going on will be disgusted by what England did and would have even more trouble believing their group, and worst of all, the Order might believe that their enemies allowed this and…

Everything would quickly fall apart, they'll all be killed, and it'll be all thanks to England.

And they obviously couldn't let that happen!

But alas, France and his little brother and sister weren't having much luck with their search. No sign of England anywhere, and London was a big city. God, how will they ever find that idiot before he committed the biggest mistake of his life?

"Oh, we're not even close to finding Arthur!" Canada cried out from behind France. "Maple hockey, how are we gonna find him before he convinces his people to nuke Alfred and the others?! No one's seen him anywhere!"

"And it appears that that fact will not be changing anytime soon." "We could try to call him again, but I doubt that the result will change, in my opinion."

"Then… I'm afraid we have no choice…" France sighed, and he turned to his smart little sister. "Monaco, _ma fille_ , do you still have the phone Haiti left behind?"

To his relief, Monaco quickly nodded. " _Oui_ , I have it right here, just in case and to avoid another incident."

 _Perfect_. Then there was hope for them after all.

Canada, the poor boy, looked at him strangely. "Wait, what's this about a phone? Are you going to call England after all, Papa?

"Non, there's only _one_ option we have left if we want to prevent a great loss of life and disastrous consequences." France said grimly, staring at both of his siblings in the eye. "If we can't find Angleterre, then we must instead _warn_ the Order of what could happen so they can prepare themselves."

As he expected, both of his siblings reacted with shock with the news of his new plan. Yes, it sounded crazy, warning the enemy. Who's to say they'll even believe them? But still, for the sake of saving innocent lives and even Amerique, despite what he did, as well as the other ex-colonies, France was more than willing to try.

And speaking of the boy…

"We must call our dear bitter Amerique and warn him of the danger so that he could in turn warn the others and save themselves before it's too late!

 **Hope you enjoyed! Please review if you have a minute.**


	66. Justice: The Worth(lessness) of Humans I

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, vexey1999 and NadiaJA627 for reviewing. Now, on with the show!**

Panama hadn't been here for a full day yet and he's already annoyed by the people here.

Call him petty, call him childish or ridiculous, but it's kind of _hard_ breathing the same air as the people who'll end up having his whole family and friends in the South _killed_ if they won this accursed war, don't you think? Columbia and the others were crazy, but Panama still loved her to death, and he cared for the others too.

They better not be planning anything for them… If they were, then Panama will gladly throw his neutrality status out the window and warn the others. He hated this whole mess, but dammit, that he had to try to protect those he actually cared about. Well, he had a feeling that doing that wouldn't be so easy, not with them keeping an eye on him.

He was already expecting distrust, as well as scorn, hell, he even expected to be assigned a nation who'll stare at and harass him all day and night. Panama wasn't an idiot. His neutrality status didn't really help win them over either…

…Okay, Panama wasn't exactly doing and saying much to make things better for himself either, he'll admit that. But he's not here to make friends, so what's the point? Not have someone stalking you all day? Not be greeted with the same bitterness and rudeness as Nicaragua by everyone else? Not have his neighbors look like idiots in their allies' eyes for bringing him here?

The first two were just a minor inconvenience, and as for the last one, well, Panama started to feel bad the more he thought about it. But that brought him to the reason why he didn't try to leave a good impression: He may care about what the other Central Americans thought, but he didn't when it came to the others.

When his neighbors would glare at him or scold him, Panama always felt something, whether it'd be guilt, sadness, or even mild frustration. With the others, Europeans, Africans, Asians, anyone not affiliated with the Order and who Panama's not good friends with did it… nothing. When it's not annoyance, bitterness and anger, it's _nothing_.

His fellow Central Americas were one thing. They were like family to him, his friends, his escape from the insanity that was his family in South America. Panama wasn't stupid, he had already expected apprehension and bitterness from when they'll finally find out the truth, but that didn't mean he was looking forward to seeing their relationship become strained.

The… other nations, however, despite having known them for years, Panama didn't really feel anything for them _at all_. Okay, yeah, maybe Seychelles was an exception. He could see she was an innocent soul in all of this with all these other bastards. She's just a scared island girl who wanted to get away from the psychopaths, Panama honestly felt really bad for her. The trip back to Africa wasn't going to be pleasant.

…And it's all Egypt's fault she's going to end up mauled by lions or get ripped apart by honey badgers after god knows what punishment she got put through first. Panama clenched his fists tightly, and he vaguely heard a few small cracks. He may not know how exactly Seychelles ended up here in the first place, but Egypt should've known better than letting her come along…

Panama wasn't fond of wishing terror and misfortune on other people, it just felt _wrong_. But he honestly hoped Egypt will get to **_burn in hell_**.

The others… well, Panama didn't really need to elaborate much on them. Germany's a guilty doormat who could only keep this cranky group together for so long. Japan's bland and useless, and he's probably already making plans to rewrite the history books to make him the innocent angel again. Italy's self-explanatory. Russia's _also_ self-explanatory. Panama personally _loathed_ China for obvious reasons, and on Taiwan's behalf. God, how he hated that old man…

Algeria was your everyday Muslim religious nut, somewhere between publicly canning people crazy and pushing people off buildings crazy (Panama and the others liked to jokingly measure Muslims' insanity that way, it's actually pretty fun). And her brother…

Oh… Oh, right! Tunisia's definitely another exception too. Poor guy… Following a religion prone to producing _countless_ of gay-hating religious _nuts_ with the _thinnest skin_ _on the planet_ … Being _surrounded_ by nutcases (including Morocco)… Being convinced that people like him will go to hell and seeing his fellow outcasts get treated like dirt in the East while the West ignored them in favor of obsessing over stupid things and _not hurting the poor Muslim World's feelings..._

Tch, Panama felt tempted to go on a rage-fueled tirade, but he's running the risk of going _way_ off-track. So anyway, if all that wasn't enough, Tunisia's the object of Morocco's crazy incestuous affections, and that guy was just creepy. Wait, was affection or even 'love' the right way to describe it? He didn't know the full details, but from what he's heard…

"EMANUEL!"

Panama shrieked and nearly fell on the bench he was sitting on when someone screamed in his ear. Good God, his heart…! He regained his balance and snapped his head to his right where he found Costa Rica staring at him disapproval.

Panama glared at him indignantly. "What the hell was that for, Felix?! You nearly gave me a heart attack there!"

"I'm sorry, but you were spacing out again! I had to get you back somehow!" Costa Rica replied upsettably, looking genuinely hurt. "And while I was talking to you, too! I thought you were ignoring me."

That last part alarmed him. Wait, what? Oh no, did he really get lost in his bitter thoughts again? How could he let that happen?

Panama felt his glare vanish, and his dissipating anger was replaced by guilt. "What? No, no, no, no, no! I wasn't ignoring you, Felix. I just suddenly started spacing out, is all. It wasn't you, honest! So… what were we talking about again?

He hastily asked that with a nervous smile because he's getting _really_ uncomfortable with the way Costa Rica was looking at him with that displeased frown. Panama couldn't believe he forgot how unnerving his friend looked like when he's frustrated or angry.

For all Costa Rica's kindness and optimism, he had an uncanny ability to see right through people's bullshit (probably what enabled him to trust Panama despite everything). And right now, it looked like he's not accepting any of Panama's excuses this time.

"Emanuel, this is the third time you've gotten distracted, and sorry amigo, but I'm starting to get tired of it." Costa Rica said bluntly, and he frowned. "What's going on? What's making you stare angrily into space and mutter swear words under your breath? Be honest, am I really annoying you that much? I'm trying hard for you!"

Panama swallowed hard and he quickly tried to calm Costa Rica down. "I know you're trying really hard, and I appreciate that, I really do. But I just have a lot of things on my mind right now. Now, please, what were we talking about again?"

If only it were that easy.

Costa Rica narrowed his eyes, and Panama tried not to shrink. Oh, he's in for it now. "We, or more like _I_ was talking about how if you're going to be staying here, it's for the best that you be friendlier with everyone unless you want Russia or someone to consider using you as blackmail or _worse_. But seeing as you keep spacing out, it looks like you don't even _care_."

Panama flinched. Dammit, Costa Rica, it's not like that! "No, that's not true! I-"

"I'm just trying to look out for you, and so are the others, believe it or not." Costa Rica said with his tone dripping with pain and frustration. "We just want to make sure you won't end up hurt, and that any problems won't pop up. But you're too stubborn to listen.

"I understand, but I-" But he failed to make his angry friend listen. God, he felt like his normal self all over again.

"You'd rather get yourself and the rest of us in trouble by insulting the very people who could have you killed or worse in front of us, and you don't care."

Eventually Panama couldn't take any more, he didn't want Costa Rica angry at him. He stood up began shouting, " _Por el amor de Dios_ , Felix, would you please just listen to me?! I'm sorry that I haven't really been listening to what you're saying, but I wasn't joking when I said I had a lot of things on my mind. I'm stressed out, worried and me technically being in enemy territory isn't helping either! We're lucky the Baron didn't kill us, or that he immediately concluded that I betrayed the organization!"

Oh, good Lord, Panama honestly couldn't remember the last time he felt so nervous! He never interacted much with Haiti, but _everyone_ knew about his powers and his spirits. He's heard stories from the others about the voodoo spirits, and they were all horrifying. They're as cruel as Haiti himself, and they could send you to fates worse than death!

He couldn't describe how relieved he felt when Baron Kriminel believed that he's only here as an observer. Of course, that was before Panama realized that the Baron wouldn't give the same mercy to Costa Rica and the others. D-Did Haiti ever inform him of 'the situation' with El Salvador?

"You wouldn't have anything to worry about if you hadn't been so standoffish or hostile back there!" Costa Rica exclaimed hotly, bringing Panama out of his thoughts again. Shit, what's with him today? "You're lucky France isn't here, if he heard what you said about España… Anyway, if you keep insulting and vocally rooting for the Order, then they'll have a good enough reason to not give a shit about you."

'As if they did in the first place!' Panama wanted to shout, but no, he didn't want to make things even worse.

"Felix, I don't think there's anything we can do to chance those bastards' minds. They're stubborn, and they believe what they want. So, there's no point in playing nice!" He retorted bitterly, and Panama sighed. "But you're right, it wouldn't be for the best to be so hostile to the others. I don't want to cause any trouble for you and the others, or the South Americans for that matter."

Costa Rica seemed to grimace slightly at the mention of Panama's family, before his gaze softened, sighing. "I'm glad you at least finally realized that. Look, I'm not asking you to be as friendly and happy as you are… were… around me with them. I know you wouldn't like it one bit."

"Damn right I wouldn't…" Panama grumbled.

"All I'm suggesting, for your own good, is that you cut it out the insults and vocal support for the Order."

Part of Panama felt obligated to object to that, but he ignored. He nodded, albeit hesitantly as he sat back down. "Alright, I can do that."

"Good." Costa Rica sighed, relieved, before giving Panama an unhappy look again. Panama hoped it won't become a habit. "Also, can you please, please, _please_ stop spacing out so much every time I try to talk you of getting yourself in trouble and stuff?

Panama's eye twitched, and he scowled. "I told you, I didn't mean to get distracted!

"But can you at least try to prevent it from happening again?"

"Fine, I will."

They settled into a bit of a weird silence, not exactly awkward but not comfortable either. Panama wondered if this meant that the whole problem had been resolved or not. If so, then why did Costa Rica look so uneasy. Did Panama make another mistake or say something bad that he wasn't aware about? What could he do to make Costa Rica go back to his normal self?

"…I can't believe that you still care about them, the South Americans I mean." Costa Rica suddenly spoke, and Panama stared at him oddly. So, it's about _them?_ "I know you hated España, but you're not like them. So can you stand being around them? How can you still want to protect them?"

Panama tensed and shifted uncomfortably at the questions, ones that he didn't think Costa Rica will like the answers. God, didn't they already discuss this back at his house? Oh, this will only make things worse…

"Because they're my family and friends, and I know they care about me… most of them at least." Panama began to explain carefully, briefly scowling when the image of Guatemala and his mocking smile popped up in his mind. "And it's not like I'm fond of _all_ of them, you know. Some of them are just too sick in the head, even for me."

Panama shuddered and made a disgusted grimace. Oh, he's not kidding or lying (he'd never lie to Costa Rica), you know. He loved his sister and he cared about her other siblings, he got along really well with others, but were some nations in the Americas he just couldn't _stand_.

Other than Guatemala, who Panama really didn't like, there's Haiti. Oh God, being around him honestly gave Panama the creeps. Haiti's use of evil magic and his many friendships with countless evil ghosts and spirits unnerved Panama, and it didn't help that if anyone pissed him off, Haiti could inflict all kinds of wicked curses or send a spirit to torment or kill you. Yeah, Haiti took way too after his 'brother' Nigeria, although in terms of cruelty…

Panama cringed, and he felt a chill up in his spine. Oh! And there's also Brazil… Ugh, Panama didn't even know where to start on that guy. He's basically just as sadistic as the Africans, who he's great friends with, especially South Africa. He's the most mentally unstable in the continent. Then there's his just flat-out disturbing obsession with Portugal… God, did Brazil hate him or love him? It didn't make any sense!

"And I told you before that I'm not happy with their cruelty, despite how much España deserved it." Panama bit his tongue after adding that last part and seeing the distasteful look on Costa Rica's face. "I was never happy with that, and as a result I sometimes didn't feel very comfortable around them."

It made the masquerade even more unbearable.

"B-But putting all that aside, most of them aren't that bad compared to a lot of the other members! And they really did like you…"

But Costa Rica didn't look convinced. He frowned. "Not that bad? Oh, come on, Emanuel. Haiti's nuts and he's made deals with demons. Brazil recorded España's death just for laughs. And Guatemala's a psychopath, you can't _seriously_ be defending him."

"Si, Guatemala is a psychopath, I'm not arguing with that or with the others. I don't even like him." Panama assured him, and he sighed at his memories with Guatemala. Their relationship was the tensest one Panama ever had. "I don't think I've ever liked him, not even before he became this apathetic and cruel."

Costa Rica looked surprised at this. Did he and the others _really_ think they truly got along? "You're not real friends with Iztali?"

Panama snorted, and he laid back against the bench. "Hell no! If anything, I think I almost hate the guy. And after how you told me he handled the situation with Sophia and Vanessa, I think I now do. I knew that if you and the others caused trouble, Guatemala would be more than happy to put any of you down. Was I happy when he said that? Of course not! The plan was to keep you all alive…"

W-Well, they needed to keep them all alive since one of them will be later needed to… But Panama made them promise not to encourage El Salvador to go after Costa Rica! He knew this sounded inconsiderate to the others, and this didn't mean that he wouldn't mourn the girls…. He probably won't ever be able to live with himself, but he couldn't let his best friend die.

"But… other than Guatemala, you'll find that despite everything, a lot of South Americans' friendship and kindness with you was completely genuine." Panama managed a small smile, but to his dismay, Costa Rica still didn't look too convinced.

Well… Panama slumped. He supposed that being discovered that you were being lied to and tricked for all these years made it hard to believe…

Still, there's no way Panama's going to give up. Sooner or later he'll convince Costa Rica that this whole pathetic resistance wasn't worth it and they'll go back home with the others, live life happily without their bosses tormenting them, and maybe the two of them could finally-

"Hey! If you two are done with your therapy session, then we've got some big news for you!"

Panama flinched at the new voice, and he looked up to see Belize with her typical smirk on her face, Honduras with her typical happy look on her face, and Nicaragua with her typical grumpy look and annoying demeanor. How long have they been standing there?

He frowned. No, scratch that, what did they want?

"Oh, hi, you guys!" Costa Rica smiled and waved in greeting. Panama felt a sting of envy at how his friend was happy with their presence, and not with his. "Guess what? Emanuel said that he's going to try to behave himself from now on."

The three girls looked over at Panama, as if waiting for his confirmation or just hear it from himself. He sighed. "Felix's right, I've… realized that I didn't act mature back there. So, I promise that I'll try not to be so…"

"Rah-rah for the enemy?"

"Douchey?"

"Bad with PR?"

Panama's eyebrow twitched, but he told himself to get a grip and get over it. They're all right in saying those things, even Nicaragua (for once). He needed to accept it, even though he's still going to be unhappy during this whole thing.

"Si… all that." He tried not to grumble, and to his relief, they all looked happy (except Nicaragua, who's never happy) with the news. Costa Rica even patted him on the back.

"Yeah, yeah, that's great. But forget about Panama's bitchy attitude, Felix. We're here tell you that we're gonna on a trip!" Belize announced with her smirk, though strangely not with her usual energy. She glanced at Panama, who began to suspect something was up. "And you're invited to come along! I'd be really happy if you do, cause, we're gonna need all the help we can get with this."

A trip? Where were they going, and why would the Central Americans want to be involved in this? Panama narrowed his eyes; he had a really bad feeling about this. He opened his mouth to demand what the hell were they going to do, but Costa Rica beat him to it.

"Wha… A trip?" Costa Rica asked with a puzzled look. "What do you mean? Where are we going?"

Honduras seemed like she was the one who's going to answer that question, but Belize slapped a hand over her mouth. "Hey, hey, wait a second, Sophia. What are you doing? We need to break it to them gently, especially with Panama here!"

Honduras said something that was completely muffled by Belize's hand covering her mouth, while Panama grew even more impatient. What the hell's going on?!

"Are you sure we should tell him about this?" Nicaragua asked with a grimace, briefly glaring at Panama. "Right when he's calmed down too? You do know he's probably going to explode when we tell him we're going to do, right?"

"Alright, I don't appreciate you guys talking about me as if I'm not here or I wouldn't mind you acting suspicious" Panama glared at the three of them, and he raised an eyebrow as he looked at them expectantly. "Come on, out with it. What's this trip that you're too scared to tell me about?"

"Well… Oh, fine, no beating around the bush. Here's what we're gonna do," Belize said bluntly, though anyone could tell that even she wasn't looking forward to breaking the news to Panama. "Since Italy's grumpy brother is so angry at Brazil for duping him that he went to the guy's house, us Central Americans plus Italy and Japan are gonna go to Brazil to look for him."

Panama stared at them wide-eyed as an ominous silence fell over the area, trying to process that little bombshell that Belize dropped on him even though _he_ was the one who told her to spit it out… and now he really regretted it. He probably should've let her break it to him gently, but either way, he supposed that it really wouldn't change his reaction.

It took a little while to fully realize what this meant, and when Panama managed to fully digest that stupid plan, just as Nicaragua predicted, he exploded.

…What…?

 ** _"WHAAAAAAT?!"_**

/ / / / /

So far since her arrival here, Ukraine had been somewhat glad that most of the nations here weren't as foolish or stubborn as her brother.

There were, of course, some other foolish ones, particularly China. Oh dear, Ukraine never really liked that man, much less trusted him. Ukraine wasn't really sure if she could call Italy foolish, since he was truly a nice man, but he… erm… really needed get a grip? In a war against an organization capable of permanently killing nations, Italy won't last long if he didn't gather some courage.

The others were good people, they truly wanted to help out and they're worried for their loved ones safety, just as Ukraine was before… She felt the familiar pang in her heart, and she shook her head. Oh, Belarus… Why did you have to be so cruel to everyone?

As for Panama… well… Ukraine didn't want to admit it out loud and cause more of a ruckus, but she couldn't really blame him for his attitude. He was tired, just as Ukraine was tired, and just wanted to stay out of this. But he still he came along anyways…

And his hostility could be more than warranted. If their alliance won, then… what would happen to the South Americans?

She… _really_ needed to ask someone about that.

From her observations so far, this seemed like an organized enough group, although Germany seemed to be only thing keeping everyone from tearing this alliance apart, and Ukraine admired him for his determination and patience. Hopefully with his efforts, they will stand a good chance against the enemy.

And hopefully, Ukraine will find some way to be of use. She had truly meant it when she said that she had every intention of preventing someone else from getting killed because of her brother's foolish mistakes. But she hadn't truly thought of how she was going to do it. Ukraine didn't have much experience with combat, although she at least knew how to defend herself well enough.

She had often been kept out of the front lines throughout her life, not because of her gender, but because her bosses realized how… _fragile_ she was. Not that Ukraine really blamed any of them, with her breasts there's no telling if she'll suddenly injure her back while running or fighting.

So, Ukraine settled for other, less dangerous but still important tasks that she was good at her. Like taking care of wounded soldiers, helping evacuate the citizens, or if she was lucky or just in a really bad mood, being a sniper. Perhaps one would consider it demeaning, but Ukraine would only shake her head at such ignorant remarks.

What truly mattered to her was that she could help.

Perhaps she could… umm… provide some comfort to those who needed it? Help in case someone got injured? Oh, maybe if she was given a gun, she could land a few decent shots! Err, maybe Germany could have a good idea.

But to her surprise, she did find a task where she could help. And the funny thing was, she didn't approach anyone, Romania was the one who approached her with the request, looking desperate and worried. Ukraine had to help him.

She and Romania had… well, their relations weren't perfect. They had this dispute over an island among other things, but they both knew better than to care about that now. They were in the middle of a war, for God's sake!

But still, Ukraine was indeed surprised to see Romania approach her, accompanied by poor and confused Moldova holding him by the hand. Somehow, she immediately knew what he wanted her to for him. He was going to be away for a while after all

"Hey, listen, I know things aren't exactly perfect between us and all, but seriously, who cares about that right now?" Romania said hastily, obviously trying to seem tough as to not to further worry Moldova. And the blonde nation sighed. "Aw, look, I need you to take care of Moldova here while I'm gone, please. You're the only one I can trust with this."

Ukraine truly felt bad for him. They were in war, and his little brother was in grave danger of being captured to use as leverage against Romania or worse, and the worry showed.

"And da, I know things aren't exactly perfect between you two either, but he does like you and trust you!" Romania kept saying, looking more stressed than anything. "At least a lot more than that Russian ba… jerk and Ching… China, I mean. So-"

"Vlad."

"D-Da, what is it?"

"Calm down, please…" Ukraine told him gently, and she smiled kindly. "Don't worry, I promise I'll do my best to care for Moldova while you're away. I don't have any sort of problem with it, and I'd love to do it."

Ukraine certainly wasn't expecting the hug that followed.

/ / / / /

Well… this was a little awkward.

Turkey whistled absently to himself as he sat on a bench while the rest of the team of unlikely misfits silently wandered around in the emptier parts of the town, with Norway and Finland going on ahead to scan the area for any good targets. They were waiting, basically… and it's just as agonizing as it sounded.

Ugh, he's so boooored! Really bored! And his bloodlust was making him restless and hungry for gore. The fact that it wasn't even really properly sated back in the Vatican City didn't help either! And Turkey could sense that the others were kind of in the same predicament too, great, at least there's that. Agh! He needed to kill someone in one of the most gruesome ways possible, _fast_.

Yes, he _knew_ he sounded childish and if someone was somehow reading his thoughts, they'd probably think 'Oh Turkey's so childish, he's exaggerating, what a baby' being the dumb humans they all were. Heh, well, how about _you_ try going centuries with a façade dealing with one unbearable boss after another, dealing with the nutcases that were his moronic people, with the only way you could (sometimes) express your frustration being like to act a cranky old man, then let's see how ' _patient'_ and ' _mature'_ you are then.

He unconsciously licked his lips, calmly reminding himself all this will be worth it in the end. Come on, try to a little more patient, Turkey. If he could go years dealing with his extremely annoying people and the goddamn European Union

Still whistling the tune, Turkey's eyes drifted bellow to the Bulgarian snuggled close to him, a content smile on his cute face and he hugged Turkey's arm almost possessively. Well, at least Bulgaria's enjoying himself. Smirking, he raised his free hand and brought it down to caress his lover's hair. Bulgaria giggled at the attention.

He _could_ always take out his bloodlust on Bulgaria like he used to do back in the good ol' days… his pet will get off on it as always and the sight of Bulgaria relishing being brutally injured would provide Turkey much amusement.

Bulgaria smiled up at him, almost as if sensing Turkey's desire, and he looked at him with eager eyes, silently begging him to go ahead with what he wanted to do.

Turkey offered an apologetic smile and kept caressing the younger nation's hair.

…But they were out in public, and it'd be flat-out foolish to waste time entertaining himself when it's more important that they find some good transport to travel to Sukhumi, no matter how much the monster inside of him wanted to go on a rampage.

Turkey's _way_ better than that.

Speaking of transport, it's pretty funny that until some fifteen, twenty minutes or more ago, they were in Tbilisi. These shortcuts sure are useful, but best not abuse or depend on them, they're not too easy to make.

A _t first,_ they considered traveling via some vehicle big enough for all of them to fit in comfortably, but that idea was immediately thrown out the window when America and Georgia told them it'd take about _six hours_ to get from Tbilisi to Sukhumi. And America told them that they had to invade Sukhumi, massacre the whole government and a good chunk of the population for good measure, and kidnap South Ossetia in an hour or two, so…

So _then_ it turned out that when America said they'd cross the border, he meant that when they'd use the shortcuts to get from Tbilisi to this place called Gulripshi that's only about fourteen minutes away from the capital where they could go find and hijack a car or two to drive straight to Sukhumi without drawing any suspicion to themselves!

It's quick and simple! Wow, America really did think this whole thing through for sweet little Georgia, didn't he? How nice of him. Hopefully North Korea wasn't jealous… No, seriously, that boy rivaled _Bulgaria_ when it came to possessiveness.

But anyway, now they're currently in the process finding a good car to steal, so they're all laying low for now. Turkey had no doubt that with their combined strength and abilities, they could massacre the whole town no problem, thus satiating their bloodlust in the process, but they couldn't afford the risk of raising any alarms.

So... most of them were really bored. No, only that, Turkey could tell that some of the nations even felt a little awkward here, himself included. Couldn't say that he blamed them, this was a pretty odd choice of nations, though America knew what he's doing. Although, there were even weirder combinations…

See, here's the thing… One could see this team was made up of two smaller teams who aren't known for often working together banding together only because they were told to and it's necessary. Not getting it? Allow Turkey to spell it out for you: You have one group, three of the cold and unfeeling Nordics, and then you have the Middle East which consisted of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey himself plus special guest Bulgaria…

These two groups, while not that different, never interacted all that much throughout the centuries. While they could work together, they weren't used to being lumped together, and neither of the groups weren't very sure how to approach the other…. Especially since it's been a while since they've… you know, _talked_ ….

Hearing all this, you might think America's an idiot for making a team like this… Hah! But never fear, because America, boy genius, was perfectly aware of this and had just the solution for this little issue so it wouldn't risk jeopardizing the mission.

What's the solution? Why, Turkey himself! He's going to break the ice!

And he knew just how to do it.

"Aw man, it's too bad we can't wipe this town off map. I think we could all use some blood and gore right now." Turkey remarked loudly enough for everyone to hear, and he inwardly grinned when several heads turned in his direction. "It's not like anyone's gonna miss this dump. Will anyone even notice, much less care?"

Turkey heard some of the guys murmuring in agreement, just as he expected. Okay, and the nation who's going to be the one continues the conversation will be…. Ah-ha! Sweden! Wow, he's really good at this.

"I doubt it." Sweden remarked coldly. Turkey's glad that he finally spoke more clearly now. "It's just a small town I have no doubt less than three-hundred thousand people know about, and one that will be mourned by no one outside this sad breakaway country. If we destroy this place, the incident will be so insignificant that not even history books will mention it."

Turkey blew out a puff of air, and sneered, "Yeah, couldn't agree more. Who really gives a damn, really? Even all the humans on the news or reading the news who'd say 'Oh, how absolute awful and what a tragedy' and shit would just forget about it five minutes later. Why? Because it won't affect their lives, and it's no one they know. For all we know, 97% percent of the people who'll hear about it will have never heard of Abkhazia."

Pretty sad, wasn't it? That in the end, it won't matter. How did humans cope with the fact that their lives were meaningless, and the world will go on without them? Especially since no one really knew what awaited them in the next life.

"Well, isn't that sad? Living in a place so insignificant and pathetic as this place, I mean." Saudi Arabia smiled in faux sadness, the disdain in his eyes barely disguised. "It's even more sad when you consider the fact that their lives are already meaningless, and they're all unaware or maybe even refuse to accept that their deaths and the destruction of this town will make no difference to anything whatsoever. There're billions of these roaches infesting the world, what do the deaths of a few thousands of humans matter?"

Finland scoffed, and he looked disdainfully at the humans passing by. It was the look one would give at an insect. "What else would you expect from humans? They're trash, just like this little town. What's even more pathetic is how easy it'll be. I bet it'll be so quick and effortless that it won't even be fun."

Sweden nodded, and he narrowed his eyes at the distance. "Ja, quite right, Tino."

Finland looked pleased at seeing Sweden agreed with him, but it didn't last long.

"Of course it won't be fun, not with that attitude of yours." Norway teased, poking Finland's shoulder with a mischievous grin, much to the latter's annoyance. "You've always been terrible at seeing the bright side of things, and a party pooper. Why can't you be happy for a change?

Finland growled and slapped Norway's hand away. "Cut it out, Norway! And I'll have you know that-"

"More bickering, and you two will get the axe." Sweden warned them blankly, and the two immediately shut up.

"Look at this way, as insignificant as this place is, we'd be doing the world a favor by getting rid of humans. The less there are, the better, right?" Turkey pointed out helpfully, with Bulgaria immediately nodding in agreement. "That's how it is with humans.

"While normally I'd be on board on helping get rid of the plague, I don't think we should destroy it without telling Georgia." Iran with a small frown on his face. "I'm not really sure what Bedisa would think, since she's not as 'evil' and 'diabolical' as the rest of us, but I don't she'd be too upset at the loss of this won, even though it is technically her land. But still, I don't think she'd be happy to have her land back only to find an area with a large crater with the surroundings forests burned to the ground."

Turkey's eyes widened slightly behind his mask, and he frowned. Ah, that's right. He forgot about that. Well, he wouldn't want to upset a sweet girl like Bedisa. He actually really liked her, despite not having the best relations. You won't find a lot of nice girls like her these days…

"The risk of raising alarms or angering Georgia is not the only reason why we can't massacre this whole town already." Norway lamented with a small pout, before giving them a more serious look. "Believe it or not, there _are_ ethnic Georgians living here. As despised as they are, they live in this 'country' anyways. If we kill them, then there's a good chance Georgia will feel their pain."

Now that Turkey was well aware about, but from the looks on some of the others, the thought didn't occur to them. Now destroying the town's a big no-no. He would never want to risk hurting a fellow member just to satiate his bloodlust. Besides, it's against the rules anyway.

But anyway, now that they've got a good conversation going, Turkey's going to help it move along. And he knew the perfect topic everyone could bond over…

Humans.

/ / / / /

Nigeria wasn't so stupid as to leave CAR on his own without a way to track him.

Oh, no, no, no, no! He'd _never_ leave a dear comrade like hungry little CAR like that, especially in order to take care of a situation regarding that worthless traitor… Okay, no, worthless was _really_ stretching it. Biafra wasn't worthless, not at all, and he still had his uses. If he really was worthless, Nigeria would've gotten rid of him years ago. _Stupid_ was the right word.

But anyway, it'd be just plain stupid to leave a cute, completely starving, mentally broken teen with a newly awakened craving for human meat determined to go on a blind feral rampage to satisfy his poor stomach all alone with no supervision. Of course not! As if! What kind of person did you take Nigeria for?! Well, other than being a complete monster as _so_ many people pointed out…

No, Nigeria's far from being irresponsible, reckless and inconsiderate. He already had a plan just in case he needed to leave CAR to his own devices for some reason or another, and this plan would leave a way for Nigeria to track him and protect him if anyone tried to hurt him. What was this plan, you ask?

Well! It's quite simple, actually, but very useful. Chanting a few certain words in a certain tongue, Nigeria would pull a live baby snake from his mouth, a black-necked spitting cobra to be exact, it was always one of his favorites. The snake was a part of him, an extension of himself, a representation of his will, a fraction of his already broken soul taking the form of the cobra.

As such, as a part of Nigeria, and as with anyone who held a part of his soul, he could sense its location. And as a bonus, it's also pretty deadly to enemies! He quietly sneaked the cutie in one of CAR's pockets while the other cutie was too busy beaming at his future prey like a child in a candy store. Oh, how Nigeria loved seeing nations embrace their feral nature!

So that was the plan! Pretty cool, huh? Sure, DRC looked a _little_ bit perturbed that his friend currently had a mini snake Nigeria in his pocket that could spit deadly venom, but other than that, he's just happy that now they could easily find CAR.

And that's that. So, going back to the topic regarding that patronizing, foolish, _inconsiderate_ \- Biafra, he meant Biafra… Boy, his anger's been really getting the better of him lately. Nigeria frowned bitterly. He really missed the first couple of days when he was happily carefree and cheerful. Now with that damn traitor coming into the picture again, Nigeria's having trouble _forgetting_ about him.

 _Why? Why did you have to get involved again, you traitor?!_

He's been trying to get back into his normal, cheerful usual self and forget about how _angry_ and _frustrated_ he still was with that backstabbing, disappointing, lying, brain-dead… Oh, see what he meant? Nigeria's mood had soured ever since Biafra decided to betray him, _again_. Frankly, it's a little embarrassing. It's _infuriating_ how much that traitor affected him.

Luckily, there was one easy way to cheer himself up, and it just happened to be something Nigeria had been meaning to do. Now would probably be a good time than later. He'd remember Biafra's suffering, and the satisfaction that Nigeria had strained things between the traitor and the desert rat.

Nigeria had told South Africa and DRC all about what happened with that traitor and Western Sahara that he had neglected to inform them. They were busy, after all, and he didn't to take their attention away from the objective of capturing Belgium. As for Morocco and the others, well, he could always tell them later. Nigeria didn't want to bother them, and he knew they wouldn't be upset or anything that he kept this from them.

When he brought up the matter to his two friends, DRC's reaction to hearing the name of his friend's murder was exactly as you'd expect. Nigeria was glad that the hatred and rage was still there, only suppressed for the time being.

In the rearview mirror, Nigeria had seen DRC's head snap up, apparently having been snapped out of a state of deep thought by the mention of his dear friend's _murderer_ , and wow, did he look _furious_. Actually, _furious_ would probably be an understatement…

"What did _she_ want?" DRC had snarled, his voice dripping with pure anger. Nigeria could just _feel_ the murderous aura emanating from him. "And speaking of that _pute_ , please tell me that I'll be allowed to get back at her for what she did to Alphonse after I'm finished with Belgium."

Nigeria merely grinned, and he'd pat him on the back in comfort if he wasn't on the driver's seat. "Oh no, don't worry, Dikembe. You'll get your revenge on her later, you have our word on that. Now, as for what happened with her…"

Nigeria then told them _everything_ … from Biafra and Western Sahara's _touching_ moments (ugh, you could do _so_ much better than that, Biafra), the close call where she nearly revealed her little situation to Algeria and Tunisia and discovering where her two siblings were, the subsequent fight with Biafra in puppet mode, and then Western Sahara calling Nigeria to demand him to release . It was _fun_ describing the whole experience.

By the time he had finished, Nigeria was content to see DRC looked very satisfied that Western Sahara had gone through such a painful ordeal and was still unaware that two of her siblings were fighting the Order, just like South Africa and Nigeria himself were.

"She's hurt, in pain… _Good_." DRC chuckled with a satisfied smile, which to anyone else would've looked like a crazed grin. "That _pute_ is getting what she deserves. Not really how I pictured it, to be honest, but it's still very satisfying. Thank you for what you did, Nigeria. And I think I feel a bit more at ease now."

"Of course!" Nigeria chirped, proud of himself, and he smirked. "Who'd pass up a chance to torment Western Sahara? And I figured that I might as well punish her good for killing ROC, and for _hurting_ you."

After all, no one could hurt one of their own and get away with it.

It was a nice rule in their little club. Basically, you messed with him, you messed with all of them. Sure, they could trust each other to be able to defend themselves just fine, but if someone, an enemy, ever got the nerve to hurt one of them like Western Sahara did with DRC, then they'd better expect pure brutality for picking a fight with the Africans. And if one of them ever ended up killed or worse, then…

"And Biafra, I was already quite surprised to hear of his existence, but…" DRC looked at Nigeria in what appeared to be something akin to awe. "And you already mentioned about having a part of yourself in him, but I didn't think that the portion of your soul inside of him would enable you to control him. You truly are full of surprises, aren't you?"

Nigeria smiled darkly at that. That couldn't be more true. "I guess you can say that. Wait till we get to our next session; you'll be even _more_ surprised."

"Oh, Nigeria, you really so cruel, and very clever too!" South Africa burst out laughing in delight while Nigeria grinned sheepishly at the praise. "My, that was a close one. Rahim wouldn't have been happy if he found that Western Sahara knew the truth. It's a good thing you could see and hear through Biafra. You've truly outdone yourself, Adigun."

"Aw, you don't need to praise me, Chris. I just did what any good member would've done." Nigeria kept grinning, twirling one of his dreadlocks. "I saw our little toy dangerously close to finding a good reason to rebel, and I took action."

"Don't be silly, Adigun. And what's more, you used it as a chance to set Biafra on Western Sahara, punishing and torturing them both!" South Africa continued with a cruel smirk. "Then, you've ensured that Western Sahara would never discover the truth through contacting her family. I'm sure if Rahim and even the Leaders heard about what you did, they'd be very happy and congratulate you. You did _well_."

Aw, well, when South Africa put it that way…

DRC coughed, and the hardened nation attempted a smile for Nigeria. It wasn't his best smile, but it was the thought that counted, and he appreciated it. "I may be still new to all this, but I agree with South Africa. I think you did a good job killing two birds with one stone."

Nigeria couldn't help but giggle at all the praise, and he just knew he was blushing like a silly girl. But he didn't care in the slightest. He's too happy with all this, and that the others were happy with him too.

Why couldn't Biafra and the others be happy with him like they were?

"Thanks, Chris~" Nigeria said earnestly, grinning from ear to ear.

"So, you've really let Biafra go?" South Africa asked with a curious smile on his face. "And so easily, too? I thought you loved having him under your control. I know that preventing any future close calls was important, but I would've expected you to be more stubborn or demand a heavier price in return."

Ah, he was wondering when they'd reach _that_ topic. Nigeria smiled calmly. "What? You're not the only one who can be _nice_ from time to time. But true, I was originally planning to maybe keep Biafra under my control permanently, but then I realized that keeping Western Sahara from finding out the truth came before anything else."

South Africa looked at him with the same smile plastered on his face, never faltering. "Ja, we can all definitely agree with that. But there must be more than that."

"Ah, you know me so well. There is more to it than that. It wasn't an easy decision, but I decided that this was a good strategy." Nigeria smirked, feeling flattered, and he went on to explain, "During the exchange, I made sure to make it perfectly clear that I was being _generous_ with her, and I won't tolerate her being ungrateful. That was after she called me all sorts of cheap and overused insults."

"She called you a terrible, cruel, evil man and said that she hopes you die in the worst way possible in this war and that you rot in the deepest pits of hell for eternity, didn't she? Oh, and that us Africans are a curse on this world or something like that?"

"That's exactly it!" Nigeria exclaimed, cackling loudly. "Ha! She's getting way too predictable. But anyway, other than feeling nice today, I also figured that if I granted Western Sahara this small mercy, it could quell a teensy bit of her frustration with us, and serve as a reminder that as long as she does as she's told, nothing bad will happen. And now that she knows that I can spy on her through Biafra, and I can make him attack her at the drop of a hat…"

"…She realized that she now can't afford to do anything that'll risk upsetting you and corrupt Biafra again…" South Africa finished as realization dawned on his face, and he smirked wickedly. "And we _know_ she won't do anything…"

"Because she cares _so much_ for her dear friend…" So much that it was almost a little gross when it wasn't cute or admirable. "And she'll _also_ be a little driven to paranoia since I can basically eavesdrop on their conversations whenever I want!"

"Nigeria, you wicked genius," South Africa laughed, now completely getting it. "With Biafra as your leverage, Western Sahara won't be so eager to cause trouble anymore.

"Exactly! Now she'll be more obedient that ever!" Nigeria grinned in delight. Oh, Morocco would be overjoyed if he heard about this. "Sure, it still sucks that I can't control Biafra for the time being, but using him as leverage is also pretty twisted and can be-

Nigeria cut himself off when he heard the portion of his soul call out to him, and he spotted a figure in the distance pouncing on the remaining humans.

CAR. He smirked. They found him~

"Hold that thought. We've finally found CAR, you two! I can _feel_ it!" Nigeria announced excitedly, at the edge of his seat. "Look over there, he's plucking out that human's organs!"

Or at least Nigeria _assumed_ it was the human's organs.

"What?" At the mention of his friend, DRC immediately leaned forward to get a better look through the window. He broke into a relieved smile, and he laughed. "It is Gabriel! No human is capable of what he's doing!"

"Hmm, he looks like he's having a lot of fun." South Africa noted with an amused smile. "Eish, he just ripped out that poor woman's heart… or at least I _think_ it's her heart."

Nigeria squinted his eyes. He didn't think that was a heart…

"Nigeria let's stop here, please." DRC requested hastily, looking concerned. "Any closer and he might attack us in a blind rage because he might not see us clearly through the glass. It'll better if we exit and approach him ourselves."

They all agreed to that idea. So then after parking the car in a good spot, and Nigeria putting a gruesome curse on the vehicle so that no humans will steal it, they all stepped out and they finally got a real good look at the results of CAR's work.

Wow… Nigeria's eyes gleamed at all the destruction and bloodshed. CAR had really outdone himself; those were a lot of corpses. No, that's probably a bit of an understatement. The streets and plaza were _littered_ with corpses, so much that Nigeria and the others had to step on them to advance, not that they minded of course. The walls were stained in blood, guts and a lot of other things that'd make the typical human throw up. But for them, it was glorious.

Nigeria smirked as he hopped over a few of the human remains, and he licked his lips. The corpses… They're just brutal! They're completely unrecognizable, many of them didn't even look like human carcasses with that was left of them. And the smell, the smell! It's so…

His breath hitched, and Nigeria covered his mouth and pinched the bridge of his nose, grinning and barely managing to prevent himself from running wild. No, no… find CAR first, and then feast. Work first, have fun later.

Not long after exiting the car and beginning to make his way toward CAR, allowing the fragment of his soul to pull him in, a terrified _human_ bumped into Nigeria. He winced in surprise, and he berated himself for not paying attention, before the human inconsiderately shoved Nigeria aside to the floor as he fled. Understandably, this pissed him off.

Why that little _gnat!_ No _human_ pushed him around and got away with it! Nigeria barely registered South Africa rushing to his side and helping him up as he glared at the fleeing human in disgust. He wordlessly teleported in front of the selfish trash, relishing the terror on its face and its pathetic cries before punching its worthless head clean off. Satisfied, he teleported back to South Africa's side.

"Feeling better now?" South Africa obviously didn't mean it as a mocking question. Nigeria didn't even need to look at him to see that he's just as repulsed as he was. "I wanted to shoot him for that, but I didn't want to steal your kill."

Nigeria smiled wryly, licking the blood from his hands as he continued walking toward CAR who was busy munching on some corpses. "Much better, thanks. Sorry for getting distracted, but I've had enough of humans pushing us around for the past centuries."

"Don't be silly. There's nothing apologize for. We're free to kill too, remember?" South Africa told him gently, before his disgusted "But that was pretty mean of him, don't you think? Pushing a stranger to the ground and leaving them to the wolves. I get he's scared, but the least the sniveling _kakkerlak_ could've done was go around you."

"What did you expect? These are _her_ people, so it's only natural they take after her." DRC remarked with his lip curled up in disgust, as if he was gazing at insects. "Humans are already pathetic creatures, but when it comes to Belgium's people, they're twice as pathetic and disgusting."

After that interesting statement, Nigeria looked at DRC curiously. "Oh? You share the same opinion we have on humans too?"

DRC scoffed, appearing to sneer. "How could I not? I've seen the worst humanity has to offer. I've _suffered_ through the worst has to offer. And I've realized that even the ones outside are no better either. I admit I do feel pity and concern towards _some_ humans, particularly the innocents in my country, but in the end, I've become sick of the disease called humankind."

Who wouldn't be? Nigeria wondered amusedly to himself. Humans were weak, stupid, and the world would be much better off without their existence and their inevitable path into self-destruction. But as troublesome as they were, they tasted _delicious_. That was their only redeemable quality honestly.

Well, that, and they were fun to torture.

"Eish, look at all the corpses, guys!" South Africa spun around in awe at the bloodbath and havoc all around them, smiling like a child during Christmas. "I've never seen so much bloodshed committed by a single nation all by themselves! And the cannibalism, oh, what's left of the humans are completely unrecognizable!

Nigeria nodded fervently in agreement as his mouth watered at the corpses. Oh, they smelled so good~

DRC nodded as well. Out of the three, he was the only one who didn't look surprised at the amount of carnage, although Nigeria could tell he was impressed.

He got so distracted and mesmerized by all the gore that he didn't even notice how DRC stared at him oddly. "Nigeria, you're drooling."

"Huh?" Nigeria blinked, turning to DRC, before he realized what he meant and wiped his mouth, giggling. "Heh-heh, sorry~"

"And there's our dear CAR, devouring the whole population of Brussels." South Africa remarked jokingly at said rookie in the distance who now just ripped a human's torso off their lower body. Huh, that's pretty impressive. "You know, I wonder if his severe starvation gives him fast metabolism, because there's no way that much meat can fit in his belly."

Nigeria pondered on that possibility. It did seem likely, and reasonable. Interesting… CAR's really interesting. He had a few theories of his own regarding CAR's unbelievable and impossible speed and strength when in his state of blood crazed rage. Oh, he loved a good mystery!

"Oh my, now that's pretty brutal." Nigeria blinked as CAR… well, it's a bit too R-rated to describe. "He gives Cammy a run for his money. I feel bad that he, Rahim and Tehpoe aren't here to see all this."

"Ja, what a pity… Luckily for all of us, this won't be the last time CAR will get to on a rampage." South Africa said optimistically and his eyes drifted to DRC. "Dikembe, I assume you'll be the one who'll try to calm him down first?"

"Oui, I'll approach him first. I think he'll be more likely to return to his senses faster if he sees me." DRC explained carefully, glancing back at CAR. "If he doesn't, then you're free to help out in calming him down."

After the two of them nodded, DRC took a deep breath and calmly began to approach the nearby CAR before he could go run off again. Nigeria couldn't help but frown slightly. Sure, while he normally had faith in his friends' strength and abilities, he felt really concerned for DRC. Approaching CAR while he's in a bipolar mood was one thing, but while he's attacking and devouring anything that moves?

Nigeria didn't really feel it was the best plan, even DRC probably thought that he could almost always be able to calm his friend down. He looked over at South Africa, from the look on his face he didn't like this either. Moreover, what if CAR…?

But it was too late. DRC put his hand on CAR's shoulder, and the younger nation's snapped back at him with a furious expression, face and clothes stained in blood.

 ** _"I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY!"_**

Nigeria admittedly flinched at CAR's scream, even though he expected a reaction like that from the rookie. And then just as he thought, CAR lunged at DRC, but before Nigeria could even think of ordering his soul fragment to restrain the unstable teen, DRC stopped his friend's attack by grabbing his arms.

CAR let out an ear-piercing scream and began thrashing around, yelling at DRC to let him go and trying to either wrench his arms free from his grip or attempting to bite him, all the while the other nation kept him firmly in place with a calm but uneasy expression. Nigeria supposed that he already dealt with these sorts of situations one too many times.

 ** _"LET GO OF ME! LET GO! LET GO! LET GO! LETGOLETGOLETGOLETLETGOLETGOLETGOLETGOLETGOLETGOLETGOLETGO!"_**

"Gabriel! Stop struggling, it's me!" DRC shouted at him, but it did nothing to help CAR return to his senses.

 ** _"NO! NON! YOU WON'T GET AWAY! NO ONE WILL GET AWAY! I WON'T LET YOU LEAVE ME TO STARVE!"_**

This apparent accusation seemed to affect DRC as he flinched, and his expression morphed into something akin to remorse before he shook his head. "Gabriel, would you just listen? Try to remember! You-

 ** _"SHUT UP! SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP! YOU WON'T GET AWAY! HE'S COUNTING ON ME! HE TRUSTS ME! HE GAVE ME THIS PLACE FOR MEEEEEEEE!"_**

He? Oh, he meant DRC.

"Gabriel, ENOUGH! I'M THE ONE WHO YOU'RE TO! WHY ELSE WOULD I KNOW YOUR HUMAN NAME?!"

In that moment CAR finally stopped his struggling and crying to stare straight at DRC. Something shifted in his expression, as if he's trying really hard to remember where he's met this person before.

"Oui, you remember, right?" DRC smiled as best as he could. "It's me, your only true friend, Dikembe. While most of the world ignored you, I was the one who most visited you often and gave you comfort. We gave each other comfort while everyone else abandoned us."

CAR tilted his head, still looking like he's trying to remember. It made him look like a confused little puppy.

"I was the one who decided to bring you here to get the meal you deserve. This city, no, its human was my present to you and the first step to getting rid of your hunger. It wasn't even that long ago today..."

CAR stared at him.

"Gabriel… you did great. You didn't disappoint me at all. I knew you wouldn't.

CAR kept staring at him, until suddenly he shook his head, blinking, and just like the bloodlust and rage had completely vanished from his eyes, leaving a confused young nation in place of the feral animal from earlier.

"Huh…?" CAR said sleepily, as if he'd just been woken up from a nap, before he noticed that DRC was still holding his arms. "EEEK! D-Dikembe, you're back! I'm so happy you did! I-I… I was eating and… Wait, how long have you been standing there?"

DRC chuckled breathlessly, relieved, and he let go of CAR. "Don't worry, I was just trying to bring you back to your senses. You tried to attack me, but…"

"W-What? I attacked you?" CAR stammered in horror. Nigeria almost wanted to snort. Hard to believe this was the same nation who did all this. The rookie then paled. "Oh no. That's right, I did do that! No, no, no, no, no, I'm sorry! I didn't really know what I was doing, I swear!"

"Gabriel, it's fine. What mattered is that now you're back to normal." DRC reassured him hastily, likely seeing a sobbing CAR in the extremely near future. "I'm not hurt, and we all got what we wanted. So-"

"I can't believe I did that! What was I thinking?! I'm not so hungry anymore but I couldn't even recognize you!" CAR lamented before he promptly burst into tears, bawling. "I'm sorry! I swear I didn't mean to attack you, Dikembe! I'm so sorry!"

CAR then started to cry and wail as he normally did, but this time it was worse… and even louder than usual. Nigeria and South Africa shared a bewildered glance.

DRC began to look a little uncomfortable, and he raised a hand to gently but awkwardly pat CAR on the hand. "Oh, Gabriel, enough. Stop crying. It wasn't your fault; it was never your fault that you can't control yourself. Calm down. No one's upset with you and none of us here are hurt.

CAR sobbed, and he sniffed as he looked up at DRC with watery eyes. "Re…. Really? You're not… angry?"

"Non, I'm not. So, please, no more tears." DRC pleaded.

"But… But I…"

It was at this time that Nigeria decided to head over to them, grinning, "Aw, you should listen to Dikembe, CAR. Because he's right, no one's angry with you. How can we ever be mad at a cute face like this?~"

Nigeria pinched CAR's cheeks, unable to help himself. Oh, come on, how could anyone resist? And besides, from the way how CAR was smiling and giggling to himself, Nigeria would say he's enjoying it! Morocco would really find him adorable, and CAR would like the attention.

"Ja, the truth is far from it. If anything, we're very pleased to see you did fantastic work in devouring many of the citizens." South Africa stated with his usual smile as he joined them, admiring the surroundings. "I really love the makeover you gave to the place. It's much better this way.

"Oh, but before you do that…" Nigeria gave DRC knowing look, and he smiled sweetly at CAR. "If you don't mind, CAR, can you please let me search in your back pockets? Don't worry, it's not what you think it is."

Understandably, CAR gave him a puzzled look as he nodded slowly, and he squeaked when Nigeria reached into his back pockets. Oh, and he definitely didn't miss the way how DRC shot him a disapproving look. Oh, come on, what's wrong with sneaking a fragment of Nigeria's own soul into someone's back pocket?

He felt a wide smile spread across his face as he took out the small serpent, and he heard CAR shriek.

"W-What was that doing in my pocket?" He demanded.

"Well, we needed to a way to track you somehow, didn't we? Let me explain, this-" Nigeria was abruptly cut off by the buzz coming from his phone, and he smiled sheepishly. "I gotta take care of this. Dikembe, you can explain it to him."

And with that, Nigeria walked way from the group as he took out his phone. To his surprise, it was from Morocco.

 _Hello there, my dear friend. It feels like it's been forever, hasn't it? Anyway, something came up. Are you busy? It's important and serious. It's about Mauritius._

Nigeria's eyes went wide at that last sentence, and this immediately grabbed his full attention. He quickly typed a response for Morocco.

 _Not at all. We were just wrapping up. It was fun, I'll tell you all about it. Tell me all the details. BTW, something came up with me earlier too. I think you'll find it pretty funny…_

/ / / / /

The plan was simple, as well as the same to the one he gave to Team B.

They'd use the shortcuts to teleport to the nearest town near the capital, called Tskhinvali (Georgia loved rolling her eyes remember he mentioned it), hijack a car or two, drive to the capital, and plunge into total chaos and shit. It's easy, no? Yeah, easy. Especially with their abilities, weapons and powers.

Was America looking forward to it? Hmm, well, he supposed so. Not as much as Georgia and North Korea were looking forward to destroying it, oddly enough. Georgia's reasons were obvious and understandable, North Korea was just as a sadist and he wanted to unleash all his pent-up rage against humanity and Russia, and America…

Well… eh, he didn't really care, to be honest.

He was no sadist… unless when it came to a few certain nations, those goddamn Canadians from the War of 1812, Canada's prime ministers ( _especially_ the current one), the Viet Cong, China and Russia's bosses, the American politicians, Taylor Swift, the EU, the Middle East and Benedict Arnold…

Okay, America _did_ have a slight sadistic streak, but he paled in comparison to North Korea or the Africans.

But he didn't really have a reason to enjoy the deaths of these humans, though he will feel glad that Georgia will be happy in the end. They're just obstacles, targets, enemies, nothing more, nothing less. He didn't think of him as gnats, maggots, food, or worthless trash like the sadistic or human-hating members would.

They're just… people he needed to kill.

Right now, they were in the part of the plan where they search for a good car to steal. America frowned. He was no fan of hijacking, even though he's already broken tons of laws before in his messed-up life as the world superpower. It felt kinda stupid, or immature. But this was necessary for their mission, so he's perfectly willing to put aside his feelings to get the job done for Georgia's sake.

America was sitting in a bench while the others kept an eye out, with Georgia hiding her face with a jacket Iceland was nice enough to give her so the people, the police or _worse_ , here won't recognize her. She was _not_ happy about being here in one of South Ossetia's towns, which her originally hers but were now filled with traitors (as she kept reminding them).

America thought that he spotted two good minivans for them to steal, but before he could call over the others,

France…?

America sneered at the same in disgust. Seriously? France was calling him? Right now, of all times? America thought he heard the end of all the calls after he and the others found out about the truth and the Order? France certainly didn't decide to call him then, neither did the others, so why now? What kept him in the hours since the meeting?

"What's wrong, my love?" North Korea asked softly in concern, walking over to him.

"Oh, hey North." America scratched the back of his head, glaring at the number. "You're not gonna believe this. It's France, he's calling from the phone one of ours left to track him and the others. You know, the Order phone?

North Korea's eyes widened, and he glared with the same disdain as America. "What the hell could that man want with you? And why now of all times?"

"You tell me, North. I'm just as clueless as you are," America scoffed, and he clenched his fist. "But if he's calling because he wants to have a 'talk' or just wants me to go apologize to that British bastard, then he can go fuck himself."

North Korea stared at him in disbelief. "You are going to hear them out? Why?"

"Well, partly because I'm curious what reason he could have for calling me _now_ of all times, mostly because I want to hear what bullshit he'll spout out." And America has been looking forward to the day he could finally tell his 'family' what he really felt. "I could use a good laugh."

"But, dear, he's _trash_." North Korea told him with narrowed eyes, as if America wasn't already aware of that. "Don't waste your time with them. You didn't before, and it's best if you don't start doing it now. You are so much better than them. They're not worth your time."

America tried not to stare at him or sigh in exasperation. Yeah, he knew that North Korea's just looking out for him, but sometimes he felt that his lover was… uh… a little overprotective and/or possessive…?

"Hyung, I appreciate the uhm… concern." Could that really be called concern? America didn't really want to argue with him right now. "But I'm gonna hear them out anyways. I'm just curious, but if I pick up that it's not worth it, then I'll hang up."

North didn't look happy with this, but America answered the call and held the phone next to his hear, ready to hear what bullshit France wanted to tell him.

"Don't you have anything better to do?"

 **Yeah, I know not much happened, but I hope you enjoyed it! More stuff will happen next chapter. Please review, if you have a minute.**


	67. Justice: Crisis Averted

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, vexey1999 and NadiaJA627 for reviewing. Okay... I know I'm a week late, but I was plagued by insomnia and a bit of writers's block, so this took a while. Also, I was working on the next chapter on Abscond to the Other Side, which ALSO took one extra week to finish... I don't it'll happen next time though. Now, on with the show!**

So… that's their plan now, huh?

Bosnia watched from behind some bushes, eyes narrowed and not moving a single muscle so to not risk blowing his cover then get a frying pan to the head again. He winced at the memory and rubbed the spot where Hungary hit him, and he snarled. Damn that woman…

Well, it won't happen again. This time Bosnia was in a better state of mind, and he didn't have a headache this time, so he won't go off and act like a complete idiot… Unless he suddenly found himself in a tug-of-war for his mind again… in which case, things probably won't end well. Yeesh, those ones hurt a lot.

Anyway, it was easy enough exiting the building without getting himself killed (now that he thought about it, it's more thanks to his luck). When Bosnia spotted that those bastards where not that far from the entrance, and they'd have a good chance of catching him if he just up and strolled out of the building, so he instead left via one of the windows.

Ugh, he… sorta got broken glass all over his damn body, but Bosnia barely cared about the pain.

But back to the main topic, there then was one little problem… What exactly should he do next?

He was of course, going to go out and cause some chaos, probably go sneak up on some of the nations and kill them with the knife Big Brother Turkey gave him, and start getting his own sanity back in the process… but Bosnia wasn't stupid. It was just him against all of them. And even if he did manage to kill one of them off, there's nothing stopping them from killing him in retaliation for his actions.

Not even Hungary would stupidly vouch for him… especially if she was the one Bosnia killed.

And Bosnia would die… before he could get himself back.

He couldn't let that happen.

So, he opted to a couple of large bushes and spy on their little conversation instead, see if there's anything he'll hear that'll come to his advantage later. And what he found out was… _interesting_ , to put it simply.

Bosnia was surprised to see Panama here, and he nearly wanted to burst into snickering when he went and told those idiots why he's here. Oh, for the love of… that Latino couldn't be serious. Bosnia knew little of Panama, but he even knew that the guy couldn't seriously have come here to see for himself if these… nations were _better_ than the Order.

But then his disbelief, along with the suspicion that Panama might have ulterior motives in mind, promptly evaporated when Panama himself then revealed that he's also here to try to convince his fellow Central Americans to throw in the towel and go back home before there's really no going back without getting executed on the back. Oh… now that made a lot more sense actually.

He overheard everything the others said, and Bosnia did mean _everything_. By being really careful with Big Brother Turkey's guidance (or maybe the others were just too invested in their meeting to keep an eye on their surroundings and the sounds from the battle in the building drowned out any small noises Bosnia might've made), he managed to hide in a good spot where he could hear them clearly enough if he didn't made the slightest sound.

Let's see… there'll be one team of nations going to Switzerland's house to free some nation that's been held there for some time… another that'll stupidly go to Brazil to look for Italy's just as dumb brother… while the rest will stay here. Okay, fine, so let's look at the facts…

Knowing Switzerland, he'll have probably realized that they'll be invading his home soon enough and was already preparing for that, so Bosnia didn't really need to worry about him and warn him. However, Brazil, on the other hand… Bosnia wasn't aware of all the details, but he knew that the South Americans were going to retire to their homes after dealing with Spain…

Which meant that Brazil will be caught completely by surprise when these nations appear in his home.

…Oh, wait, hell no, that didn't mean that Brazil had a good chance of losing. These bastards had the big disadvantage of being immediately detected by Brazil himself once they teleported to his place, and that gave him time to start preparing himself to attack the invaders.

 _"Buuuuuut… imagine what'd happen if Brazil already knew that there's going to be a team of invaders in his home before they're even there! His chances of winning would skyrocket while the enemies' chances of escaping without a hitch would plummet to the ground!"_

Bosnia grinned brightly at the amazing idea the voice gave him. Of course, why didn't he think of that?!

He'd better deliver a warning while he could. There's no telling how much time Bosnia had left.

/ / / / /

Panama couldn't believe what he'd just been told. No, he couldn't believe how ridiculous, stupid, dangerous, reckless- Oh! He couldn't believe any of this! Oh no, no, no, no! Why? Why did this have to happen

He's completely freaking out over this! Moreover, he's pissed off beyond words, shocked and upset that they'd just happily say and agree that they're going to Brazil, as if it's a just a minor detour or something. No, nothing _dangerous_ at all! In fact, he's so overwhelmed by all this that he screamed _this_ in their faces:

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE GOING TO BRAZIL'S HOUSE TO LOOK FOR ITALY'S JUST AS DUMB BROTHER?!"

That earned him startled looks and flinches from everyone present, even from the ever-stoic and oh-so-mysterious Nicaragua. Apparently while they expected that he'd explode at the news, they didn't expect that he'd explode _that_ much.

He panted after that outburst, to the point of almost hyperventilating, but oh, he's going to faint now and let his damn suicidal neighbors off the hooked and let them march off to their deaths. Panama wasn't used to yelling, that's all. Yelling was always more of Colombia or Venezuela's job. He clenched both of his fists. Why did he have the feeling that he's going to need to get used to it?

Oh, forget that, Panama! What will _any_ of that matter if these maniacs go to Brazil's house and get killed off in brutal ways?! No, he needed to convince them to back out from this stupid mission or send someone else instead! Like Egypt! It'll serve him right!

As Panama dealt with his shock, he saw the others stare at him. They were either surprised or worried.

The girls kept staring at him, as if they weren't sure how to approach Panama without getting yelled in their faces again.

"Well? What are you all staring at me for?! Answer me!" "Why the hell are you guys going on this suicide mission?!

No… just… no. As far as Panama knew, there was no reason or justification for the Central Americans to agree to help a coward like Italy, who'll probably end up running for his life and leave the others behind or use them as meat shields, and put their lives as risk by agreeing to find his useless brother in _Brazil_.

Eventually, it was the usual mediator Honduras who eventually found her voice and gently took a step toward Panama. "Emanuel, believe us, we know that this is dangerous, but you have to understand that-"

 _"Dangerous?!"_ Panama echoed in disbelief, and he narrowed his eyes dangerously at her. " _Dangerous?_ Did you say _dangerous?_ No, _dangerous_ is a _huge_ understatement, Honduras. This is asking for death, or to land yourselves in a _fate_ worse than death."

He felt strongly tempted to pull his own hair out.

"And we're completely aware of that. All of us already knew that we'd be putting ourselves in grave danger by getting involved this war in the first place." Honduras told him softly, clasping her hands together as if praying, or pleading for Panama to calm down. "But we're all determined to help as much as we can in this situation, so-"

"NO! That's no excuse for throwing your lives so stupidly!" Panama cut her off. Part of him felt guilty, but he's too furious to care right now. "If you really want to help this stupid alliance, you should do it by staying alive! You're all worth so much more than that dirty coward!

"Emanuel…"

"Don't you dare 'Ema' me! I can't believe what I'm hearing!" Panama cried out. He felt on the verge of tears, but he held them back. "You all want to die! Are you doing this just to spite me? To torment me?!"

Now he's spouting nonsense. But let's be honest, did it really look like he's in the right state of mind right now?

"Where the hell did you get that idea, _burro?_ " Nicaragua raised an eyebrow, looking at Panama as if he were a complete moron. "This has nothing to do with spiting you or _anything_ to do with you. Honestly, do you really think we'd do something like that? March to our deaths just to make you suffer?!"

For once, Nicaragua had a point. But Panama wasn't even focused on that anymore.

"Why? Why are you on board with this?" Panama demanded desperately, almost sobbing. "What do you care if Romano bites the dust? Who cares, other than his brother? The only other guy who actually cared about him is dead! And it's not like he'll be useful to you and your alliance. All he'll do is moan and complain and cowardly flee from any battle like his brother!"

His eyes darted around at his neighbors as he waited for them to provide a good reason why they'd want to help Italy find his brother. It didn't look like they had an answer… or maybe they figured that there's no use convincing someone like Panama.

Out of pure instinct or curiosity, or maybe because he wanted to have to see for himself what Costa Rica thought of this insane plan and hope to God or whatever that his brother was on his side, Panama spun to face his neighbor and…

His eyes widened when he came face to face with Costa Rica's expression.

When Panama turned to face his neighbor, he wasn't greeted by a look of worry or surprise as he'd expect from him.

Instead, Costa Rica was staring at him, a look of sadness of his face.

Panama felt his heart crack, and he struggled to speak, "You… Do you actually want to go with them?"

Costa Rica frowned deeply at the question, and he looked at him straight in the eye. "Well, I'd very much like to help in making sure everyone comes back okay. If the girls are going, then that means I'm going too. Sorry, Emanuel…"

Now he started to pull his hair out, or at least tried to. Panama swallowed and trembled as gazed at his friend in disbelief. "Y-You can't be serious…"

There were so many things _wrong_ with going along with this and so many more things that could go wrong when they to Brazil! Not only will they be completely in enemy territory in South America, but Brazil's the most brutal and unhinged of all the South Americans! Like _African Five_ level sadistic and crazy! Panama _never_ felt comfortable around that guy…

With good reason, too! Panama couldn't even begin to explain what's _wrong_ with Brazil. He's just as cannibalistic and bloodthirsty as his 'bestie' South Africa, and if someone's close friends with that sociopath, you know they're bad news. And then there was Brazil's weird, creepy and borderline nonsensical obsession with either maiming or enslaving Portugal…

…Speaking of, wasn't Portugal supposedly staying with him against his will right now? Panama could've sworn he recalled hearing something about Brazil keeping Portugal for himself or to himself or something like that. Yeah, that's exactly it.

So, when Brazil catches wind of a group of unknown nations in his country, and if he finds out that they're the enemy, which was likely, he might jump to the conclusion that they're here to take Portugal away from him… and…

Well, Panama could only guess how Brazil will react. He shuddered.

And you want to know what the worst part was? Brazil's not even the _only_ thing they'll have to worry about if Panama's suspicions were right. The others, they didn't know that… they didn't know that…

"You… You idiots!" Panama cried out in pure desperation. "How can you all be so stupid?! I made the others _swear_ not to have any of you killed without a perfectly good reason, I proved that I truly cared about all of you by not turning you in to the South Americans, I agree to come along to observe this hot mess of an alliance to try to convince you to bail… Not even over an hour later, and you're all going on a suicide mission to South America?!

How could they?! Don't they have _any_ sense of self-preservation? Even Nicaragua, who pretty much hates everyone, was on board with this! This was insane! And didn't they care about what he'd feel too? About how it'd devastate him if his own family were the ones to kill Panama's friends, all of whom he also saw as family?

Well, Panama supposed that if they didn't care, they wouldn't have gone over here and told them about this dumb plan at the risk of him flying into a fit of rage.

"Look Panama, it's not like we're over the moon excited over this trip into enemy territory!" Belize shook her fist angrily. "We know it's dangerous, but we have a plan! And we're not looking to pick a fight with Brazil, we just want to look for Romano."

"Si, si, that's good… except it won't matter once Brazil finds out you're in his land." Panama chuckled breathlessly and humorlessly, suddenly starting to feel a little nauseous. "He'll immediately try his best to have you all killed or captured."

Belize groaned and rubbed her head, really getting exasperated. "Again, we know that. But…

"But it won't be just us, Emanuel!" Honduras accidentally cut Belize off, much to the latter's anger. "Japan and Romania are coming with us too! That's a good thing! If things get really bad, then Romania can just teleport all of us out in a second!"

Panama snorted, and he laughed emptily. "Si, si, that's nice... But you morons don't get it! If you pop up in Brazil, he could get the wrong idea that you're actually here to save Portugal and..."

Panama's eyes went wide, and he slapped his hand over his mouth in horror when he realized what he just revealed while the others gaped in shock. No… no… no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NONONONONO! He did _NOT_ just…

"Say WHAT now?" Belize exclaimed in disbelief, jaw dropping to the group. "Did you say that _Portugal's_ with Brazil? Since when?! Why didn't you mention this before? The poor guy's probably been suffering there!"

"I knew you were hiding something!" Nicaragua snarled. "What else do you know that you're not telling us?!

As the others kept hounding him with questions, the panic continued to rack Panama's brain and overwhelm him. The risks were too great, the chances of all of them getting massacred were high, too high, going there was _asking_ for death. Without even knowing it, he began to quiver, his breaths became quicker, he started sweating, and he gripped his long dark hair out of pure stress of all the implications of this stupid plan…

He clenched his fist. No… he just made things worse. Romano may be useless, but Portugal sure wasn't. That guy was actually useful and was pretty well liked among the Order. If, and that's a pretty big _if_ , they manage to take Portugal away… then… Brazil won't hesitate to…

But now Panama unwittingly gave them a _good_ reason to go.

And a _good_ reason to seek out Brazil.

He had to fix this. Quick.

"No, no, don't! DON'T! Forget what I said just now!" Panama begged them desperately, even though the damage was done. He tried not to breathe too quickly. "Don't try to rescue Portugal! You'll only make Brazil angry and give him more of a reason to kill you all!"

"You knew Portugal was being held in Brazil's house and didn't tell us?" Costa Rica glared at him, betrayed, even though Panama hid it for _their_ sake. "How could you? We can rescue Portugal too and save him! But you hid that from us so that we wouldn't go out and risk our lives!"

Panama fought the urge to cry or collapse, and he looked at Costa Rica hopelessly. "I had to! You don't know what Brazil's like, Felix! A-And the others are there at his house too! The South Americans, the ones that helped kill Spain! They'll try to kill you too!"

Please. Please don't go…!

"The other South Americans are at Brazil's house?" Nicaragua exclaimed, she actually looked shocked instead of acting like a bitch at everything Panama did, and she narrowed her eyes as she usually did. "How do you know this?"

Panama was having trouble breathing now, and he coughed. "Before you… you came… Colombia invited me to come over to Brazil's house, it was a get-together. I didn't want to come… so that's why I was at… my house… I'm sure that… they're all still there…"

He trailed off as suddenly he found himself unable to breathe, and the nausea from before returned with a vengeance. No… Please don't be idiots and just listen to him. Romano and Portugal, neither of them were worth rescuing if it meant the other Central Americans will get killed…

"Emanuel…? No, something's wrong! He looks like he's going to faint!

"Oi, stop hyperventilating! You're only making it worse for yourself!"

"I think he's having a panic attack!"

"What do we do?!"

"Try to calm him down!"

While the others clamored and started making a ruckus as they tried to calm him down, Panama could only choke and stare into space as the terror in his heart got worse and worse. But they won't listen to him, will they? Even after this, they'll still go.

No matter what he did, they'll ignore him and go off to deaths.

Maybe all this was karma after all.

/ / / / /

Morocco truly couldn't describe put into words how _excited_ he felt.

Sitting on a couch, he smirked at nothing as he bit on his sharp nails, barely able to hold in all the excitement and delight coursing through his veins.

He tried not to burst into too much exited giggling or other unsavory noises. This wasn't quite the time for _that_ , he's afraid. Morocco could save all the action for later with a certain someone. Hopefully they _won't_ be interrupted this time…

You know, in hindsight, Morocco _probably_ should've locked the door…

Eh, live and learn.

Oh, this was wonderful! Switzerland had told him and Cameroon about how they very likely will soon have the enemy at their doorstep with the goal of rescuing cute little Mauritius and that rat Liechtenstein, and frankly, Morocco just couldn't wait!

Why, one may ask? Because there's obviously going to be a team of nations charging through the door, and Morocco had a hunch, no, he _knew_ that his sister will want to take part in this rescue mission. How could she pass up the perfect opportunity to beat him up after all these years? Not that she'll ever manage to land a hit of course.

But he wasn't excited for _her_ , no, _never_. He was merely very much looking forward to finally tearing that religious bitch to shreds with his own two hands, there's a _difference_. Morocco had been waiting for _years_ to finally torment her, to get back at her for being an annoyance to him all these years, for attempting to throw his plans in disarray. It'll be very satisfying to finally be rid of her.

He sneered. However, he couldn't afford to kill Algeria just yet, unfortunately. She's needed for his plans. She played a key role, in fact, in getting his brother to accept his love. When she rejects Tunisia, and Morocco knew his sister well enough to know that she would, his cute brother will run into Morocco's loving arms… and then they could kill her _together_.

Not that Morocco had a problem with that little detail, he much preferred torturing her throughout the war before killing her with Tunisia's help than finishing her off quickly once and for all. All in due time, as they say.

Speaking off whom, Morocco grinned slyly. That brought him to the _obvious_ reason he was so excited for the battle…

Morocco couldn't believe his own luck! Here he was, believing that he wouldn't be able to see Tunisia again for a few days, only for him to discover that soon Tunisia will come straight into his waiting arms! Things were going great for him and the others today! If this kept up, then Morocco will have advanced to the next step with his brother!

And how did Morocco know that Tunisia would be with the nations invading Switzerland's house? For all he knew, his brother would be too terrified of the prospect of meeting him again that he'd decide to stay behind. Heh, well, that's because Morocco _knew_ his brother. He knew him better anyone else did in the whole world.

Tunisia may believe that he's scared of Morocco, but he's also drawn to him, deep down he _yearned_ to see him again. It was only natural he would, they were kindred souls after all. There was no one else in the world who could ever understand Tunisia as Morocco did.

He aimed to have Tunisia realize that, so that _he_ may then realize how perfect Morocco was for him, and how the others should mean _nothing_ to him.

He also knew that his poor brother _craved_ love, acceptance and affection, all things that he long believed would never truly acquire from _anyone_. Things that Tunisia _knew_ he'd finally receive if he saw Morocco again. So, it was only natural that Tunisia would go to where Morocco was to receive that love and affection, in the guise of wanting to help Algeria defeat him or some other nonsense.

And after what Nigeria told him, Morocco believed this even more. Now Morocco was completely confident that his siblings will come to Switzerland's house.

Morocco already had a good plan mapped out for how he'll have his alone time with Tunisia without the overgrown stink beetle that was unfortunately his sister interfering and ruining the fun. He certainly wouldn't want to impose on his precious friends, so he had another plan in mind…

He raised his arm, and his beloved cobra came slithering out of his sleeve to coil around Morocco's arm. Happy to see his precious pet, Morocco began petting him.

"Well, Abby, it looks like you're going to finally fulfill your lifelong dream of biting Algeria… _again_." Morocco smirked at his longtime friend, recalling the _hilarious_ 'accident' from when he and Algeria were just children. "Are you excited, my pet?"

The snake hissed maliciously, which Morocco translated to as a 'Yes, very much'. Ah, Nigeria has responded.

 _Well… We can just stand here and let them take our puppet away, can't we?_

 _Indeed. So from that answer I assume that can we count on your help with fending off the invaders?_

 _Obviously. We'll be there as soon as possible. We won't be late._

 _Good. We'll see you later then._

Morocco smiled as he put his phone away. Well, that settled that. The whole group was going to come over and help out against the invaders. Oh, how wonderful! Well, except for Liberia, unfortunately for cryptic reasons. Apparently, Liberia was at America's house in Nevada and 'was definitely not doing anything that'll get him grounded'…

Well, at least the others were on board. Morocco chuckled.

"I can clearly see you are ecstatic with this news." An emotionless voice not far from him noted.

Morocco blinked, and looked up, smile still plastered on his face, to find the unsurprisingly stone-faced Cameroon staring at him. Ah, he briefly forgot that his tall quiet friend was here in the room with him.

"Why shouldn't I be?" Morocco remarked, smirking. "You _know_ why I'm looking forward to this, Cameroon."

Cameroon's mouth almost twitched into a smile, a cute sight that made Morocco chuckle. "Oui, I do know. I was expecting such a reaction from you. You're always over the moon at the prospect of seeing Tunisia again."

Morocco smiled gently at him. "Why, it's only natural that I'd be happy looking forward seeing my dear brother again. And then there's my sister, who I now know is _guaranteed_ to come after what Nigeria has informed us. It's perfect! Absolutely perfect!"

He burst into screeching laughter, unable to hold it in any longer. How wonderful! The four of them together (plus Switzerland), taking on the enemy, side by side! This'll be the first time the group (minus Liberia) fought enemy nations. What's not to be excited about?

But then he noticed that Cameroon was frowning at him, and Morocco immediately stopped laughing.

He felt concern well up within him at the way Cameroon looked at him.

"Hmm? What's with that look on your face, Cam?" Morocco asked, genuinely curious. He grinned playfully at him. "Come on, smile a little. I thought you'd the one who'd look forward for a brutal fight the most, especially against my sister and the others."

"Oh, believe me, I _am_ looking forward to it." Cameroon assured him with a dark look, and in the blink of an eye, his frown was replaced by a feral grin. "If those four do end up participating in the attack, it's a golden opportunity to avenge our failure in recapturing them. I'll make them regret escaping as I feed on their flesh. And if _Germany_ decides to come along to save that little tick Liechtenstein…"

Cameroon then trailed off with some disturbing laughter. Well, disturbing to anyone else not part of their organization, while Morocco found it to be rather charming. It's not every day you hear dear Cameroon laugh, but when you do, it's an interesting sight.

"I'm happy to hear that," Morocco said sincerely, smiling pleasantly. "So what's bothering you then?"

Just like that, Cameroon's bloodthirsty evaporated and he was promptly reverted to his usual self all in the span of a few seconds. Morocco regretted ruining the moment for him, he looked so happy thinking about what was the best way to kill Germany or torture Egypt.

Briefly, Cameroon's expression softened before it hardened again into a slight scowl. "I'm _worried_ about you, Rahim."

Morocco flinched, not expecting _that_. He was taken aback by this answer. Of course, not because he didn't expect Cameroon to care about his safety and well-being. No, if anything, there's no one who worried more for the group's well-being than _Cameroon_. Don't let his blank expression fool you. There's usually a lot going on in that smart brain of his, even if he couldn't _always_ tell what Cameroon's thinking.

It's just that… they're all putting their lives on the line. While everyone had each other's backs and would rather no one got hurt, they also had faith in the others' combat skill. A few bruises or cuts meant nothing, they've all suffered through much, _much_ worse.

Unless… it _wasn't_ about the coming battle.

"You're… worried about me?" Morocco repeated, and he laughed breathlessly. "I'm… I'm touched, but is there a specific reason why you're so worried for my safety?"

Cameroon narrowed his eyes, almost accusingly. "You mean you haven't figured it out?"

"I'm afraid not, Cammy."

"It's what Nigeria told us about what happened with Western Sahara." Cameroon bluntly clarified, thankfully not beating around the bush. "And the implications of her _successful_ attempt at contacting Algeria.

Morocco raised an eyebrow at the mention of his easily irritated sister, and a cruel smile tugged at his lips.

Ah, his troublemaking sister. There always seemed to be something going on with her, didn't it?

Nigeria had told him all about what happened with Western Sahara, from treating her boyfriend (ugh, you could do _so_ much better than that, Biafra) to ended up getting attacked by said boyfriend after contacting Algeria. It sounded like so much fun, watching Western Sahara getting punched electrocuted.

Morocco didn't mind that he hadn't been informed of this earlier, or that Nigeria decided to torment his sister. _Everyone_ was free to torture Western Sahara when presented a good opportunity to do so. And my, Nigeria didn't disappoint. Not only did he punish for trying to get in touch with the enemy, doing the same with Biafra in the process, but he prevented Western Sahara from the learning the truth and becoming a threat.

Oh, he was well aware that Western Sahara wanted to stand in the way of his plans for Tunisia and prevent their brother from being saved from his tormented existence. That rat wanted to keep Morocco from making Tunisia. She, that idiot who kept forgetting her position, said she was going to keep Tunisia _safe_ from him. He literally laughed out loud when he heard her say that. Safe? She was going to keep him _safe?_ Where, among the very people of their religion who'd happily push people like him off buildings?

Still, Morocco was not foolish to simply disregard a possible threat, so he made sure to remind her that any attempt to assist the others would be punished severely. And he was determined to prevent Western Sahara from discovering the truth until it's too late. So he's truly indebted to Nigeria.

But what was bothering Cameroon about all this? That Biafra lost against Western Sahara? Yes, it was disappointing. But…

"He said that while Western Sahara was attacked before she could be told that Algeria and Tunisia escaped, she did manage to tell them that she knew about the Order." Cameroon stated with scowl, displeased. "She told them that she knew all along but didn't provide any context before fortunately getting interrupted."

He looked at Morocco expectantly, and so he motioned for him to continue. Cameroon frowned at this.

"You said it yourself, Rahim. Algeria, as well as Tunisia, are now guaranteed to come after what happened." Cameroon stated coolly, but there was discomfort in his eyes. "And why will they do it other than for the sake of rescuing Mauritius? To make you answer their questions."

Morocco's eyes widened in realization, and he leaned forward with a placid smile. "Ah, _now_ I understand what this is about. You're worried that they'll try to capture me, torture me or search my mind for information, aren't you? You suspect, or know that I'm just as much as an important objective to them as Mauritius, right?"

Abarshane hissed at the very notion that his owner could be in danger, but Morocco calmed him down.

Cameroon nodded, relieved that he finally understood. "Oui. That's exactly what it is. I wanted to see if you were aware of the risk, considering that you were so focused on Tunisia that you might have forgotten that he, his sister, and even the others might have some sort of plan to force the truth out of you. Were you aware?"

Oh, Cameroon. Such a kind and considerate man. Morocco's smile broadened at the thought. He is truly blessed to have such good and interesting friends who truly care for him. It felt… nice to know that someone was worried for your safety.

"I _am_ aware, yes. I know that my sister would focus on demanding what happened to Western Sahara," Morocco assured him while petting his dear cobra. "Although I haven't really thought about what plans they might have, I decided that I would be more careful when they arrive. I'm not obsessed with meeting Tunisia again that I'd ignore a risk like that, you know that don't you?"

Cameroon immediately nodded and responded, "Of course I do. You are much smarter than that, Rahim."

Abarshane hissed softly this time, agreeing.

Morocco grinned and blushed, flattered by the compliment. "Aw, thank you. But if you do know that, then why do you still worry for me?

"Like I said, I was concerned you might have been too focused on Tunisia to realize how much in danger you _really_ are or what could happen," Cameroon replied, which made Morocco frown slightly. "At first I wasn't too worried for your safety, but then I remembered that they'll likely have Egypt with them, a _teleporter_."

"So with Egypt's magic, he could teleport us to a far away location where he can easily incapacitate me, is that it?" Morocco inquired, to which he received a nod from Cameroon, and he put his hand on his chin. "I'll admit, that _is_ a concerning thought. But we can easily solve that with South Africa and Nigeria on our side. They can keep him busy enough to not be able to get close to me."

"Unless someone else will be keeping them busy so that they won't interfere," Cameroon countered, much to Morocco's dismay. Still, he was touched by how much his friend cared. "Or Nigeria might not be able to pinpoint your location quickly enough for him to rescue you in time."

Morocco hummed while stroking his pet. "Hmm, that _is_ a good point…

"There are other scenarios that could happen that we might not be prepared for," Cameroon said grimly, and he stared at Morocco long and hard. "So, I've decided that I'll tell the others to make sure that you don't come even close to getting captured, and I'll devote myself to maiming anyone who tries to come near you and interrupt your little 'date' with Tunisia."

Abarshane hissed, offended at not being included. Morocco chuckled at this.

"Oui, you too, Abby. You will help as well." Cameroon added rather dryly.

Morocco felt momentarily stunned at Cameroon's statement, and he felt a warmth in his heart as he grinned widely. "Aw, you'll really do that for me? Not only for my safety but so I'll be alone uninterrupted with Tunisia? Oh, Roshaun, you really are too sweet."

Cameroon actually smiled at that, although it was only a small smile. "Compliments are unnecessary. I'll do what I must for the sakes of you and the others."

"Oh, I just want to kiss you!" Morocco laughed in delight before an idea struck him. He smirked mischievously. " _Can_ I kiss you?"

"No offense, but I'd much rather you don't." Cameroon deadpanned.

"…Not even a light peck on the cheek?"

"It depends on what you mean by a 'light peck'."

/ / / / /

Alright… Alright, alright, alright, alright… Calm your breathing, France. You're not going to be able to convince poor America of the danger if you can barely speak, much less breathe properly! Breathe, France… Breathe!

It's… It's… simple, right? Just… use his dear little sister's phone that Haiti left behind for her to call America, try to convince the no-doubt bitter nation that he had a good reason to not hang up on him, warn America to set up his defenses or to try to shoot down the explosives and tell the other former British colonies to do the same thing, and that way they could avoid this already chaotic and bizarre situation even _worse_.

And if France failed, then millions of people will die, the Order will become enraged and assume that they all knew and allowed this tragedy to occur, everyone still unaware of the danger will condemn England and distrust the rest of them, they'll all die even horrifyingly worse deaths than originally intended, and the whole world will be thrown into chaos. And who's to say England won't try nuking other countries again? Worse, what if Russia and China do it?

…Oh, but no, pressure, right? It's not like their _whole future_ was at stake!

Damn you, England. What hell was wrong with that man other than the many, many, _MANY_ things already wrong with him? What on earth caused England to grow into such a man incapable of accepting reality?

Well, his whole nonsense about fairies and whatnot came to mind. Oh, but that's not important, France! He needed to call America!

And why America, one may ask? Well, France decided that he was their best bet in solving this whole mess. Yes, they haven't met once since this whole ordeal started, but something told France that the superpower would be a much better option than any of the others. And he decided that it'd be best if they informed a former British colony of the matter, since this involved _them_ especially.

South Africa and Nigeria were immediately crossed off from the list. From what France heard of them, they might be too insane and demented to believe him. Hong Kong… well… he seemed too stubborn and hateful to listen to France's words for a second. Jamaica… France wasn't sure about him, and he still felt a personal hate for him for the Caribbean incident, so…

That left only America… and France was kind of torn as to whether to consider that a good thing or a bad thing.

He could also… err, call on the former French colonies too, and then have them warn the others… However… France winced, and a hand unconsciously went to his abdomen, where just yesterday he was brutally cut open by said former colonies, feasted upon, before they stuck a snake into his body that then began to eat away at his insides. The pain was still fresh in his memory. He was still tired from the pain, and there's still an odd feeling in his stomach…

France wasn't going to speak with any of them anytime soon, not after what they did. He wasn't ready either. Besides, wouldn't they find it suspicious that the person they had recently tortured was warning him to tell their friends to defend themselves from possible nukes? It wouldn't work.

"Papa, please, calm down." Canada tried to soothe France's nerves. Oh dear, was it that noticeable? His little brother hugged his bear nervously. "Everything's gonna be fine, eh? Maple, you're starting to make _me_ more nervous."

France felt guilt well up within him at making his poor siblings worry. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mathieu. I'm just… thinking of how exactly I should explain all this in a believable way."

"To be honest, I don't think anyone would be surprised to hear England had a, um, mental breakdown over the whole revelation." Monaco pointed out, pressing her mouth in a thin line as she tried to fight her own nerves. "I doubt America wouldn't believe that part. As for the part about the bombs and nukes… Ah, I'm not so sure about that one."

Yes… yes…

Oh, France, silly France, what the hell are you so nervous about? It's just a phone call, not a life-threatening standoff like the one back in Paris a few days ago. How could you and the others be in danger during a phone call? Yes, very silly. After all, the only danger was that if France failed to convince America that England will very likely send missiles, bombs, nukes and whatnot to blow up his country, everything will fall apart for both sides!

…You know, now that he thought about it, his nervousness was understandable. Basically, the future of the war, and the world for that matter, all rested on France's shoulders. That… sounded a lot less romantic now that France was in that situation.

What's more, what was _America_ really like? France already knew to expect a certain level of hostility and bitterness from the boy, but he had no idea whether America would be too blinded by hate to listen to him or refuse to believe him on the basis that France _technically_ had no evidence to support his claims…

But what the hell kind of evidence could he possibly show over the phone?! Good God, France was starting to use way too much crude language. It's stress, it's always the stress.

Alright… enough stalling, now was the time to finally do it.

After Monaco handed him the phone, France quickly dialed America's number, and he then waited, hoping that the boy won't immediately ignore him when he realized that it was one of his enemies calling. Oh, please, please, don't ignore him!

While France waited for America to pick up, he took to tapping his foot and trying not to sweat up a storm, and momentarily glancing at his siblings. Monaco appeared noticeably anxious, and looked quite uneasy, while Canada was as still as a statue, hiding half his face behind that bear of his. He didn't blame either of them, especially Canada.

This will be the first time Canada and America have spoken since this all began, and France could only hope that his little brother's heart won't up more broken.

He waited. Nothing was happening, and France was growing more exasperated.

"Come on, Amerique… Answer, please!"

The safety of your people depended on it, for God's sake!

Though France waited, albeit very impatiently, he still heard that annoying beeping from the phone instead of America's voice. He resisted the urge to groan. W-Well… at least hearing the beeps instead of silence meant that America was contemplating answering France's call, right? At least America didn't _immediately_ turn him away.

This was a good sign… right?

Just as he began to fear the worst, France froze when the annoying sound stopped, and he was greeted by a cold but familiar voice.

 _"Don't you have anything better to do?"_

France released a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding as relief overwhelmed him at hearing the boy's, despite how cold it was. Oh, thank goodness! He was starting to fear that America was just ignoring him! Oh, good, good! Then there was hope for all of them after all!

He felt his mouth drop, and he spun, looking at Canada and Monaco, who appear to have heard America's voice too and were just as surprised as he was. Then, France dared try to see if this was really the boy he wanted to speak with.

"…Amerique?"

 _"The one and only. Now-"_

IT WAS HIM!

"Oh, Amerique! It's you! It's really you!" France exclaimed perhaps a bit too louder than what was necessary, and he nearly wanted to laugh in joyous relief. "Thank God you answered! I thought you were never going to answer!"

America appeared to have a made 'gah!' sound, surprised at France's outburst, before he growled. _"Well, what did you expect me to do, just immediately answer a suspicious call from one of my enemies? Anyway, what's gotten into-_

But France cut him, probably not a smart choice, but he was just happy to know that there's hope. "Oh, I know, I know, I'm sorry. I'm just so relieved you didn't ignore me! You really have no idea how glad I am to hear you again! We _really_ need to talk right now."

 _"…You sound awfully happy."_ America noted, sounding rather bemused and almost startled. His voice was cold, sarcastic, with none of his usual joy present. _"Do you have a couple more screws loose or something? I thought Chinh and the others messed with your stomach, not your head. Or did that snake somehow reached into your brain and ate what's left of it?"_

"This is no time for insults, America! I know this all seems suspicious, but you must listen to what I'm about to say! NOW!" France shouted as he got straight to the point. This was no time to beat around the bush or bicker. "Your people and the other former British colonies' people, no, the people of the whole _world_ depend on it!"

 _"What the hell are you talking about?"_ America demanded, sounding more annoyed than confused, very uncharacteristic of him.

So, this meant that the real America was snarkier and more prone to anger? That made sense, actually. France couldn't blame him.

"I'm getting to it. Please just listen to what I have to say!" France pleaded, but the response he got was not what he expected.

 _"And why should I?"_ America snapped, and France had to flinched at his hostility. _"And here I was, thinking that you wanted to 'catch up'. What the hell kind of information do you have that makes you think it's worth my time? More importantly, **why** should I believe you? **Why** do you want to help me? We're enemies and I want to see **your** corpse feeding the worms!"_

Those hateful words, dripping with anger and resent over how France had treated him throughout the years, coming from one he genuinely considered as family felt like a stab in the heart. It hurt more what France had expected, even though he knew he wouldn't receive anything resembling kindness or love from America.

 _"I hate you. I've **always** hated you from the very beginning. You're a disgusting, vain, selfish piece of shit and an opportunistic weasel who only loves losers willing to kiss your ass and tries to hide what a gross wreck you've become in recent years. I've long accepted that the Europeans' arrival was maybe for the best and beneficial in the long run. I barely even think about it anymore. And I would've even forgiven all of you **YEARS** ago if you all weren't such condescending, delusional, colossal asshats!"_

France had to move the phone away as America yelled and cursed at him, wincing. But what the boy said pained him. So, that was what America really thought of him?

 _"Just think, all of us, even Haiti who you treated like a slave and tossed aside like a rag doll the moment you discovered my worthless, brownnosing, whiny, spoiled twin brother…"_ France did not miss how Canada flinched as if struck at America's hurtful words. _"…could've all forgiven you Eurotrash, backed out of this conspiracy and depriving the Order of a TON of power, maybe even feel guilty enough to warn all of you… if you guys had actually been decent people."_

America burst out into broken laughter, it sounded like a terrible mockery of his usual infamous and boisterous laugh, it almost felt like he was mocking _them_. His laughter sounded forced, joyless, and miserable. This was the laugh of a broken man. This was the laugh of a child who was robbed of his childhood before he could learn to enjoy it, grew up way too quickly, and was put through too much pressure, conflicts and corruption that what was acceptable for his age.

This was the product of humanity's evil and greed, of their nations' hunger for power and corruption. America, a child with too much power on his hands,

 _"Isn't that just sad? Talking about what could have been is always so damn depressing. Oh, wait, but it gets even better."_ America laughed again, this time with just the slightest bit more energy than before _"Any slim chance there was of any of us kind of regretting getting involved in this whole masquerade was crushed, burned or torn to shreds as the years went by. And you wanna know why that was?"_

Oh, France was sure he knew why, more than the others in fact. He'd done a lot of introspection and thinking in recent days, and he ended up discovering or realizing a lot of ugly truths about the actions of him and the rest of the world. Frankly, he was disgusted how foolish they've all been.

But even if America had been aware of that or not, he was determined to rub it in France's face.

 _"Because with every year, event, crisis, war or whatever, we all slowly began to realize how truly scummy you all are."_ He spat, confirming France's suspicions. _"Me especially, that's one of the perks of being the world superpower. I get a front-row seat at the corruption and darkness of humanity and nations alike. Trust me, it's way uglier than you think."_

France didn't have any doubt about that. America's young, too young to have been thrust into such a role. Did Prussia even care what psychological damage the boy could sustain from that much pressure and maintaining a façade of naivete and happiness?

 _"So, we slowly began to realize how **right** the older members were. That the current world order really was super crappy and that the New World Order really did need to make some major changes. Now, revenge isn't our only goal anymore, it probably isn't even the main goal now. We want to get rid of you pieces of crap for the sake of our futures, and that of the world. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you idiots, without even meaning to, made us care and want to achieve the Order's goals, and become **very** dedicated members."_

France's eyes widened. So they really did made things worse, didn't they…?

 _"Just thought that you should know about that, you know, to break you and make you realize how much you and the others fucked up big time."_ America said simply, as if that long rant was nothing more than a trivial detail. _"With all that in mind, **why** would you want to help me? And why should I believe you **want** to help me and the others?_

France desperately wanted to answer, to tell him, to warn him… but he found that he was unable to do it, much to his chagrin. He was trying to process all this. Everything America just told him revealed dozens of more horrifying truths and opened some old painful wounds to France.

Just what was the true extent of the consequences of past actions?

Moreover, France just wasn't sure how to answer America's question. Curses, they were already wasting time with all this talking of the past! He should just tell him that he didn't want innocent people to die at the hands of a madman and see what happened from there. But America was probably too cynical to believe such a response, especially since his opinion of him was so terrible.

So what now? Should he just spit it out already or…

As he struggled to utter an acceptable answer before England could get the approval to send out the explosives or America could get sick of waiting and hang up, France found himself caught off-guard when Canada suddenly snatched the phone from his hands.

W-Wait, what his little brother doing? Didn't he hear what America spoke of him?

France looked at Canada in horror. "M-Mathieu? What- What are you-"

But Canada ignored him, unfortunately, as he started to speak to his twin for the first time since the conflict began. "A-Alfred, please, we don't have time for this. I'm sorry for whatever I did that made you hate me, I really am! I wish I knew that you were suffering so much so that I could've help you, so that you wouldn't have done what you did. But we honestly want to help you, Al! Why can't you believe that we want to help you? That we still care about you?"

A tense silence followed by Canada's little speech, and France swallowed a lump in his throat as dreaded what America's response could be and what consequences there'll be from his little brother's words. Good God, what was Canada thinking doing that?

It was already clear that America held no love for his own twin, and Canada was already pained by the insults, so… Ah… But Canada didn't accept that, did he? He believed, or _wanted_ to believe, that deep down his brother didn't hate his guts, no?

After what felt like an eternity, America finally spoke, and what he said surprised _everyone_.

 _"…I'm sorry, did someone **talk**? Because I sure didn't hear anything like it."_ America remarked in an eerie tone, one that made France want to shudder. _"I heard **nothing** , nothing at all. Eh, it was probably the wind, probably nothing even **close** to being **important** or worth questioning or talking about. So, really, who cares? **I** don't."_

France was stunned by what he just heard, but it was nothing compared to Canada's devastated expression. He's sure that his poor little brother's heart crack. Speechless, he watched as Canada trembled, obviously trying to hold back his tears. Wha… Good Lord, how could America say that to Canada?

…Alright, yes, France shouldn't be surprised that America would be cold toward his brother. Like he said before, it was clear that America didn't truly love his twin brother. But it still astounded him that America would do this to his own flesh and blood! Sure, those had their problems, but Canada didn't deserve it.

He was sort of expecting insults, perhaps a bitter tirade of how America grew to hate Canada, but France supposed he should've known _this_ would be America's response to his hearing his brother's voice again. Canada's invisibility problem had always been a sensitive subject for the poor boy, as even France had trouble remembering or seeing him from time to time…

And America was all too aware of this.

So, what better way to hurt Canada by deliberately ignoring him and pretending that he didn't exist?

Feeling his blood boil at the cold way America treated his brother, he felt that he needed to intervene. "Amerique, you take that back! I know you despise us, but how can you treat your own twin brother like that?

 _"I dunno what you're talking about, Frenchie."_ America replied with the same eeriness, although he sounded annoyed at the reprimand. _"I don't **have** a brother, never did. Jeez, I'm telling you, I think that snake really did do something to mess up what's left of your brain."_

France saw Canada become even more pained, to the point of sobbing, and he began to feel angrier. "Amerique, you-"

 _"I said I heard **nothing**. Now answer the question or I'll hang up." _America stated in a manner that made it clear that he won't tolerate pushing the subject.

France clenched his fists at the threat. He wanted to keep going, to pester America until he acknowledged Canadas's existence and apologized for his behavior, but France knew better than that. Scolding and stubbornly reprimanding America wouldn't really solve anything. It's probably all the scolding from everyone that pushed America over the edge in the first place.

All France would do was doom the world.

So, deciding that enough was enough, he decided to finally let the cat out of the bag.

"Angleterre plans to nuke you and the other former British colonies." France revealed grimly, finally revealing the issue.

Once again, silence settled into the area after France dropped that bombshell on him. Not very surprisingly, America didn't respond immediately. In fact, it took a bit of a while for the boy to respond, at least to him. It wasn't nice, yes, but he liked how he rendered America speechless.

 _"W-What?"_ America choked out, shocked.

"It's as I said, Amerique." France narrowed his eyes, glad that America didn't laugh at the revelation. "We had found out that England in his madness plans to nuke or bomb you and the others, and we wanted to warn you."

 _"That bastard wants to nuke us?! Even Hong Kong and Jamaica?! Why that little…"_ He trailed off, and France cringed when he heard him snarl. _"Wait a damn minute, why should I believe this? How do I know this is true?"_

"Honestly, there _is_ a possibility that England was just bluffing." France admitted, frowning. "We're not even sure if England will manage to send out the bombs and other things, but we'd much rather be safe than sorry. Wouldn't you?"

 _"This doesn't really answer my question, and it's not exactly helping me **believe** you."_

France sighed; he knew it wouldn't be easy. Luckily, he already came up with a hopefully good enough response. "Amerique, tell me, _why_ would we lie about this? What exactly would we gain from warning about the danger and tell the others to defend themselves? Why can't you believe that we don't want innocent people killed?"

America made a 'tch' sound. _"This could be a lame attempt to try to distract me from my current mission. Also, if you're oh-so-worried for innocent people, then why do you keep letting the Muslims, most of whom have no respect for you or your people, into your country to kill and rape your citizens, hmm? And to add to long list of terrorist attacks? If you ask me you're much more concerned over your image than for innocent people."_

France cringed. Oh he should've known America would use that against him.

"But it isn't, Amerique. Hell, I don't even know what you're doing right now, and I won't even ask about it!" Although France would like to know about it, it didn't matter right now. "And you're right. I've been making a grave mistake with the refugees; I realize that now. But I'm trying to make up for my mistakes! I do care for the lives of innocent people. Don't _you_ care about your people, Amerique?"

 _"I do care about them, dammit! They're a pain in the ass sometimes, but that doesn't mean I want them all dead. I'm not like…"_ America trailed off again. France raised an eyebrow at this, but the American spoke again. _" **No one** bombs my country and gets away with it. **No one.** But still, I…"_

"Or would you rather dismiss this as nonsense and risk losing countless of your people, harming you in the process?" France dared say. It's a dangerous gamble, but… "Would you rather be like England and dismiss this information as pure nonsense despite the risks? Would you rather be like us Europeans, never noticing or acting on a threat until it's too late? It _was_ thanks to our ignorance and foolishness that World War II happened after all…

Yes, it was quite a risk, implying that America was like England. But France decided that there was no better way to convince him to listen. If America truly despised France and other Europeans, he would definitely not want to make a mistake they would make, no?

America again took a while to answer, likely pondering on this, before France heard him sigh and finally respond. _"…Okay, fine, you win. **Now** you have my full attention, Francis. Explain. Now. **Then** I'll decide what to think of it."_

"We stumbled upon this information during our search." France began to explain quickly. Now that he finally had America's full attention, there's no time to waste. "Canada, your _brother_ , Monaco and I had been looking for England after he ran off from the meeting. He… didn't quite take the revelation of you being a part of the Order very well. He refused to accept that he had any responsibility and that you were, not my words, 'smart enough' to be a part of this. It _broke_ him, really."

 _"Wait, that snobbish, condescending, hypocrite limey said that there's no way I'm **smart** enough for all this?!"_ America snarled in a fury that made France gulp, but fortunately, he appeared to have managed to calm himself down. _"Hmph. Can't say I'm surprised he reacted that way… He always believed that I'm a loser, no matter what I accomplish."_

France nodded shakily, and he crossed his fingers that America won't end up crushing his phone. "Oui. Well, after a heated argument between him and me, he ran away, so we went out to find him. While we had no way to track him, we knew _exactly_ how to find him…"

 _"You went to the bars and pubs of the city because knowing him he'd be drinking himself to death, didn't you?"_

"Well, it _is_ England and it's the most logical place…"

 _"Course it is. So, tell me, how did you find out that England wants to nuke me and the others?"_

France then regaled him with the tale of what happened next. He made sure to make it quick, as they didn't have all day.

"…So, while at first, I was a little skeptical, I very quickly remembered that England tended to do very terrible things when in a bad state of mind." France said darkly after he explained the part where they discovered England's 'plan'. "The fact that he's drunk only made it worse and more possible that he'd so such a thing. And he does love punishing his charges harshly a lot more than necessary. You should know that very well…"

While France couldn't see America, he's almost confident that his words made the latter grimace at the memory of England's treatment of him, especially during the time when the colonies began to rebel. He hoped all this would be enough to convince him.

 _"Shit…"_ America cursed, and he muttered all sorts of crude words that France would've scolded him for if it weren't for the entire situation. _"Damn that bastard. Damn it. DAMN IT! We should've attacked **him** first, not Spain. Screw South Africa and Nigeria's 'let's torment him slowly' bullshit, I'm not going to let that damn Brit get away with this!"_

Well… he's convinced alright… But now France wondered if he just hastened England's demise.

 _"And Hong Kong, he's so small! If that bastard nukes him, then he could actually **die**_ …!" America cried out, understandably upset. _"The same goes for Jamaica. Nuke his island, and he might not have a lot left by the end of it. It'll be barely habitable."_

"Oui, I'm just as outraged as you are." France said cautiously, and he decided to continue with the subject at hand. "So you understand what the consequences will be if England succeeds, right? This won't just affect you. If you and the others get hurt, then the other members could…"

 _"Think that you and your club approved of this and have everyone killed."_ America finished for him, and he cursed. _"I know I would, and I'm the closest thing to a reasonable and sane guy in the ex-British colonies group. Everything will fall apart."_

" _Exactly_. There's no time to waste. So, do you and the others have any countermeasures for nukes and…"

 _"OF COURSE WE HAVE COUNTERMEASURES FOR NUKES AND STUFF!"_ America roared, nearly destroying France eardrums. Well, there's no need to yelll… _"Do you morons seriously think it never occurred to us that you might so desperate to get rid of the Order that you'd nuke us or something?! We **all** have countermeasures in place for that eventuality!"_

France gulped. My, did America have a short temper. Not that he blamed him. "I-I'm glad to hear that. So, ?"

 _"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about us."_ America said gruffly. _"The 'countermeasures' are basically automatic, and we have people on constant watch as too. Still, it's good to be warned beforehand. That way if that limey does send out the bombs and shit, we'll strike them down before they can even reach our lands, thus preventing any possible collateral damage."_

After receiving that good news, France loudly sighed in relief, hand over his chest. He saw the same reaction from his siblings. "Oh, thank God…"

 _"They're gonna be really pissed when I tell them about this, you know." "You **are** aware of that, right? They, no, **we** won't stand for this. Also, it'll give us a good reason to start the destruction of the United Kingdom earlier than planned. His actions prove that he is a dangerous person that must be eliminated as soon as possible. This doesn't change anything for England or for you. You understand that, right"_

France swallowed, and he clenched his fists. "I… had a feeling that might be the case. I knew informing you of the danger would have its own consequences. I didn't expect anything to change, really. I didn't even think your opinion of me would change. But… it was the right thing to do, non?"

America was silent for almost half a minute, before murmuring, _"The right thing, huh…?"_

"Oui, the right thing."

 _"Huh… I think that's the first time I've ever heard you say that's your reason for doing this kind of stuff."_ America chuckled humorlessly. _"Usually when you do something unbelievable, you either did it because of love, or because it'll benefit you in the long run."_

France felt his face heat up in shame "Oui… I am aware of that. But I told you, I am not doing this with some ulterior motive. It's the truth!"

 _"You better hope it is."_

"Oui… So, er…" France rubbed the back of his head, now feeling really awkward now that most of the tension's gone. He looked to his siblings for help, but Canada was still sniffing from America's words from before and Monaco offered a supportive smile. Oh, dear. "Can I… leave the rest to you?"

 _"Yeah… Yeah, don't worry about it."_ America assured him in an eerily calm voice. _"And Frenchie?"_

"Oui?"

 _"Thanks."_

It took a moment or two for France to comprehend what America just said, and he felt his jaw drop. "H-Huh…?"

 _"I said, thank you!"_ America yelled in France's ear. _"Thanks for telling me about this, despite everything. But don't expect any kindness from me the next time we meet."_

He _thanked_ him…

France smiled. "I know."

 _"Good."_ America snorted, going quiet for a moment before speaking again. _"I'll… be sure to tell Haiti and the others too."_

France's eyes widened at this. "R-Really?

 _"Yeah… Sure, they probably won't believe that you did it because it was 'the right thing to do'. Hell, I still don't completely believe it. But they should… know about this. Who knows? They might make your death considerably less painful, or bought yourself a couple more days to live."_

W-Wha… Did France just hear that right? He blinked, surprised, and he's sure that his jaw now reached the ground. Was _this_ America's way of showing his gratitude? What will France's former colonies think?

 _"Well, if there's nothing more to say, then I'm hanging up."_ America stated bluntly. _"Brace yourself, Frenchie. Later."_

"A-Ah…" Before France could even get the word out, America hanged up. "And… he's gone."

He let his arms fall to his sides. That was… interesting, to say the least.

Wait, what's he saying? He did it! A relieved smile made its way to France's face, and he found himself laughing in joy. Yes, he did it! He practically saved the world! Or, well, probably delayed it, but who cares? What mattered was that England's plan was now doomed to fail. Point one for France once again!

France felt someone gently grab his hand, and he looked down to see Monaco looking up at him hopefully.

"You… You did it, Francis." Monaco said relieved, smiling up at him like the adorable thing she was, before briefly frowning, "You… did do it, non? Will Monsieur Amerique and the others be alright now?"

France, unable to contain his joy any longer, broke into a full-blow grin "Oui, Lucille! I did it! I really did it!"

He picked up Monaco and spun her around, laughing all the while. It's been a while since he's done this with her, but it didn't matter. France was so happy that he succeeded and that everything turned out surprisingly well for their usual luck that…

But then was painfully reminded of another, more important matter. As he celebrated with Monaco, he spotted Canada standing still with downcast eyes. It looked like his little brother had been…

He stopped spinning Monaco and gently put the dizzy girl on the ground, before approaching the boy with a worried look. "Mathieu?"

Canada sniffed, and he wiped his tears away with his sleeve before meeting France's eyes. As he feared, the boy's eyes were puffy from crying. "W-What…? I'm fine, eh…"

France frowned, and he tried to comfort his little brother. "Now, we both know that's a lie, don't we? I saw the pain in your eyes, you were never that good at hiding what you felt… Oh, I'm sorry America said all those things to you, Mathieu."

"N-No… it's okay, Papa." Canada sniffed again, and he trembled. "I think... I deserved getting a reality check. I'm a horrible brother."

"Don't say that, Mathieu!" France exclaimed as the boy began to sob. "America may have been right to have been angry at England and I, as well as the others. But what he said to you what completely uncalled for!"

"You're just saying that to make me feel better, Papa!" "C-C'mon, be honest! Do you really think I was really a good brother to Alfred for all these years?! I couldn't even tell that his personality was a sham!"

"Mathieu, _none_ of us ever suspected that it was a sham!" "Now, please listen to me.

"I'm sorry, is this a bad time?"

"AAHHH!" France not-so-elegantly screamed and spun around to find himself face to face with Egypt and a surprised Seychelles. "…Ah…hahaha…! Oh, Egypt! And Michelle, mon petite sœur ! I didn't _see_ you there. Why… Why did you do that?"

And in the middle of France consoling Canada, no less!

"We apologize for the intrusion," Egypt said hastily, apparently in a hurry. "But we have news regarding Mauritius... as well as other developments that unexpectedly occurred. And we felt that you three deserve to know what has happened."

Mauritius? If there had been any new leads regarding him then France very much wanted to know!

"By all means, tell me all about it," France stated gravely. "Also, there is something I'd like to tell you and the others…"

 **This chapter turned out to be long, yeah, but the segments ended up being so long that I couldn't add more segments, including the continuation of the Turkey segment. I haven't forgotten that. But, there will be more segments next time, I hope. Ones that'll be more related to the topic of humans. Please review if you have a minute.**


	68. Justice: Worth(lessness) of Humans II

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, vexey1999, Redbayly and NadiaJA627. Once again, I apologize for the wait. I got a little sick and I had to rewrite large parts of the chapter. I hope you'll like it. Now, on with the show!**

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit Why did this have to happen _now_ of all times?

America paced back and forth, muttering curses from just about every language he knew, while everyone was confused as hell as stared at him like he was crazy. He couldn't really blame them. He had a habit of getting a little nuts whenever he's super stressed. America wanted to tell them what happened, but he's just too pissed off to do it. He needed to cool down first.

Which could take a while…

Great. Just great. England went and (unsurprisingly) got himself stupid drunk, which ended up killing whatever brain cells that turd had left, causing him to get the _genius_ idea to bomb America and the other ex-British colonies… Terrific. Just terrific.

He facepalmed and groaned in frustration. Agh, America couldn't believe this! No, no, not the fact that England would do that. America figured that the limey would be one of the guys who'd be eager to do it (although not _this_ early in the war!). No, he couldn't believe that this happened in the _middle_ of their plans with Georgia and for Russia!

And no, he wasn't pacing because he's worried the countermeasures won't work. Don't be ridiculous. They're foolproof, they made _sure_ of it. America was just dealing with all the anger, rage and stress of discovering that one of his worst enemies wanted to turn him and his friends, one of which was an _island_ and another a _SAR_ , into _nuclear wastelands!_

…Also, because what this discovery could mean for present _and_ future plans.

He hated this. He hated England. He hated that damn limey's bad timing. He hated that he couldn't stop _pacing_ so he could explain to the others what happened so that they'll stop staring at him like _that_. Oh, and America also _kind of_ hated how he's _kind of_ indebted to France. Even though he knew it sounded petty and unfair, France was just _helping_ him.

And that's what made this so _infuriating_. That America couldn't be mad at France for going out of his way to warn him, even though he's probably gonna get chewed off for it later and that the countermeasures were practically automatic. Still, that way they'll avoid possible damage, and like they say it's the _thought_ that counts…

If helping him was _truly_ France's intention…

But deep down America knew that France really was telling the truth. Spending years with corrupt people, nations and politicians helped him develop a kind of lie detector instinct. You had to have it if you wanted to survive being a superpower. He always knew when people were trying to manipulate him or deceive him. And he never once got the feeling that France was lying to him in the entire conversation.

While Canada, on the other hand…

Anyway, so now America owed France one… a little degrading considering how much he's hated the guy all these years and that they're _enemies_. He wasn't happy about it. But he didn't like pulling a dick move after someone went out of their way to help him like this. So, before he'll go off telling everyone else what happened he had decided, for the sake of his own sanity and thank France again, America was going to…

"Hey. Hey, Al!"

America was then abruptly brought out of his grumpy monologue when he felt someone's hands grab his shoulders, rooting him in place and finally stopping his pacing. He blinked, surprised, and saw that it was Denmark who did it. His Viking friend looked concerned, like everyone else was.

"W-What…?" America muttered, still a little dazed.

"What? What do you mean, _what?_ " Denmark gawked at him, and he shook America a little to snap him out of it. Guess what? It didn't help. "What happened to you, buddy? You've been pacing forever, Alfred, and muttering at least a hundred swear words under your breath. We want to know if you're okay, _and_ what happened."

"You looked shaken, but we couldn't really hear what France was saying." North Korea noted before frowning in worry. "What happened, my love? What did that man tell you?"

America scratched his head, wondering how he's gonna explain this to the others, and he sighed. "Oh gosh, I don't even know where to begin."

He felt a hand touch his shoulder. It was Georgia, she was lifting the jacket off her face to look at him worriedly. "Alfred, why don't you please calm down and tell us what happened? You look like you're about to crack or throw a building."

"How bad could it have been? I mean, it's _France_. What did he do, try to blackmail you?" Iceland said skeptically, although there was worry written all over his face.

North Korea's face darkened, and his braid whipped as he face America with a terrifying glare. "Is that it? Did that frog try to threaten you? If he did, then I'll happily take a shortcut over to London and rip out his manhood."

Denmark sneered, cracking his knuckles. "Count me in too."

"Oy, whoa there, lads." Ireland stepped in much to America's relief, wearing a disapproving frown. "I like a good fight as much as the next guy, but let's not jump into conclusions before Allie can tell us what really, a'ight? Unless of course that is what really happened…"

"No, no! Jeez, everything's fine. Just… dandy, you know?" America said hastily. This wasn't helping with his stress at all. "No one's dying, no one got blackmailed or anything like that. In fact, whatever you think happened, it's probably the opposite. France helped me. I… I think I owe him one."

America wasn't surprised at all to see everyone stare at him like he just said Paris Hilton just won an award for best actress, but that sure as hell didn't stop him from feeling a little uncomfortable at the attention. He normally wouldn't care, but it just made him feel more ashamed of his debt to France.

So would someone just say something already?!

"What… exactly did France tell you?" North Korea asked with a bewildered expression.

"Am I gonna need some ale?" Ireland asked.

Sighing again, America then bitterly told them at length what happened in the call, what France told him. By the time America finished recounting, he saw that everyone had reacted exactly as he expected them to.

In other words, they were pissed.

"ARE YOU BLODDY FECKING KIDDING ME?!" Ireland yelled, and America cringed. Now, not because he was loud, but because they're in public. "That slimy, condescending, fecking gobshite. He wanted to nuke you, even with all the shit that's happened since 9/11? What a feckin eejit my brother is! Oh, I'm gonna kill that cocky arse. I'm gonna kill him good, just you wait, Allie."

Yeah, yeah, that's sweet. America would've really appreciated the concern and anger for his safety more _if they weren't in a public space!_ But still, it's nice to have friends who cared about you, even if most of them had a couple of psychological problems.

Then again, pretty much everyone in the Order had psychological problems.

"Why am I not surprised?" Denmark snarled, a look of disgust taking over his face.

"I expected Russia to do something like this, but not England…" Georgia muttered bitterly, sighing, and she kicked a small rock in anger. "You're right, Alfred. He really is a scumbag, _and_ a drunken idiot."

Was there any doubt?

"I think my opinion of that British shit just plummeted down to the negatives. Oh, he'll pay for daring for even thinking that he can hurt _you_ ," North Korea hissed angrily, eyes burning with hatred. "And then there's Hong Kong too. Such a blast would surely kill him…"

"It's a good thing we have those countermeasures in place then, huh?" Iceland said anxiously, looking a little uncomfortable standing next to the bloodthirsty Asian. "With those, there's no way any of our countries will get damaged. I mean, except for maybe a _bit_ of collateral damage and one or two burned areas…"

Which was _one_ of the reason's why America's now indebted to France, he reminded himself bitterly. Just how was he gonna do this? Sure, he's gonna tell the ex-French colonies members what France did and convince them to make the guy's death at least 40% less bloody and horrifying, America accepted that he deserved that much. But for some annoying reason, it felt that America could do more.

Yeah, you heard right. America's conscience was demanding that he do more to repay France for going out of his way to help them despite everything, and maybe to make it up for how rude America was with him at the beginning (no regrets for the Canada thing though).

Honestly, sometimes America's conscience felt like a _curse_. Yeah, he gets to be a decent person, or at least a fairly neutral being compared to some other members, but then stuff like this happened to him…

With Iceland's statement, Ireland finally managed chill out somewhat. "Oh, yeah... You said something about countermeasures, didn't ya Allie?"

"Course we do, Uncle Patrick." America nodded, smiling wryly, despite his inner turmoil. "We got to be prepared for every eventuality, y'know? Bombs, invasion, magic fire-breathing dragons… anything.

"So you _all_ have some type of defense that'll stop the bombs, missiles or anything like that from striking your country?" Georgia asked in awe, and at Alfred's nod, she smiled. "Wow, you people really are prepared for anything."

"Makes you feel proud for picking the right side, ain't it?" Ireland smirked.

"Hey, I think you guys are missing the point." America frowned, inwardly hoping that they'll take his next words well. "Everything's gonna be _fine_. No one in the Order's gonna get bombed or anything, so we can all rest easy. But now I owe France one, and I gotta repay him."

As quickly as possible too, before it starts to weigh on America's conscience.

Of course, North Korea wasn't having any of it. He scowled. "You can't be serious, Al."

"I _am_ , North. I'm not happy with this either, but France… ngh, he did help us, honestly. C'mon, you can't just ignore that."

"You can when the person you happen to owe a favor is a disgusting toad." North Korea retorted, and he walked up to America to stare up at him dead in the eye. "And just why do you 'owe' him one? For warning you to prepare for a danger we're already prepared for? For making it clear that whatever England's planning, he has nothing to do with it? Why would you trust the words of a being that rivaled the humans in terms of repulsiveness?"

America narrowed his eyes. He wanted to groan in exasperation, but right now he felt more annoyed than frustration at his lover's stubbornness. Dammit, he _knew_ NK would say that. He knew that if anyone would have a problem with this, it'd be North Korea. Gah, how could he convince him? NK could be as stubborn as a mule.

You know, sometimes it felt that North Korea hated the people America hated more than America himself did. It's weird. Sure, it's normal that your romantic partner would come to dislike the people you dislike, but North Korea took it to a whole other level.

But that's just how North Korea was. Hate just made up a big part of North Korea's being, unfortunately. Tough luck if you encounter him and you're not one of his allies, because he won't spare you if there's no point in keeping you alive or America's not around to stop him.

It's… one of the issues with their relationship, how their differences in morals clash. By the Order's standards, America was one of the 'kinder' and 'safe' nations. As in, people saw him more of a neutral figure, like they did with South Vietnam and Lithuania. North Korea on the other hand… he's in the cruel and 'very dangerous' nations category. He's not as bad as South Africa, but he's worse than the Philippines.

However, America's not the kind of guy who'd let himself get pushed around, lover or not. North Korea was capable of giving cool advice, but he's just being stubborn here. Jeez, couldn't he see that America's about as happy about this as he was? He didn't want to argue about this.

He wondered how the others will take this, if North Korea had a problem with it. South Vietnam won't be happy, but he's the type of guy who gave credit where it's due. As for Haiti, Morocco and Cameroon… America didn't even know where to start.

"We may be prepared in case someone decides to nuke us, but its always better to be told in advanced to prevent any possible damage." America reminded him firmly, making sure to let it show in his tone that he's _not_ gonna change his mind. "Also, like I said, France went out of his way to help us, the people who want to kill him and everything and everyone he cares about, just because he didn't want…"

America found himself faltering, much to his dismay, and he clenched his fists. But was it really true? Part of him, the more cynical and bitter part of him couldn't help but doubt France's claims even though he didn't sense that he was lying. No, knock it off. That's North talking, not you.

"Oh dammit, I don't need _your_ permission for this North. I'm gonna pay him back, no matter what you try to say or do to convince me otherwise." America snapped, making it very clear that he's serious. "But don't get me wrong. He's still on our death list, but there's still ways to pay him back. I don't like this either, but I'm gonna do it or else my damn conscience will keep nagging and berating me for the rest of my damn life."

Not gonna lie, America felt a bit of satisfaction when a surprised North Korea stepped back when he snapped at him. On the con side, he felt a little guilty for doing so. You shouldn't snap at the person you love, even if they're a stubborn brat sometimes. But weirdly enough, instead of getting pissed off, North Korea almost looked impressed.

In fact, it almost looked like North Korea was… No, wait, no. Ugh, he was _not_ going to go into that.

"What are you going to do, Alfred?" Georgia asked in concern. "Are you going to change today's plans?"

"No, we're not gonna change the plan to recover Abkhazia and South Ossetia." America assured her. "But I think we're gonna save the invasion for tomorrow. Think of it as an expression of gratitude, or at least part of it. One of France's most powerful allies will be stable for one more day. You don't mind, do ya, Georgia?

Said nation shook her head. "No, not at all. I don't think there's anything wrong with waiting one more day. Besides, I'm fine with just getting Abkhazia and South Ossetia for today, it's more than enough for me. If you say that it's best if we wait, then I'll wait."

"Aye, what she said." Ireland agreed wholeheartedly with a grin, suddenly drinking from a canteen. "I support yer decision if you think it's best."

"No problem here either," Iceland said helpfully. "And Norway could probably use some hours to perfect those spells of his anyway, right, Matt?"

Denmark nodded. "Ja, and I can go get a couple more axes while I'm at it."

North Korea sent them all a quick glare, but to America's relief, he sighed and finally relented. "Fine. I don't understand the _point_ , but I won't have any problem with what you'll do as long as I'm sure it won't come back to bite you later."

America smiled and ruffled North Korea's hair. "Thanks."

Now… How the hell's he gonna explain all this, the situation with England and France, to the ex-British and French colonies respectively? He had a feeling he's gonna need some ear plugs.

/ / / / /

Bulgaria swooned at his love even though he wasn't looking at him. He didn't care. He was just overjoyed over Turkey's plan.

He _knew_ what his beloved was aiming at. Although even he'll never ever fully comprehend his genius, exceptional mind, years of lovingly being at his side helped Bulgaria quickly catch on to what he was trying to achieve by starting this whole conversation.

Turkey wanted everyone in the group to connect. He's well aware of the awkwardness plaguing the group, so being the kind and caring and wonderful man he was, he had resolved to help the members here become better friends. Not only was he doing this so as to better their already high chances of success, but he couldn't stand seeing his comrades and friends be uncomfortable around each other.

He wanted the best for them, even he wasn't close friends with _all_ the members here. It didn't matter if they were family, friends, or just allies, Turkey cared for all of them. So, he'll make sure that there'll be no awkwardness by the time they leave this town.

Oh, Turkey! His kindness knew no bounds!

He could barely keep himself from squealing in delight. It's one of the many countless things Bulgaria loved about Turkey, his beloved really did care. Lithuania and those bagworms like Romania and the rest of his allies couldn't see (although in Lithy's case, Bulgaria just knew that he didn't want to admit it) how great Turkey was. Oh, Bulgaria just loved him! If he could, and if the others haven't forbidden him from being openly affectionate, he'd express his adoration by licking Turkey's boots.

Having the team bond over their mutual dislike of humans… genius! As expected of Turkey! And it's an interesting idea too. Now that Bulgaria thought about it, he really didn't know much about what the others thought about humans other than, you know, that they don't like them one bit. He knew what Lithuania, Saudi, Iran and of course his beloved thought, but Bulgaria didn't know exactly what the others thought.

Although it's totally obvious that no one here has any fondness for humans, that's for sure. Bulgaria smiled proudly to himself at that. See, Lithuania? He wasn't an airhead, or dumber than the dirt in the Middle East! He could be smart, really!

Speaking of, as much as Bulgaria missed Lithuania and wished that they didn't have to separate for the time being, maybe… it's for the best that Lithuania's not here with them. Bulgaria frowned in dismay at the thought, but it was the truth. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that maybe Lithuania wouldn't be very happy here, even with Turkey.

Why? Well, it's not that Lithuania didn't get along with anyone here, that's not true at all. And besides, Bulgaria's confident that Lithuania's 'hatred' for his beloved wasn't sincere. It's just… Except for the Russians, Lithy didn't hate humans. He might find them annoying, but he never hated them… no matter how much they argued about it.

Bulgaria resisted making his expression darken, he won't risk distracting the others from Turkey, but his anger wasn't directed at his best friend. He just didn't get why Lithuania would care about those… those lesser beings- No, that's _way_ too generous- those overgrown _cockroaches_.

Yes, they're just like bugs. So weak and easy to kill, but yet they have a knack for annoying and hard to catch like a mosquito, and when you finally kill one, you're then faced with the reminder that there's still _countless_ of those disgusting creatures roaming the planet.

Why didn't Lithuania hate them? It's a question Bulgaria's been asking him for years now after the Cold War, and he always got pretty much the same answer: 'They're not all bad', he'd say with the same dull tone. 'Sure, many of them are annoying, but I've had good human friends and even some understanding bosses. We can't _all_ be angry at them because a group of them kept you and the old fart apart.'

Bulgaria didn't even feel the slightest bit upset at Lithuania's words; he'd _never_ be angry with him. But he'd always end up feeling a little peeved, although he supposed he couldn't blame Lithuania for feeling that way. He didn't know what it's like to be separated from the person you loved more than anything else, to have a part you of taken away. If he knew, then maybe…

No. Bulgaria hoped that he'll never know what it's like.

Ohhhh, he's feeling too depressed. This won't do. He shouldn't be sitting here, thinking about bad things that'll sour his good mood! If Lithuania were here, he'd probably say something like 'You idiot! Stop moping around and get back to cleaning the bathroom before I get too worried about you!' or something like that. He should just listen to what the others were saying.

"For all their so-called belief in God or some other deity, and that there's an afterlife, many of them are quite fearful of death, don't you think?" He heard Norway remark, lips curling up in an amused smile. "It's just too priceless. They preach their religion, teach their children what not to do to avoid eternal damnation, to look forward when you meet 'the Lord', and yet most of them would do anything to avoid death, to meet their precious 'God'."

Bulgaria hummed. Religion, huh? Now that's something he didn't think much about. Oh, was there really any need to? He stopped caring about religion when he fell in love and desperately pursued his beloved. Christianity or any other religion meant nothing to him now unless his beloved decided otherwise.

It also kind of helped that Bulgaria's religious communities coexist peacefully. Unfortunately, the others weren't as lucky.

He pressed his mouth in a thin line as he felt some less than pleasant feelings bubbling up to the surface, but he did his best to ignore them. But it wasn't just because of _that_. No, no, no, no, no, Bulgaria's gotten over it. What he meant to say was that the only religion he bothered to think about was Islam, and he did it mostly to curse the day that old man made it up. He didn't even need to explain why he had a problem with it.

Oh, but enough of his monologuing for now. He should pay attention before the voices in his head that sound eerily like Lithuania yell at him for being a love-sick airhead with the shortest attention-span ever.

Turkey burst out laughing, music to Bulgaria's ears. "Tell me about it. Man, you hear a lot of this 'I can't wait to meet God' shtick from the Catholics and the Muslims. And yet a whole lot of them cry and scream and they or their loved ones What the hell are they whining about? After all, it's all part of God/Allah's plan! If it happened, it's because 'he' wanted it."

"They weren't this pathetic back in our day, remember?" Norway grinned and nudged Sweden's shoulder. "Back when people believed in Norse mythology, the Vikings didn't fear death, much less in battle. On the contrary, they believed that if they died in combat, they'll have the honor of either meeting Freyja or helping Odin prepare for Ragnarök. They looked _forward_ to it, although that didn't stop them from fighting ferociously to win their battles."

Sweden nodded, and he even managed a small fond smile. "It was admirable, ja. Perhaps a little foolish, considering the stories they believed, but their courage was impressive. While today's humans, insects, all of them, paint them as savages and idiotic monsters, they will forever be the best humans I've ever lived with. At least in comparison."

Bulgaria blinked in surprise, not sure if he could believe what he just heard. Huh, now that's something he didn't expect to hear. But he supposed he shouldn't be too surprised; he didn't know much about the Nordics. However, what he did know, or at least figured, was that most of them apparently hated humans on principle. So hearing that some of them used to like some humans…

He didn't get it. Why did they like those humans? Yeah, they explained why, but considering what their descendants were like now, shouldn't the Nordics be ashamed or disgusted at how the humans failed to preserve their values, thus making them failures?

Bulgaria started feeling uneasy, he wasn't sure what to think. So, he looked to Turkey to see what his reaction was to Sweden's statement, and he saw that his lover was smiling. No frown or snarl, just a proud grin. Turkey was happy as to where this was going, he _approved_ of this.

Well, if Turkey approved, then Bulgaria should too. Good for the Nordics.

"Must have been nice, having people you can be proud of." He overheard Saudi Arabia saying bitterly but quietly to Iran. "I honestly don't remember a time in my history when my people haven't been excruciatingly and utterly _infuriating_."

Iran grinned playfully. "Oh, come on. It couldn't have been all bad. You've had some good periods of history here and there."

Saudi Arabia gave him a blank look. "There really weren't, Amir."

"Yeah, you've had it rough even before you-know-who came along and started the whole mess, haven't ya?" Turkey smiled sympathetically as he patted Saudi Arabia on the back. "Aw, but look on the bright side. Sure, the tribes were duking it out, but at least you had a good enough life with your mom and helping raise your siblings."

"Most of whom grew up to be idiots and failures, brainwashed and indoctrinated." Saudi Arabia reminded him with a disgusted scowl. "And _please_ don't mention my mother. It took almost nothing to bring Yemen to ruin, although I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel bad for him. Qatar's a spoiled brat, Kuwait may pretend to be more open but in the end he's no different, and Bahrain's loyal but as ignorant as Kuwait. Honestly, my only salvation is Emirates, and even _he_ has several glaring problems. And I guess Oman's not a bad girl…"

Turkey and Iran then went to try to cheer up Saudi Arabia as the man angrily grumbled under his breath about his brothers and sisters. Bulgaria just smiled, although he felt a _smidge_ disappointed that his beloved was speaking to them instead of him.

"And look at your people, no, all our countries now." Finland spat, an ugly scowl on his face. "We're surrounded by idiots now."

"Ja…" Sweden appeared to grit his teeth. "Truly idiots… how disappointing."

"Very disappointing indeed," Norway clicked his tongue and smiled cheerfully at his neighbors. "And going back to the previous topic, they've also been reduced to such cowards. It's just so baffling and pitiful, if not annoying."

"Yeah, even the Muslims, for all how confident they are that everything is part of Allah's grand plan or something, have a habit of begging for mercy." Turkey remarked with a bitter grin, which made Bulgaria frown. "I just don't get them.

'Well, of course you don't understand them, Turkey!' Bulgaria desperately wanted to say. Humans are too inferior, stupid and worthless for Turkey's brilliant mind to comprehend, and he shouldn't bother to. Those tapeworms and parasites didn't _deserve_ his attention, not even to be in his presence. Oh, unless of course Turkey wanted to slaughter them.

"Is it the pain they fear, or the possibility that there's no next life for them? That's the question." Sweden said wistfully, staring off at the distance. "Or… perhaps it's both."

Finland scoffed, face scrunching up in distaste. "I say it's both, and that also goes for the atheists. It's in the human garbage's nature to fear the unknown and whatnot, so much that it drives them to make the stupidest decisions. How can sentient creatures be so brain-dead?!"

Everyone murmured bitterly in agreement. Huh, Bulgaria remembered saying the same thing when the Pope came to visit his country and convince the people to allow Muslim immigrants to enter the country. He lost a bit of hair that day.

Norway chuckled and put his hands on his hips, amused. "Either way, it's still hilarious, if not sad. It depends on how pathetic they look."

"Speak for yourselves." Saudi Arabia scoffed, crossing his arms. "You think it's sad and incredibly pathetic that humans beg for mercy when on the verge of death? Then how about having humans who gladly kill themselves believing that they'll go to heaven after raping and/or forcibly converting young girls, beheading Jews or Christians, and killing anyone who doesn't agree with you? _That's_ sad."

Sweden regarded Saudi with his usual expression, but there were traces of sympathy in his eyes. "Oh, don't think that we've forgotten about _them_. I sure haven't. Why else did I order their slaughter? If anything, I admire you and the others for your restraint in dealing with them."

Saudi Arabia smiled, looking pleased at the response. "Why thank you, Sweden. Although I wish you and the other Nordics never had to know what it's like living with them. They truly are a curse, aren't they?"

"A curse is putting it mildly. I think a 'plague' is better insult for them, from my experience. They just spreading and spreading and spreading…" Finland hissed until he abruptly stopped and his head whipped to Sweden's direction. "A-Although of course I have no doubt that you've have it worse than any of the other Europeans, Berwald. What do you think?"

Sweden hummed and looked up at the sky. "Ja, a plague is the best way to describe them. Couldn't have said it better myself."

"I agree as well. They never seem to show any signs of stopping. I blame their breeding." Saudi Arabia sighed and smirked at the Nordics. "And I envy you, being able to kill them all. If I could, I'd do the same thing to my people, but I'd only end up causing my own death."

"The only thing we Muslim-majority nations can do is slowly influence them to abandon their faith, then we can finally live happy lives." Iran said rather unhappily. "And it's going to take a while to do it… And then there's the other religious countries, Muslim and otherwise…"

"At least our people will stop needlessly supporting those parasites littering our countries." Finland said in relief. "I can't believe it'll take us influencing them in the right direction to do what they should've done in the very beginning."

While the others kept discussing or complaining over how pathetic humanity had become or how painful it is living with Muslim immigrants, or Muslim fanatics in Iran and Saudi's case, Bulgaria beamed. Yes! His beloved's plan was working perfectly! As expected of him.

Bulgaria grinned in Turkey's direction, and he felt indescribable joy when he found that he was already smiling at him.

"Things are going just the way you wanted them to," Bulgaria said quietly with an adoring smile, and he felt overjoyed when Turkey's smile broadened. "I knew they would. You're a genius, after all."

"Ah, I see you've caught on to my master plan, birdie." Turkey sounded pleased, to Bulgaria's delight. He laughed when Turkey ruffled his hair. "You know me so well. You're getting better and better at knowing how this twisted mind of mine works. I'm impressed."

Bulgaria giggled and blushed at the praise. He felt like a silly schoolgirl like Lithuania always called him. "H-Hah… Well, I don't think I'll ever fully get to comprehend your brilliant mind, Sadik. But I knew that you'd want what's best for everyone."

"Heh, but don't go congratulating me yet, Dimitri." Turkey smirked mischievously, a clear sign that something exciting's about to happen. "There's still more. There's something else, an idea that I think will make things even better, and more interesting for that matter."

Bulgaria blinked in surprise, and he felt a broad smile on his face. "Really?! What is it? What are you going to do, my beloved?"

Turkey took off his mask to wink at him, and Bulgaria felt his heart flutter. "Just wait and see."

He then stood up, stretched his arms, and Bulgaria watched him eagerly as his beloved walked over to Sweden, who was in the middle of discussing the difficulties of having a Muslim population, and patted him on the back.

"So, hey, Sweden, buddy… What's _your_ opinion on humans?"

/ / / / /

It was easy enough navigating the building without causing any of the personnel here giving him a second glance. Years of doing his best to avoid Russia's constant abuse helped Lithuania be really good at sneaking around, and Prussia helped make sure he'd have a good convincing explanation in case someone ever questioned him.

Lithuania swallowed and straightened his jacket before glancing back to make sure he wasn't being followed for the umpteenth. Oh, yes, did he mention that his time in the Soviet Union also made him paranoid? But he supposed it was warranted. Even though he already shut down the security cameras, you could never be too careful. They couldn't afford to be wild and reckless in their mission like the Africans would.

In the worst-case scenario, Lithuania will have no choice but to kill any human who grew too suspicious of him. And while he didn't really mind killing, there really wasn't any good place to hide a corpse unless they want to risk some human discovering it not too many minutes later.

But luckily for him, nothing happened on his way back to Prussia. No humans asking him what he's doing here, nothing.

Before Prussia left the house, he mentioned that he'd really like Lithuania's help with killing off the entire Parliament plus the Chancellor. Lithuania wondered if Prussia sensed that he wasn't really eager, because he added that if Lithuania helped out with the job, he'd allow and even accompany him to a little trip to visit Russia. To finally meet with that bastard face-face to taunt him, torture him…

To see for himself how much _pain_ Russia was in after finding out about Belarus's death.

Lithuania giggled to himself, then he instinctively slapped a hand over his mouth once he realized his carelessness and swiftly glanced around to make sure there's no one in his vicinity who could've heard him. He sighed in relief when he didn't see anyone.

He cursed at himself. Shit. How could he let himself slip up like that? He wasn't like Bulgaria…

He found Prussia in the same place he was when he left, and Lithuania made sure to be careful while making his way

"Are they all locked?" Prussia asked quietly, looking back at him.

"Every single one of them." Lithuania whispered back to him, glancing around suspiciously just to make sure. "I spoke to the soldiers, and they've reported that they took many precautions and measures to make sure that there'll be no way for the humans to escape. I even checked, and if you ask me, I'm confident that there's no way anyone will survive this."

Prussia smiled shakily at him. "Danke."

Lithuania returned the smile with a friendly one, and Prussia then went back to watching, or spying on to be more precise, the humans. They lapsed into a comfortable silence while the sounds of the German humans conversing and moving about was heard in the background. Now they had to wait.

He was fine with waiting, honestly… even though he really, _really_ , _REALLY_ wished that all the politicians arrive soon so that he and Prussia could go torture Russia together.

"You said we weren't going to strike until everyone was present, right? Especially the chancellor?" Lithuania already knew the answer, but making small talk with his boss when the latter was anxious(?) wasn't his strong suit.

…And yet for some reason Lithuania perfectly knew how to interact, socialize and handle a love-sick psychopath like Bulgaria. It came from years of practice (and not killing the idiot no matter how annoying he was), he supposed. But wow, what did that say about him?

Ugh, that's not important right now. In fact, there's no need to think about Bulgaria right now. He's not here right now, obviously. No, he's currently on a magical adventure with his 'beloved' doing all sorts of crazy disturbing things to him that made Lithuania feel sick to his stomach just thinking about it.

Yes… there's no need to think about him, just like Bulgaria's probably not thinking about him either. Lithuania should focus on helping a friend who wasn't a love-sick psychopath.

Prussia turned his head toward him again, and he looked slightly puzzled, but he answered the question anyways. "Ja, that's right. We need to wait until the top officials, including the damn Chancellor, and the entire Parliament arrive."

"Ah, I see." Lithuania nodded, even though he already knew this. "Why isn't that human woman here yet? You'd expect the leader of a nation would be more punctual."

"One of my contacts said that a slight problem regarding her health occurred, so her arrival will be delayed for a short while."

"That explains it. I forgot she's an old hag." Lithuania added that last part with a wry smile, hoping that'd at least make Prussia feel a little better. In fact… "I heard her health's been deteriorating recently, or at least that's what the rumors say. How much of it is true?"

It was no secret that Prussia hated the Chancellor. In fact, Prussia pretty much hated every single human leader that's ever been in charge of his younger brother's country. But everyone agreed that the current one was the chancellor Prussia hated the most for obvious reasons. In fact, Prussia hated her so much, that he almost seemed to enjoy watching her suffer…

You must be a true failure of a living being if you manage to get one of the 'safe' and 'merciful' nations of the New World Order, one of the leaders, to hate you so much that he grew a slight sadistic streak for your misery and suffering.

As Lithuania expected, Prussia made a small smile. "Well of course her health is deteriorating. Like you said, she's old and on receiving end for her crimes for years. No matter how much the government or the news try to say otherwise, it's clear to anyone not blinded by propaganda that she's slipping."

Lithuania couldn't help but grin. "And to make matters worse, she'll die before she could live what years she had left in power. She won't even get the mercy of a quick death."

"Indeed," Prussia's smile then broadened a bit, and he stopped his spying. "I appreciate the attempt to cheer me up, Lithuania. I think I feel more at ease now. _Danke_."

Lithuania flinched at that blunt statement. He didn't expect, no, he should've known Prussia would catch on. He smiled weakly, "Was it… that obvious?"

"I thought it was poorly-disguised, but it worked nonetheless." Prussia reassured him, which helped make Lithuania feel less embarrassed of his social skills. "Don't feel bad. I'm glad you care for my well-being."

"Well, of course I care." Lithuania chuckled amiably. "You really grew on me after I found out that you're not actually an arrogant pain in the neck with the most grating laugh in history. Many people will say otherwise, but I think you're a good man, Prussia."

Prussia actually blushed and averted his gaze as he rubbed the back of his neck, something you'd never expect to see from one of the people responsible for a worldwide conspiracy, one of the leaders of the organization, recruiting the most sadistic nations that ever existed and letting them unleash their rage on the world, and for the soon-to-be annexation of East Germany, his brother's current territory.

Lithuania honestly liked that about him. He didn't think he'd be able to join an organization with someone as vile as South Africa or Turkey as the leader. Despite everything, Prussia did want a world where they could all be in peace.

A world where Vilnius will live happily, not having to go through the same things Lithuania did.

But then his leader's expression darkened suddenly, and Lithuania felt worried again. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this, Toris. It's just… Well, I'm sure you know why I'm in such a dour mood, right?"

Lithuania nodded gravely. "Oh, I do know. Even though you're aware that it'll pain you, you'll still go through with it anyway. That's how it's been for the past few centuries, no?"

"In a rather large nutshell, ja." Prussia let out a tired sigh. "It doesn't make the pain go away, but all this is necessary. You and the others have made sacrifices no matter how it hurt, so I must do the same."

Lithuania did understand, but still he felt the need to make something clear. He bit his lip and clenched his fists. "That doesn't mean we'd enjoy watching you suffer as we did. And you made sacrifices in the past too."

"I know none of you enjoy watching your fellow members suffer. But even with the loss of my nationhood, living in the USSR, among others, is it enough?" Prussia asked sharply. "Is it still enough to make up for failing to prevent the Africans from falling into insanity? For putting a large burden on someone as young as America? To have chosen to do nothing as the humans single-handedly destroy Europe and slowly erode our culture away?"

That's it. Lithuania couldn't take any more of this. He punched the wall. "None of us are asking you or ever asked you and Austria to make up for what we all went through because we know this pains you as much as it pains us, especially as one of the _leaders_ since the slightest mistake could cause everything to come crumbling down! And we're aware of the fact that all our suffering won't be for nothing! It'll _all_ have been worth it!"

Lithuania took a moment to regain his breath, and he looked to his boss to see how he's reacting to this so far. Prussia stared at him unreadably, so of course Lithuania unfortunately had no idea whether his words had an affect on him or not. This only motivated him even more.

"We all endured corrupt humans, war, fighting against our fellow members among a lot of other things because we believe in you two. Sure, there are other things involved. While a lot of us want revenge against on those who wronged us, we still want to change the world into a better one where we can all finally live in peace with none of the problems that we had to deal with for years! Isn't that basically our motto? Change the world or die trying? We all knew what we were signing up for, so-"

Lithuania stopped himself when Prussia suddenly stood up with the same expression, and for a moment he wondered if giving an angry speech at one of his bosses was a big mistake. But then he was reminded that his leaders weren't like that when Prussia put his hand on his shoulder.

Prussia smiled again, a kind, grateful smile. "Danke, Toris. I hope you know that you're also good man, and a good friend."

Now it was Lithuania's turn to blush. "W-Well, I-I… you're welcome."

Thank goodness. Maybe he wasn't so bad with sane nations after all.

"I really needed that reminder, Toris. I can't believe I could be so ignorant…" Prussia chuckled self-deprecatingly, and Lithuania resisted the urge to give another speech. "I suppose all this stress and guilt is starting to get to me. I hope I'll feel surer of myself when we finally kill the humans here."

"I'm sure you will." Lithuania assured him, glancing at the window where the German politicians were gathering below. "Getting rid of the human leaders and politicians is one of the things you've most been looking forward to, right?

"Ja, removing the humans from power is one of the first steps to a better world." Prussia looked to the windows before glancing back at Lithuania. "We all know that better than anyone else. They must be disposed of."

"Oh, definitely." Lithuania quickly nodded, briefly imagining the disfigured corpse of Russia's boss slumped over a chair.

"Which reminds me, Lithuania, forgive me for the sudden question, but what do _you_ think of humans?"

Lithuania flinched again. W-What?

"Do you hate them? What do you think of them in general?"

Humans… Well, Lithuania never really was one to hate them. He never really could bring himself to be as disgusted of them as some of the others were. Yes, he's had and met humans that he hated with all his heart including the communists and Russia's damn bosses. And a lot of them were pretty stupid and more trouble than they're worth, but Lithuania could never bring himself to hate all of them like Bulgaria did.

Oh, Bulgaria… Love-sick, slavishly devoted, masochistic, Turkey-worshipping Bulgaria…

Honestly, that idiot would hate all street cats if one of them infected Turkey with fleas. He'd hate a restaurant for life and pray that it'll burn down in a mysterious fire with all the employees inside if they messed up Turkey's order. Hell, he'd hate Neil deGrasse Tyson for proving that Pluto wasn't a planet if Turkey said otherwise!

Alright, fine, fine, maybe Lithuania was being a little unfair to him. Bulgaria did… ugh, he truly loved Turkey with all his heart, despite how insane and twisted their relationship was. When they were separated when Bulgaria was incorporated in the Soviet Union, the idiot practically shut down. Sure, he managed to put up a good act, but he was dying inside. Lithuania will never forget it.

And not only was Russia, that bastard, responsible for separating them, but the humans too. They're the ones who invented communism and caused the whole mess in the first place. Hell, Bulgaria's own people were the ones who ultimately caused the country to fall under Soviet influence. His own people separated him from Turkey.

And now there's humans who think that communism was really a genius idea after all, despite what Bulgaria also went through under that- No, what they all went through. Was it any wonder he didn't give a damn what'll happen to humans, especially his own people?

But despite not hating humans, Lithuania did think they were pretty stupid and a bit more trouble than they're worth.

"Well… You should already know that I'm one of the so-called 'safe' nations for humans, at least in comparison to other nations…" Lithuania tried not to frown when certain members came to mind. "So that should tell you something, and from how you and Austria have observed our behavior throughout the years…"

"True, but I'd like to hear it from you." Prussia interrupted him, leaning against the wall as he frowned in concern. "You don't mind, do you?"

Lithuania immediately shook his head. "Of course not! I'm more than willing to tell you."

He wasn't sure what Prussia was aiming for with the question, but Lithuania hoped he could help.

"Well…"

/ / / / /

Listen, Liberia loved screams. He's a sadist after all. He loved hearing the screams of his victims, the other members' victims, and of Molossia when he's super pissed off. And it felt really satisfying to see people fear him after he's been regarded as a weak, no-name brat for so many years.

But holy mother of God, that brat had the most annoying scream ever!

Liberia scowled and threw an annoyed glance at the cabin or whatever it's called where Sealand's muffled screams, and the sound of a knife gutting something, were coming from. Sure, they sounded _nice_ at first. But when he went outside to let HK-47 know that rust bucket can expect their signal to teleport them back to Nevada soon, the brat's screaming started to feel really… _really_ grating.

He wondered if Molossia and the others were getting tired of hearing Sealand's screaming. Nah, probably not. If they were, then they would've screamed 'SHUT UP!' already.

Geez, on the bright side, there's no doubt that England was feeling Sealand getting gutted like a pig now. Liberia smirked to himself at the thought. Good. That jackass will be getting his first taste of what's to come, 'cause however much it hurt right now, you can bet that it won't even hold a candle to what America and the others were planning.

Tee-hee, but Liberia really had to wonder just what England's going through right now. While everyone knew that if something really bad physically happened to a micronation, the nation they're a part of will feel it. But he didn't exactly know how painful it was… Oh, if only he could see England writhing on the floor and screaming his head off in pain…

Now, some of you were probably wondering 'Gee, Liberia, how can you be so happy that England's hurt or even be willing to hurt him badly in the first place? It couldn't just be because of America'. Hey, Liberia loved America, and being happy knowing that someone who's hurt the one you care about one too many times was going through hell was plenty justifiable.

But believe it or not, he did have _one_ other reason for hating England's very existence, and it made him want to punch something whenever he thought about it. It wouldn't sound like a good reason to hate England, but it was in Liberia's point of view.

Let him explain… See, it was after Liberia officially became a country. Of course, no one's recognized him yet. Well, what'd you expect? An African country made up of American immigrants in the nineteenth century. Who'd care about someone like him?

Well, apparently, England did. Yep, that's right. England of all people and his dung-haired queen decided that they must recognize this poor pitiful soul. He said that he'll help Liberia and recognize him. He reassured Liberia that he'll be there for him and support him unlike America…

It took everything Liberia had not to rip that bastard's jaw off and shove it down his queen's throat.

That bushy-browed, limey… Did he really think that Liberia would betray America and start favoring him just because of that?! How **DARE** he?! America was still dealing with the harsh discrimination of the blacks then! Of course he wasn't able to do until after his Civil War! And it'd be selfish of Liberia to expect America would do something that'd further divide his country when he could do it when things got better!

The only reason why England bothered to recognize him was just to make America suffer even more over not being the first country to recognize Liberia. He didn't care about some small, no-name country in Africa. It's all about torturing America. Oh, don't believe him? If that guy actually did care, then why did he cause Liberia to lose some of his territory to Sierra fucking Leone who belonged to England at the time?!

Liberia was well-aware what England's intention were the moment he came to him. So when England approached him that day acting all chummy when he said he'd recognize him, he couldn't keep his feelings bottled up and watch as that British _cunt_ smiled smarmily with that damn cocky and victorious gleam in his eyes.

Liberia wouldn't tolerate… this… this… **_despicable_** excuse for a living being and his **_inferior life form_** of a queen insulting his loyalty to America! He wouldn't tolerate them thinking that he can won or bought over so easily! No, no, **NO!** How dare they think he'd abandon him! How dare they?! _How dare they?!_ **HOW DARE THEY?!**

In that day, that moment, Liberia decided that he didn't care that he's supposed to be putting up an act, even though he'd scolded for it later. In that moment, Liberia dropped the act, let the disgusted scowl he's been suppressing, and HE abandoned his filter.

Needless to say, England's reaction was hilarious.

Liberia made it completely clear to him that he knew what his game was, and what he's really after. He made it clear that he wouldn't betray America even if England offered the entire territory of West Africa. By getting rid of the façade without England even knowing it, Liberia put his foot down and freely expressed his loyalty and devotion to America, that he'd never turn his back on him like England did.

He loved every moment of it. He loved declaring his loyalty to America in front of that delusional bastard. He loved seeing the anger, indignation, and humiliation on England's face. He loved proving to him how much of an idiot he really was.

By the time Liberia was finished, he had the biggest grin on his face while England… wow, he looked like someone just spilled his tea. His response was exactly what you'd expect from the idiot. Blah blah, you ungrateful brat. Blah, blah, blah, you're just like America, blah, blah, blah. And then, that guy had the balls to smirk haughtily and say that Liberia's leaders won't be as

Liberia tried hard not to laugh… But he failed, so he burst out cackling and called England a true fool.

England looked at him like he was crazy, and scowled like a grumpy old man before turning away muttering that America raised a lunatic. Liberia would've punched him for implying that America didn't do a good job raising him, but he was satisfied with the results.

He made his loyalties and his awareness of England's dirty-ass tactics clear. He stood up to him. Liberia was fine with that.

Just like he expected, Liberia got a big reprimand from America and the higher ups. But he wasn't angry or annoyed, he knew that there's be consequences when he admitted what happened. Besides, they're just worried about him. America's worried about him.

But even with that earful that left Liberia a little traumatized for the week, he realized that there's still something missing.

Yeah. There was still the queen… Oh, the queen. That damn hag. She still needed to pay for insulting Liberia's loyalty. Unfortunately, Liberia didn't get permission to kill her. But in consolation, they gave him someone else who did just as nicely…

Haven't any of you humans ever found it _weird_ that that the horses of Victoria's husband carriage suddenly went nuts? Or that he died of typhoid fever of all things?

Like Liberia said, no one insulted his loyalty to America and got away with it. _No one._

So, again Liberia asked himself this: Just how much pain was England in right now?

/ / / / /

England was in _so_ much bloody pain right now.

He hadn't the faintest idea what the hell happened. He was just standing around, having an argument with the personnel again, when suddenly he felt a terrible pain in his lower abdomen, just like that. Straight the fuck out of nowhere.

No, wait, no, it wasn't just the abdomen. It felt like someone was gutting him in the abdomen, yes, but he also felt like someone just punched him in the face before slashing it and then proceed to gut and stab him in other places.

Obviously, it was a lot worse than what he just described, but he could hardly think through the pain.

He had collapsed to the ground, writing in agony holding his abdomen as he yelled in pain. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fucking get up. The pain was too much.

Just why the hell was he going through this? What happened?

Don't tell him that Sealand got himself into a stupid silly accident again?

/ / / / /

Just when Germany thought that nothing could derail their plans or that no bizarre surprise would appear out of nowhere, he was proved poorly wrong.

When he sent out Egypt to find France and tell him that they're going to go rescue Mauritius and bring him here if he agreed to help, Germany wasn't expecting them to come back with news that France had just sort of saved the world. And he was not expecting to hear that England's apparently gone absolutely _insane_.

However when France had walked over to him, looking a little exhausted along with his 'fabulous' hair being disheveled, requesting that if Germany could gather everyone they could because he had very important news to share, Germany knew that something (likely bad considering their luck) had happened…

And what news it was.

After France finished explaining what happened, Germany seriously torn on either immediately going off to find England to strangle with his own two hands or apologize to France for having thought badly of him for years when he practically saved everyone's lives. But since he was dealing with a maelstrom of emotions right now, he settled to first sigh in exasperation for the umpteenth time today.

Germany could thank France and kill England later. For now he's going to try to calm himself before he'll explode.

He muttered a few German curses to himself as he mentally damned England's actions, for putting everyone at risk. Germany couldn't believe him. Or was getting petty revenge all that madman cared about? At least the Order always seemed to have a good and clever plan!

Alright, maybe he shouldn't be too surprised since it was England after all, and the topic of America had always been a sensitive one. So, it shouldn't come off as a shock that he didn't take the news of America's deception very well. Also, he's drunk right now, which also didn't help.

But that's no excuse for what England's trying to do. Nuking the enemy nations that were once his colonies? Germany didn't even know on where to begin on how colossally stupid and insane that was. Just how much alcohol did he consume?! Did England even know, much less _care_ what the consequences will be if he'd had succeeded?!

It'd be a disaster, basically. No, even more than a disaster. It would've been the end of everything!

Germany wondered what Prussia would think if such a disaster did happen. Would his brother believe that he'd approve such a nonsensical action? Would Prussia harshly reprimand him for not keeping his allies together?

But… fortunately, America had informed France that every single member of the New World Order had countermeasures in place in the event their enemies ever decided that nuking them and wiping them off the map was the best option. Germany supposed that they should've known. They always seem to be too many steps ahead of them, and they've spent years preparing for this. Of course they would've been prepared.

Speaking of America, when Germany heard that France had decided to call him after finding no sign of England, he was a little skeptical. It was a desperate plan, but he could understand that it was the only option France had. This involved the ex-British colonies, so of course the best choice would be to go to them, and America might be the only one who'll listen.

Not everyone was present right now. Ukraine had gone off taking Moldova off for a walk at Romania's request once he figured out that this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation. Algeria and Tunisia were having a private discussion, and the former made it angrily clear that they didn't want to be disturbed. However, when Algeria realized that France was here, she decided to stay at the meeting for a little while.

Speaking of everyone, the others weren't taking the news of what England planned to do so well either. Germany was not at all surprised to see that there was understandable outrage from the other nations, and he was sure he heard a couple of them outright curse at England, which was understandable.

"Is it wrong to say that I'm really not that surprised?" Romania remarked with a fanged sneer.

"Not really." Hungary frowned. "I'm shocked that he's crazy enough to try, but…"

"It's okay, Romania. I'm… really not all that shocked either." Belize agreed with any hint of a dry or sarcastic tone for once, and she sighed. "Oh, what an ass. I know this all hard for him to accept but did that Brit really had to act like a jerk, run off and get drunk, lose his mind and decide to nuke his ex-colonies?"

"It appears that the alcohol is preventing him from thinking clearly and realize the many consequences from such an action," Egypt wrinkled his nose in disgust, likely more at the alcohol than at England. "I was expecting him to get drunk, but this…"

"I care nothing for the Africans, and they are one of the vilest people I've ever seen, but I absolutely condemn this!" Algeria had proclaimed in disgust. "I don't care that they did something similar to me, I refuse to sink to my brother's level. I'm sure Tunisia would agree."

"England sounds like he became scary…" Italy said in fear.

"It has to be just the alcohol. Mr. England's not like that…" Seychelles said sadly to herself. "He wouldn't really, truly want to do that… would he?"

"I hope not," Canada said worriedly.

Monaco patted Seychelles on the back with a sympathetic smile. "Grief, as well large amounts of alcohol, denial and self-delusion, can do horrible things to a man. We can't know what England's truly thinks until he tells us… once he's become sober of course."

"I must admit, I am… quite appalled that England-san would do this," Japan stated, shuffling his feet. Germany noted that he looked pale. "I, personally, think that nuking any country, especially America, is wrong and very dangerous. I see now that America-san is not a forgiving person. If England had succeeded, well, I think it would be the end for all of us.

Germany couldn't have said it better himself.

"I KNEW IT!" Panama had the felt the need to shout, startling everyone present. He was scowling, particularly at his neighbors, and threw his hands up in frustration. "I knew it! I KNEW this would happen eventually. _Mientras ustedes estaban planeando viajar a sus muertes y los demás comportándose como niños chiquitos, el puto ingles estaba planeando ordenar un ataque nuclear contra Alfred y los demás!_

Germany will be honest. While he did know Spanish, specifically Spain's variant, he really didn't understand what Panama just said. Probably because he spoke so fast and Germany had a bit of a headache.

"Emanuel, first of all, calm down, please. And don't give me that look…" Costa Rica pleaded, despite the anger on Panama's face. "We already agreed to… you know-what. And besides, Francia said that everyone will be alright, si?"

Panama's expression softened, but he stubbornly steeled himself and gritted his teeth. "That doesn't mean I should just ignore the fact that one of your 'allies' wants to try to nuke America and the others!

See what Germany meant? Everyone was angry.

The only one who didn't look angry or horrified was Russia apparently, who looked more pensive than anything. Germany wasn't sure if he should be worried. Even China was furious, though it could be because Hong Kong was a part of him.

"THAT ACCURSED OPIUM! AIYAH!" China screamed in his ire, and for the first time in a while, Germany felt a little unnerved by the Asian's anger. "Is he out of his mind?! No, no, I knew he was already out of his mind, but this is just pure and utter insanity and stupidity! The next time I see him, he won't be so cocky anymore! How dare he want to bomb Hong Kong?!"

"Yeah, imagine all the _money_ you would've lost if Hong Kong had been wiped off the map." Belize dryly remarked.

China snapped his head toward her, glaring furiously. "That's not what I meant!

"Yeah, you're right. You would've lost your future Chinese province if _el puto_ England had his way."

"That's not what I mean either, aru!"

"Right. You would've lost the chance to make Hong Kong's government pass a shitty bill that'll allow you and your shitty government to control him."

"How did you know I was going to- I mean, no!" China exclaimed in denial once everyone gave him looks. "I had no such plans!"

"Oh, bullshit. I mean, seriously, it was only a matter of time before your shitty boss-"

"AIYAH! _Can it_ you little brat!" China yelled, and he stomped toward the unafraid Belize. "Why do you insist at insulting and berating me at every turn, aru? It's almost as if Taiwan told you to annoy me whenever she's here to do it herself!

"She did, actually." Belize nodded cheerfully with a big mischievous smirk. "Besides, you totally need someone to put you down now that all this is happening, and you've still haven't learned your lesson."

At seeing China's face flare red in anger, Germany quickly decided to step in before they get off-track again. "You two, enough. This is serious. And remember that this while situation has been resolved, right, France?

"Oui. Angleterre is still out there, lost and more than likely extremely drunk, but there's no need to worry about his plans anymore." France assured everyone, and he attempted to give one of his 'charming smiles "As I said before, according to America all the Order members have countermeasures in place in the event that we decided to nuke them. He didn't specify what they were, but I trust his words."

There were several sighs of relief.

"Good. I already got _one_ psychopath after me, I don't need, what, like four dozen other guys coming after me too." Romania said with a distasteful snarl before muttering, "I am _so_ gonna zap that Brit the next time I see him…"

"I still can't believe you went out of your way to warn him, France." Algeria said in dismay as she thwacked France on the shoulder. "I know there really wasn't a better option, but that was a dangerous decision. What if America didn't believe you? No, what if he decided to hurt you?

France rubbed his shoulder and smiled nervously, "Ah, but Algerie, everything turned out perfectly alright, non? And now we know that if Angleterre does manage to send nukes to Amerique and the others, there won't be casualties and we won't be blamed."

"Yes, thank Allah. But I'd rather you not do it again." Algeria sighed, and she crossed her arms with the look of a disapproving parent. "You're _still_ recovering from what Morocco and the others did to you, and you're already off risking your safety and well-being again."

France winced for a brief second, and his hand went to his abdomen, but he attempted to keep smiling anyways. "Yes, I can see why you think I'm being a bit foolish. But I thought the world was at stake at the time, and I promise you that I am being careful."

"You'd better." Algeria warned him before turning around to leave. "Well, I'm going back to check on Tunisia. Don't go off doing anything foolish while I'm away, alright?"

France waved her goodbye as his former colony began to walk away. "Tell Tunisie that I'm also here for him if needs me!"

Germany sometimes envied France for the good relationships he had with an impressive number of his former colonies. He didn't have much luck himself. Namibia didn't hate or fear him anymore, Germany could even consider themselves friends now, but there was still a lingering awkwardness between them. And Cameroon… Well, he didn't need to explain _that_.

"Well, now that that's over with, let's get back to the main agenda." Germany said finally, making sure to get everyone's attention. "As we agreed earlier, the Centrals Americans, Italy and Romania will go to Brazil while-"

"Yeeeaah… about that…" Belize grinned nervously. "We've been meaning to talk to you about that, Germany."

Germany tried not to sigh. "What about it, Belize?"

"Um, see, we've kind of stumbled across some new information about Brazil after we told Panama the plan..." Belize explained in an unenthusiastic manner, eyes flitting toward said nation, who was looking at them expectantly with his arms crossed. "And let me tell you, it's... pretty bad. As in, so bad that this whole idea of going to Brazil, enemy territory, doesn't look so easy anymore 'cause, you know... it's pretty bad."

Germany blinked; he wasn't sure if he could believe what he just heard. Were they reconsidering going to Brazil? Until a while ago, they seemed pretty eager and willing to go and help Italy rescue Romano in Brazil. Now they've decided that going to Brazil's territory wasn't such a good idea after all?

Well, it's not like Germany was happy with the idea of going into enemy territory. What's more, it's Italy going into enemy territory. It'll be dangerous, obviously. Very dangerous. But even so he was glad to see that Italy's willing to try to get over his cowardice to save his brother. So all this did beg the question... What did Panama tell the Central Americans?

Whatever it was, it obviously couldn't be good. Germany frowned, "What do you mean-

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?" Italy felt the need to scream in shock, much to Germany's dismay. The Italian trembled, and looked at the Central Americans, betrayed. "Wha- Wha- Wha... But-But-But... You mean you're not going to help save Lovino anymore?"

Honduras shook her head profusely, and she hugged the crying Italy in comfort. "Oh, no, no, Italia. Belize wasn't saying that we don't want to go anymore, she meant to say that maybe we're gonna need a bit more help if we're going to survive Brazil."

The Central Americans (minus Panama) all nodded in agreement, although none of them looked happy with this either. Especially Panama, who had an angry

"Well for starters…" Belize didn't look very comfortable saying this and she twiddled her thumbs. "It turns out that according to Panama, it turns out Brazil's not alone 'cause most of South America, as in the same countries that killed Spain, are staying over at house!"

Oh… Well, that was pretty bad.

Germany's jaw dropped to the ground while Italy screamed in horror. "WH-WH-WHAAAT?! The other South Americans are there too?! And Lovi's going there right now? And we're going there too?!"

"Mon Dieu, those demons are there in Brazil too?" France exclaimed in horror.

Panama snarled at him. "That's my family you're insulting, you French Frog! Unless you mean Guatemala and/or Brazil, in which case it's fine."

"Wait, wait, wait! Just wait a minute! Hear me out!" Belize exclaimed, raising her hands in a calming gesture, before cringing. "Because it gets even worse."

"Worse," Germany repeated, not sure how things could be worse. "Worse how? We've just learned thatHow can this get any worse?"

"Well, what if I told you that Panama here accidentally let slip that _Portugal's_ being held captive in Brazil's house?" Belize asked nervously, and she took a cautious. "You know, with all the _other_ demons?"

Oh… that did make things worse.

 **Haha... sorry for all the cliffhangers. This chapter's long enough, I'm afraid. But I hope there won't be another delay again. Please review if you have a minute.**


	69. Justice: Anger

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, vexey1999, Justsomeone, NadiaJA627 and Eternal Nexus Warrior for reviewing. And so I'm late... for like the third time in a row, I think. Once again, I'm sorry this took a while. But on the bright side, I finally updated Mystery of the Great World Anomaly in case any of you are interested. It's also one of the reasons why there was a delay but I think it was worth it. Now on with the show!**

South Africa had already said this once, but he'll happily say it again. He's incredibly impressed of CAR's work.

He took a good look at his gruesome surroundings for the hundredth time before taking another bite off a random human's heart. South Africa and Nigeria had taken it upon themselves to scouring the area in case there were any surviving humans nearby who could serve as their food.

Well, South Africa actually ended up doing a good portion of the work while Nigeria was busy chatting with Morocco, something important apparently. But his friend wasn't going to pass up the chance to violently kill some humans. Nigeria was itching to torture again just as much as South Africa was. And they were both hungry for a good meal…

And being in this place, the areas where CAR ran wild and devoured on sight, really pushed their self-restraint to the limit. It sure took a lot for South Africa not to lose his mind. judging from how Nigeria had been quivering and giggling to himself while staring at a woman's armless and headless torso hanging from a tree (probably pregnant), he's probably having it worse than he was. Being here really reminded them how much they've needed to _eat_.

Yes, during their hunt for the humans, he'll admit that both of them kind of got… _distracted_ by all the bodies around them. The intoxicating scent of blood was _maddening_ , and the level of gore… It's just so impressive! The blood, as well as other body fluids and what appeared to be mucus, were splattered everywhere. The carcasses, some were _unrecognizable_ and…

Actually, South Africa didn't think that he could _ever_ properly describe what CAR did to the place. It wouldn't do it justice. That's how impressive and unspeakable the carnage was. It's a beautiful scenery that you have to see for yourself to truly understand the horror.

He wondered how his big brother the Netherlands would react to the whole thing once he woke up from his temporary death and ran out of the house only to see the city littered with corpses, blood and indescribable gore? South Africa smiled crookedly at the thought. Now that would be sad, waking up after being killed by his ex-colony and seeing his sister get kidnapped, only to be greeted with that sight.

What would Ned do then? What would he do first? Or would he be too shocked and stunned by the scenery to move from his very spot? Hmm, no, that one didn't too likely. While it'll be a nasty shock, Netherlands always had his priorities straight. Belgium would keep him going.

Oh, and Luxembourg too. That's the only reason why South Africa bothered to spare him and passing up getting a good meal, after all. He's alive to make sure Netherlands won't break anytime soon.

But of course, once South Africa felt that Luxembourg wasn't needed anymore…

South Africa chuckled darkly, and he sank his teeth into a human's liver. But he wasn't worried. Not due to a lack of caring (okay, maybe a _little_ ), but because he's not worried for his dear older brother. Netherlands wasn't weak, and neither was his stomach. At worst, such a bad shock will only make his guilt weigh him down even more. He's tough. It's one of the reasons why South Africa respected him.

Well, however he'll react, it's a shame that South Africa won't be there to see it.

He just hoped that it'll make Netherlands hate him, motivate him and make him give it his all at something for once in his life. South Africa felt giddy at the idea. _He's_ going to be center of the Netherlands's world. South Africa's going to drive him to use _all_ his efforts to get revenge on him, no matter the cost. Sooner or later, revenge will the only thing he'll _think_ about.

And if the Netherland's angry now, then wait until DRC killed Belgium. No, wait until South Africa showed him her _corpse_ , or whatever's left of her by the time DRC's anger and bloodlust had been quenched. Oh, that won't be pretty.

South Africa had always wanted to see what the Netherlands would look like when he's royally pissed off, as well as what he'd do. It's one of his plans for him, and he couldn't wait!

Hmm, but he's afraid that he'll just have to be patient until he saw the Netherlands again. On the bright side, they now had something new to do, something _fun_. Nigeria told him that Morocco had contacted him. Apparently, he and Cameroon need help, and there seemed to be a _lot_ going on in Switzerland's house.

Nigeria filled them all in on all the details and wow, that was an interesting development. The conditioning was going well, good to know, Nigeria was really happy when he said that. Good for Switzerland, proving his loyalty once and for all and patching things up with Cameroon.

"…So, considering the stakes and what Cammy and Morocco could be up against, I'd really like us to go over and help," Nigeria had finished saying, looking unusually but understandably serious. "It'd be dangerous if it's just the two of them plus Switzerland against who knows how many nations including spellcasters. They're good, we both know that. But we can't _leave_ them to fend for themselves. It probably won't end well."

South Africa nodded and licked the blood off his lips. "Ja, quite right. I don't think the odds will be in their favor if they decided to bring the stronger nations. And if the enemy has figured out the method of how to permanently kill a nation…"

He gritted his teeth at the thought. _No_.

"Exactly. So come on, can we go over there and help them out? Please?~"

South Africa pretended to mull it over for a moment, even though his answer was obvious, and he smirked. "I don't see any reason why we can't help our friends in need. So ja, we'll go and help them in the fight. Besides, this is the _perfect_ opportunity to get our revenge."

Nigeria grinned in absolute delight. "Great! I'll tell Rahim right away!"

So that's another task on their to-do list, except this one was more important than the others at the moment.

Well, looked like they'll have to split up again. That's a shame, South Africa thought as he sighed. Although he and Nigeria were excited at the prospect of fighting alongside Cameroon and Morocco, it's a pity that Liberia and DRC won't come. He should try to organize a meeting for the Africans in the organization after they're all done with their tasks for the day.

South Africa wouldn't want to take DRC away from his prize after years of aguish, even if the latter offered. And CAR's exhausted from his little rampage.

Besides, it might not be time to reveal that they have new members just yet…

"Are you sure it's alright if I don't come with you?" DRC asked for the third time. A sleepy CAR was leaning on his shoulder, tired from all the action today.

South Africa smiled kindly. Oh, it's so nice to have a good friend. "For the last time, it's perfectly fine. You go and have fun with that broad and take care of CAR. We'll be alright."

"You know where the hideout is, right?" Nigeria asked, and grinned when DRC nodded. "Good. Then I'll give you the keys and you can drive there. We'll be there when we're finished with this mission, and then we'll tell you _all_ about it."

"If you say so…" DRC relented, although he appeared hesitant.

South Africa was about to speak again to alleviate DRC's worries, but then his phone rang. Oh? Who could that be? He the smiled and excused himself before walking away to answer. Imagine his surprise when he found that it was America.

"Oh, look who it is. How are you, Alfred?" South Africa greeted his friend and technical brother cheerfully. "It's been too long, you know. You hardly ever call me; you hardly ever visit unless it's for some boring political trip. It's sad, really."

He grinned when he heard his 'brother' sigh from the other side of the line. _"Chris, we saw each other less than **two** weeks ago. But whatever, listen up. I got… some news."_

South Africa tilted his head, curiosity piqued. "News? What happened? You sound like a little upset."

 _"Well, I am. Because, uh… you probably might wanna sit down for this."_

Then America told him all about the news.

"…Oh."

/ / / / /

Meanwhile, America could only stand around uncomfortably while hearing South Africa cuss in Afrikaans. Also, did he mention that his ears hurt? Dammit, if only he had the earplugs. Too bad he left them back home…

"Huh, he took it a lot better than I thought he would."

No, really. America thought that the guy wouldn't take this well at all. Guess it helped that even if England got permission, the nuke plan would fail miserably.

So, should he hang up before Nigeria find out what happened or what? You know, before that guy summoned a legion of spirits or set the city they were in on fire. It's not like America wanted to stop them from going on a killing spree. Knowing them, they were already in the middle of one.

Still, he did what he had to do, which was tell them what happened, but there's still the bit about France and America wasn't about to neglect to mention that important detail. Sure, it won't make things any better, but they'll just have to deal with it.

/ / / / /

In case it wasn't painfully obvious, Hong Kong was boooored.

Ever since he got shot and died in an alley only for his corpse to be found by the damn PLA soldiers and shot a few more times in the stomach, kicked in the head and had his throat crushed to make sure he stayed dead in the trip back to the mainland but was rescued in the nick of time by Mongolia and Macau and brought to this hospital where many other citizens were being treated… he's been stuck here.

Stuck in a hospital bed, forbidden to leave until all his wounds were healed and he's back at full strength, not allowed to speak a lot or even yell at Macau because his throat's still recovering… all the while his people were outside getting hunted down by the PLA and Macau tried to get him to gamble with him.

Yup, this sucked. True, this was nothing compared to when he got occupied by Japan, but it still sucked.

Well, at least the screaming, yelling, explosions and gunshots from outside have stopped for now. Good, now Hong Kong could try to take a nap if he ever felt like it.

But his boredom didn't last that long, because when Mongolia and Macau visited his room, Hong Kong remembered something. So then like a ton of bricks, or that time when Japan bashed his head against the floor, it hit him. He had an idea.

He remembered a time, around the 20th century, where the higher ups and the East Asians discussed how they'll be able to incapacitate China to prevent him from interfering and being a big threat while they continued with their other operations. Hong Kong was there, thinking about fireworks, when he got a genius idea…

So he said, basically 'Hey, guys, why don't we plant a bunch of bombs and deadly fireworks under Beijing that'll detonate when you press the big red button of a remote?'

Imagine his delight when they approved of the idea.

They then did just that, although it did take a few years to pull it off. And the remote's hidden in a secret area in Hong Kong's apartment that he asked Mongolia and the gambling freak to find to start getting _somewhere_ on the revenge plan.

And now he just had to wait…

And now he's bored again…

Ugh, if only he had his phone. The one he had got destroyed when the chin chong army tried to drag him away, but luckily, he had at least two dozen replacements with all his contacts in his apartment. He told Mongolia to get one of them. If he's going to be miserable here, he might as well be miserable playing games.

Wonder if anyone had messaged him recently. Or if anyone else from the group had tried to contact him

Eh, if they did, then it's probably nothing too important.

/ / / / /

It might be a silly thought, but Jamaica always wondered if there's some way to knock the London Eye off its base and send it rolling through the city.

He felt an amused grin make its way to his face, and he chuckled darkly as he had another smoke. Jamaica observed the big ferris wheel or cantilevered observation wheel or whatever they called it in the distance from the bench he was sitting on. Yeah, he's taking a bit of a break from spying and planning to trying to think up ways to throw this whole place into chaos.

He wasn't really a sadist, he's not that kind of guy. Plus, the Africans, Brazil and even Haiti sometimes creeped him out. But dammit, when it came to the people Jamaica hated with a fury, he found that he had pretty dark sense of humor.

Or maybe it's 'cause of the stuff he's smoking, but whatever. Jamaica's in a jolly mood right now.

Jamaica could picture it now: America using his Superman-like strength to punch that huge wheel so hard that it'll be sent flying then rolling into the city, crushing anyone slow or unlucky enough to stand in its way. Man, now that's just hilarious and horrifying! And if that wasn't dark enough, the humans that were inside the capsule things would either be crushed by the impact or get crushed when their capsules roll to the bottom.

He wanted to laugh out loud, but he wouldn't want to attract attention to himself.

Wow, he could hear it now too! Crash. Splat. Crush. Splat. Splat. Splat. Crash. Splat. Craaash. Splat. Wait, which one would be more noticeable? The capsules getting crushed and broken or the sounds of the humans getting ran over?

Eh, didn't really matter. It still gave him a good chuckle.

But then he was interrupted from his daydreaming by his phone, and he sighed. He would've been mildly irritated, but that irritation died away when he saw whose number it was. Huh, wonder what this was about.

" _W_ _aa gwaa_ _n_ , Alfred? You doing well on your end, mon?" Jamaica greeted amiably, happy to hear from the guy.

Then America told him what happened with him and France.

"…Huh."

After the news fully sunk in, Jamaica had a more appropriate reaction.

 ** _"WHAT?!"_**

That bastard wanted to try to nuke them? And this early no less?! Why, that damn little…

Jamaica snarled and nearly crushed the phone in his hands… but he didn't, 'cause these were damn expensive. But boy, did it took a lot of self-restraint for him to not scream at the top of his lungs in pure _rage_. Or maybe it's thanks to the stuff he's smoking, who cares man? He growled a quick goodbye to America and put away his phone.

Well, he's not in a jolly mood _now_.

Scowling, Jamaica scowled and stood up from the bench before storming away, uncaring of the humans he bumped into as he raged in his thoughts. He didn't suppose America or anyone else would mind if he took out his anger on a couple of locals, wouldn't they?

/ / / / /

What followed next… wasn't pretty.

A lot of nations were angry at the discovery that Panama deliberately hid the fact that Portugal's being held hostage (also, Portugal's _alive_ ), but no one was as furious as China, who even went so far as lifting up Panama by the collar. It took a lot of effort from the Central Americans to try to get China to release him and a lot of reprimanding and reassurances from Germany to calm the Asian down.

Panama certainly didn't help make things easier for himself either.

Eventually, after a bit (lot) of arguing, chaos, anger towards Panama later, everyone eventually settled on following a _new_ plan. Said plan was instead of going to South America and charming South Italy into leaving, the South Americans would try to call South Italy despite the fact that he hadn't been answering his phone for a while now and charm him into leaving.

If he still could.

It wasn't the best plan, honestly. But Anubis was still fighting the Baron, therefore being the only thing helping keep the spirit at bay and not slaughter everyone present, so he couldn't teleport to Brazil and forcibly bring Romano back.

There really wasn't any other plan that guaranteed no casualties. So, Egypt sighed and went on to focus instead on how he's going to combat the enemy, namely the Africans … and live to tell the tale with all his limbs and insides intact.

He certainly hadn't forgotten the fact that they're no doubt still angry over his help in his group's escape and want revenge. Egypt was going to bean important target, he knew it. If they weren't going go try to torture him at first, then they'll at least try to kill him so that he won't be able to teleport the group away to safety.

While it was _somewhat_ comforting to know that there only appeared to be _two_ Africans in Switzerland's house, being Cameroon and Morocco, Egypt wasn't sure if it'll remain that way. If they suspected that there's going to be a group of nations arriving at their door, which seems likely considering that the Order was always steps ahead of them, then they're obviously going to get other nations to help them.

And who would gladly jump at the chance to fight a group where Egypt, Algeria or the other escapees were likely to be a part of?

Now… Nigeria had magic, terrifying magic in fact. Seychelles personally witnessed it herself and was pale as a ghost while she described it. Despite that, there wasn't enough information to form a clear picture and he doubted Panama (especially considering his burning hatred for Egypt) would share any details if he knew any. So, Egypt didn't know how much the odds would be in his favor if he fought him.

Cameroon was obviously the strongman of the group. The strength he possessed was terrifying, not unlike that of America's (although whether or not he was anywhere near as strong as America remained to be seen). His bloodlust more so. Egypt still cringed at the memory where Cameroon chomped on his arm, and he rubbed the spot where the wound was.

Who knew was Liberia capable of? Egypt certainly didn't know what to expect from him.

South Africa, while being the only one of the Africans Egypt hadn't seen in a long while other than Liberia, had a bit of a penchant for violence even in his façade. Egypt supposed his people had that effect on him. He knew South Africa often kept a knife on him, or sometimes even a gun if needed.

Morocco was an enigma, in more ways than one. In all the years Egypt knew him, Morocco was never much of a fighter (although in light of the revelations Egypt's experiences with him were unreliable). He didn't have any known fondness for any weapon, and he wasn't sure how Morocco would fight.

Curses, this didn't help as much as Egypt hoped.

Perhaps he should just focus on staying alive so that everyone will be able to escape. And once again, Egypt felt the pressure of being the transportation and the sole caster of the group other than Romania and England (who knows where that man could be?). It wasn't helping lessen his stress, which had already mounted after Seychelles kept begging him to let her come along on this trip.

Egypt was relieved when France came back with him, because he needed someone to talk some sense into Seychelles. He didn't know if his sanity could take seeing her almost cry one more time. And France was a protective older brother, right? Surely, he'll convince Seychelles that she couldn't go with them.

"Absolutely not!"

Oh, and did Egypt forget to mention that he had been caught in the middle of an argument between France and Seychelles?

Egypt shifted uncomfortably at the heated back and forth between the brother and sister, growing a bit more anxious by the time. Monaco, who was standing near France, was more or less in the same position but she seemed to be dealing with this much better than Egypt was.

Seychelles swallowed. Egypt couldn't help but note that she's _crumbling_. "But France…"

"Non! I forbid it! I can't believe you're even considering this!" France exclaimed in horror. "How could you want to go there?!"

"I told you, Kelvin is there! I want to see him again and help take him back!" Seychelles said desperately.

"I know what you said, but it's still "Think about what you're doing, Michelle. It's madness! I won't allow you to willingly go anywhere near those people!"

"Oui, think about you're doing, young lady." Came Monaco's strict voice as she scolded Seychelles. "This is dangerous. You're lucky Egypt's dog with questionable stench saved you before those _cretins_ could kill you."

Seychelles noticeably faltered under Monaco's gaze. "I…"

"Exactly. It's too dangerous." France nodded fervently, scared for his little sister. "I won't allow you to throw yourself into danger, not after I discovered what has happened to Bahamas and Saint Lucia, the poor things. And _especially_ not after you nearly suffered a fate worse than death thanks to one of Haiti's _demons_."

"But what about _you_ , Francis?" Seychelles cried; expression pained. "You're still recovering from when you were tortured! And now you're going to go confront two of the nations who put a hungry snake in your organs?"

Monaco frowned in worry, and she turned to France. "Now _that_ I agree with, Francis. Michelle can't go, but neither can _you_. You've told me how you've been feeling and I can also see in how you move. You still feel pain in your abdomen, you're still tired and even traumatized despite how you try to hide it. How can you be so willing to go?"

Egypt didn't miss how France winced for a brief second before smiling sadly, "Ah, I know it's foolish. I have no doubt that Morocco and Cameroon will be furious to see me… in good shape and with no snake in belly, no less! I bet they've expected me to be bedridden for several days in agony as per their wishes. So, imagine what they'd feel once their hopes are dashed."

France laughed a little, if only to light up the mood, but no one joined along.

"But even so, I want to make up for my failure to protect _Maurice_." France stated resolutely. "I couldn't stop Haiti from taking him, and now he's being tormented by my former colonies."

"It was my fault, actually…" Egypt felt the need to speak up, guilt welling up within him. "I failed with my spell and I ended up causing Mauritius to end up captured."

Seychelles made an infuriated sound and clasped her head. "Oh, _mon Dieu_. _Neither_ of you are at fault! And France, I-"

"I know you wish to do the same for a very similar reason, but you _filles_ are more precious to me than my own life." France clasped their shoulders and offered an apologetic smile. "I don't know what I'd do if either of you were hurt. And both of you know well that whoever we'll find waiting for us, especially the Africans, won't show you any mercy because of your innocence. Lucille, you remember what Haiti did to you, non?"

Monaco cringed at the memory, and she looked down. "O-Oui…"

Egypt frowned. He remembered that incident well. Not long after he had arrived with Guatemala in tow to inform France of the group's whereabouts, Haiti showed up and cursed Monaco in retaliation. She was in grueling pain. They were fortunate that Haiti was moved enough by France's words to stop and leave them alone for a day.

Not that it proved much difference in the end, but still…

France ruffled her hair in comfort. "And also remember what Haiti, and this goes for you too, Michelle. He said that if it was Morocco or Cameroon, they wouldn't have relented. I'm sure that's also the case with the other Africans. They're cruel enough to hurt you two just to get to me or Égypte here."

Egypt nodded in agreement.

"I don't want what happened to Monaco to happen to you too, Michelle." France said softly while Seychelles remained silent. "And think of how Kelvin would feel if he saw you, risking your life like that. He wouldn't approve it."

Seychelles hunched her shoulders, biting her lip. "I know he wouldn't, but I-"

"You feel guilty and ashamed because you think you haven't done anything productive as of late, so you want to rescue Kelvin knowing he'd do the same for you." France explained with another sad smile.

"Or perhaps you are still traumatized by stumbling upon the corpses of Bahamas and Saint Lucia, so you want to make sure no one ends up the same way." Monaco thoughtfully suggested, and she held Seychelles's hand tightly. "Oui, haven't you thought about that, Michelle? That maybe you're not thinking things through because of you're still in shock?"

From the look on Seychelles face, it appears she _didn't_. "I… I didn't think of that…"

"Yes, _please_ consider that, Michelle." Egypt pleaded, hoping that this will convince her. "You're still shaken from seeing Bahamas and Saint Lucia dead, seeing a demonic spirit eat said corpses, and having the same spirit chase and injure you. And a _day_ earlier you've witnessed the destruction of my capital and you were cornered by South Africa and Nigeria. You're tired, you're hurt, and you need to _rest_."

To Egypt's relief, it looked like he was finally getting through to her. But before he could try to further convince her, he felt a buzz in his head and before he knew it, he was hearing Anubis's furious voice barking in his head.

 ** _"Gone! The loa is gone! He has left!"_**

Egypt winced, but he held up a hand to the others to assure he was fine.

 _"What do you mean?" Egypt asked._

 ** _"All of a sudden, the spirit had stopped trying to deal a blow. He had stopped completely. He was communicating with an unknown individual. Then, the false god smiled and claimed that he has received a new task and disappeared."_**

Egypt's went wide. It couldn't be… His gaze snapped to the building, and when he did, what he saw confirmed what Anubis said.

He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed this sooner. He should've known it was getting too quiet.

The fighting had stopped.

/ / / / /

Switzerland kept trying to tell himself not to get stressed, but he ended up doing so anyways. There was so much he needed to do before _they_ arrive, and he didn't even know _when_ they're going to arrive.

That fact only helped heighten his stress and encouraged him to work faster, so there's that. Switzerland cursed under his breath as he went down the stairs, carrying various of his firearms with him. In case you were wondering, yes, he was preparing for the coming fight, obviously.

While Switzerland was confident in their own strength and fighting prowess, it'd be foolish

On his list of things to do to guarantee their victory, Switzerland had already carried carefully Liechtenstein upstairs to her bedroom. He tried not to think too much of it and ignore the bullet wounds on her head, the proof of his loyalty to _him_ he reminded himself, as he set her on her bed before leaving without a single word or even looking back. He won't shed any more tears for her.

But the knowledge that Austria wasn't angry, and was even pleased with this show of loyalty, cheered up Switzerland somewhat. It even brought a small smile to his face. That's another good thing that came out of this, he supposed.

Anyway, Switzerland also started preparing his guns. And by that he meant choosing which one would be suited and useful for the fight, load them with bullets (including the _special_ ones), and getting some of the boxes upstairs in case any of the Africans were interested in using them.

Yes, _yes_ , he knew that they usually carried their own weapons considering the environments they lived in, but you never know. Maybe Morocco would like a gun so that he could shoot Tunisia's limbs so that he wouldn't escape from him, or stop him from doing whatever sick activity he wanted to do…

…That definitely sounded like something Morocco would do.

Oh joy, Switzerland just couldn't _wait_ to have the other two psychopaths at his home again. Fantastic. Just fantastic.

But as repulsive and troublesome as they were, Switzerland won't deny that they're very useful and a talented little group with their skills in different areas and excellent teamwork. Their sadism, bloodlust and penchant for killing wantonly only made them even more dangerous. The five of them _together_ were a terrifying force to be reckoned with- No, even with three or four of them they're deadly.

They're _definitely_ nations you'd want on your side.

And so, Switzerland _supposed_ he should be thankful that they're willing to help him, fight to keep their toy, and that the others, sans Liberia for some strange reason, gladly agreed to put their current tasks and goals on hold for the time being. Apparently, they're helping DRC get revenge on Belgium and CAR ate possibly a quarter of The City of Brussels' population.

But while he's grateful, that didn't mean that he had to _like_ them, even though they're on better terms now with what happened with Liechtenstein…

Switzerland felt a bitterness in his throat at the reminder of what happened earlier as he closed the door behind him, and he grimaced. Even so, that didn't mean their twisted personalities and 'hunger' won't disgust him anymore. They may trust him now and Switzerland won't have to deal with their complaints of his incompetence anymore, but they're still same psychologically disturbed people.

Also, he's still _very_ upset with what Morocco did to Mauritius, even though Switzerland's relieved that no rape (or worse) took place while he was away. That's the last time he'll leave Mauritius alone with _those two_. If he'll ever have to leave and one of the Africans were here, then Switzerland will have to move that boy somewhere else where they won't find him.

Where? Who the hell knows? Those bastards were too clever. It certainly didn't help that one of them could _teleport_.

"Do you need any help, Switzerland?" A kind and smooth voice asked from behind him, sending a chill down Switzerland's spine.

Speaking of the Devil… He _thought_ he felt someone undressing him with their eyes. Switzerland sneered and turned around to find Morocco standing a few feet from him, hands behind his back and a friendly smile plastered on his face as always.

Switzerland always wondered how Morocco could enjoy behaving like such a polite and friendly gentleman considering how amoral he was. It's not like with Finland or America where they both hated that they constantly had to act like happy and positive people, even complaining over how much their mouths hurt after smiling so much. Morocco _enjoyed_ acting like this.

It only helped make Morocco even more frustrating to deal with. No matter how many times Switzerland reprimanded him, that man almost always had that damn smile on his face.

Out of habit or maybe because Switzerland's still pissed off at what he did, he couldn't resist giving that infuriating man a snarky remark. "How come you've decided to be generous now? I could've used your help getting the boxes of firearms upstairs. At least Cameroon actually bothered to help out. Were you too busy planning exactly just _how_ you're going to harass your brother to care?"

Morocco chuckled amiably and joyfully, as if Switzerland had told him a quick joke. It sounded normal and even pleasant enough, but for anyone who knew and was bothered by certain aspects of his personality, it would sound purely unnerving how _convincing_ Morocco was. However, for Switzerland, it's just annoying.

"Oh, Vash, still mad at me, I see." Morocco smiled in amusement, unaffected by Switzerland's attitude as usual. The blonde tensed at the use of his human name. "But that's alright. You have every right to be angry, although I could've done much worse. However, I am aware that that's no excuse given that I have no remorse and that merely apologizing will not fix things."

Switzerland stared at him blankly. Was… Was he serious? It didn't _sound_ like he was lying. It wasn't in Morocco's nature to do so with comrades anyway.

It's one thing to deliberately disobey his order to not 'play' with Mauritius, but acknowledging that there'll be some consequences from his actions and be so understanding and aware why Switzerland was mad at him in the first place without even understanding or caring that what he did was morally wrong… was bizarre, for lack of a better word. It was _twisted_.

On the _other_ hand, the darker, morbid part of Switzerland's mind, the same part that made him interested and become devoted to the study and activity of altering the mind, was a little intrigued by this. Just how did Morocco turn out like this? It's not like he went through a lot of trauma compared to South Africa or Nigeria. And he claimed he was like this since his early childhood, yet his siblings turned out… _not_ sociopathic.

Overall, it's _frustrating_.

"Although you can rest assured that other than that, we've taken good care of little Mauritius. Cammy had a lot of fun with him too," Morocco grinned widely for a moment before going back to his serene smile. "He likes to have fun like the rest of us, but you know that when you give him a task to do, he'll always devote himself to it."

"Ja, that's one of _his_ redeeming qualities." Switzerland grumbled as he loaded an assault rifle, hoping Morocco didn't hear him.

"Ah, but I don't want to get off-topic," Thank goodness he realized that in time. Morocco blushed, "I hope that what I did won't prove detrimental to our cooperation and that it won't affect our teamwork when my siblings and their allies arrive."

"Don't be silly, Morocco. I'm not so immature and foolish as to let my anger get in the way of the job." Switzerland scoffed at the notion. "Who do you think I am, England and France?"

Morocco's smile broadened, and he nodded. "You're right. Forgive me for thinking so then."

"Apology accepted," Switzerland grunted, but he kept his scowl. "And besides, as much as I hate to admit it, I appreciate you and the others going out of your way to help out. You and the other Africans may be a pain in the ass and frankly disgust me to no end, but you're all strong. I'll give you all that."

"Why, thank you, Switzerland." Morocco giggled, blushing from the praise, before sticking his tongue. "Although I take a bit of offense to the fact that you don't like us, your words are appreciated. You can be so sweet when you're not constantly criticizing or reprimanding us."

Switzerland rolled his eyes for the thousandth time today. "And you can be actually a pleasant person to be around when you're not sexually harassing my patients.

Of course, for some reason, Morocco wasn't offended and even smirked, "Is that the only thing you have against me? That I played with Mauritius?"

"Nein, there's actually plenty of more reasons of why I don't like you." Switzerland stated flatly, cocking the gun in his hand. "I'd tell you, but we'd be here all day and we're going to have company soon. And I told you that I'm more than willing to put it all aside to kill those bastards."

Morocco chuckled, and Switzerland wondered if that pervert was selectively _deaf_. "Good, good. That's wonderful to hear, Vash. And I'm sure South Africa and Nigeria will be much more willing to listen to you once they're informed of what happened with Liechtenstein."

At the mention of his little sister, Switzerland tensed, but he felt no remorse, only bitterness. "They'd better. And they'd also better not try to eat Mauritius again."

"I'm sure they won't. They've already gotten a good meal during their current mission from what I was told." Morocco calmly assured him before sighing sadly. "Oh, I'm jealous. I feel like I haven't gotten a meal in ages. Cammy's getting restless too. He _needs_ to kill and devour."

"Then why don't you ask them to bring some souvenirs and snacks for you and Cameroon?" Switzerland suggested sarcastically.

He realized his mistake too late when Morocco's face brightened. "Oh, that's a great idea, Switzerland! I can't believe I didn't think of that earlier. I'll make sure to send them a message with the request later."

Great, now the whole house will smell like blood and guts.

"Good for you…" Switzerland grumbled, cocking the gun in his hand. He felt mildly tempted to shoot someone, even Morocco, with it. "Ugh, I'm going to have to do a lot of cleaning after this, won't I?"

"You might," Morocco agreed, but then his smile suddenly vanished. "Although…"

Switzerland sighed, "What is it now?"

"I, ah, must advise you that maybe it'd be in your best interest if we try to have the fight outside." Morocco said cautiously, frowning in thought. "The chances of us breaking and damaging your property as well as Nigeria accidentally the house on fire are quite high, I'm afraid.

Switzerland froze just as he was about to grab a pack of bullets " _Verdammt!_ I can't believe I didn't think of that!"

"You didn't?" Morocco had a puzzled look.

"I have a lot on my mind, alright?" Switzerland snapped, feeling a migraine coming on. "With what happened with Lili and you sexually assaulting my patient…"

But even so, Switzerland felt so stupid for not having realized that earlier. Of course, it'd be _foolish_ to fight indoors here, obviously. What, with the limited space and all. It'd be a problem for both sides. Not only would it be easier for the enemy to access Mauritius (although Switzerland retrieved the key, they could easily destroy the door), but there's a chance there'll be a lot of property damage when it's over.

Switzerland could imagine it now. Holes in the walls, cuts and slashes everywhere, furniture broken or shattered… And if Nigeria happened to miss his target when unleashing his fire or lightning… Switzerland shuddered. Good God, it'd be a disaster!

No, Switzerland wasn't cheap. With their entire budget, he could easily afford another house, but that didn't mean he was careless! He didn't want to spend their valuable money on another house instead of more important things, especially if the destruction of said house was so avoidable!

"Ah, I forgot. My apologies." Morocco lowered his head.

"N-Nein, don't worry about it…"

"Then it's a good thing I thought to warn you. It'd be a shame to lose this lovely house," Morocco smiled, gazing around the room. Then a smirk tugged his lips. "Although now I wonder what Liechtenstein's charred corpse would look like."

In another time, one where his foolish sister hadn't been so _stupid_ and betrayed him, Switzerland wouldn't taken great offense to that remark and snapped at Morocco. Now, he only felt annoyance at what Morocco said, that's all. And Switzerland wanted to remind him what _else_ would happen if Nigeria accidentally burned down the house.

"I guess we could find out after we find _Mauritius's_ charred corpse." Switzerland calmly retorted, glaring at the infuriating nation.

Morocco grimaced at the retort, and he sighed, crossing his arms in annoyance. "Oh, _fine_ , you made your point. But I meant it when I said we should try to have the entire ordeal outside the house. It'd be for the best, if you ask me."

"Ja, I agree with you on that. Danke for telling me," Switzerland said earnestly, rubbing his temples. "I'd say I owe you one, but I'm worried about what you'd want in return."

"Oh, Switzerland, I'm not like that. Although it is an option, in case you're ever interested" Morocco winked, much to Switzerland's chagrin. "So, I presume you'd want me and Cameroon to patrol or stand guard?

"Well you did want to help out, right?" Switzerland raised an eyebrow. "Ja, tell your friend to help you patrol the area or something. As for me, I think I could use a bit of target practice before they arrive, and I need to give Mauritius a check up in case you _contaminated_ him."

Morocco smirked deviously. " _Contaminated?_ Why, Switzerland! You think I might have tried to influence him to become like me?"

"Are you trying to say that you're above that sort of thing?" Switzerland asked flatly.

Chuckling, he shrugged and turned his back to him. "Touché. You can never be too careful with someone like _me_ , after all. Well, I'm going to go tell Cameroon about the news. Say hi to Mauritius for me, will you?"

"Ja, ja, just go, please." Switzerland waved him off, and with one last smile, Morocco left.

Yes. As infuriating as they were, the Africans were good allies.

/ / / / /

With a grim expression, Portugal went through the channels on the small television set as he searched for something that possibly cheer him and take his mind off his grief and problems.

Portugal had made sure to steer clear of the news networks, no matter how much he wanted to know what's going on in other countries. He's had enough grief and helplessness for one day. He needed a distraction.

He had retreated to the room Brazil had given him after that eventful meal, needing some time alone without Brazil and the others tormenting him. He wasn't surprised to find that he felt more at ease for the first time since he's been brought here against his will.

But even when he closed the door and tried to be at piece, he still managed to hear the South Americans loudly chatting, cursing and laughing downstairs. Hell, Portugal even heard Brazil's damn laugh. It was a painful reminder of his current situation, but Portugal still refused to let them ruin his peace and quiet regardless.

The downside, however? This was also _Brazil's_ room.

When they finally arrived at Brazil's house, his ex-colony thought it was the perfect time to gleefully explain that they're going to be sharing a room together, you know, since they were 'family'. Portugal would've foolishly scowled at the notion that Brazil dared call them family after everything and renounced him right then and there, but the chilling grin on the boy's face as he uttered the word made Portugal think twice about making Brazil angry.

He couldn't describe the horror and repulsion he felt at the fact that he's going to be sharing a room with a psychopath, no, an accomplice to his brother's murder! Portugal immediately protested, but Brazil made it painfully clear that he'll do and get what he wanted, regardless of what his 'papa' thought.

He's not sure how much time had passed since he holed himself here, honestly. Maybe an hour or two? There weren't any clocks in this room. But Portugal decided that he'd rather not think about it. However, did know that enough time had passed for the South Americans to finish with their little party since it's been pretty quiet for a while. Maybe they're gone now?

Portugal frowned at the thought.

Just when he finally found a good show, Portugal's heart lurched when he heard a sudden loud crash from downstairs.

He nearly cried out and fell from his bed when he heard it, and Portugal was immediately on edge. What the hell was that? It sounded like-

Portugal didn't manage to complete that thought, because he heard another crash, an even louder one, along with what sounded like someone shouting or screaming. No, wait, he knew that voice. It was Brazil's voice!

And from the sound of it, he wasn't happy.

So, with this fact, you'd think Portugal would pale in fear and remain holed up in this room so that he won't have to deal with Brazil, or that he wouldn't care if his former brother was suffering after what he did. Why would he?

But maybe it was his old brotherly instinct, or just foolish curiosity, but without much of a thought Portugal turned off the TV, got off from the bed and quickly went out the door.

He wasn't even sure why he did, but fear and curiosity motivated him leave the room. Once he took several steps outside the room, however, he stopped when he realized how stupid he was being. Why was he doing this?

No, this was foolish. Even more so if he really was mindlessly intending on finding the no-doubt furious Brazil, and Portugal knew what his little brother was like when he's angry.

"I do hope you're not thinking of going to see what's going on." Portugal jumped and swiftly turned around to find Mexico looking at him suspiciously, hands on her hips.

Not expecting to have been caught so early, Portugal found himself at a loss for words at first and ended up uncertain as to what to say while an impatient Mexico stared at him as if he was an idiot. Come on, Portugal. You may be a prisoner of your demented ex-colony, but at least don't embarrass yourself in front one of Spain's killers!

After quickly getting over his shock, Portugal took a deep breath and faced Mexico with an anxious expression, "What's happening? I heard a crash and Brazil shouting. Is… Did something happen to him?"

Mexico raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Don't tell you're worried about him, tio."

Portugal tensed at Mexico's words, but it was a valid statement. Was he worried about Brazil?

Yes, the reason why he bolted out of that room was because of his old brotherly and paternal instinct, he acted purely on that. But now… No, he would never be worried about that boy's well-being, not after what he did. It'd be insane if he did. Who in the right mind would rush to the aid of the same boy who gleefully watched and helped your brother die?

Mind made up, Portugal shook his head, frowning. "N-No, that's not it. I'm not worried about him. I just want to know what's going on, is all."

"Well, I'd tell you… but that'd prove counterproductive, so I won't." Mexico chuckled herself while Portugal glared at her. "Ay, get that look off your face, tio. I'm not done yet. What I _will_ tell you is that a little while ago, Brazil received a phone call with some… important news."

"Important news?" Portugal echoed, and he felt his curiosity increase two-fold. News that made Brazil angry? What could've it be about? Could it be…? "What news? Who was it from? I don't suppose it has anything to do with-"

"Ugh, stop with the questions, tio! I _hate_ it when people do that!" Mexico yelled in frustration, sending Portugal staggering a few steps back. The Latina took a deep calming breath before speaking again, "…Unfortunately for _you_ , the answers to those questions are in the 'do not tell' category. So, I'm afraid you'll have to stay in the dark. How sad."

Portugal felt himself growing more frustrated, and he briefly considered snapping or giving an angry retort, anything to make Mexico feel at least some of the annoyance or anger he was feeling. Hell, he wanted to do it since it might be the closest he'll ever get to getting back at her for what she did to Spain.

…But he couldn't. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't. Portugal may have lost most of his will to live, especially if it meant he'll be forced to live in a world filled with nations like her, but revenge's not his main concern right now. He wanted to know what's going on.

So, he clenched his fists to help hold in his anger and decided to ask another question on Portugal's mind "What are you doing here then?"

Mexico scoffed as if that was a stupid question. "Getting out of the way so I won't end up being collateral damage, _obviously_. I'm fierce but not stupid. And you should do the same if you have any sense of self-preservation, _tio_."

Portugal's eyes widened at the answer, and he could almost feel his blood run cold. He's seen Brazil get angry many times; some instances easier to deal than others. He'd either forget about the issue within hours, get angrier than he should be

He tried not to let that thought unnerved him, and he pursed his lips. "Is it really that bad?"

"Oh, definitely." Mexico nodded, laughing dryly. "You know, when one of us gets pissed off, it's usually a scary sight to behold. But some nations, the more broken ones, are a lot more terrifying than others. Brazil's one of them. He's arguably the most mentally unstable of the Americas after all. You saw how he was when he revealed how angry he was at you for killing his family, right?"

Portugal paled at the memory. How could he forget? The fury on Brazil's face, the crazed look in his eyes, his sobs… He would've pitied him more if Brazil wasn't so mentally broken and gleefully recorded Spain's death, even helping it happen.

"Judging from the look on your face, you do remember. Good." Mexico nodded in approval. "Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean he's the scariest of us all. Have you seen how America's like when he snaps? It's not like his bouts of anger during the Cold War, that's _nothing_ compared to what he _truly_ feels inside. But then again, Brazil also had his moments…"

None of this was helping Portugal's nerves.

"I have a hard time deciding who's more terrifying when they're that way… but if it's any consolation, I think Alfred's scarier." Mexico smiled fondly at the mention of her supposed rival/friend. "Not surprising, considering what the whole overrated superpower gig's put him through the years. But he didn't get _that_ bad until…"

Mexico trailed off, expression darkening, as if recalling a bitter memory, much to Portugal's bafflement. She almost looked angry, and he could've sworn he heard her utter a curse under her breath. What was she thinking about?

"Tch, I'm going off-topic. The point is, you should go back to your room and stay there until he cools down." Mexico told him casually. "Unless of course he decides to come looking for you, in which case you're screwed. Hiding or trying to escape will only make things worse, so don't get any-

"Me?!" Portugal exclaimed in shock. "Why me? What did _I_ do?"

"Nothing. Now, don't interrupt me again or I'll slap you silly." Mexico warned with an annoyed scowl. "Anyway, don't get any ideas. I'm telling you this because I like you, and I'd feel very sorry for you if you had to bear the brunt of his anger. So, quietly go back to your little room and if you're lucky, nothing will happen to you."

"But I still don't understand. If I didn't do anything, then why would he-"

"Mexico."

Portugal froze when a cold voice reached his ears. He knew that voice, but he'd never heard it in such an ominous tone. Feeling a chill go down his spine, he anxiously turned around again to find none other than Brazil standing only a few from him, face brimming with rage. Rage directed at _Portugal_.

Even from when Brazil angrily screamed at him for killing his 'parents' and mistreating the slaves, Portugal didn't think he ever his little brother look so _angry_. Maybe because he wasn't only furious at the time but sad as well, and maybe finally pouring out his feelings to his ex-colonizer after centuries of keeping them to himself had something to do with it. But here it was just hatred and rage.

He's pretty sure he heard a few bones cracking as Brazil clenched his fists and snarled at the person behind Portugal, "What the _hell_ are you doing with him?"

He glanced back as well and he saw Mexico noticeably stiffen, but she was far from afraid. "Oh, relax, Xavier. You know I wouldn't spill about anything."

"Then I don't see any reason why you should speak with him." Brazil stated flatly, narrowing his eyes dangerously. "Leave, now."

Mexico sighed and raised her hands up in surrender. "Si, si, you don't need to tell me. I'll… be on my way now."

"Good. _Hurry_."

Mexico looked less than pleased at the rude way Brazil ordered her, but she didn't object and merely grumbled, "Great with the ladies, my ass…"

She turned on her heel, though not before giving Portugal what might've been a sympathetic look before finally disappearing from view. Not even five seconds later and Portugal felt a hand roughly grab his shoulder, nails digging in, and he was forcefully turned around to come face to face with his enraged ex-colony.

"H-Hey! Brazil, what are you-"

" _Cale-se!_ " Brazil shouted, shutting Portugal right up. He started approaching him while the European began backing away. "What did you hear, irmão? What do you know? Did you overhear my phone call? Tell me. Tell me. Tell me **_now!_** "

This reminded Portugal too much of what happened at Spain's house, but he refused to cower and so he glared at him as he answered. "I only heard you shouting and breaking things. I don't have any idea what's made you so angry other than _I_ have something to do with it apparently!"

"Why were you outside your room, then?" Brazil demanded accusingly, still coming closer to him. Portugal hoped he wouldn't end up cornered. "Why? What were you planning?"

"I was only curious, Brazil!" Portugal exclaimed, not liking the wild look in Brazil's eyes. "I was going to go back inside when I realized that I didn't want to face you when you're angry, but then Mexico-"

"Liar!" Brazil shouted, cutting him off. "There's more to it. You're hiding something."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

For some reason, this only made Brazil angrier, as if Portugal was denying whatever crime he supposedly committed. "Don't try to hide it. I can see it in your eyes, Papa! The despair, the resignation, it's not there anymore. There's _hope_ in your eyes."

Portugal flinched at the bizarre accusation. Hope? What did he mean hope? If anything, the only 'hope Portugal's experiencing right now is the hope that Brazil won't give him a fate worse than death. He may be feeling a little scared, but he wouldn't mind death. Anything to escape this monster of a boy.

"Maybe I'm hoping that you'll finally kill me. Is that what you mean?" Portugal spat, but he was surprised to see that Brazil's expression didn't change. "Or is it… something else entirely…?"

Because there couldn't be someone who knew of his situation and was intent on rescuing him, could it…?

As if reading his mind, Brazil's expression further contorted in rage and without a word he punched Portugal.

Pain exploded in his skull and the last thing Portugal heard before blacking out was Brazil's quiet voice.

 _"No one will take my papa away from me again…"_

/ / / / /

Haiti was not expecting this turn of events. Moreover, how the hell did he forget that Egypt had the god of death as his pet?!

Tapping his foot as he sat on his bed, Haiti glared at the wall in front of him in frustrations and fidgeted his fingers, muttering a few curses under his breath. Shit, he wasn't expecting… no, he should've expected that those bastards would flee and leave someone, which in this case Egypt's godly pet dog, to fight Baron Kriminel in their stead to avoid casualties… and the unspeakable torment they so much deserved. Dammit!

He had contacted the Baron to see how the task was going. While normally Haiti wouldn't dare bother any of the Loa while they were out kindly doing his requests that they so graciously accepted, he felt that Baron Kriminel was taking a bit too long to report, and they also agreed that the spirit would inform Haiti of the results when he finished delivering judgment.

Tch, this was very unlucky. Haiti was looking forward to hearing that the Baron Kriminel had massacred or devoured the souls of a few thousand or ten thousand humans. Nigeria would've been pleased, and those humans _deserved_ it.

Feeling a headache coming, Haiti inhaled from his cigarette to relieve some of the stress before he'd set someone else's house on fire again. Yeah, yeah, he knew that his grudge was against France, not England. But Haiti was angry at him on Nigeria and the others' behalf. And let's be honest, England and his humans were just so damn annoying.

 _But_ on the bright side, the Baron killed those two runaways permanently, therefore finally allowing Haiti to be a bit more at ease now. So, at least there's that, and Haiti would be lying if he said the news didn't bring a smirk to his face. That took care of _that_ headache.

Unfortunately, that's the only consolation he had from this derail of his plans.

Should he tell the Baron to retreat? Haiti wouldn't want to make him to stay if-

Haiti was brought of out of his train of thought by the sound of his phone vibrating. Sighing, he took it and saw to his pleasant surprise that it was America. Oh, how nice. Maybe he had some news that'll cheer Haiti up a bit, or even better, a job for him.

"Hello, America. It's been a while, hasn't it?" Haiti grinned wide. "How are you? Is there something you need?"

America quickly got straight to the point. And when he arrived at a certain point…

"….WHAT?!"

He barely held himself back from risking accidentally setting the room on fire. That little… That Brit wanted to _nuke_ the former British colonies?!

Haiti couldn't resist throwing a fireball across the room. It hit the wall and left a burnt hole, but he was unconcerned. No, he was pissed off. But even so…

While he was furious that the British cretin was trying to nuke brother Nigeria and the others, he took comfort in the fact that it's a plan doomed to fail. The countermeasures were foolproof. He couldn't possibly hope to hurt them.

Then as America went on, Haiti began to wonder why the former had bothered to tell him this when this concerned the former British colonies more than _he_ did. America couldn't have called him just for this reason.

"Why are you telling me this?" Haiti asked quietly, trembling in anger. He could see smoke coming from his hands. "You should be telling this to Big Brother Nigeria, Jamaica and the others this, not _me_ , Alfred."

 _"There's actually a few good reasons why I'm telling you this."_ America calmly assured him. _"In light of this development, I've concluded that something needs to be done about England. He's nuts, drunk, and pissed off as hell right now, so there's no telling what else he'll try to pull. So, while we can't kill him, he needs to be punished and incapacitated so that he won't try anything again."_

Haiti felt a smirk make its way to his face. "Ah, I like the way you think, Alfred. I wholeheartedly agree, England must pay."

 _"Awesome. So, I was wondering if you or maybe one of the Loa can go and kick his ass for me. What do you think?"_

It was here where Haiti got a marvelous idea, one that'll kill two birds with one stone. "I already have a Loa out on a task, but I'm afraid he's been… stuck fighting the enemy's own otherworldly ally when he tried to kill them. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to leave in favor of pursuing England."

 _"Wow, really? Who did you send out?"_

"Baron Kriminel."

 _"Perfect."_ America sounded pleased, but it didn't last long. _"Now that that's settled, it's time to get to next reason…"_

Haiti frowned at the way America sounded nervous when he said it. "What about it?"

America laughed nervously, and Haiti narrowed his eyes. That's never a good sign. _"Uh… What would you say and do if I told you that I found out about the whole England thing from none other than France…?"_

"…Huh?"

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review if you have a minute.**


	70. Justice: Worth(lessness) of Humans III

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, vexey1999 and NadiaJA627 for reviewing. Now, on with the show!**

"…I don't think there's been any group of humans whom I ended up despising other than that the Russians, the communists, the Nazis and the Polish royals." Lithuania said earnestly to Prussia, crossing his arms. "Of course, there were certain individuals from my country whom I either disliked or despised, but it didn't mean I hated my people. Like I said, I don't hate humanity. I don't think I _can_ …"

Prussia didn't think he could do the same either. If he truly did, then he would've been trying to create a world where only nations will live in peace and have humanity utterly eradicated from this earth. No, humanity was necessary. It'd be a little lonely if the human race went extinct.

Besides, they could be entertaining or amusing to watch, or at times even pleasant to be around with.

"But I do have to admit, they can be incredibly hard to deal with." Lithuania stated bluntly, face scrunching up in slight distaste as a few memories undoubtedly came to mind. "Many of them vary in stupidity, and they're more trouble than they're worth."

Prussia nodded in agreement, sighing as he sat down against the wall. "Ja, too troublesome. If only they could learn..."

"I wouldn't say I _completely despise_ humanity." Prussia mused calmly. "I merely wish to show them their place. I want to make them learn that we are the rightful rulers of the lands, and that they're not entitled to anything. But ja, I do dislike humankind."

Lithuania gave him a puzzled look. "You say you do, but I've seen you treat your soldiers kindly. You're even friendly with human children."

"Well, dislike doesn't always necessarily equate into a need to treat the beings you harbor those feelings for terribly." Prussia smiled wistfully. "I've always felt distaste over the idea of treating one's subordinates unfairly. And I pity human children, they're so innocent compared to how we were at that age. They have no idea of what's waiting ahead of them."

"Then I guess it's basically the same with me." Lithuania nodded in agreement, "Humans can be such pains to deal with, but unless they somehow manage to piss me off, I don't really go out of my way to cause pain and misery to them."

"So if by any chance, we one day ordered the extermination of at least 60% of the planet's human population, and they don't include your people except for the 'refugees', would you object to it?" Prussia asked eerily while fiddling with his cap, seemingly trying to avoid looking Lithuania in the eye. "Would have a problem with it?"

He knew the idea sounded extreme. Why, killing around half of the humans, regardless of age, gender, race, or beliefs… It was practically genocide, pure and simple. Not that it really repulsed Prussia all that much. It's not like they weren't already planning the extermination of several groups, either due to potential risk or at the request of certain members. And the deaths

But it's not like they're permitting this out of pure cruelty, sadism or indifference. There's a _merit_ to these killings. The Earth was overpopulated. European culture was slowly eroding away to make way for multicultural wastelands. Resources were finite. The environment was being destroyed. Getting rid of the _roots_ of the problems would make things a lot easier.

And by getting rid of _half_ of the troublemakers…

Not to mention how much this'll satisfy the Africans. While the deal did entail that they'd retire after the war was over as they desired, they'll do so when they've shed so much blood, eaten so many humans and nations, and tortured people to extreme despair and hopelessness. When they've indulged themselves so much that they'll be satisfied for eternity, that's when they'll finally live the rest of their lives in peace.

This plan will no doubt satisfy them _greatly_.

However, since the idea was indeed extreme, it meant that…

Lithuania froze, gaping at his boss. "Wait, are you saying…?"

"Oh, I'm not trying to imply that it's a possibility." Prussia assured him coolly, waving it off. "It's just a last resort, in case our plans for the planet's finite resources don't go as well as it's guaranteed to. If our anti-natalism plan won't do the trick, then _death_ will."

While it was a good idea, and many members would be on board with the idea, let's not forget that they'll only do this if it was needed for a better world. If the deaths caused by the war won't be enough to reduce the population of the world to an acceptable number.

Ah, but while someone would be quick to point out that he and Austria gladly let the African Five (Or Seven) spill as much blood as they wanted, innocent or not, Prussia would quickly counter that this was indeed _necessary_.

"Oh…" Lithuania sounded neither relieved nor disappointed. Good.

"So, would you have an issue with it?" Prussia raised a curious eyebrow. "And be honest, not speaking your mind won't do you any good."

His reassurance seemed to help ease Lithuania, and the man narrowed his eyes as he spoke his answers. "I… don't think I would have an issue with it if it's really for the greater good. I'd rather avoid it if it's possible, unless there's Russians involved, then… I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'll have mixed feelings, but I'll carry them out anyway."

Prussia was glad to hear that. He smiled. "Good."

"It might not sound pleasant, but I'd follow you and the others to the end. Honest."

"…Follow us to the end…? I… Danke, that means a lot from you, Toris." Prussia's smile became even wider, and felt none of the pain he had from faking grins and smirks for so long. He would've continued expressing his gratitude, but something caught his eye from the window.

"Gilbert… Hey, Gilbert…" Lithuania whispered, looking in the same direction Prussia was. "Isn't that the…"

"Ja, the chancellor" Prussia said quietly in realization, and he felt a smile tug his lips. "It appears she wasn't as late as I thought she'd be… _Perfect_."

"Should I start the preparations?"

"It would be most appreciated, Toris."

/ / / / /

"What a day…" Was what South Africa said before Nigeria teleported both of them to Switzerland's house and saying their goodbyes to DRC and CAR.

"Tell me about it," Nigeria sighed, feeling his blood boil.

What a day, indeed. Oh, don't get them wrong. It's a great day, and Nigeria's had loads of fun doing what he loved, watching and causing the suffering the others. But wow, there'd been quite a few surprises that Nigeria would rather do without. However, while they sucked, it also allowed Nigeria to have some additional fun! So, it's… actually making him feel kinda conflicted about whether or not he should be _furious_ about England's dumb move.

Most notably, Biafra decided to betray Nigeria once again and help the enemy because apparently that idiot learned _nothing_ from the civil war. Nigeria retaliated in kind by using his magic to torture Biafra from afar. While he was unbelievably angry with him, his relative's pain did bring him _some_ amusement.

And then what happened later was even better. After eavesdropping on Biafra's painful conversations with Western Sahara, he found out that that woman had been called by Algeria and Tunisia was about to tell them all about her involvement with the Order. Nigeria of course wasn't going to stand by and do nothing, so he took control of Biafra's mind and had him attack his precious friend. He even made Biafra _enjoy_ the whole thing.

And… America did say that in light of this new development, England was now seen as a more dangerous individual, so they'll have to kill him earlier than planned

With this mind, Nigeria's face brightened and shook South Africa's shoulder. "Hey, but look on the bright side! Sure, he might have lost whatever brain cells he had left and has practically been reduced to a pathetic opponent, but we'll get to kill him earlier! Isn't that great~"

To Nigeria's delight, South Africa perked up. "Ja… Ja, you're right…"

Ever since South Africa found out about the whole England thing and told him about it, where Nigeria _may_ or may not have incinerated one or two buildings, the former had had his dead face on. Nigeria never liked that face, even though it's impressive how it unnerving it could be. South Africa only had that face when he's flat-out done with everything.

Not that Nigeria blamed him for reacting this way.

"…I still can't believe he's this stupid though." South Africa snarled.

"Me neither." Nigeria muttered, and he glanced knowingly at his friend. "We're gonna make his death even worse, aren't we?

"Obviously." South Africa snorted, managing to smirk briefly before going back to his previous expression. "What a disappointing man… Getting himself drunk. Why did I expect anything from him?"

Disappointment… Yep, pretty much.

Nigeria could speak for himself and South Africa when he said that they weren't exactly _furious_ with England.

Or at least they weren't angry for the reasons one would think, you know? They're not furious because England wanted to nuke them. They'd be furious if he somehow managed to find a way through the foolproof countermeasures or succeed in nuking their countries.

Come on, of all the countries in the world, who'd be among the one to advocate for nuking the New World Order nations? _England_ , of course. He'd be so embarrassed out of his mind at the discovery that his 'ungrateful brats' of ex-colonies played him like a fiddle. It'd be a big hit to his pride.

…So, naturally, Nigeria was really looking forward to the day England found out.

No, the really _infuriating_ thing was _how_ England got the idea and was going through with it. He mindlessly decided to nuke him, South Africa, and the other ex-British colonies in the Order after finding that his precious reality had shattered and he couldn't accept that America was playing him for all these years. That Brit refused to accept that America had a _brain_. And after getting drunk off his ass and wallowing in self-pity, he began mouthing off about how he's going to discipline them… by nuking them.

Please, try to think about all that and not want to throw that asshole to the hyenas.

Ooh, speaking of hyenas, would Mauritius like Nigeria's pet hyenas that he kept back home? Mauritius was fond of wildlife, wasn't he? Then he should love hyenas once they beaten France's influence out of him.

"And then there's the whole France thing, which we're going to have to tell Roshaun and Rahim about it." South Africa groaned into his hands. "Oh, Alfred, I respect you a lot and you're one of the people I trust the most, but why must he insist on being foolishly honorable? I don't understand…"

Nigeria frowned. Yeah, he didn't get it either. When America told them that he's planning on 'repaying' France by giving him some mercy, Nigeria could only let his jaw drop and wonder just what sort of powerful _curse_ had America been afflicted with. Oh, how worrying. He would've investigated this possibility further, but there was no time. But Haiti, he'll notice that something's wrong too. He could help America…!

Was there anyone? He didn't know if Egypt had any spells or even the guts to cast one on a nation. But then again, this was the same hypocrite who did nothing for the young Coptic girls getting abducted then forcibly married and converted to Islam, so what did Nigeria know?

"Why do I feel that he deliberately made us promise to tell Cammy and Rahim so that he won't have to deal with any more yelling or arguments?" Nigeria remarked in a deadpan tone. "He already sounded like he'd dealt with a few arguments."

"If you ask me, I think he doesn't want to directly make Morocco upset or argue with him," South Africa sighed, leaning his face on his hand. "You know how hard it sometimes is for Alfred to say no to him… They're old and good friends, after all."

"How sad…" It was here that Nigeria tried to cheer the both of them up. He sighed dramatically, feeling his usual energy slowly returning to him. "To think that he values Morocco's feelings more than ours…! It hurt my heart to hear him so coldly dismiss our comments. Do we mean that little to him?"

South Africa seemed to understand his intentions, and he smirked, "Oh, but Nigeria, you don't _have_ a heart."

Nigeria blinked, before throwing his head back laughing. "Oh yeah, you're right! My bad!~"

They shared a good chuckle, and Nigeria was content to see South Africa smiling. But, they both realized that they couldn't stay here moping or laughing for long.

"Well, there's no point in stalling any longer. Time is of the essence after all and we have a promise to fulfill," South Africa shrugged, and to Nigeria's sadness his friend went back to more serious demeanor. "We wouldn't have to have Switzerland on our cases again. And I bet Morocco and Cameroon are dying to see us."

"You're right. We should stop stalling," Nigeria agreed, and he started to concentrate for the teleportation spell. "You know, I _think_ they might end up feeling a lot angrier at the France thing than we did at the whole England thing,"

South Africa hummed. "Ja, you're right. At least they'll have the runaways to take their anger out on."

Oh yeah… Nigeria smiled darkly. "Indeed."

 _POOF!_

To his relief, Nigeria didn't stagger when their feet landed on the floor of Switzerland's cute little house, and he didn't feel any fatigue. Guess it helped that Belgium wasn't far away from Switzerland. He smiled, this was great. It wouldn't do well if he didn't have enough energy when he drove a blazing fist through Egypt's-

"Chris, Adigun, I'm so happy to see you two. It feels like it's been…" Morocco trailed off and his usual smile vanished when he noticed the unexpected looks on his friends' faces. "…Oh?"

Nigeria would've tried to smile, for Morocco's sake, but he wasn't in the mood to pretend nothing's wrong. "Hey, Rahim."

"Hallo, Rahim," South Africa greeted glumly with a lousy wave. Well, at least he didn't have his 'dead' face on. "I see you're as cheerful as always. How have you been?"

For once, Morocco looked at a bit of a loss how to respond. Nigeria didn't think he'd ever feel so guilty for spoiling the mood. He knew Morocco was so delighted over the fact that they're going to team up and fight the enemy and all, Nigeria was excited too. But now with England, as well as the other thing with _France_ that America just _had_ to make Nigeria and South promise to tell Cameroon and Morocco…

Oh, and Nigeria _knew_ there'd be a day when he'd get frustrated with America's insistence on being a spoil-sport, but he didn't think it'd come so soon. And Nigeria definitely didn't think that it'd be over some worthless thing France did….

"What happened?" Cameroon immediately asked.

"What do you think happened?" Nigeria spat, kicking the wall. He didn't mean to snap at Cammy, but he _needed_ to unwind. "We got pissed off when we heard some news, and we went on a small rampage. We didn't kill anyone though… unfortunately…"

Cameroon's eyes narrowed. "Who told you that news? What was it about?"

However, before Cameroon could start getting some answers, Switzerland decided that now would be an appropriate time to come into the room.

"I heard that psychopath's teleportation sound or whatever it's called. I trust that the sociopath is with…" Just like with Morocco, Switzerland's snarky voice faltered when he realized their little… situation. Nigeria at least bothered to wave hello. "Am I interrupting something or why are those two not smiling for once?"

Funny, Nigeria thought Switzerland would be happy to see them not be 'infuriatingly cheerful and annoying' for once.

"So? What's made you two all glum and serious?"

"Europeans," The two of them answered at once.

"Ah, of course." Switzerland said in understanding, and then he turned towards Morocco and Cameroon. "So, I'll trust that you two will solve this and that you two will get your act together before the enemy arrives, which could be any moment?"

All four of them nodded, to Switzerland's visible relief. And Nigeria and he's sure the others too didn't miss the underlying pressure by Switzerland to get all this over and done with as quickly as possible. Nigeria blew out a puff of air. Oh, Switzy… So kind, patient and pleasant…

Not seeing any more reason to remain here, Switzerland turned around and walked out of the room with a few parting words.

"Good. I'll be going downstairs; in case anyone needs me." Switzerland announced offhandedly before exiting the room, though not before shouting, "Mauritius is off-limits so don't get any ideas! And don't break anything!"

Dammit, Nigeria mentally cursed. There went his little checkup. Well, then again, it's not like Switzerland's words ever stopped him before…

Morocco didn't hesitate on continuing where they left off. "All right, you two, what happened? Who angered you?"

For a brief moment, Nigeria saw red, and he clenched his hands, not even _knowing_ where to begin.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he met South Africa's gaze. The spiky-haired African was frowning, and then he shook his head. _'Tell them'_ , he said with his eyes. _'Don't lose it now, please. There's no point in throwing a fit over it now'_.

Nigeria's expression hardened, and he nodded before looking back to Morocco and Cameroon. "Neither of you going to like it, you know."

"I doubt we'd enjoy hearing the news that has caused you two so much anger," Morocco said coolly, although the concern was written all over his face. "It's not like we're not used to hearing about disappointing news and whatnot. And if we're going to help you, then we obviously must know what's made you so upset. Now then, please tell us. What happened?"

Cameroon glowered, angrily baring his teeth like a lion as he often did "Did someone hurt you?"

"What? Nee, nee, nothing like that." South Africa said swiftly before rubbing his forehead with a grimace. Oh no, was he getting another headache? "Nigeria, if you don't mind…"

Needless to say, they didn't take any of the news well.

/ / / / /

Hungary hadn't told any of the others (because honestly, who did she really have right now?), but she had been dealing with Herzegovina's persistent attempts to call for her for quite some time now. And god, she'd forgotten how stubborn Herzegovina could be, especially when it came her naïve husband.

And how did she know that Herzegovina wanted to call her about Bosnia? Well, like she said, Herzegovina's really stubborn when it came to him. Also, Hungary figured that Herzegovina would've long past realized that Bosnia's not home, nor at Slovenia's house or anyone else's for that matter.

By now she would've come to the conclusion that Bosnia was missing and she'd be doing everything she could to find him.

She frowned, feeling herself getting wracked with guilt again. Oh, the poor woman. Despite those two having their differences, and their union being far from idea, Hungary knew that those two still loved each other deep down. They'd never leave each other to die.

But then there was the question of why Herzegovina would be calling her? Hungary didn't think that she'd be one of the first people Herzegovina would go to for her husband's whereabouts. Then it occurred to her that maybe Herzegovina was calling her because she already went to everyone in the neighborhood (and by extension, Turkey) and obviously found no traces of Bosnia.

So, it was time to turn to the less likely suspects. Whoever Herzegovina had possibly spoken to, Hungary hoped Turkey or Austria weren't included among them. For all she knew, one of them fed Herzegovina a lie that Hungary was responsible for Bosnia's disappearance or something.

Anyway, it went without saying that Hungary muttered 'Oh no' to herself when she found out it was Herzegovina calling her.

The first attempt was during one of the group meetings, so of course Hungary in her grief without a second thought ignored the caller. She didn't want to speak to anyone, especially the nations who had no idea what's going on. And it didn't occur to her that it might've been important. The same could be said for the second attempt, although she did start to feel guilty for ignoring it again.

It was in the third attempt that Hungary finally got too curious, and a little annoyed, that she finally got a good look at whose number it was. When she realized it was Herzegovina and that the other missed calls were from her too, Hungary fell into a bit of a panic.

She didn't want to answer it. She didn't want to talk to Herzegovina.

Her reasons for not doing so should be obvious. This wasn't the time. She and the others were going to leave for Switzerland soon, so there wasn't enough time to explain the whole complicated story of what's going to Herzegovina.

Yes, she's well aware that she had planned on informing Herzegovina before anyone else about her husband Bosnia's... um, condition. She hadn't forgotten about that, even in the midst of all the turmoil, guilt, stress and most of all, grief. If anyone deserved to know about Bosnia's condition and could possibly help him stay emotionally stable, it's obviously Herzegovina.

But as selfish as it sounded, Hungary wasn't in the mood to be reprimanded again. Poor Herzegovina was probably so stressed that she'd easily snap at Hungary and chew her out for losing Bosnia. Yep, that sounded like Herzegovina, not that Hungary would blame her in the slightest. After all, in wake of Poland's death, Hungary had resolved not to lose the other companion who bothered to stick with her… not that she gave Bosnia a choice in the first place, but still! And what a good job she did, huh?

But on the other hand, there was also her conscience nagging her in her mind. It kept criticizing her for her actions and for being so selfish. How dare she act selfish again when it was her selfish curiosity, poor planning and self-righteousness that got Liechtenstein in trouble in the first place? You'd think she'd start putting others into consideration more after that disaster.

All her negative feelings and indecisiveness eventually culminated in a headache. Now she knew how Germany felt…

However, doing what's morally right is one thing, but who's to say Herzegovina will even believe her? Hungary doubted that if she told her what happened, things wouldn't get ugly.

"Are you all right?" She heard someone ask her, and Hungary looked up to find Germany staring at her, actually looking concerned for her well-being.

While Hungary didn't need a direct statement from Germany that he hasn't really forgiven her for what happened to Liechtenstein yet, she was content that he at least didn't take to shunning or lashing at out her, or even giving her the silent treatment.

Hungary forced a smile, "Hey, weren't you trying to comfort Italy? Has he really recovered that quick?"

Italy, the poor thing, wasn't dealing with the change of plans very well, but he knew that there's no point in trying to convince them and going to a place where they're extremely likely to be ambushed and killed. So, he took to grieving for Romano, even nothing's been confirmed about his status yet. The Central Americans are still working on what Belize called 'Plan B AKA the plan we probably should've gone with in the first place'.

But Italy always had a habit of assuming the worst of very situation, and this was serious, so he's panicking and of course relying on Germany and also Japan to help him through it. Oh, if Hungary weren't so depressed over everything that's happened she would've fangirled.

"I was, until I finally managed to calm him down and then I asked Japan to try to cheer him up while I went to ask you why you're looking even guiltier than you did earlier." Germany explained grimly, and Hungary wanted to bow her head in shame, but then his expression softened just a alittle. "You've been staring at your phone for a while. I don't suppose you've…"

"No, it's not Lili, but either way it's weighing heavily on my conscience." Hungary cut him off remorsefully, fidgeting her fingers. "Herzegovina keeps calling me. I think she already knows that Bosnia…"

A look of realization dawned on Germany's face, and he became stoic once again. "She knows that Bosnia is missing, and she might think you could know something about it. That's what's going on, isn't it?"

Hungary nodded shakily. "Pretty much. But that's just a theory…"

"It's a _likely_ theory." Germany acknowledged, and he frowned at her. "So you've been ignoring her calls?"

" _Igen_ " Hungary nodded, though why did she feel she was being reprimanded again. "It doesn't seem to be stopping her though. I think this is the fifth attempt. You'd be surprised how stubborn she is when it comes to Bosnia, especially when he… wanders off."

"Are you going to answer her?"

"…I… I don't know…"

"Why?"

"Well, what I am supposed to tell her?!" Hungary exploded, causing Germany to flinch, and the words flew out of her mouth before she knew it. "That her husband's suffering from a split personality disorder and that an organization of nations might be responsible for it? Oh, and how am I supposed to explain to her that for years there's been a conspiracy right under our noses made up of lying nations who want to take over the world and that one of her closest allies is a part of it without being able to show her the evidence to prove any of what I just said so that she _won't_ go running off to Turkey?"

It's almost odd seeing how startled Germany looked at her blowing up on him when not so long ago Hungary was the one feeling frightened and guilty while Germany harshly reprimanded her for causing Liechtenstein to get in trouble. Hungary tried not to let the reminder hurt.

"And… And how am I supposed to tell her that Bosnia's been with me, but then I lost him after a demonic spirit attacked the building and now he's off in God-knows-where and…" Hungary choked back a sob, covering her mouth. "Oh god, what if he gets himself hurt? What if he gets himself in trouble and he snaps out of just as it happens? Herzegovina- Lejla will never forgive me- She'll never believe me and she might think I'm the one responsible for Bosnia acting crazy when I'm just as confused as everyone is and-"

"Elizaveta." Germany called out to her firmly as Hungary began hyperventilating. His expression softened in concern. "E-Erm… Please… First of all, please calm down. I don't disapprove your reluctance to answer Herzegovina's calls."

Hungary blinked, and then she did a double take and looked up at Germany with wide eyes. "You… You don't?"

"Nein, this time it's justified that you don't want to tell her what's going on. I'm not angry at you, not anymore" Germany stated with a tone that left Hungary no doubt that he meant every word. "Like you said, there's no way she'll believe us without being able to show her the evidence."

Hungary didn't know how to respond to that. She was glad that Germany wasn't mad at her anymore, but now she was wondering if she really did deserve forgiveness. Three times she's let people down. Poland got killed when Hungary should've stayed with him instead of blindly going after her old enemy after seeing the look of pure hatred on Lithuania's face. Thanks to her selfishness, Liechtenstein will probably get punished then killed at worst. And now thanks to her carelessness, Bosnia was missing.

She let herself shed tears and didn't stop herself from sobbing. Soon enough, she'll end up disappointing Herzegovina too. And maybe even Seychelles if they'll lose the fight and Hungary somehow lived to feel like a failure again.

"It's… It's not your fault." Germany tried to tell her, trying his best to be comforting. "There was no way you could've predicted that a Caribbean supernatural being would've appeared where we were and set Bosnia free."

"Maybe, but I still failed Bosnia." Hungary muttered as she wiped away her tears. "He probably thinks I abandoned him."

"If he's truly sane, I'm sure he wouldn't." Germany insisted. "What happened was _not_ your fault. "

"Don't worry," Germany tried to reassure her, but it did little ease her worries. "We'll tell Herzegovina everything at the day of the meeting, where we will have the evidence to show e…very… one..?"

He slowly trailed off as a look of horror dawned on Germany's face. Hungary was more than puzzled.

"Uh… Germany?"

"Mein Gott, the evidence! It's still INSIDE! Egypt! EGYPT!" Germany yelled in horror as he bolted towards the nation in question, leaving Hungary trying to process what just happened.

Hey, wait… Germany's right. They never got any of their stuff out of the building, didn't they? Seychelles's bag, Hungary's bag containing her… stuff, the television set containing the tape crucial to proving the story, the bag that had the rest of the evidence inside…

…Oh.

Shit.

Before Hungary could start having a nervous breakdown, because really she didn't know how much misfortunate she could put up with today, Germany ran back to her, looking out of breath and red in the face.

"No… No need to worry, everything's… everything's _fine_. All our things, excluding the… screen of Belize's television set are… unharmed." Germany said quickly between breaths, and Hungary wanted to faint right then and there. "It turns out Anubis, while honestly terrifying, is surprisingly thoughtful and considerate, so much so that he tried to avoid fighting or causing damage to the main room because he was aware there were important items there."

"Oh…" Was all Hungary could say, before sighing in relief. "Thank goodness. We'd be done for if we lost the evidence."

"J-Ja, now let's hope that something like this doesn't happen again." Germany groaned, rubbing his temples. He looked like he needed aspirin… more so than usual"Although, considering our luck…"

Hungary had to wonder if their insane good and bad luck had something to do with her. She always rather unlucky, maybe she somehow infected the others?

"But as… as I was saying, you should stop beating yourself over Bosnia." Germany said grimly once he fully regained his breath. "I… Gah, I'm not good at this but here goes… What you did with Liechtenstein was _wrong_ and a _mistake_ , but you're not going to make anything right by sitting here crying, aren't you?"

Hungary had to narrow her eyes. "Well, of course not. That's why I'm going with you to Switzerland's."

"But Bosnia-"

"With our luck, I'm sure Bosnia will turn up eventually, sane or not." Germany didn't look very happy at the idea.

"You really think so?"

"Ja. So please, stop blaming yourself." Germany pleaded. "I… I'm sure Poland, if he's watching over us, would be happier if he saw you fight on, no matter what happened. You never lost your spirit before, so there's no reason to lose it now."

Poland…

That's… That's right… Hungary had never gave into despair, no matter how bad it got for her. Sure, this was different, but…

Well, Poland went through worse than what Hungary did, and he never stopped being Poland.

Maybe she could _try_ , for his sake…

/ / / / /

As much as Sweden preferred to remain silent and alone with his thoughts, even he had to admit that he enjoyed speaking with his colleagues

It's hard not to. They're all interesting individuals each with their own unique charm to them. While Sweden wasn't that fond of a few of them, either due to personal beliefs or conflicting ideas, he wasn't one to discriminate. He didn't dislike anyone in the organization.

It didn't matter if they had 'morals' or not. Sweden didn't quite care about any of that. If they had standards and a decent moral compass then good for them, but they must be ready to deal with the consequences of such a mentality. If they didn't, then at least they won't have to suffer remorse for their actions. He'd never criticize any of the 'safer' members for being the way they were or the 'extremely dangerous' members for being shameless.

And what did he mean by 'safe' and 'extremely dangerous'? Well, it's a rather interesting subject…

In their strange organization, the leaders had taken upon themselves to check up on them and analyze then write down their psychological states and personalities for various reasons, either for trying to find a way for them to heal or know what kind of task they could be entrusted to do the most. They could avoid further psychological damage that way.

In terms of bloodlust, amount of morality or immorality, insanity or aggressiveness towards humankind, nations were divided into three categories: 'safe', 'indifferent' and 'extremely dangerous'. They weren't meant to be used as derogatory terms or anything of the sort, they're just classifications.

'Safe' nations were exactly what it sounded like, for the most part. They're members who, despite having it out for certain people, don't hate humans and never go out of their way to cause pain and misery just for laughs (unless the people they hated were involved). They're not too broken. They have morals, as in, they're the type of nations who'd try to avoid ultra-violence if it's not necessary.

Probably, if one ignored the whole Order thing, they could be considered decent people for humanity's moral standards in Sweden's opinion.

However, this won't stop them from doing as they're told. Don't get the wrong idea now. They might come out of it feeling kind of unhappy or just apathetic, but it won't get in the way of work. They're just doing their job, is all.

America was a notable example, and he's one of the most powerful members. Sweden didn't mind that the boy had a moral compass. He'll even admit that he's actually proud of America for preserving some of his humanity no matter what he went through. Only _that woman's_ child could manage pull it off…

The… _other_ one, the _failure_ , didn't count.

Indifferent was kind of was it sounded like too, but there's more to it than that. When it came to the organization's 'moral standards' (if you could call it that), they're a rather neutral bunch. But… that still wouldn't exactly be the right way to describe them. No, a good way to describe them would be nations who had traits of both 'safe' and 'extremely' nations, but each of them would have their own standards-

They wouldn't usually go out of their way to kill and torment unless they're angry or really bored or even just doing it for fun, but they'd be more willing to accomplish the dirty work than the 'safe' nations would be. More importantly, they're usually apathetic during their missions. They're more than capable of enjoying the tasks they're given, but it's nowhere near the level to the Africans.

…Hence the term 'indifferent'. It's certainly how Sweden viewed himself and the other Nordics. They were all classified as 'indifferent', despite Norway's eerily cheerful personality and Finland's burning hatred for humankind.

He didn't really enjoy massacring and torture unless it was someone he despised, namely a group of certain leeches currently being killed in all sorts of creative ways to would make the Vikings proud. It's been a long time since he's felt the emotion known as 'remorse'…

Sweden didn't even remember what it felt like anymore.

'Extremely dangerous' nations were the worst of the worst- Turkey himself was classified as an 'extremely dangerous' nation. They're the ones who'd get giddy at the idea of nuking a city filled with innocent people or torturing people to their heart's content. Although they do some a few moral standards, they have no qualms of committing atrocities and doing the most brutal tasks.

All the Africans with the exception of Liberia, who was classified as 'indifferent' (you can thank America's influence for that), were of course put in that category. There's also Brazil, Haiti, Bulgaria, North Korea...

Speaking of North Korea, Sweden wouldn't call himself an expert on romance or romantic love, but just what did America see in that boy…?

Before he could start pondering and theorizing, Sweden was brought out of his thoughts when he felt someone wrap their arm around him. To no surprise whatsoever, it was Turkey.

If Sweden had to choose one or two members he wasn't that fond of, it'd be Turkey and by extension his beloved slave. He didn't really have anything against the man, only that he could be mildly infuriating sometimes and that his relationship with Bulgaria could be nauseating to watch. There were a few times where Sweden actually had to make an _effort_ to not grimace in disgust.

But as Sweden said earlier, he wasn't one to discriminate his colleagues. Whether he found them pleasant or not, he will work with them without any complaints and try to make the most of it. He'll listen to what Turkey had to say. Besides, he had proved to be surprisingly thoughtful recently…

"What's your opinion on humanity?" He heard the man ask.

Sweden regarded him with his usual expression, but he still looked pensive. " _Why_ are you asking me this, Turkey?"

"Why not? It's so hard trying to guess what's on your mind when you always have that poker face of yours." Turkey patted the Viking's shoulder, much to said Viking's annoyance. Did this man have no sense of personal space? "I'm just curious, friend. Besides, wouldn't you like to pour out your feelings one more time before we finally put the humans in their place?"

Sweden thought about it for a moment. "I suppose there's nothing wrong with doing just that…"

"Of course there isn't!" Turkey exclaimed cheerfully. "So, why don't ya elaborate on your opinion on humans?"

Sweden frowned in thought, and he directed his cold eyes toward Turkey. "Elaborate on my opinion on humans… Do you mean in general or specific groups? Because my feelings towards certain humans may… vary in intensity."

As the Muslims being butchered in all manner of ways all over his country now knew well.

"Well, why don't ya start with what you feel about them in general?" Turkey suggested helpfully.

"Very well. They are… disappointing, to say the least." Sweden scowled. The non-Order nations would defecate themselves if they saw him. "But even so, I already mentioned that that wasn't always the case. The Vikings earned my respect, and they respected me in turn. I liked living among them and they did not disappoint me. But then they began to leave, the humans began to learn to be what the other Europeans have called 'civilized'. The Vikings left, and I was stuck with an array of weaklings and fools who do not bother to defend their homeland."

Embarrassments, all of them, refusing to stand up for their nation and defend their culture. Sweden still couldn't believe that these were his belief. He had no hand in influencing their way of thinking unlike with other nations. They've truly become their pathetic all on their own.

"Ja, disappointment would be the perfect way to describe my feelings towards my human, as well as anger." Sweden tried to take a calming breath. It wouldn't be becoming of him to explode here out in public in front of the others. "I hope to get rid my country of weaklings and fools and become a nation more than worth being respected again, you understand."

"No, no, I do. I totally understand how you feel, _İsveç_ ," Turkey said with a sympathetic smile. "I too am ashamed with my own people, my government especially. I'm aiming to make my country less dreary and depressing and not run by foolish humans."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that that's basically what we all want to achieve." Sweden said coolly as he removed Turkey's arm. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Bulgaria staring at Sweden into what he understood was a mixture of envy and disapproval.

Ah, so Bulgaria already knew of Sweden's not-so-fond opinion of Turkey. Not surprising, considering that Bulgaria practically worshipped Turkey.

"So it is," Turkey happily agreed, and then he directed his gaze towards the Dane polishing his axe "What about you, Denny?"

"They're trash." Denmark answered bluntly, not even bothering to meet Turkey's gaze.

"Care to elaborate?"

"They're trash and pieces of shit. Weak. Easy to break. Foolish." Denmark growled, though his anger wasn't directed at Turkey. "What more is there to them?"

Sweden raised an eyebrow at Denmark's brisk answer, but surprisingly, Turkey was satisfied with the response. "Thank you, Denmark. And you, Norway?"

Said nation smirked and opened his mouth to respond, but Finland cut him off before he could speak. "Is there any point in asking each of us what we think of humans? All of us here have basically the same opinion. Humans are despicable, disappointing foolish creatures. They're shit. We all hate them."

Slightly irate at Finland's lack of manners, Sweden sighed. Always so hot-headed…

"Not… entirely." Norway grinned mysteriously.

Everyone looked at the Norwegian. Sweden in particular stared at him curiously.

"What are you saying? Don't tell me that you actually _like_ them."

"Oh, of course not, Finny. I'm disappointed in them. I even despise them in some particulars cases. But I would never want them all gone." Norway said with a sly grin. "I find humans to be too amusing to deserve to die. They know how to hilariously make fools of themselves. It's like a reality TV show, and we nations are the viewers. They're hilariously bad, if you know what I mean."

Entertainment…? Sweden struggled to wrap his head around that.

He knew Norway's sense of humor all too well. He knew that the man found the humans to be humorous to watch, in both television and real life. Sweden always interpreted it as a form of sadistic satisfaction or spite, or seeking a form of amusement. He was also aware that of all the Nordics, Norway could be the friendliest toward humans.

But to find them so entertaining that Norway liked them in his own way? Sweden just couldn't comprehend it.

/ / / / /

Haiti could not believe what he was hearing.

He was already furious from hearing that someone dared try to harm Nigeria, Jamaica, and the others in one of the worst ways possible, so terrible that it's likely two of them could die as a result of it, but now Haiti was ready to massacre the whole neighborhood.

"So, let me see if I'm understanding this right…" Haiti began coldly, pushing his nails into his skin so that he wouldn't lash out. "… France warned you about this? He told you that you and the others were in danger? You can't be serious."

 _"I am serious, Haiti."_ America said firmly, which killed any hope Haiti had that this was actually a bad joke. _"I know it's hard to believe. I sure as hell didn't at first when he told me. But I swear to those freaky gods of yours that it's true and that everything he said was genuine. And you know how good I am at knowing when people are lying. He went out of out of his way to help us, Hennrick."_

Haiti snarled at what he perceived as an insult, and stood up as he screamed, "How **_dare_** you swear in the name of the Loa for that bastard?! Him, of all people! You really think he'd spare a thought to anyone who doesn't adore him or isn't of any use to him?!"

 _"And do you really think I'd vouch for him so much if I wasn't sure of his motivates and knowing what he's done?"_ America growled his retort. _"Do you really think I enjoy doing this? No, but I like giving credit where it's due."_

"Really? You'd like to give that man credit?" Haiti snarled in pure and utter hatred. "No, the right to do would have been to taunt the France over the pointlessness of his call and how this changed nothing as part of his punishment for his crimes. Why couldn't you have done that? Why didn't you do that?"

He really thought America was better than this. He really thought that after everything he went through, America would rightfully put that delusional bastard in his place and deny him any sort of mercy.

Then again, Haiti failed to do the same thing back when he cursed Monaco and that bastard literally begged on his knees apologizing for everything. He was… a little moved… just a little bit. Enough to release the girl and heal her injuries. Honestly, Haiti surprised even himself with this decision, but he went on with it anyway, you know, since he had nothing against Monaco and all….

But he quickly resolved to try to pretend that incident never happened, for various personal reasons. And he found himself trying to justify his shameful behavior and why France went ahead and begged Haiti to punish him instead of Monaco. The reason was obvious: France only cared for those who worshipped him.

 _"Because that'd be a dick move."_ America answered simply, and Haiti growled at the response. The blonde then took a deep breath. _"Listen, I know this will sound crazy, and you'll probably wonder if I've hit my head lately…"_

"I'm already wondering that now…" Haiti muttered bitterly. It would explain a lot…

"I **heard** that." Came the angered response from the American, and Haiti blanched.

"Well, _why else_ would you insist on siding with… with _him?!_ " Haiti yelled, honestly considering searching for the doll he has of America and search it for any sort of injury or curse. "I don't know what's gotten into you, Alfred. You should know how that bastard is, even better than I do! While he's spent the years ignoring and pitying my existence, you've had to deal with him all the time. So why are you doing this? _Why?"_

 _"Oh my god- Haiti, knowing what France has put me, no, **us** through is exactly why I'm telling you that this pains me just as it pains you."_ America insisted, at _least_ sounding as frustrated as Haiti was. _"But despite that, I'm gonna pay him back or else my conscience's gonna haunt me for eternity."_

"I _told_ you that you should've listened to South Africa's advice to just let that damn conscience of yours…" Haiti did a double take, and he narrowed his eyes dangerously. "What do you mean… 'paying him back'?"

America sighed, and Haiti was sure he heard a facepalm. _"I would've explained it if you hadn't interrupted me."_

"Tch. Well, I'm sorry, alright?" Haiti said gruffly, feeling his face flush in embarrassment. "By all means, go on. Please, enlighten me with what other nonsense you have to say. And I'm definitely going to check your doll to see if that Egyptian ravèt has cursed you…"

Haiti mumbled that last sentence under his breath, hoping that America didn't hear him.

 _"But as I was saying, once again I swear on the names of your gods that I'm not kidding and that I'm 100% serious and sure about all this."_ America grimly promised, and just when Haiti opened his mouth to protest, the former cut him off. _"And don't you dare go off scolding me for saying it. You should know I wouldn't do it if I wasn't sure, especially when it comes to people like France."_

Haiti begrudgingly closed his mouth.

 _"And also, since he truly went out of his way to help us the enemy, not caring if his allies will get angry, not caring about the stuff we want to do…"_ He didn't like where this was going. And he was right to be anxious, because what America told him next was unbelievable. _"I think we can all agree that we owe him one."_

…Say what now?

That's it. America's cursed or under some damn spell. It's the only logical explanation for this madness. Somehow his impressive mental and magical defenses that he spent centuries strengthening with Haiti were broken and the enemy has him under their thrall. This was

 _"…You better not be thinking of walking towards the door to find that voodoo doll you have me, Haiti!"_

Damn his perceptiveness.

"We _owe_ him?" Haiti repeated slowly in disbelief, feeling disgusted at saying those same words. "America, are you even hearing yourself? What do owe him from this? All he did was 'warn' you of something that won't even by of danger to us just to earn some points to go to Heaven or some other nonsense."

He heard what sounded like an exasperated groan from America. _"God, you're starting to sound like North."_

"Oh, am I now? Well, maybe you should've _listened_ to him." Haiti hissed, that lover of his sometimes had more sense than America himself. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but if you truly think that we now owe France, then I say you've really lost it, America. The countermeasures are foolproof. Why the hell are we indebted to him?!"

 _"While the countermeasures **are** foolproof, there's likely to be collateral damage in the area where the explosives are intercepted then destroyed. By warning us, we can then **tell** our people to be on guard, send out patrols and immediately activate the countermeasures the moment there's danger so that there's won't be **any** damage in our land."_ America reminded him tiredly, before groaning loudly again. _"For the love of Betsy Ross, why the **hell** am I the only one who remembers or cares about the collateral damage?!"_

Haiti cringed, feeling his ears bleed from America's yelling. But that's irrelevant, what was relevant was that America was right. Curses. While minor collateral damage was an easy price to pay for preventing nukes from striking them, it would be a shame for forests to burn up and animals to get killed as a result of said collateral damage.

And Haiti knew how much Nigeria and South Africa loved their countries' nature…

Swallowing down his pride, he (sort of) finally gave up, albeit begrudgingly. "F-Fine, I guess you have a point there…"

 _"It's about time you did."_ America sighed.

"I'm not happy with it, I still don't agree with it, but I think I can see where you're coming from." Haiti admitted again begrudgingly, playing with his bandages. "So, how exactly do you plan on having us 'repay' our little debt?"

Whatever America had in mind it couldn't be sparing France from torture then dying in agony as he deserved. He's soft, yes, but not stupid. He wanted France dead as much as Haiti and the others did.

 _"I was thinking that when the day comes where you, Cameroon, Morocco and SV destroy France, you guys won't make it as painful and devastating as you intended it to be."_

"…Excuse me?" Haiti asked darkly.

 _"It's… what we can do… Think of it as a kind of reward for realizing what a son of a bitch he was and turning over a new leaf… which was long, LONG overdue_." America went on while Haiti fumed in anger. _"Now, what I know what you're thinking…"_

"You _can't_ be serious." Haiti didn't even bother letting him finish, this was just too much. "You want us to grant him _mercy?_ After everything he's done, you want us to not give him every ounce of suffering he deserves to go through?"

 _"Yeah, I do. It's painful for me too, dude. And I already know this is gonna take a lot of yelling and convincing, but I stand by my decision."_ America said firmly. _"But what's the big deal? So France will die less painfully, that'll sure ruin your revenge."_

"…What's the big deal? You…" Haiti gnashed his teeth. It might not be a big deal to a _kinder_ nation like America, but for them… "Do you even realize what you're saying?! No, you _know_ what's wrong, but you'll insist on going through with this just for the sake of honor and 'repaying a debt'. The others will never accept this. Hell, _I_ don't completely accept this and I'm not even the same amount of sadistic and bloodthirsty as they are!"

America began to get impatient. _"Okay, first of all, leave my sense of honor and morality out of this. Second of all, sure, Cameroon and Morocco will take a hella lot effort but South Vietnam's an understanding guy enough to accept this! I'm sure he can help convince the other two, and by extension, you. Third, I'm sorry, but you're being an immature brat! You're totally overreacting, you know that?"_

…Overreacting…? Overreacting?! How was he overreacting? Haiti's the one who's trying to stop America from getting himself into hot water with the Africans! There's no getting through to him like this…!

Sorry America, but you've left him no choice.

"…Tell me, America. You claim that is painful for you too. You claim that you like this as much as I do. But I wonder, would you _really_ be as merciful and willing to believe that there aren't any ulterior motives if the nation was England instead of France?"

Haiti felt the atmosphere grow tense as soon as he uttered that sentence.

Haiti almost wanted to smile, if only because he dared let himself hope. While he was as a fan of provoking America as anyone with a brain was, Haiti needed to find some way to make him see reason. Besides, this wasn't just for selfish reasons, no. This was for America's own good too! He'd provoke the man and suffer the terrifying consequences if it meant that he won't get in trouble and argue with the Africans.

America shouldn't strain his relationships for that damn moral compass of his. Haiti hoped to make him realized that.

He stiffened when America finally responded.

 _"…If by some freak cosmic chance that was allowed to happen, then I'm sure that after a lot of debating with myself, cussing like hell, and cursing him for not turning a new leaf sooner, I'd swallow my pride and, I dunno, spare the royal grandchildren?"_

Haiti wanted to palm his forehead. Well, that failed as miserably as France's attempts to invade Russia. "Of course you would…"

 _"Good. So, I'm sure that if just I do what I told you, I can convince them to go along with this…"_

" _Non_ , they won't." Haiti cut him off. "You may have a lot of authority, America, you may have everyone's trust and respect, but this is one demand the others will never follow unless it's a direct order from the leaders."

If that wouldn't convince him, then-

 _"Fine,"_ America relented, and Haiti's eyes widened. That easy? _"I'll just take it up with the bosses instead and they can order you and the boys to go easier on France. They're reasonable and understanding guys. I'm sure that once I tell them the whole story, they'll grant my request."_

Haiti scowled. Why didn't _that_ occur to him?

 _"So, if we're finished arguing, I assume you'll carry out my request about the Baron thing?"_

" _Wi_." Haiti forced out. At least that's _one_ good thing he'll get from this.

 _"Fantastic. Then there's nothing to discuss."_ At least he had the decency not to sound happy, _"Oh, and Haiti?_

 _"What?"_

 _"If it'll get you to stop moping, how about I promise that I'll lend you those soul jars you've been nagging me about?"_ America suggested helpfully. _"I'll give them to ya if you won't hold anything against for this whole thing."_

Haiti quickly perked up at that. "I-I don't need to _bribed_ … But _wi_ , it's the _least_ you can do for foiling my attempts to get you out of trouble…"

America actually chuckled, _"Cool. I'll send them tomorrow or the day after. Catch ya later!"_

"Goodbye, Alfred."

Haiti sighed as soon as the call ended, falling back into bed. So, should he still check the America doll for any suspicious magic?

Well, it wouldn't hurt to check just in case…

And then after he gave the new orders to Baron Kriminel and checked the America doll for any hexes, Haiti intended to pick up the France doll and see for himself if that man's intentions really were as pure as America claimed them to be.

France won't be able to lie if Haiti used the doll, so this was the perfect way to find out the full truth.

/ / / / /

Germany would be lying if he said that he wasn't feeling a _little_ anxious.

He's even ashamed to admit that he felt that his hands were trembling somewhat, for a reason that even Germany couldn't properly fathom. What was he frightened of? Was he dreading the prospect of confronting Cameroon and face with the consequences of his treatment of him and his people in the past? Was he terrified of the possibility of his allies getting killed in the ensuing fight? Was he scared that he'll encounter Liechtenstein's corpse?

Was he scared that he'll get killed here, not living to confront to his brother? Was he horrified at the thought that for the first time in his life, he might have to permanently take a nation's life with his own hands?

Was it all of the above?

He clenched his hands. Whatever it was, he won't let it affect him. This was war. Losses were inevitable, even more so now that there's even more at stake. And Germany was determined to save both Mauritius and Liechtenstein.

Everyone else looked a little on edge as well. Hungary, Egypt, France, Algeria, Tunisia, Romania… and now Russia, too. He… sort of strongarmed himself into the team. Germany assumed that the tall nation didn't want to be around his sister for a while, and Russia himself said that he personally wished to pummel South Africa.

Well, Russia didn't exactly say _pummel_ , but that's a clean way to put it.

Anyway, there's no way in stalling. They should get going now.

He just hoped Liechtenstein wasn't dead.

 **Yeah, not much happened this chapter. But there'll be a lot more action next time. Please review if you have a minute.**


	71. Justice: Hospitality

**Thanks to Aqua Eclipse, FGLFFF and NadiaJA627 for reviewing. Now, on with the show!**

Words couldn't describe how relieved Algeria was to see that Tunisia's feeling somewhat better.

When Algeria left the conference and went back to where she had reluctantly left Tunisia, she was glad to see that he wasn't curled up in a ball anymore and was finally speaking more than a few words at a time to her again.

She didn't mean to make him cry. It was _not_ the result she was hoping. Oh, Allah, well, of course it wasn't the result she was hoping to achieve! What kind of sister would she be if she had deliberately wanted to make her brother break down in tears and sob in a manner he hadn't done since Algeria comforted him during the revolution? No, she would never do such a thing, never on purpose.

So, she found herself horrified when Tunisia began _crying_.

All she wanted was to try to find the reason why Tunisia's been depressed for the last couple of days. Oh, that gentle brother of hers might like pretending that nothing's bothering him, but a good sister knows. It's all Morocco's fault. That insufferable brother of theirs had been a curse on their family for far too long. And Algeria's worried that Tunisia's nonsensical little quest to 'understand' Morocco might put him at risk of being manipulated.

Despite being rendered speechless and baffled at Tunisia's tears, Algeria didn't hesitate to comply with his request to comfort him. She hugged and rubbed his back while her brother sobbed on her shoulder, all the while wondering just what the hell she did to set him off.

Algeria had been very reluctant to leave him, as Tunisia obviously wished to be alone and didn't want everyone wondering what's up with him, even with the knowledge that France was back, but her brother insisted that it'll be fine… even though he didn't look fine to her.

When she had come back, it was to Tunisia hugging his knees with a haunted look on his face. And he still wouldn't tell her what's wrong.

"Oh, for the love of Allah, why won't you just tell me what I did to make you cry, brother?!" Algeria had to exclaim once she couldn't take any more of this. "Don't you realize how painful it is for me to see you like this? Why won't you tell me what's wrong so can I _help_ you? Doesn't it hurt keeping all your feelings and pain _bottled up inside of you?_ "

After she cried out that last sentence at her brother in hopes that it'll get him to finally see reason, Tunisia froze solid, eyes widening. She couldn't fully see his face, but she could tell that he looked _shocked_. For a moment, Algeria wondered if she had finally gotten through to him and helped him realize that he was only hurting himself further by staying quiet, but that hope got squandered when Tunisia buried his face in his arms again.

Algeria was left baffled and horrified once again. "Wh… What did I…?"

But of course, she received no answer.

"I swear, I didn't mean to make you cry, Malik, I swear it. I mean, I knew my words would sound harsh, but I thought it was necessary for you to realize that…" Algeria sighed. _That our brother was irredeemable_ , "I wasn't trying to say that you were a fool for having trouble accepting that Rahim is an unrepentant _shit_ …"

She cringed at her own use of profanity. Algeria was not fond of using such crude language, but she often found herself surprisingly vulgar when it came to especially infuriating people like their brother.

"It's not _you_ , Khalida."

Algeria flinched when Tunisia finally spoke and lifted his head to meet her eyes. "It's… not? Then-"

"No, it isn't. It's _me_ , sister." Tunisia's voice cracked, as if he's trying to hold himself back from crying again. "I'm upset with _myself_. I'm a _fool_."

…A fool? He thought that he's a fool? He's upset with himself? Was Algeria truly too harsh after all?

"What? No, no, don't be ridiculous. You're not a fool. I'd never think that you're one. Oh, _perish_ the thought!" Algeria looked at him horrified. "Malik, I didn't mean to imply that you're a fool. I was just pointing out that you're having trouble completely accepting the fact that that two-faced brother of ours is trouble, and I wanted to help you and comfort you and…"

Even though she knew all along that Morocco was trouble and hardly anyone completely believed her, Algeria mentally added. But she wasn't going to _tell_ him that…

"But I am," Tunisia said miserably. "I can't bring myself to stop caring about a monster."

"Don't say that, Malik." Algeria pleaded. "For Allah's sake, _I didn't mean_ to make you think that way.

"No, I shouldn't. While I do believe that you needed to accept reality, I think I could've worded it better. I just couldn't understand why you couldn't bring yourself to disown him as quickly as I did. I often forgot that you liked him while I didn't, you saw positive aspects of him that I never or failed to see and I saw the darkness of his soul that you never or failed to see."

To Algeria's relief, it seemed her words were starting to get a little through to him.

"That… is true… I guess…" Tunisia fiddled with his fingers, his voice losing some of its misery. "But Khalida, he lied to us, he bombed your capital, he wants to _unspeakable things_ to me and yet I can't despise him as you do. Isn't that foolish of me?"

"Don't be ashamed brother. Just accept that our brother is irredeemable and move on, that's the only thing I want." Algeria took Tunisia's hand and squeezed it, frowning. "One can't blame you for having trouble accepting this. But denial can be problematic. Just look at England, he's so in denial that he's hellbent on nuking his former colonies out of spite. I don't want this whole goal of yours to 'understand' Morocco and possibly try to redeem him to end up getting you hurt or worse."

Morocco was dangerous beyond measure, Algeria thought to herself. If he managed to manipulate Tunisia and everyone else before, who's to say he won't do it again? Tunisia was always such a hopeful and kind young man,

Algeria didn't want to force Tunisia to hate Morocco.

Tunisia stared up at apparently nothing, his eyes still dull. "I just don't understand Rahim."

Algeria tried not to scoff, instead frowning at the statement "I doubt anyone would, even our father. And Malik, as, I've told you several times before, there's no point in trying to understand a sick man like him."

Tunisia lowered his head again. "Yes, you're right… I shouldn't try."

"That's _all_ I wanted you to realize." Algeria nodded approvingly, and she clasped his shoulder again, eyes narrowed. "So get that nonsense of you being a fool out of your brain or I'll drill it out of you with a sermon that'll put Saudi's to shame."

Saudi Arabia was infamous to giving long and tedious sermons, enough to make even the most passionate Muslim want to jump out the window to escape them. He'd even threaten to deliver a sermon to keep his younger brothers in line and stop fighting.

Yes, the discovery that he wasn't a true Muslim did make it much worse in hindsight, but that's not important right now.

She couldn't help but snort at the horrified look on her brother's face. "Y-You wouldn't!"

Algeria smirked, "Would you rather risk it?"

"A… Al… Alright! Alright! I won't think badly of myself, just don't deliver a sermon!" Tunisia pleaded in a panic.

"Good." Algeria said in satisfaction.

If only that was the end of it.

She frowned when she noticed Tunisia's visible discomfort.

Determined not to ignore her brother's distress again, Algeria gently rested her hand on her brother's shoulder "Tunisia, what _else_ is troubling you? Tell me, _please_."

Tunisia stiffened, and for a moment Algeria feared that he was going to lower his head into his crossed arms again and shut himself off, but he only averted his eyes.

"I… I'm _scared_ , Khalida…" Tunisia whispered, barely enough for Algeria to hear. "It's cowardly and shameful of me, but I'm _terrified_ of Rahim."

Ah, so that's also what this was.

"A… Are you sure you want to come with us?" Algeria asked slowly, and she bit her lip as Western Sahara often did, squeezing Tunisia's hand.

Tunisia slowly stared at her, blinking away his tears. "Wh-What…?"

"I'm sorry, this is my fault." Algeria "I _decided_ that you wanted to come with us without even truly considering your feelings or how that'd put you in danger. I… I thought that you would want to help find Safiyya just as much as I did, so it didn't occur to me that you'd be terrified. I inadvertently pressured you into going along."

She was surprised when her words caused Tunisia to finally snap his head back up, and he had a mortified expression. "N-No! What are you saying, Khalida?! You didn't pressure me. I-I was just-

"I was so obsessed with the idea of capturing Morocco and my desire to make him pay for his crimes that I've even forgotten about the trauma you've suffered," Algeria admitted with great shame, and she looked at Tunisia grimly. "Brother, you might refuse to tell me everything that happened with you and Morocco, but it was obvious what he wanted to do to you when he... in front… you know…"

Algeria couldn't even bring herself to _say_ it, and she could barely keep herself from grimacing in disgust, but she will not cause her brother to think that she feels shame for him. It wasn't Tunisia's fault that he couldn't flee from Morocco. The fault laid with Algeria for being too weak to protect her good brother. Morocco was strong and admittedly unnerving…

Not that she'll ever admit it out loud.

She could still remember clearly how utterly astounded she felt when she saw it happen. Morocco, her brother who from since they were children Algeria knew there's was something wrong with him (if she was a more bitter woman, she'd be screaming 'I told you so!' to everyone who ever called her paranoid), with that infuriating smirk on his face and gazing at their brother in a way he had never done before, grabbed Tunisia and… and… _kissed_ him!

Morocco kissed his own brother! And not in the way the West Asians did as a form of greeting, where there was no romantic love or filthy intentions involved. He was kissing Tunisia in a way that was obviously perverted. Why, the nerve!

It wasn't difficult putting the pieces together once the pain had disappeared. Algeria always knew there was something wrong with Morocco, though she was quite surprised at discovering just how sick he was, but _this_ and what little Tunisia was willing to divulge from what happened after made her realize that Morocco's madness was much worse than she had realized.

Tunisia's cheeks reddened at the mention of that particular incident, not doubt in shame. He looked ready to _die_. "I-I tried to stop him- I did, honest! But he threatened you- I didn't know-"

"I'm not implying that you are guilty of sin, brother. Perish the thought." Algeria shook her head disapprovingly at the very idea. "It'd be clear to anyone who witnessed the… _incident_ that you have no intention of doing as Lot's people did. If anything thinks for a _minute_ that you do, then I will _personally_ set them straight."

Her good brother seeing their demented brother, doing as Lot's people did? Oh, Algeria would laugh if the idea didn't fill her with so much repulsion and anger. Why, that'd be one of the most ridiculous accusations she'd ever heard.

"So, I'll ask you again. Are you sure you want to come with us?" Algeria asked him gravely. "I'd personally rather you wouldn't. While this is war and pain is unavoidable, I don't want you to go through the same indignities you went through in Paris, not even for Safiyya's sake. But I don't have any right to forbid you from doing anything."

…Despite how bossy she often is, Algeria grudgingly acknowledged.

She intended for Tunisia to think long and hard about his decision, and for a moment he did indeed look conflicted, but then Algeria saw her brother's expression harden in resolve.

"N-No, I do want to go with you. I don't want to stay here twiddling my thumbs while you go toe-to-toe with Rahim. I don't care that…" Tunisia trailed off and swallowed nervously before continuing. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if Morocco killed your all because I was too much of a coward to confront him. And I really do want to help Safiyya as much as you do."

"But you're sure about this?"

Tunisia gave her an annoyed look.

"Alright, alright, if you're absolutely sure, then I won't object to it." Algeria sighed, smiling reassuringly. "And I stand by what I said earlier. I won't let Rahim hurt you, I _promise_."

Tunisia blushed, and he finally gave her a smile. "T-Thank you, Khalida."

"You don't need to thank me, really. I'm here for you, no matter what."

Tunisia stiffened, and his smile became sad. "I feel that I don't deserve a good sister like you."

"You can't be serious, brother. If anything, _I_ don't deserve a brother as patient and kind as you." Algeria smiled ruefully. "You've had to deal with me ranting and taking my frustrations out on your for the entirety of this mess. You deserve better."

Algeria wondered why his face fell after she said that.

/ / / / /

Mexico wasn't really surprised to hear a big thump not long after she was shoo'ed away by Brazil.

Well, technically it was after Brazil's screaming and poor Portugal's confused yells, both of which could be heard all over the damn house (or even the damn province). But you know what she meant to say.

She already knew that Portugal was going to suffer in some way for something he didn't even have a clue about and wasn't even his fault. Brazil was in his rage mode after all. He always did crazy things while he's like that. And, well, the prospect of having his 'papa' taken away from him again was too frightening for poor old Brazil's unstable mind. It's a good thing he didn't go too far…

Even with that in mind, Mexico didn't get why Brazil's throwing such a fit over this. So somehow those stupid nations found out Portugal's being held here, so what? It's not like they had a chance at winning unless someone made a dumb mistake.

Honestly, she was rather impressed that Brazil managed to rein in his anger, realize that Portugal wasn't at fault for anything, and not fly into a fit of rage. And Mexico didn't hear any agonized screams, so... Looks like Portugal got lucky.

Oh, she wasn't trying to imply that Brazil could be immature, but when he's pissed off, he tended to jump to conclusions and resort to violence way too easily. He's irrational that's what, and he'll also become… pretty scary to deal with… or become a pain in the ass.

Yeah, yeah, Mexico could expect an apology from Brazil after he's cooled down and his papa was safe under lock and key, but it still wasn't nice. Well, at least she won't have to deal with him while he's in his angry state. She could just stay here, read a book, come up with ways to of how to convince America to break up with that demented man-child…

Or at least that's what she thought until she started hearing footsteps that were growing louder and louder with each passing moment, as well as the sound of something getting dragged through the floor.

Uh-Oh.

…Why did she even say anything?

Mexico failed not to flinch when the door flew open, crashing against the wall, and of course revealing the 'carnival bastard' himself looking at her pretty coldly. Ay, she knew people did irrational things when they're angry, but did that guy had no idea how to treat his furniture with care?

But humor aside, she was seriously creeped out at the way Brazil stared at her, like somehow _Mexico_ was also blame for all this. Or maybe he's just jealous that Mexico managed to have a half-decent conversation with Portugal, she didn't know. And seeing Brazil dragging Portugal's body by the shirt wasn't helping matters at all.

She couldn't help but cringe when she got good look at Portugal's body. Mexico normally wouldn't care all that much if someone outside the organization kicked the bucket, but this was someone she liked and could honestly say she sort of cared about. And she wasn't even sure if Portugal was dead or not. His head was bleeding, but that's pretty much it from what Mexico could see.

Still, Mexico wasn't one to cower, she wasn't afraid.

"So, have you come to apologize for the shabby way you spoke to me, Xavier?" She asked dryly,

Brazil's face twisted into an ugly scowl, but it didn't look like he wanted to kill her, so there's that. "I need you, Guate, and Tina to go out, find South Italy and kill him before the enemy possibly can."

"…So is that a no?"

Brazil growled like an angry dog, and Mexico mentally scolded herself risking pulling the lion's tail. Remember the rule: When one of the scarier ones get angry, don't piss them off any further _or else_. "I'm not in the mood for your humor, Mexico. This is serious. Those bastards want to come here, invade my land, to pick up that worthless Italian before any of us could get him, and snatch Portugal in the process."

Mexico cringed at the increasing volume of Brazil's voice, sensing an explosion coming, and she quickly waved her hands as she tried to calm him down. "Okay, okay! Calm down, Xavier, no one's gonna take _tio_ away and no one knows that better than you do."

Brazil smirked at that, a little of the normal Brazil returning. "I'm happy to hear that. So, you are in or not?"

"Fine, you want us to find that _cabron_? We'll do it, especially if it means it'll help you calm down…" Mexico muttered that last part under her breath, and thankfully Brazil didn't seem to hear her, although he probably wouldn't care if he did. "You got any clue where he is?"

"I do. But since there's no telling if or when he's gonna move to another location, I'll be sending you a messages if he starts moving again."

"And if he gets to the house before we can catch him?"

"Then Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela will steal your kill."

Mexico felt one of her eyebrows twitch. "Noted. So, what are you going to do other than to guide us? "

" _I_ will also go and move Portugal to a more secure location," Brazil declared confidently, sparing a glance towards his ex-colonizer's body. "But I'll be back soon enough. If you do find any intruders, don't kill them. I want you to save them for me and for _papai_. They will be punished accordingly and will serve as guinea pigs for _papai's_ training."

Oh, those poor, poor idiots… Mexico almost bad for them. Almost. Because if they're stupid enough to come _here_ …

She would've laughed a little if she wasn't being creeped out by the way Brazil was hungrily looking at Portugal's body.

"Sounds fun," She managed a small smile, trying not to let a snarky comment regarding Portugal slip. "I'll get right on it. Just give me a few minutes."

"Right now would be a better time, don't you think?"

"I said I'm on it!"

/ / / / /

Everyone was going about doing last-minute preparations and saying their goodbyes and such. Algeria had finally managed to help Tunisia come out of hiding, although the brother of the pair still looked a little glum. Germany had been giving the Central Americans a few final instructions while preventing Italy from begging on his knees again.

The nations coming along also picked out what they're going to fight with as well. It turned out Germany really did mean it when he said he'd come prepared to London in case something alarming happened.

Algeria had quickly snatched the assault rifle and a knife, and she had taken to practicing her aim a little, probably imagining that she was shooting Morocco. Tunisia had quietly taken a handgun, and had been fiddling with it with an odd frown on his face. Hungary quite eagerly took the shotgun. France settled for a knife. Germany took a rifle and a few grenades for himself. Romania was going to rely on his magic. And Russia was content with his pipe.

Meanwhile, Egypt was wondering how the _hell_ Germany got all this past airport security.

While Egypt was originally content with just using his magic, he thought back to the Baron, one of Haiti's allies, and Anubis's tale of how much he struggled against the demonic spirit. He decided that some backup was perfectly acceptable since they had no clue of the true extent of Nigeria's abilities.

This frightening thought was what helped Egypt decide to bring Anubis with him, despite his friend's recent battle. And to solve the concern that Baron Kriminel or another dangerous individual might attack the group remaining here, Egypt decided that he should call Horus and request that the watch over the nations.

Egypt shifted uneasily. The idea of involving gods brought him some discomfort, as he'd rather they stay out of mortal affairs despite their affection for him. But his concern for the other nations got the better of him.

He went off to say his final goodbyes to Seychelles.

He found Seychelles alongside Monaco speaking with France again, and judging from how the island girl looked visibly stressed and Monaco was apparently scolding her older brother while said brother sweatdropped nervously, Egypt would say with certainty that the two girls were trying to make France promise not to do anything stupid that'll get him tortured again.

Oh, and there was also an unknown blonde man with an uncanny resemblance to America watching on sadly while hugging a small polar bear. Who could that…? Oh wait, that's just Canada, never mind.

Egypt stood where he was and waited patiently for them to finish their conversation. It wasn't polite to intrude.

Eventually the two girls finished making France promise not to get himself killed, and Egypt was about to approach Seychelles when a snippet of a conversation between Canada and France caught his attention.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you, Papa?" Canada asked worriedly.

"Oui, I'm sure, Mathieu." France frowned and grabbed Canada's shoulders. "I'd rather you not go off dashing into danger after what happened. Now, I wish I could stay and continue to give you comfort, but I need to save your frère Kelvin."

Canada trembled. "But-"

"But nothing, Mathieu. I'm sorry," But then France offered his usual smile. "But don't worry little brother. Big Brother France here has promised to return alive in one piece!"

Egypt frowned. Really? France was forbidding Canada from coming along with them? But… why?

Egypt came to the decision that Seychelles could wait, and that he needed to speak to France about this. While it wasn't his place to tell him what to do, and he's aware that France really did mean well, this wasn't a simple errand. This was serious, and very dangerous.

It was at this moment that Egypt decided was the right time to address the issue. "I know you aren't fond of the idea of putting your siblings in danger, but why didn't you let Canada come along with us?"

France jumped and spun around to face him, and his startled look relaxed into a remorseful one. "Ah! _Egypté!_ Well… It's… Egypt, there's actually a good reason for that other than mere paternal instincts, I promise you."

"And what would that be?" Egypt quirked an eyebrow, he didn't mean to sound insensitive, but this was the first time they'll be venturing in enemy territory. "Despite how meek and forgettable Can… err… that boy can be, he's far from weak. He can even be quite dangerous when angered."

"Oh, believe me, I know, Egypt." France "But you don't understand. That's part of the reason why I can't let Mathieu come with us

I… I've withheld this information because it was personal for Mathieu, but mon frère has been very depressed ever since my conversation with Amerique. "France admittedly guiltily. "It was the first time they've spoken to each other since this all started, you know that, oui? Well, I'm afraid Alfred… didn't react kindly when Mathieu snatched the phone away from me to speak to him."

"Ah," Now it made sense. "I see… So Canada is still hurt and vulnerable from what his brother said, and so you don't want him to do anything dangerous for the time being."

"Oui. I knew you'd catch on quickly, _Egypté_." There was a brief smile before France went back to his serious expression. "Also, I fear that the enemy might taunt him or torment him about Amerique. And Mathieu, well, he's very snappy when he's in a vulnerable state, so…"

"I understand," Egypt nodded, and he began to turn around to walk away. "I'm sorry to have bothered you."

"Oh- Wait, wait!" France exclaimed, and Egypt stopped in his tracks. He turned back and saw France putting a hand on his shoulder. "Before we leave for Switzerland, there's something I wish to say. Egypté, in case anything happens to me…"

Egypt tried not to groan. Seychelles and Monaco weren't standing far from them! "France, please don't…"

"Non, non, you must hear this!" France implored. "I want you know… that I approve of your attraction to Michelle. And you are free to have a relationship and even marry with my blessings. But please, do have the wedding at the Eiffel Tower… if it's still standing by the time you propose of course."

…What?

Egypt hoped to Allah that his face was blank right now. "W-What are you-"

"Remember, Germany said we're leaving in five minutes!" France laughed and sped away before Egypt could ask more.

He sighed. Europeans…

/ / / / /

Mauritius didn't really have any recollection of what's been happening for the past… however much it's been since he's been fully conscious.

He just woke up a few minutes ago, or at least it felt like he woke up. His mind's been a blur and he felt all woozy and he had a killer headache, like someone drugged him. Wait, was that what happened? Was he drugged by Switzerland? He wasn't sure. He didn't know _what's_ been happening to him, other than something's messing with his head…

He scowled. Yeah, something was wrong with his head. Mauritius remembered how he felt earlier, how he felt all weird and stuff, how he found real hard to stay mad at Switzerland. Well, now it's getting worse. How did he know this? Well, Mauritius realized that he's feeling calm, too calm for someone who probably got drugged and not knowing what kind of stuff that Swiss must've been done to him.

He's finding it even harder to feel angry at Switzerland, even though Mauritius felt real pissed off. Yeah, that didn't make any sense, but it's the truth.

Mauritius knew he was supposed to be brainwashed or something like that, but the thing was, he didn't feel… that different other than the whole anger and calmness thing. Well, that and a weird feeling between his shorts that Mauritius _hoped_ wasn't what he thought it was. Or was he supposed to not notice if he's being changed?

He paled at the idea. No, no! Don't think like that. Come on, think of… think of Seychelles? Mauritius closed his eyes and tried his best to conjur up an image, no matter how it'll repulse,

And don't get him started on the voices.

The island shook his head again, and he cringed when he heard those voices. Dammit, speak of the Devil, they're back again! He wished he could bang his head against something, or manage get his hands out of his binds to give himself the biggest facepalm in history, anything to make them stop bothering him.

He couldn't really understand what they're saying, although he did catch a few words and phrases including 'blood', 'hate', 'your fault', among other things.

And then there's... Well, he wasn't sure how to describe it. He couldn't really put his finger on it, but something really messed up must've happened while he was out of it. Mauritius shuddered in disgust.

He felt _violated_. He felt _dirty_.

Mauritius didn't like it one bit.

For some reasons, there were a lot of spots on his body that hurt for some reason, or at least felt really uncomfortable. Mauritius couldn't even begin to describe how shocked he was to find teeth marks and bruises on his arms. When he first saw them, for a moment he was horrified to think that one of the Africans ate him while he was too out of it to notice or put up a fight, but then he realized that they don't look like the scar Nigeria left him back in that day.

So, naturally, a bunch of questions popped up in his head. He did see some teeth marks on some of them. And he listened enough to France's romantic tales and escapes to have _one_ unnerving theory on where he got them with Morocco's… creepiness coming to mind…

But Mauritius was never one to go to the worst case scenario, so he quickly pushed that thought away and decided that maybe it was best if he didn't think about it.

"The questioning will have to wait until later, I'm afraid." Switzerland was saying coldly, and Mauritius was listening out of fear that he'll get the water torture if he didn't. "The reason for this? Why, none of your business. Just continue being a good little boy and your transition will be painless."

"Painless?" Mauritius finally got more than though energy to speak, even getting angry. Good, there's still hope for him after all. He glared at the European. "My head hurts, I can't feel my wrists or my legs, you drugged me, and call you all that _painless?!_ Why-"

"Because you're resisting," Switzerland cut him off coldly. "If you'd just stop this pointless resistance, give in and become what _they_ want, I think you'll find the process to be almost enjoyable. And the sooner you get fixed, the sooner we can all leave and get on with our lives."

"You're telling me to give up myself? Do you even know what you're saying?!"

"Ja, but then again, it's not like you have a choice in the matter." "You can choose to put up a good fight, or you can choose to accept your fate and allow yourself to be free of humanity's petty constraints. Either way, you'll still lose."

Mauritius tried to focus all his anger into his glare.

"…I'll be away for a while again," Switzerland said as if the past minute never happened. "Again, none of your business, but let's just say that I have to go make sure those four Africans don't burn the house."

Just like that his anger dissipated and Mauritius felt himself pale. "T-They're all-"

"Ja, they are. I'm not happy either. But if it's any consolation, I'm going to make sure they don't come down here." Switzerland "Oh, before I go, I'll be giving your supplements. I imagine you must be quite hungry and thirsty"

"No thanks to _you_ ," Mauritius muttered.

"Tch. I'll make sure to reprogram you into having better manners."

Mauritius didn't bother to come up with a retort. Hopefully Seychelles was having a much better time than he was…

/ / / / /

"I'm worried for Alfred."

South Africa found himself snapped from his trance, although thankfully after making the final arrangements with the spirits, and he opened an eye to see Morocco frowning, hands cupping his face as he stared off into nothing. He felt the corners of his mouth twitch. Well, weren't they _all_ worried about him?

Morocco and Cameroon's reaction to the whole situation with England, France and a possibly hexed America were… Um, well, they were quite vocal about it. Though South Africa had no doubt that if it weren't for the fact that Switzerland had forbidden them from breaking anything, or more so because they couldn't afford to go into a fit of rage now when the enemy could be arriving any minute, there'd be a huge mess in the living room.

 _"I can't believe this…" Morocco muttered angrily "That disgusting man wanted to help us? Impossible."_

 _"Oui, this is purely unbelievable." Cameroon growled, his face a mixture of anger and confusion. It's obvious he's trying to find some logical explanation for this. "It'd be… **illogical** for France to go out of his way to assist the enemy, especially after…" _

_"Well, of course it's illogical." Morocco spat, clenching his hands into fists. Must be a little uncomfortable with those nails of his, no? "France doesn't truly care about anyone who doesn't adore him and call him big brother or papa every five minutes. And now he's suddenly oh-so-concerned about the British ex-colonies. He just wants_

 _"That's what we think too, but unfortunately America is convinced that France had 'good intentions'" South Africa said flatly with air quotes. "I know it's America, and it has to mean something coming from him, but still…"_

 _"And now Alfie's gonna try to have you, Haiti and South Vietnam give France a less painful death." Nigeria added with obvious distaste. "That's how much he believes in France. Apparently he's 'honor-bound' to do this or else his conscience will haunt him for eternity."_

 _South Africa clicked his tongue in disapproval. Oh, America, why couldn't you let your morality die?_

 _"But that cannot be!" Morocco shouted in disbelief. "It must be a lie, a trick! Alfred would never…"_

 _" **France** getting past America's lie detector? Come on, Rahim, you know that's impossible." South Africa frowned, arms crossed over his chest. "However, Nigeria and I do have the theory that America might have been hexed, despite our dear Alfred's defenses. We don't know for sure if Egypt is capable of such a thing, but he might be"_

 _"It's the only logical explanation." "But then, if this theory is true and America is unknowindy being influenced to aid to enemy_

 _Morocco for one was absolutely seething in rage over the idea. "If they've done **anything** to him, anything to turn him against us, I'll sever their genitalia and force-feed it to them. I'll make them tell us the truth when we arrive."_

 _Cameroon growled in agreement, nodding. "They will pay dearly for attempting to turn one of our allies against us."_

 _"Then it's settled then? Before we begin slaughtering the invaders, we'll have France give us answers." South Africa decided coldly, and he held out his hand. "Is everyone in agreement?"_

 _The three other Africans stacked their hands. " **Right**."_

Standing up from the floor, South Africa made his way to the couch and plopped right next to Morocco. His friend did look better than earlier, he wasn't glaring at the wall anymore. He'd even say that Morocco's almost back to normal.

"I'm sure Alfred will be fine, Rahim." South Africa reassured him. "Nigeria already said that Haiti's already investigating on the possibility that Alfred's been hexed, and if there's anyone who can help Alfred, it's Haiti. If not, then I'm positive that I can heal him. There's no way the spell, if there is one, is too strong for us."

Morocco let out a big sigh and leaned back. "Well, that's very good to hear."

"Ja," South Africa nodded, and he decided to steer the conversation into a more fun subject. "So, are you looking forward to seeing Tunisia again? I hear Cammy's going to back you up so that nothing will happen to you."

Morocco's face immediately brightened, and his usual smile returned to his face. "Oh, yes, I am! I'm so excited to have more time alone with Malik, hopefully with no interruptions this time… Unless of course there's a real emergency, in which case I won't maul if you if come in while we're in the middle of our fun."

South Africa gave him a thumbs-up. "You got it."

"Cammy, being the sweet, kind man he is, decided that he'll be my bodyguard of sorts so that I won't be harmed while I'm hauling Tunisia away and the enemy won't interrupt our alone time." "Oh, I was so touched when he said that. I even offered to kiss him!"

"He turned you down, didn't he?"

"Unfortunately so…" Morocco lamented, but it didn't ruin his mood. "I have so many fun things planned for my dear sweet brother. Yes, very fun! I hope it'll be enough to fully awaken his desire; the Muslims have done a good number on him. But all he needs is reassurance that he'll be loved, it's what he's craved for centuries after all."

"Are you thinking of keeping him if every single one of the invaders falls?" South Africa asked curiously with a smirk. "I don't it'll be too hard for him to succumb to Stockholm Syndrome."

"I am going to keep him if that's what happens, yes. While it'll be much more fun watching him slowly crumble while he's with his allies, it'd be just as enjoyable seeing him give in while I keep him chained up like a cute little puppy."

Chained up like a puppy, huh? South Africa's smirk became wider. That did sound pretty fun.

He tried to imagine Lesotho chained up in his house with a collar, being forced to bark like a puppy and whimper like one, completely submissive to South Africa. The rainbow nation felt absolutely glee at the idea. He should do that sometime, if the cute boy ever gave him a reason to punish him.

Yes, South Africa definitely should try to look a pet for himself too.

He might as well have as much fun with Lesotho as he could… especially before South Africa could finally decide for good whether or not he's going to go with the Legacy Plan.

/ / / / /

Ukraine's walk with Moldova was going a lot better than she thought it would. Perhaps she hadn't lost her big sister touch.

And she really couldn't describe how relieved and happy she was to see that Moldova appeared to not mind being left with her considering that their relations have somewhat deteriorated in recent years. Well, Moldova was always such a friendly and optimistic child, so it shouldn't come off as too much of a surprise.

Sure, Moldova wasn't too happy at being insisted by his older brother to

At the start of their walk, Ukraine had offered the boy a piggyback ride, but to her utter embarrassment, not even ten seconds had passed when a loud CRACK was heard and the accursed back pains came back with a vengeance. She was also ashamed to admit that she may have sobbed at the pain in her poor back while Moldova fretted over her.

Sure, Ukraine could have also offered the 'easier' option of carrying Moldova in her arms, but she didn't want to risk suffocating the poor boy. And she doubted she'll last any longer than she did with the piggyback thing.

"Moldova, you've had that look on you pretty much since we've separated from the group," Ukraine told him softly, wishing to remind him that he could trust her. "Is something on your mind? Is there any way I can help?"

"There's gonna be a war, Miss Ukraine." Moldova murmured glumly.

"I know, Moldova. I know." Ukraine said sadly. "It's unfortunate, but we don't have a choice in the amtter. And I think I can speak for both of us that fighting for thiWe can only hope that we'll win with as few deaths and tragedies as possible. "

And with few nation _deaths_ , Ukraine grimly added in her mind.

"I guess…" Moldova looked pained. Ukraine didn't blame him in the slightest. Then the child nation's lip began to tremble. "But… why did all those nations lie to us? And why's Dimitri with the enemy? Vlad… Vlad said that they're not friends anymore and that he's gonna make him _pay_ the next time he sees him."

"Well… from what I was told, Bulgaria's in love with Turkey, so that's why they're on the same side." Ukraine explained. And if she might add, Romania's recounting of the events with Bulgaria was… quite disturbing. "Da, it appears he loves Turkey very, very much, to the point where he'd even betray your brother."

"But why would Dimitri love Mister Turkey? He doesn't love him any more than Vlad does." Moldova sounded on the verge of tears.

"I've asked Vlad that too, and he claimed all he got from Bulgaria was 'a load of malarkey'. In other words, Bulgaria was vague about it," Or at least that's what Ukraine understood from Romania's rant. "And who knows what happened behind our backs all these years?"

Moldova didn't speak any more after that, and Ukraine didn't press him to, knowing that the boy needed to spend a few minutes.

"Nations are dying, aren't they?" Moldova suddenly asked quieted, eyes gazing grimly at the floor. "That's what you, Vlad, and the others were talking about… right?"

Moldova's brighter than he looked, Ukraine noted with a sigh. Oh, she told Romania that there's not much point stalling. Little Moldova may be a child, but he's been around for centuries and wasn't naïve as many might think. He knew war. He knew pain. He knew politics.

Ukraine was rather upset to hear that Romania hadn't 'quite' gotten around to fully explaining to Moldova about the nations dying permanently and the many details regarding Bulgaria's true nature. Romania didn't want to break his poor little brother's house, so he instead stalled and told half-truths.

She had tried not to frown at what at first she perceived as irresponsibility and cowardice, but then as she watched Romania's pained expression, Ukraine realized that the fanged nation probably had no idea how to break it to Moldova that he and Bulgaria were now mortal enemies. Moldova was very fond of Bulgaria, wasn't he? So how would the child react to discovery that his 'friend' was never really his friend at all?

And if Romania's suspicions were correct, that Bulgaria will try to hurt Moldova once the opportunity presented itself? Ukraine had gaped in horror when Romania recounted what happened with him and Bulgaria, including how he 'maybe sorta accidentally' put Moldova in danger.

A child. Bulgaria's willing to hunt down Moldova and kill him or worse, just to cruelly get back at Romania. And all because Romania expressed his desire to make Turkey pay for warping Bulgaria's mind?

Goodness, he might be even worse than how Belarus was!

"I'm afraid you're right, Moldova." Ukraine held the child's hand tighter. "Nations are getting killed, and they're not coming back."

"Then… Miss Belarus is really dead?"

Ukraine couldn't ignore the pain in her heart. Good God, Belarus! She nodded slowly, trying not to sob, "D...Da, she is."

"O-Oh…"

"There's…" Ukraine swallowed her hesitation and resumed, "… some other important things you should know."

/ / / / /

"Are we there yet?" Whined Mozambique, sounding bored out of her mind.

Both Namibia and Angola shot her a disapproving glare, while Zimbabwe snored in the background. But Botswana couldn't exactly blame Mozambique; he was getting a little bored himself. Not much was happening, even with the recent discovery that one of ethnic groups was still alive thanks to _South Africa_ of all people.

Botswana sighed, feeling a headache coming on.

So far these past few days have been nothing but full of surprises, and not the good kind barring Khoisan. A global conspiracy, South Africa being a bloodthirsty sociopath who didn't even hesitate to threaten to nuke Lesotho even after how's taken care of him for _years_ , Botswana finding that his boss and other important government officials have completely vanished without a trace, finding out that Namibia and the others wanted to go confront South Africa to know what's going on…

Botswana wasn't sure if there's anything that could top any of that, but he's not about to challenge the universe or anything. No way. All he wanted was for all of them to survive this whole trip and not see South Africa in a long, long time…

South Africa…

He's still reeling from it all. South Africa, a _traitor?_ That whole happy, bipolar, wild but well-meaning nation was nothing more than an act? they've been neighbors and friends for years. Despite the problems and the Apartheid and everything, Botswana thought they were true friends, family and…

It… hurt, but that'd probably be an understatement. Botswana felt guilty, it's been eating him away since this all started. Did they contribute to South Africa turning on them too?

Botswana would like to ask him that, the next time he'll see him. It's actually one of the few reasons he went with the others.

From the moment Namibia announced the plan to 'visit' South Africa, Botswana instantly knew it could easily end horribly for them. Botswana tried to convince to maybe wait until tomorrow or the day after to try to contact South Africa, but he was easily ignored. Oh, he hated fading into the background. But anyway, he felt obligated to accompany them to make sure absolutely no one screwed up… and to answer his own questions.

He only wished he had magic that's more useful. He knew more than a few tricks but the only thing he specialized in was astral projection, which while could prove to be useful every now and then, it's unlikely it could save them from a pissed South Africa.

Sure, he could try to use his astral projection to appear where South Africa was and try to explain everything to him… But Botswana had no idea where South Africa could be!

It made Botswana feel pretty useless…

"I don't think it should be long, only a few… ah… fifteen minutes more." Khoisan said calmly, staring out the window, which was he's been doing for a while. "Please be patient. My people and I prefer to stay far away from cities."

"Away from Chris, you mean?" Namibia glanced back at him.

Khoisan smiled wryly, "Yes, that too. It didn't stop him from popping over for visits unannounced."

"I wonder how long we're going to be stuck in this prisoner situation. I wanna go out and see how the other continents are doing," Mozambique piped up glumly. "I'm worried about Portugal, Brazil said that he's not going to let this visit him anytime soon."

"I can't believe Brazil just up and took him away just while we were consoling Portugal after Spain's death." Angola spat, scowling at the road. "And I can't believe he threatened to torture Lesotho in front of us just so I could stop pestering him about it. What is it with them and threatening Lesotho?! He's just a kid. How could that bastard, I- Gah, I wish I could… Ugh!"

Angola made the mistake of removing her hands from the wheel to pull her hair in frustration, and they almost ended up driving off the road. Botswana almost had a heart attack.

Khoisan didn't react to the close call, and was humming in thought. "Oh dear… Portugal… I've forgotten about him. I hope I'm not going senile already..."

Both Mozambique and Angola immediately perked up at this information. They looked the most hopeful Botswana had seen them in days. "What? You know something about Fausto?"

"I do," Khoisan nodded with a small smile. "Chris may like to keep me in the dark, but I have my ways."

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?!" Angola exclaimed, constantly glancing back at the old man. "No, scratch that. What do you know? Do you know where he is? Is he going to be alright?"

"I apologize, I was busy dealing with a few problems that I still need to solve and it slipped my mind, unfortunately…" Khoisan frowned for a moment "But to answer your many questions, I can tell you that Portugal is being kept in Brazil's house, or anywhere as long as Brazil is with Portugal at all times. But I doubt that boy will let you anywhere near him, at least until he's finished with Portugal."

It pained Botswana to see the hope vanish from their faces, and Angola swallowed. "What do you mean, 'when Brazil's finished with him?' He's not going to kill Portugal, is he?"

"Believe me, it's much preferable to what Brazil has in store for him." Khoisan told them grimly, and the old man stroked his chin. "How do I explain…? Well, here's a summarized version: Brazil dearly misses his father Tupi, who has faded thanks to Portugal, but despite everything he could never bring himself to hate his colonizer, at least not enough to kill him. He grew to love Portugal. So, he has decided that he's going to make Portugal take _Tupi's_ place as his father."

Botswana stared at the old personification in surprise. That's… That's why Brazil wanted to take Portgual for himself? It sure sounded a lot less twisted than the other stuff Botswana had heard about these guys.

"That… doesn't sound so bad, to be honest." Botswana couldn't help but remark, despite how dumb it might've sounded.

But of course, Namibia's not having any of it.

"Hold on, don't get all sympathetic for that guy. He doesn't deserve it any more than Chris does…" Namibia grumbled with a dark scowl, and she looked back to Khoisan. "Let me guess, there's a dark twist to this. Brazil wants to do something to Portugal, doesn't he?"

"You are absolutely correct. You are still bright as always, Namibia." Khoisan commented lightly and Namibia flushed at the praise, before turning serious again. "You see, Tupi by humanity's moral standards was not a good person. I personally think he was a wicked man. Not even Tapuia was that better. Tupi's people were cannibals, fierce warriors, and Brazil took after them. Portugal is a good person, and most importantly not like Tupi. So, it's for this reason Brazil wants to make some… adjustments to Portugal."

Mozambique for the first time in a while looked really worried. "Adjustments?"

"In other words, brainwashing." Khoisan answered.

 _"What?!"_

"Th-They can do that?!" Botswana stammered. Could they do that to _anyone_ whenever they want?"

"We can't let him do that to Fausto." Angola looked visibly distressed. "Isn't there anything we can-?"

"No, there _isn't_ anything any of you can do about it without risking serious punishment. He may _like_ you all in a twisted sense, but he won't forgive any of you if you intervene." "Our only hope is that any nations opposing the Order will find out about Portugal's dire situation and rescue him,"

"So, we don't a choice in _anything_ here?" Namibia said angrily.

"That's how it is, I'm afraid."

Namibia cursed and "Isn't there anything we can do? Can't we start a rebellion?"

Khoisan's expression seemed to become grim, almost pained. "You could _try_ , but that's an action I don't recommend unless you know for sure the Order is in a vulnerable state."

"But why?! They're just five nations. If the whole continent works together then we might-"

"Listen!" Khoisan exclaimed loudly, startling everyone and even waking Zimbabwe up from his nap. "When you all signed those papers, you've signed your lives, your nations and your people away to the New World Order. I wouldn't say escape is impossible, but the way things are now, you can't successfully rebel without many, _many_ dying."

"It doesn't sound that different from when some of us became independent though…" Mozambique remarked quietly.

"Perhaps, but this is much worse. The Order does not tolerate betrayal or rebellion, and they'll make sure to punish troublemakers harshly to teach them a lesson." Khoisan shook his head sadly. "Just ask Western Sahara, or even better, _Igbo_ , or Biafra as he once called himself. They've tried to rebel, but they failed and suffered grave consequences for it, Igbo even more so."

Botswana's eyes widened. "The personification of Igbo's alive too?"

"Why, of course he is. He is Nigeria's family. That evil boy wouldn't let him go, especially now after what happened in the Civil War." Khoisan snorted "Who knows? Despite the Order's weapons and power, Igbo might've managed to escape and go through the hell he suffered for his rebellion if he had more support…"

Another awkward silence settled over the car, with Botswana and the others cringing as they remembered what they did during the Nigerian Civil War. Or rather, what they _didn't_ do. Oh god, they didn't support Biafra because they didn't want to support secessionist states and risk inspiring their people to rebel too, but…

"So we did nothing while a cannibalistic psychopath tormented a personification who understandably wanted to escape, thus dooming him to a terrible punishment" Zimbabwe grumbled in a depressed manner while rubbing his eyes. "Great, is there anything else you want us to feel guilty for? Because _I'm_ starting to feel really guilty..."

"Zimbabwe…" Angola hissed.

"What? I mean it. Honest!"

"Ah, no, no, don't take this the wrong way, all of you." Khoisan assured them calmly. "While all of you have done some… _bad_ things at one point in your lives and should acknowledge your wrongdoings, I'm not telling you this just to torment you. Even you most definitely _should've_ supported Igbo after the evidence of millions of Biafrans starving to death and getting mercilessly slaughtered began to show up, you didn't know that you of the true consequences of your actions."

Consequences… Then it hit Botswana, and he felt stupid for not thinking of it sooner. Wait, if Chosen knows that much, and he's been living with the real South Africa for centuries, then he had to know why South Africa turned like this, right?

"Hey, speaking of consequences, can I…" Botswana hesistated for a moment, but he shook his head. "Can I ask you something, Khoisan?"

"You're free to ask anything, boy." Khoisan nodded.

Well, here goes…

"Did we…? Um… I don't suppose we've-"

Botswana found himself interrupted by thunder of all things, flinching in surprise.

"Hey, I'm not sure if it's because I'm still drowsy but did anyone else hear thunder?" Zimbabwe asked sleepily, looking around.

"No, no… I heard it too." Namibia said.

Hearing muttering, Botswana turned to Khoisan who was staring out the window with a scowl. "Something wrong, Khoisan?"

The old man didn't answer.

"Hey, is it just me or did it suddenly get all cloudy?" Mozambique asked curiously as she peered out the window. "Like, really cloudy. I think there's a storm coming."

Botswana blinked, and was about to make a remark when his eyes went to the window, and his mouth dropped. Mozambique was right, the sky's filled with dark clouds as far as the eye could see. But it wasn't like that eariler… was it?"

"What? What do you mean, it's cloudy? There'd hardly been any clouds for…" Angola trailed off when she finally took a good look at the sky. "Hey, you're right! Since when were they there? It was sunny a few minutes ago!"

Botswana suddenly felt a chill go down his spine, and he was filled with a horrible dread. He felt terrified. Something's _wrong_.

He jumped from his seat when lightning flashed dangerously close to the car, and he heard a bird's screeching. It sounded disturbingly familiar. Botswana felt even more terrified.

"No… no…" Khoisan muttered in a panicked tone, and he grasped his bony hands together. "Everyone, brace yourselves! It may not be my specialty, but I'm going to teleport us away from here! You are all in danger!"

"What are you talking about?" Angola demanded. "Is it the storm or-"

"There is no time to explain. We need to leave, _now_."

Before anyone could even try to object, Khoisan shouted a word in a familiar language… just as the lightning struck the car, and that was last thing Botswana saw before he blacked out.

/ / / / /

Romania had teleported them to the path leading to Switzerland's house, right in an area where they could lay low in the bushes. Germany recognized this part; Switzerland's house shouldn't be any more than a few minutes away.

He had specifically requested that the Romanian teleported to somewhere near the house. Teleporting directly to the house was too risky, they'd all be trapped in limited space and who's to say Switzerland hadn't set up any traps for intruder? Germany wouldn't put it past him. No,

Despite not exactly knowing who their adversaries will be, Germany had drawn a sort of battle plan for everyone. Since they'll be outside the house, they'll try to lure their enemies (if they're not already waiting for them) to come outside where they'll 'duke it out'. Then, Egypt and Hungary will try to enter the house while the enemy's kept busy by Russia, Algeria, France, Tunisia, and Germany with Romania acting as their emergency exit.

Egypt and Hungary will go and try to free Mauritius was fast as they could before Nigeria could teleport over to them or another nation trapped them. If- When they free Mauritius, Egypt will then proceed to teleport the three of them out of the house. Once they see that the Mauritius was safe and rescued, they'll be instantly teleported before the enemy could react.

Neither Romania nor Egypt must die in the confrontation. If they do, they're all done for. Or as Romano would probably put it 'They'd be totally and royally _fucked'_. God, Germany wasn't looking forward to seeing the Italian's reaction to all this.

The success of this situation all depended on them not dying, as well as nothing going horribly wrong with the plan.

Germany took deep breaths. Alright, alright… They could do this. Don't get nervous, Germany. You're the leader, even though you didn't ask to be one. You need to keep a cool head…

"Are… you okay, Germany?"

He saw Hungary looked at him with worry. She looked a lot better since they left, but her eyes were still a little puffy from crying. Germany tried

"J-Ja, I'm fine. I'm just… I'm just stressed is all." Germany rubbed his head. "We have a decent plan, but we don't know what to expect."

"Well, that's true, but it won't do you any good if you get a migraine in the middle of a fight." Hungary smiled sympathetically. "I'm sure everything will be fine, for the most part. Let's, like, try to be positive, as Poland used to say."

Germany wished he had Poland's optimism.

Eventually they reached the end of the bushes and Germany could see Switzerland's house right in front of them, but not a single other soul was in sight.

So far, they haven't encountered any trouble, but Germany and he hoped everyone else knew better than to let their guard down. This was the New World Order they were dealing with here. You never know _what_ to expect from them.

Germany sighed at the thought. It certainly wasn't helping with his nerves.

"It's been pretty quiet, don't you think? Nothing's happened yet." Hungary whispered to them, holding her skillet closet despite bringing a firearm with her.

"Oui, too quiet," France whispered his agreement. "There's obviously something wrong here. Surely, Switzerland knows we're here."

"No shit, Sherlock, but no offense France." Romania scoffed, and he turned towards Germany with a skeptical look. "Isn't that one of the oldest tricks in the war book? Lure your enemies into their home territory, lull them into a false sense of security before jumping them and slaughter them all while they're in shock?"

"For once I agree with comrade Romania, da? It is predictable, very predictable. So we better be prepared for them when they ambush us, no?" Russia smiled serenely, although it was soon replaced by a frown. "Although, even I will admit that being here is making me feel a little… anxious. I feel that something bad is coming."

Everyone looked surprised and unnerved by Russia's words. Germany wasn't sure if he wanted to gape in shock or to groan. Oh, great. Even Russia of all people was uneasy.

France exclaimed everyone's thoughts exactly. "Mon Dieu! _Russia_ is anxious?!"

Algeria's eye twitched and she pulled France's ear. "Be _quiet_ , Francis. Do you want the enemy to hear us?!"

"Do you mind elaborating on what you mean by 'bad'?" Egypt asked this to Russia.

"Make no mistake. I fear nothing." Russia first reminded them sternly, and Germany saw in the corner of his eye that Hungary shoved her frying over Romania's face just as the blonde opened his mouth. "But I've live long enough and fought in enough wars to develop a sort of… _intuition_ when it comes to possible danger. I'm not sure how to describe it."

Germany heard Romania's muffled voice behind Hungary's frying pan. Thankfully, Russia paid him no mind.

"It shouldn't be a surprise we're all uneasy," Germany said gruffly, feeling his finger on the trigger. He felt the same way, he felt like he was in grave danger. "Remember, this is the New World Order. We can't know for sure what to expect from them. They'll obviously have a lot of tactics and tricks up their sleeves that we don't know about. While for us they no longer have the element of surprise, what they _do_ have to their advantage is our ignorance of the full extent of their capabilities."

It's part of what made them so _terrifying_.

Germany was a little dismayed to see the discomfort in his allies. Yes, he's only telling the truth, but he wasn't helping them feel any less nervous. He wondered if he should've given them a pep talk before leaving. There's just so much on his mind that…

"You don't think they're looking for us, do you?" Tunisia spoke up uneasily. "But they can't leave the house, and Mauritius, undefended, right?"

"Nein, they can't." Germany said gruffly. They're too smart to make a mistake like that.

"I wouldn't be surprised if some of them decided to go out to look for us." France glanced around warily. "My dear Cameroon has a very good nose, and I don't think I remember _showering_ yesterday..."

With a curious expression, Tunisia sniffed France before grimacing away in disgust. "I don't think we _needed_ to know that, France…"

"Yes, please take this seriously, Francis. And Egypt, is Anubis picking up on anything suspicious?" Algeria quietly asked Egypt.

Egypt looked at said dog or whatever it really was, and petted its (his?) head. "Anubis, are you sensing anything?"

Almost as if on cue, Anubis shot up and began growling. Germany almost took a step back out of fear, mostly because it's growling at _him_.

"Egypt, do you mind telling me why your dog is growling at me?" Germany asked while trying not to feel intimidated by the dog's snarl.

Egypt glanced back at forth between Germany and Anubis, and he frowned deeply. "No, there's something wrong here…"

"Da, you are right. There is something amiss… It feels similar to when the General…" Russia's eyes widened as he trailed off. "Wait a minute…"

"Why the hell do I suddenly a little queasy? Did someone…" Romania's expression suddenly contorted in fury in Germany's direction, and his hands went alight in fire as he yelled, " _Cacat!_ Germany, jump out of the way!"

Years of battle instincts drilled into him helped compel Germany to immediately do as he was told without question. He dived to the ground as if he discovered there's a grenade near him and landed face-first in the grass. He then heard fire crackling, Romania yelling something in his native language and… someone crying out in pain?

Germany quickly rolled over and sat back up to see what's going on. What he saw… wasn't something he'd expect to see.

In front of him was… Actually, Germany wasn't sure what it was. It looked like some kind of hairy gremlin, a really _ugly_ one at that, writhing in pain on the ground while suffering from the burns Romania's fire inflicted on him.

Germany was stuck staring at the… thing, until suddenly the gremlin(?) jumped back to its feet and gave a horrible scream. Just when he was going for his gun, the creature spat at him and ran off into the bushes.

"Allah above!" Algeria exclaimed in horror as she backed away from the creature. "What was that thing? A demon?!"

"Oui, just what on Earth was that?!" France gasped. "It's hideous!"

"Oh, come on, it's not that ugly, at least compared to _you_."

Germany's eyes went wide at the familiar voice, and he looked around frantically until he finally spotted the voice's owner, South Africa, sitting on a tree branch right behind him.

South Africa looked exactly the same as Germany remembered him, with dark spiky hair, brown eyes, light brown skin representing the diversity of his nation, and wearing his usual clothing. However, what's different was that now the rainbow nation was wearing a devious smirk that Germany's never seen on him before, and there's cruelty in his eyes. This was the real South Africa.

Germany reached for his gun, and quietly took it out while eyeing his surroundings. Where were the others?

"What a pity, really. I was really _hoping_ at least _one_ of you would end up cursed or killed by the _tokoloshe_." South Africa lamented with a pout. "It's an evil spirit from back home, see. But I guess I underestimated you all. And I guess _should've_ known you would've brought that _dog_ with you. How are you by the way, Anubis? You look less impressive than last time."

Anubis barked ferociously at the rainbow nation.

South Africa grinned widely. "Oh, you're too kind."

"South Africa…" Egypt snarled alongside his pet dog.

South Africa directed his smirk at Egypt, and he cheerfully waved at him. "Yo, Egypt! It's been a while, hasn't it? How's it going back in Cairo? Did they finish with the body count yet?"

Germany had to flinched when Egypt suddenly became the angriest he's ever seen him in years, with lightning beginning to crackle from his hands. He decided that right now was a good time to intervene before South Africa could goad him again.

"Enough, South Africa! Where are the others?" Germany demanded. "Are they hiding here with you?"

"Eish, how rude, Germany. This is the first you've seen the real me, and you don't even offer a _hallo_." South Africa exclaimed dramatically, and he let himself fall so he could hang upside down from the branch, smirk still in place. "It hurts my non-existent heart!"

Germany wanted to groan. Why did he think he was going to get any answers from the enemy?

"Rude? I believe you have no right to tell us that we're being rude." Russia retorted with his trademark smile on his face and pipe in his hands. "Now, how about you sing like canary before we make you sing, da? I would _hate_ to hurt a dear old friend…"

South Africa stared at Russia blankly, before the same smirk slowly made its way to his face again. "Aw, how sweet. Well, if you _really_ want to know, you'll be happy to know that you'll be getting the answer in three… two…"

Germany instantly knew what this all meant. "Everyone get down-!"

"…one."

As soon as the last word was uttered, all hell broke loose.

 **Finally managed to update weekly again! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review if you have a minute.**


	72. Justice: The Storm Part I

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, vexey1999, and NadiaJA627 for reviewing. Now, on with the show!**

France had imagined a multitude of scenarios of how he'd meet Cameroon and Morocco again, and how they'd react to him showing up… completely snake-free.

He had imagined they'd be angry or at least disappointed to see him up, (somewhat) recovered and not writing in pain somewhere as the snake ate away at his insides. Oh yes, they'd be very upset to see him… mostly alright. France even remembered that Morocco seemed to have liked that damn snake, his former colony won't be happy to find out that Romania killed it as soon as it was removed from him.

He had imagined that they'd immediately try to kill for daring to be in one piece. No, not permanently, they'd made it painfully (oh, _very_ painfully) clear that they intended to prolong his suffering as much as they could. Well, unless of course, America really did come through with his word that he'll try to arrange for France to have a less painful demise.

…But then again, they probably wouldn't be very happy if that happened, no?

He had imagined they'd be focusing on hurting him more than the others, if they'll be truly be that angry. He was sort of banking on that honestly, despite what he promised to Seychelles and Monaco, anything to allow Egypt and Hungary to rescue his boy.

What did happen was… sort of what he had expected, but not completely.

As soon as South Africa finished counting, a puff of smoke exploded in front of Egypt, revealing a grinning Nigeria waving his hand in greeting. Morocco suddenly materialized behind his siblings, smiling as always. Switzerland came out of hiding, aiming his firearm at him…

And Cameroon jumped down from out of nowhere, landing right in front of France, who miraculously managed not to shriek in spite of his poor heart nearly stopping.

 _"Bonjour, frère France."_ Cameroon greeted mockingly with a glare full of pure and utter hatred.

France swallowed. "B-Bonjour, Camerun…"

No one moved, not even the enemy. And while France didn't blame them, he could do without the disdainful looks Morocco and Cameroon were giving him. Oh, France knew they wouldn't take his recovery well…

"Well? What are you all waiting for?" Russia asked expectantly, for once not smiling. "Do any of you have something to say? Because it would've much more convenient for you five to take advantage of the confusion and try to kill us all rather than bother for pleasantries. No one should make a foolish mistake."

"Well, well, for once you're right." Switzerland said mockingly. "Looks like you have something in that head of yours aside from vodka after all."

"Switzerland!" Germany barked, furiously storming towards him. "What have you done with-"

"Ah-Ah, I'm not talking to you. Whatever bullshit you want to spit out, save it for when they've gotten what they want." Switzerland snapped coldly, waving his gun towards the four Africans. "And then I'll dispose of you and the harlot there for what you both did. But in the meantime, I'll just ignore you and shoot anybody who pisses me off or tries anything funny."

"Nein, I will _not_ save it." Germany snarled that was intimidating enough to make France gulp. "You have a _lot_ to answer for, Switzerland."

Switzerland rolled his eyes. "And I do not answer to _you_. So what do I care?"

"Not even when it has to do with Lili?" Germany countered bitterly, and Switzerland _froze_. "Or did she matter as little to you as your neutrality did?"

"Now, now, Germany, let's not get ahead of ourselves." Morocco gently admonished, smiling pleasantly as always, although France noted that the smile looked rather _forced_. "Surely someone as shrewd and smart as you can realize that it'd be… _unwise_ to anger the person who, for all you know, holds the fate of poor little Liechtenstein in his hands."

Oh dear, he brought up a good point.

France sweatdropped and glanced back to Germany, appeared to have realized this too. After a moment of looking conflicted, he gritted his teeth and said nothing.

"Danke, Morocco." Switzerland said coolly.

"You're welcome." Morocco replied cheerfully.

"Ja, now, why don't you just get your little interrogation over and done with so I can start blasting these Dummköpfe's heads off?

"Yes, let's," Morocco dropped his smile and glared at France, who frowned and did his best not to gulp nervously. "So you really _have_ recovered from your punishment. All that fun, all that time spent carving our hatred into your memory, seeing you look so helpless… and you get right back on your feet the next day. Shame, I was very much relishing the thought that you'd be bedridden with your organs slowly being eaten away for days at best."

France's frown deepened. It was alarming to see Morocco genuinely angry, but he felt no fear. "You don't look very surprised to see me, Rahim."

"Oh, we all knew you'd come. As pathetic as you are, you wouldn't pass up the chance to rescue little _Maurice_. Besides, we were also told about your _recovery_ " Morocco spoke that last word almost mockingly, and he sighed. "What a damn shame. And I was so pleased knowing that you were in a bed or on the floor somewhere, unable to do anything."

"Well, I was unable to do anything, but that certainly wasn't the case for the others. I didn't want to be stuck with that little beast inside of me." France began saying a little awkwardly, still a little anxious. "So I… got help."

Morocco's glare became even more venomous. "As we can all clearly see. And the cute little snake?"

"It dies after it was removed from my organs."

"Oh. What a pity…"

The snake dying or the snake no longer being inside France?

"But even so, how did you recover so quickly?" Morocco demanded coldly, the rage becoming more and more evident. France didn't think he could ever be more glad that he convinced Seychelles not to come with them. "We ripped out your liver, cut you from the inside, and put a snake inside of you. You couldn't have recovered from all that in a way. I can even see the tiredness in your eyes."

"Uh, da, you can blame me for that." Romania offered the North African a sly grin, tipping his hat. "I helped heal France and removed the little snake from his organs, but if it makes you feel any better, it sure took a while. I would've finished quicker if I didn't have such a cruddy assistant though."

 _"I was trying my best!"_ Tunisia exclaimed in indignation in the background.

Morocco snapped his head towards his brother with a blank look, and Tunisia shrank and took a step back in fear. France felt compelled to step protectively in front of Tunisia. They could hurt France, even do what they did what in Paris no matter how much it hurt and traumatized him, but leave his good ex-colonies out of it.

To his surprise, Morocco ended up saying nothing, and then he smiled cheerfully at Romania. "So _you_ were the one who erased all our work… No matter, you will pay dearly for interfering later. We have an important matter to discuss with France before we begin."

Wait, what? France stared at them incredulously. "We do?"

What was there to discuss? Oh dear, they weren't going to ask about Haiti's diary, were they? Nigeria had the same magic as Haiti, right? Did _he_ know what the secret behind the diary was? Should France ask? But what if Nigeria wanted it back for Haiti? France left it with his girls, despite the possible danger of the old thing. If they asked where it was, then they might-

France was abruptly snapped from his panicked thoughts when Algeria put her arm in front. "A-Algerie! What are you-"

"Unless you intend on apologizing to France for that horrible torture you inflicted on him or for bringing shame on our family, then I think there's notice to discuss." Algeria stated in colder manner than France would've liked, and crossed her arms. "We didn't come here for a chat, Rahim."

Morocco stared at his sister evenly, before his lips curled up in an eerie smile. "You should watch your tongue, Khalida. We have no patience to listen to the empty threats of a woman whose bark is just as pitiful as her bite. Besides, we only wish to talk…"

"And I'd really appreciate it if we get on with it." Switzerland grumbled impatiently. "I want all of you out of my country, dead or alive, as soon as possible."

"Not until you tell me what you did to Liechtenstein." Germany said angrily.

"ALRIGHT!" France found himself shouting in a effort"There's… There's no need for violence… at least not yet. I'll listen to what you have to say. Let's have a small chat, Cam."

Cameroon's expression became almost feral in rage. Was… using Cameroon's old nickname not a smart choice?

"We want answers for what you did, France." Cameroon stated coldly.

France was immediately puzzled. "Eh?"

Cameroon then gave him the same glare filled with ire that France saw back in Paris. Suddenly his stomach ached. "Don't play ignorant with us, _France_. You should know what we are referring to. America already told Chris and Adigun everything, and they told us in return. And we demand answers from you."

Ah… That… France felt kind of stupid for not realizing it earlier.

"Is… Is this really necessary?" Romania asked skeptically, scratching. "I mean, what is there to-

"There _is_ , European. Now shut up and let us get on with it." Cameroon growled impatiently, much to Romania's 'Wow, _rude_!' in the background. "And attempt to sneak away while we are speaking, and I promise you that there _will_ be consequences…"

Before anyone could possibly object and cause things to get out of hand, France spoke up. "A-Alright, you have my full attention, Cameroun. W-What is it that you want to ask? I… I mean, I doubt America would leaving anything unclear to you and he did he say that he was going to-"

"Why did you do it?" Cameroon cut in, not even bothering to let France finish.

France blinked, puzzled once again. _"…Quoi?"_

"What I just said, you repulsive European swine. Why did you do it? Why did you go call America and tell him about England's so-called plan to nuke him and the others?"

"I…" France faltered, despite his mind screaming at him to just answer so that Cameroon won't get impatient and hurt someone. "Didn't… Amerique tell any of you why I did it?"

"Oh, he did. He told me all about it. In fact, I think he's going to tell _everyone_ about it." South Africa said not so happily, before glaring right at France. "And eish, I could hardly believe my ears. Against all rhyme or reason, he vouched and stood up for _you_. You, a slimy embarrassment of a man who's tried to use him again and again, who supposedly was so concerned about 'innocent lives' that he's willing to even save _us_."

France felt just stunned at what he was hearing. "Amerique did that…? For me?"

America really wanted to such lengths for _him_?

He really did come through with his promise. Well, France wasn't sure if he should've been doubtful or not of America's words, and mercy didn't matter all that much to him as long as his family were spared. But… the thought warmed his heart nonetheless. Maybe America was different from the others…

"I know. We were all just as shocked as you are." Morocco snarled, as if he couldn't believe America would bother defending someone like _France_. "But that's not even the most shocking thing we were told. He wants _us_ to give you mercy. He's going to try to convince the bosses to order _us_ to not torture you as much as we had planned to.

"All because you warned him of a danger that's no danger at all. There was never any danger in the first place, so why…?" Cameroon muttered, and his expression almost became pained as he gripped his head. As if the confusion was becoming too much for him. "I… I just don't _understand_. What did you say to him to convince him to believe you? No one can lie to his face."

It was at this that France realized that Cameroon and the others believed that he wasn't genuine with his good intentions, and it _hurt_ more than he'd admit. "I didn't do anything! I only spoke the truth and begged America to do something about it before I found out that he already had countermeasure for such a situation!"

"If you didn't, then why? Why did you do it?!" Cameroon demanded, storming up to him.

France fought the urge to shrink at Cameroon's piercing glare and stood his ground. "I already told Alfred why I did it! If America vouched for me, and it's near-impossible to lie to him, then why do you doubt me so much?"

"Because it makes no sense," South Africa was the one who responded with a dry tone of a voice. "You have every reason to do nothing and just let it happen. Isn't that how you've always did it all your life? You fish in troubled waters, try to make yourself look good. Has that ever changed, even in recent years? It could be true goal, and you might not even know it."

France bit his lip. Him being greedy without even realizing it? No, it couldn't be, that's ridiculous. They weren't there when he spoke to America. There wasn't a single trace of selfishness, arrogance, self-righteousness and greed in a single one of his words. What he did, was the for the sake of the world, nothing more.

But he couldn't really blame them for thinking that.

"You know, you're all very much like ungrateful children." "You'd think someone would at least show a little appreciation

Surprisingly, it was Germany who came to his defense. "Things are changing, South Africa, not just the 'World Order'. If France had done nothing, you'd all probably come to the conclusion we all approved of England's action, or at least did nothing to stop him. All of you would just kill us all and even our people in retaliation! Either way, he meant well."

Cameroon turned his glare to Germany, growling, "What do _you_ know of good intentions? You are only a fool destined to cause your own suffering."

Germany flinched, but refused to say anything.

"You know, I've just realized I haven't given my two-cents about all this. Also, this is getting kind of tedious." Switzerland deadpanned, looking quite bored with the whole thing. "And I think I'm siding with France on this one."

The four Africans snapped their heads toward him in surprise, Morocco and Cameroon especially looked furious. "What?"

"Like Germany said, if France hadn't done anything, and England went ahead with his cockamamie plan, we would've let him have it. So there is self-preservation involved." Switzerland reasoned, before narrowing his eyes. "And it's certainly a hell lot more believable than your theory that Egypt or some other nation is controlling America."

"…E-Excuse me?" France stuttered, gaping in disbelief.

Controlling America? Were they serious?

The others ignored him, and Nigeria glanced at Egypt, "Well, what do _you_ have to say to that?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Egypt yelled indignantly, offended at the accusation. "I _abhor_ that kind of magic! I know nothing of it, and my mother never bothered to tell me anything about it."

"I know a few hexes, nothing special. I just use them for fun... mostly." Romania averted his eyes when Hungary shot him a suspicious look. "I really doubt I can do that to someone like America. Besides, I've heard he can be pretty _nasty_ with those voodoo dolls. So even I wanted to, which I don't, I'd rather not risk pissing him off."

The four of them stared at the two, scrutinizing them. France had to admit that he felt a little relieved that he's not being the target of their murderous glares for the time being. But that's hardly important.

"So do you acknowledge that Amerique accepted, albeit with some difficulty, that I had no ulterior motives and saw I truly didn't want anyone to be nuked?" France dared asked hopefully with an uneasy smile. They couldn't be that stubborn, could they?

Of course, he found himself as the center of attention again, and not in a flattering way as he'd prefer.

"Hm…" Cameroon seemed to mutter about something before regarding France with a cold look. "There's no point in talking anymore. Chris, may we proceed?"

…What?

"Ja, we may." South Africa nodded, smile returning to his face, before glancing at Switzerland. "Ah, but Switzerland, do you have anything to say to Germany?"

Switzerland scowled and stared long and hard at Germany, who was looking back at him expectantly. "Nein, I don't. Let's get this over with."

"Very well, then!" South Africa said in a suddenly cheerful manner, and he clapped his hands. "Dankie very much for holding a semi-civil conversation with us, but now it's time for the fun to begin! Let's fight!

/ / / / /

The Baron was hardly any upset over the fucking disappointing conclusion of his recent battle.

On the contrary, while the mutt proved to be quite tiresome, it was fun hearing him howl in pain. It was a fun battle, especially when he was winning.

And the damn fact that he now had another fucking request to fulfill, one where he had a lot more freedom to spill blood for his own amusement, helped brighten his mood. Why, he felt just as excited as when he arrived here to kill those cunts. Slaughtering the humans were one of his favorite activities when he wasn't tending to his duties.

More importantly, the British man needed to answer for his… crime. No one loudly boasted of soon killing the family of the spirits's favorite devotee and got away with it. Baron Kriminel will punish him accordingly.

But the fact still stood that these Egyptian gods will be troublesome obstacles in Haiti and his allies' goals if the boy, Egypt, ever decided to call upon their help to unleash them on the mortal world. While Kriminel wasn't by any means weaker than the Egyptian god of death, he did know he would stand no chance against the other gods if they decided to band together for their nation.

Even that old sun bird, Ra, might easily obliterate him. If all the Loa families banded together, including the _missing_ one, the odds could easily tilt in their favor.

He hoped that fucking Frenchman will have an 'accident' will the book soon too.

Well, certainly Haiti had a damn good plan for that. For now, he had a job to do.

"Ah, there you are…" Baron Kriminel smirked, brandishing his sword. "You may not be France, but this will be just as gratifying. Think of it also as revenge on Nigeria's behalf."

The look on the European's face was priceless.

/ / / / /

"I had always known you were somewhat twisted…" Russia mused with a big smiled directed towards South Africa, who was smiling right back at him. "But I never imagined I'd be to such a large extent."

While all the chaos went about around them, Russia went forth with his priority of targeting South Africa specifically, and he was more than pleased to see that he was seemingly waiting for him. Russia kept his pipe ready behind his back. Act or not, South Africa was quite a tricky man…

South Africa had more of an air of cruelty around him now that that his true nature had been revealed, and he seemed a lot more at ease to the point of being eerily calm with everything, even with what was happening. Then there's how he hasn't shown an ounce of fear before Russia. Of course, it vexed Russia to see this, but he's sure that all that bravado will crumble once Russia reminded him who he was dealing with.

South Africa had the nerve to smirk. "Scared of the bigger monster, Ivan?"

Russia giggled. As if he knew what a real monster was. "Now, where would you get _that_ idea? I am hardly feeling anything resembling fear."

"Oh, but I _can_ smell your fear, Ivan. You feel _threatened_." South Africa said darkly, tilting his head. "You've always been so confident in yourself, so sure of your success in having everyone become with you, but why? Because of your extreme willingness to play dirty regardless of how the nations will condemn you put you at an advantage. Because you felt so sure of your position at the top of the world was guaranteed once you found a way to destroy America. And most of all, because everyone feared you and what you were capable of…"

Russia's smile broadened into a toothy grin. Oh, he's going to enjoy pummeling him. "I admit, everything what you've said was mostly true.

"But it is completely true! You are much like a dictator, Ivan. Just like with your boss and the country, you try to govern the nations through fear and displays of power. But just like your boss and back during the Cold War, you secretly have the paranoia and the fear of some tangible and immeasurable or in some cases imaginative entities will upset your power. You killed your own people and threatened your 'friends', allies and even family out of fear that they'll turn against you and you'll lose ground. Oh, but please, feel me to stop me if I'm wrong…"

South Africa shrugged, smiling mockingly as he offered Russia a chance to speak for himself. But instead Russia opted to come up with ways of how to make South Africa eat his words via his trusty pipe.

"And now all your power and reputation is being threatened by us. You think of us as America multiplied by the dozens." South Africa laughed, which now sounded like one of the most horribly grating sounds imaginable. "You don't _hate_ America. You're _terrified_ of him. And now you're aware that that whole ditzy blonde thing just an act and that he's a hell of a lot smarter than any of you could fathom. I imagine it must've taken a lot of effort to not piss your pants."

"You cannot assume how I reacted when I learned that" Russia responded coldly, gripping his pipe tightly to rein in his anger. "I always knew there was a lot more to that idiot than what he let on. I wasn't surprised to see he had played the others for fools…"

He just didn't anticipate that America had _him_ fooled.

"Oh, Ivan, we both know that's bullshit. It's obvious that you're afraid, and with good reason. You've found that there's dozens of us who's a lot more than they appear." South Africa grinned slyly, hands on his hips. "We're not afraid of you, Ivan. We're all stronger than you. And most importantly, we all managed to play you like a fiddle. If that's not enough to shiver in your boots, then I don't know what will."

"Perhaps you are not afraid because you think too highly of yourself." "I would say that you are all no bark and no bite, but I will give you credit for getting most of the continent of Africa under your control in a day, despite your embarrassing failure

South Africa raised an eyebrow at that, but otherwise made no comment.

"Even so, I think you should really watch that mouth of yours, boy." Russia warned him. "Didn't your bosses ever teach you good manners?"

"You act as if my bosses ever really had any power over me." South Africa scoffed, unimpressed. "But if you ask me, I think you're the one who's more bark than bite."

"Is that so?"

" _Ja_ , I mean it." Then suddenly all the cheerful cruelty vanished from South Africa, leaving with glaring at Russia coldly. "Go ahead; think you're the world's worst monster, a mad genius, the future king of the world, that you've been through it all or whatever that rotten brain of yours comes up with. In the end, you're going to get a bitter taste of _reality_."

The rainbow nation laughed again, taunting Russia, which wasn't helping his blood boil any less.

South Africa showed a manic smirk and put his hand over his heart. "But me? I'm **HATRED** personified. I represent the never-ending hatred between races and the unnecessary cruelty and bloodshed that comes with it. I revel in it all! Try as you might, but **_you can't make me go away_**. I'll live, one way or another. But I'm not going to get beaten by the likes of _you_."

He chuckled ominously, and got into a fighting position, the smirk never leaving his face.

"So come on, show me what _your_ definition of terror is. I dare you. Whatever you have in mind, I can do _much_ worse."

/ / / / /

"Oh dear… Well, isn't this quite the conundrum?" Switzerland mused nonchalantly more to himself than to the two nations surrounding him, as if to him they were hardly _there_. "What to do… What to do… I just _don't fucking know_ …"

Yet even so, he kept firing a storm of bullets at them. Germany already got one bullet to his left hand and about two or three grazed his knee. Curse Switzerland's good aim. and Switzerland was completely unscathed. It's almost as if they've been completely prepared…

He then realized that this was most likely the case. Germany and the others were, for the most part, a little out of practice. How many times have they really fought aside from petty squabbles in meetings, instances of self-defense, and sometimes accompanying their soldiers into whatever war they were involved in? The members of the Order have had centuries to prepare and give themselves an advantage.

Germany gritted his teeth and looked around him, at his allies. Hungary was hiding behind a tree next to him, ready to bolt out with Egypt as they agreed to on the plan. As for Egypt himself, he was still trying to get away from Nigeria, who's been attacking him since this all started, thus preventing them from initiating that part of the plan.

But Germany had figured that something like this would happen, that Egypt would be targeted and constantly enduring attempts to end his life. So, he had told Romania to back Egypt up in case that problem arose. And Romania was currently working on it, but while Nigeria was dealing with two nations, he still had most of his attention on Egypt.

"We have the two little shits responsible for turning my little bitch of a sister against me, but I have no idea who to _kill_ _first_ , or at least _torture_. I hate both of you equally" Switzerland's voice was dripping with hatred. "Hungary's the only one of you two that's under the 'do not kill' category, but I guess I'll settle for making you _wish_ you were dead.

Hungary's lip curled up in disgust. "I don't _want_ any _protection_ from Austria. He can go-"

She shrieked and ducked as the bullets flew over her head.

"Listen up, you ungrateful harlot." Switzerland snapped, walking out from his spot. "The only reason you're still alive is because of Austria. The only reason why you've survived is because of Austria. The only reason because you've been doing well is thanks to Austria making sure things went well for you… for the most part. And as everyone and everything around you dies, you'll survive thanks to him!"

He fired many more bullets, and Germany had to wonder how many guns or packs of bullets Switzerland had brought with him.

But anyway, Germany wondered if Prussia had ever helped him the way Austria had supposedly helped Hungary. Of course, if what Switzerland was saying was true. Germany hoped that everything he did was himself and himself alone, but at this point, he just wasn't sure…

"I always knew you were a waste of space and time. I knew under that veneer of charm you had, you're just as worthless as the humans!" Switzerland kept screaming angrily. "And I was right! You manipulated my sister to help you with your little scheme. You're a rotten witch! From the bottom of my heart, I hope you do something that'll _allow_ me to kill you for good!"

Speaking of Liectehnstein, Germany had realized that he ahd forgotten about her, and he felt a pang of guilt. But instead of berating himself, he used the opportunity to finally get the answers he wanted. "Switzerland! Where _is_ Liechtenstein? What have you done to her?!

"You'll never know!" Switzerland roared at him. "Neither of you _deserve_ to know! Both of you turned my little sister against me and convinced her to betray me. I bet it was so easy to do, considering how excruciatingly naïve she is."

Dammit. Well, that ended in failure. How the hell was he going to make Switzerland-

Germany nearly jumped when Egypt finally came in, his shoulder… _smoking_ while a growling Anubis arrived with him. "I-I apologize for taking so long. Nigeria-"

"There's no need apologize and there's no time for it! You two, go while Romania and I cover you." Germany cut him off hastily as Switzerland kept firing and firing. "The sooner we get this done, the fucking better!

Egypt rubbed his scorched shoulder and glanced at him worriedly. "But are you sure you'll be alright?"

"J-Ja! Just… Just go while you still can!"

"But Anubis can-"

"Ja, I have no doubt your god- I mean dog- I mean whatever your dog really is can take on the other Africans!" Germany shouted and a shot a few more rounds before turning towards the two again. "But for all we know, those five have laid traps for you at the house! You need your dog to help surivive! You agreed to the plan didn't you? Then get the hell out of here and get Mauritius out of that house so we can all leave before anyone gets killed permanently!"

He made sure to his most 'terrifyingly commanding voice' as Japan once put it get rid of any reluctance they had, and it appeared to work. Egypt nodded and dashed off. Hungary bit her lip, reluctant to leave him behind, before she followed suit.

Good, good…

Yes, good… That's Germany thought before Cameroon appeared in front of him.

"C-Cameroon…" Shit, he should've gotten someone to watch his back.

" _Allegmane_ , you are _mine_." Cameroon stated darkly while crackling his knuckles, getting closer to them with every step. "Both of my accursed former tormentors, both at the same time and place… The gods smile at me today. I will spare Prussia the pain and time of killing you."

Germany tried not to scowl at the mention of his brother, and focused on his other priority. "Where is Liechtenstein?"

Cameroon had the audacity to smirk. "You wish to receive answers? You mistake me for someone generous."

Perhaps he did, Germany scowled. "Will I have to beat it out of you then?"

"You are free to try…" Cameroon said blankly before staring off in the direction where Hungary and Egypt had ran off, appearing almost smug. "But you have as much chance of defeating me as those two have of getting."

Germany immediately narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Look up."

Reluctantly, Germany spared a glance at the sky, but when he did, he was perplexed.

Was it always so cloudy?

/ / / / /

This was going to be a lot harder than Hungary thought.

"Watch out!" Egypt had barely managed to shout before they narrowly avoided getting their heads chomped off.

Granted, she knew this was by no means going to be easy or even mildly difficult, but Hungary didn't factor in the ginormous man-eating birds into the mix. How was she supposed to know that the Order had these things? Hungary didn't have any experience with the supernatural except for the bloodsucker's hijinks. How was she supposed to do this?!

Not even three steps out into the field, and Hungary almost found herself getting struck by lightning for the first time in her long life. Egypt pulled her back in the bushes just in time, but Hungary still felt a little weak in the knees. Oh, but that was nothing compared to when she looked up at the sky and saw the real cause of the sudden change of weather. You won't _believe_ what it was.

She felt her eyes go completely wide. Up in the sky, the suddenly dark cloudy sky, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed as at least FIVE ginormous birds with black and white plumage circling around the house, screeching with their wings flashing with lightning. Hungary spotted one of the birds flying near where they were, and she noticed that it was looking straight at them. It let out a piercing screech and flew away back to the other birds.

Hungary was completely dumbfounded, and admittedly a little frightened. She wasn't used to shooting animals it the sky, and they're way too high for her to pummel them

"Wha… What are those things?" Hungary stared at them in horror. "I… I've never seen anything like them."

"Supernatural creatures." Egypt responded grimy from beside her.

Hungary glared at him for a moment, before she reminded herself to focus. "No, I _know_ , but… which ones?"

Egypt narrowed his eyes, "Hold on, let me ask Anubis."

Blinking, realizing she's kind of forgotten about the dog, Hungary saw that Anubis was growling at the birds. She really doubted it's because he thought they were potential food. If anything, he looked so pissed off that Hungary actually felt pretty scared.

Thankfully, Egypt finally answered her question about the birds.

"Those creatures are South Africa's, they originate from there. They have various names, but they're essentially lightning birds." Egypt briskly informed her, becoming a little pale. "Very dangerous according to Anubis, with an insatiable thirst for blood and suffering, they're even thought of as vampire birds."

Hungary wanted to groan. "Great. As if Romania wasn't enough…"

"I'm not finished." Egypt said, and Hungary sighed. Of course he wasn't. "They serve as the familiars of witches, so that obviously explains their presence here. They are the size of adult humans. It can also manifest itself as lightning. They can shoot lightning from their talons and the flapping of its wings is the supposedly the source of thunder. They also seem to have a habit of disguising themselves as handsome young men to seduce others and drink their blood, so if you see someone like that, I recommend running away.

"Yes, very fascinating, Egypt…" Hungary's eye twitched at the slightly unnecessary info dump. "So, how do we kill them?"

Egypt glanced at Anubis for a moment, before appearing to focus on something, then his expression relaxed. "Fire. Fire is the only way to kill them. They are otherwise immortal, and can even outlive their masters. They cannot be shot, stabbed, drowned or poisoned. So, fire is how we will defeat them and get across."

"Fire, huh?" Hungary said as she looked up at the birds still circling the sky. "Then can I assume you and Anubis can cast fire? Please tell me at least one of you can."

Anubis barked loudly at her, and Egypt petted its head. "He says that he would appreciate it if you didn't underestimate its abilities. But to answer your question, yes, we can. However, since you are the most vulnerable to them, I recommend that we cover you while you go on ahead to the house."

Hungary had to frown at the idea. They were supposed to go in the house together. There'll be a better chance of her getting Mauritius out of there that way.

"I have a better idea." A new voice announced, and both Hungary and Egypt tensed. "How about I kill the both of you?"

Immediately after that was said, a flash appeared and Egypt was sent flying face-first into the ground, burns in his back. Hungary gasped and looked

"You'll never get pass the _impundulu_ , they'll tear you to shreds or fry you before you can!" Nigeria snarled as he approached them, fists aflame. "Not even that god of yours can guarantee your victory! You'll never take what is ours!"

Egypt lifted himself off the ground, cursed and nodded towards Hungary. "I'll take care of this. GO! Anubis, protect her and kill those birds with your underworld fire!"

Hungary didn't waste time objecting and made a run for it as fast as she could, with Anubis woofing and following after her. She heard rumbling and looked up to see that the lightning birds were now all staring at her, marking her as a target. Swallowing, she tried to shrug it off and just focus on running.

Okay, okay… So she has to survive getting electrocuted or pecked to death by a bunch of human-sized lightning birds with only an Egyptian god of death protecting her. This didn't sound so bad. She just needed to not die, let Anubis take care of them, and get in the house as quickly as she could. And maybe try to find if Liechtenstein was somewhere in there, even if it's just her corpse…

…How hard could it be?

/ / / / /

In the midst of the confusion, Tunisia had tried to do his best.

Once the chaos had begun, Algeria immediately dashed towards their smiling brother Morocco, who had been completely unfazed that their sister was going to attack him, but before she could even get a shot, she was set upon by Cameroon. Tunisia, naturally, went to her aid.

As much as he loathed to admit it, Tunisia was sort of glad that he didn't have to face Morocco now, even though he'll probably…

Unfortunately, Cameroon might be too much even for the both of them working together. The large nation To the point that, to Tunisia's horror and anger, Cameroon kicked her right in the stomach, causing her to cough and fall to her knees.

But then Cameroon caught him by the collar, and it all went downhill from there. Tunisia struggled as Cameroon raised him up by the shirt, even giving him a slap for good measure.

"L-Let me go!" Tunisia cried out.

"I think not. Morocco wants you only _relatively_ uninjured." Cameroon had stated, giving a cruel smile. "You are durable enough to survive what I'm about to do, so I believe he would agree to this. So please do try not to bite your tongue upon impact."

As soon as that was said, Tunisia was raised even higher and Cameroon turned his head towards his left. Quickly the horrifying realization of what Cameroon intended to do dawned on Tunisia, and he frantically shook his head while trying to get the large nation to release him. But his efforts earned him nothing, and he could only look on in horror as Cameroon then literally _threw_ him across the area.

Aside from that, all Tunisia remembered was Algeria screaming, the pain hitting his skull, then his vision being engulfed by darkness.

He wasn't sure if it was just the impact or perhaps the concussion he likely had, but Tunisia wasn't sure how much time he had lost. Even so, he kept hearing all the noise and shouting in the background, even Algeria's voice…

However, as if Allah granted some mercy to his unworthy soul, when Tunisia woke up, or returned to reality, he didn't feel that bad for someone who just got thrown by an unbelievably strong man. Guess he should be thankful it wasn't America who did it or he'd probably just be splattered guts on a tree… Sure, he felt sluggish, but at least he didn't feel like throwing up or anything that'd stop him from coming back to Algeria…

Unless the gross puddle beside him was his vomit… Oh…

Wait, Algeria!

Tunisia's heavy eyes snapped wide open at the realization, and he resisted the urge to palm his forehead and risk causing himself further damage. He hastily tried to get back on his feet, though he ended up stumbling a little and he still felt a little nauseous, but he managed to stand up anyway…

Only to find himself face to face with a stranger standing way too close to his face for comfort.

Still shaken from what happened with Cameroon, Tunisia let out a shriek and jumped away from the unknown person. He searched for his handgun, but he paled when he recalled that he dropped it before Cameroon picked him up and hurled him across the forest.

Panic welled up within him, but then Tunisia heard _laughter_. Confused, he looked up at the stranger

Tunisia's then felt his heart nearly stop once he got a good look at the stranger's appearance, and he tried not to choke. The stranger was a young man, around his physical age no doubt, dressed in some sort of tradition or tribal wear, and he was beautiful. W-Well, at least to someone like Tunisia. But he was beautiful… really beautiful…

A-Allah above! How dare he have these sinful thoughts! E-Even though the stranger really was beautiful than _anyone_ Tunisia had ever met, and he was a man to top it all off, Tunisia mustn't forget his vows! But… gah… _What's going on?_

Who was this stranger? And what's he doing here? Was he a human? He almost looked too pretty to be human, but he had to be a human…

He even resembled Morocco a little. W-Well, not so much with their faces but with the way both their hair were medium-length and had the same color of eyes and… He should stop talking now, shouldn't he?

Hastily pushing back those thoughts, Tunisia tried not to visibly gag at his own disgustingness and turned his attention back to the young man so as to not appear rude. However, as soon as he did, he felt himself crumble horribly. Allah, he felt so embarrassed….

His eyes darted back and forth between his shoes and the stranger, at a loss what to do, but Tunisia was then struck with awe. This beautiful young man was _smiling_ at him. B-But not in a normal, polite way, no, but in a way that made Tunisia's heart flutter. No one's ever smiled at him like _that_ before...

The flurry of emotions inside of him did not help things at all, and Tunisia found himself a little tongue-tied. He wouldn't be surprised if he was red in the face, but it wasn't his fault! Or was it really? He didn't know. But he's never… He had no… He's never been in a situation like this before, where someone so pretty (and _male_ ) was looking and smiling at him in a way no one had ever done before.

What was he supposed to do? This almost seemed too good to be true… W-Wait! How could he assume the stranger would be as sinful as him? For all he knew, Tunisia was his perverted mind's wishful thinking! Yes, that's it! It's all in his mind!

I-In fact, he should start asking the important questions. And Algeria… He had to get back to Algeria!

"U-Um… Salam…?" Tunisia greeted lamely, but at least he barely stuttered. "Wh-Who are you? What are you… doing here?"

The stranger simply kept smiling and tilted his head, as if puzzled by the question. Instead of answering, he began to slowly approach Tunisia, smile never dimming.

Tunisia took a wary step back. "What are you doing?"

The stranger's smile broadened and he spread his arms out, as if he intended to embrace Tunisia. He tried not to think about how it briefly felt a little tempting.

N-No, something's not right here…! He needed to return to Algeria while he still could! He needed to get away! He needed to…

But as if sensing his concern, the young man's smile became warmer and once he arrived right in front of Tunisia, he put his hand on the latter's cheek. Tunisia quickly froze up and could only gawk at the stranger. The young man's touch was cold, but Tunisia almost felt a feeling of static upon contact. He felt his resolve crumbling. What's wrong with him…?

Then to his utter surprise, the stranger wrapped his arms around him and pushed their lips together.

…W-What?

About four, five, six… seven… ten seconds passed with Tunisia in a state of shock, unable to move as the stranger kissed and delved into Tunisia's mouth with his tongue, before he completely entered into a state of freaking out. He tried to push the stranger away, but to no avail.

It felt harder and harder to with each passing second. The stranger was so kind, so gentle and… N-No, don't give in. Don't give in. Don't give in. Don't give in…

As if Allah had granted his poor soul some mercy, the man let him go. Tunisia was glad to finally through the mouth again, and he felt shame well up within him at the warmth he felt in his body. To think he… But before he could delve any further into his self-deprecating thoughts, he noticed that the man was smiling at him. But something was wrong. There was an odd glint in his eyes, and they trailed hungrily to Tunisia's shoulder. He would've asked, despite how futile it might've been, but the man leaned forward, opened his mouth…

…And sank his teeth into Tunisia's flesh.

He screamed at the pain that exploded in his shoulder and tried to get the man off him, but he wouldn't budge. The man violently tore into his skin, sucking at Tunisia's blood and biting off bits and pieces of the skin. Again, Tunisia tried to shove the stranger, but the man was too strong. He just kept chewing, munching on Tunisia's skin, and licking the blood over and over and over again…

After what seemed like an eternity, the man finally let him go, and Tunisia fell to his knees. He did his best to hold back his tears and looked up angrily at the man, who was smirking at him and licking the blood from his lips.

The stranger laughed, it sounded nothing like it did before.

"Excellent work, I think that's enough now." A familiar voice said, and Tunisia paled when he saw Morocco walking towards them, smirking at him. "I'm confident that he's learned his lesson now. Thank you very much for your cooperation. You may go join your brethren now."

The man bowed, then after sending Tunisia one last smile, thunder flashed where he stood and he disappeared, leaving Tunisia feeling rather lost… and hurt in more ways than one.

"He likes you." Morocco said fondly.

"Wh-Wha…" Tunisia stammered. What just… happened? "Who…?"

Morocco was more than happy to answer. "That was an _impundulu_ , the lightning bird, one of _Chris's_ familiars. Magnificent, aren't they? Quite cruel, too. And they just so happen to have a habit of transforming into handsome young men to seduce women. Many don't know this, but they don't mind preying on cute young men like you every now and then."

Tunisia was completely horrified. "I… I was kissed by a _bird_?"

"A very magnificent bird, but that's beside the point." Morocco's tone was suddenly cruel, and devoid of any kindness. He looked down at Tunisia coldly. "I do hope that hurt terribly. Though judging from your tears, I'd say it was a success."

"Did… Did you plan this?" Tunisia felt betrayed at the thought, and he rubbed his wound, a reminder of his brother's cruelty. "If so, why? _Why_ did you that? I thought you-"

"You helped France recover, that's the reason why I had the _impundulu_ approach you." Morocco hissed, and he stepped towards Tunisia, a look of betrayed anger on him. " _That_ was your punishment for assisting that disgusting slime of a man recover from the torture we had so much fun doing! He was supposed to suffer! He was supposed to writhe in agony for days, his organs eaten away, the healing factor sapping his strength, but you and that Romanian ruined it. I love you, but that doesn't mean I will turn a blind eye to what you do."

That's why he did this? All because Tunisia helped France recover? But it wasn't even entirely out of his free will. Well, if there was any way Tunisia could help France, then he gladly would've offered his assistance, despite the turmoil he was going through at the time. E-Even so, Tunisia really did think he wasn't the best choice for an assistant…

He clenched his fists.

"I-I don't care that I ruined your work! You tried to force yourself on me. Do you really think I'd care how you'd feel?" Tunisia cried, feeling all his pain slowly replaced with anger "And it wasn't even my choice! Romania just dragged me into it without even-"

"Excuses! It doesn't change anything! You dare assist that man after what pointless trouble he has caused us?!" Morocco screamed as he yanked and yanked Tunisia's hair. "After using us as his trophies for his petty war with England?! I gave you the chance to live in eternal happiness and bliss, and you repay my kindness by assisting the man I hate?!"

Tunisia flushed red at the memory of that time. "B-But I-"

A deadly look from Morocco shut him right up. Tunisia bit his lip and cast his gaze on the ground, unwilling to see Morocco's glare.

But just as he let out a sob, Morocco kneeled and gave him a peck on the lips.

Tunisia flinched, and he covered his mouth. He snapped his head up at his brother, and much to his disbelief, his brother was _smiling_.

"Oh, I just can't stay mad at a cute boy like you." Morocco giggled in a giddy manner, with not a single trace of his previous anger. "What matters is that you were punished, and I hope that you'll never do such a disgusting thing ever again. So, now that that's over with, all is forgiven!"

Morocco laughed merrily while Tunisia looked at him in fear. Desperately, he tried to scoot away, but Morocco firmly grasped his shoulder.

There was no escape.

"Ah! Where are my manners! I realized I haven't given you a proper greeting, dear brother!" Morocco clapped his hands, and he spread his arms wide with a crazed smile. "Now, come. Why don't you give your brother a kiss?"

/ / / / /

"HA! Ready to _play_ , Egypt?"

Egypt swore that Nigeria's laugh was going to give him a headache, but that was the least of his concerns. He was planning on making his exit from the battleground with Hungary to find Mauritius and free him, but Nigeria kept stopping him from taking even three more steps towards the house. It seemed that this psychopath wasn't going to let him go this easily.

Actually, Nigeria's been on his case ever since the fighting broke out, targeting him specifically as he cast spells and curses at him, a few of which had managed to hit him. And now he had appeared again. Egypt couldn't say he was surprised at his situation, he was already expecting that Nigeria would immediately jump at a chance for revenge.

But Egypt had at least managed to keep some distance between them, and he had not been merely dodging then running away. He's been launching his own counterattacks, which… helped Nigeria not kill him, so that was something. Not helping was that Nigeria was a lot more athletic than he appeared, and Allah, was Nigeria _persistent_. He just never stopped trying to set him on fire unless to taunt and laugh.

It's infuriating. Almost infuriating as when Turkey taunted him.

Oh… and did Egypt mention that Nigeria just adored abusing his teleportation powers to end?

He could barely spot Anubis and Hungary fighting and avoiding the birds respectively in his peripheral vision, but Egypt couldn't afford to focus on them for long. He had already gotten a knife to his hand and gotten his keffiyeh burned off for getting distracted for more than five seconds…

Egypt had tried to strike the damn Nigerian on the head while he was facing away in hopes that he'll get a concussion and _leave him to go into Switzerland's house already_ , but the latter's reflexes were too good. He turned around right in the nick of time and grabbed the staff with his own two hands.

"Oh, would you stop playing on the defense while only attacking once every five minutes already? It can only help you for so long, you know!" Nigeria sang as he tried to push the staff as Egypt tried to stand his ground. "I keep waiting for you to throw out one of those flashy spells I hear your mama Ancient Egypt was so good at, but you keep disappointing! Yeah, I know it's a common strategy to preserve your energy and expose fewer blind spots, but the thing is, you haven't been at this as long as we did."

Egypt didn't bother dignifying him with a response. He's not going to risk giving any material for Nigeria to use against him. Besides, why the hell was he talking when they're supposed to be trying to kill each other?!

"We didn't just slouch around and played our respective roles, you know. We all spent years making sure _we_ were _ready_ for the war." Nigeria began saying proudly while pushing Egypt even further away while the latter gritted his teeth. "Not to mention I spend a lot of time roughing it up with the other Africans, so you'll. You may have technique, you may have the skills, but you're out of practice and you can't find a good moment to exploit a weakness against such a seasoned warrior."

So there was a brain beneath all that gleeful insanity, Egypt grudgingly noted. It certainly didn't help that Nigeria was right. With him constantly keeping Egypt on his toes, he couldn't find a good moment to properly think up of a good plan.

Egypt felt himself beginning to fall in a bit of a panic when Nigeria kept pushing and pushing him, trying to get the staff to Egypt's throat. Curse him, this wasn't just toying with him, he was clearly physically stronger than him! He wished he could just scorch that sadistic grin off… his… face…?

Wait, why _wasn't_ he doing that? There's no reason to hold back for this insane creature.

Preferring not to waste even a second berating himself for being so idiotic, Egypt concentrated and he successfully set his staff aflame, making sure to blazing it. Nigeria yelled in what appeared to be surprise before immediately letting go and stumbling back, staring at his singed hands. While they didn't look as burnt as Egypt hoped, it should still be enough to cause a lot of pain.

Not wasting a golden opportunity, Egypt shot lightning from his hands then kicked the man in the chest hard enough to briefly send in flying. Before he could capitalize on this any further, Nigeria disappeared… _again_.

"Huh… Would you look at that…?" Nigeria said blankly as he looked at his injuries. "You actually managed to rough me up a little."

Egypt gripped his staff. He knew while he did manage to harm Nigeria, the latter will not be joyful at that fact. Now he'll most likely have to deal with a berserk Nigeria and-

"Ooh, I didn't know you could do that with your staff! Nice, very nice… I should've been careful but I guess I just caught in the heat of the moment…" Nigeria suddenly laughed merrily as this was nothing but a mild inconvenience. "Now that's what I wanted from you, a good fight, to see you _truly_ want to cause me pain."

Egypt didn't even try to respond to that remark, as he's too baffled by what he's seeing. "Wh… What is this? Does the pain not bother you _at all_?"

"I told you, I spend a lot of time playing 'let's beat the crap outta each other' with the other African members. I developed a high tolerance for pain." Nigeria reminded him as he regarded his burned hands. "What, you think this is the first time I burned my hands?"

"H… How…?" Was the only thing Egypt could utter in disbelief. "But… I remember you reacting rather negatively when Tunisia once landed a hit on you back in the day of our escape."

"Yeah, cause he's pretty weak overall, so to get wounded by him was _embarrassing_." Nigeria shuddered, and he started rubbing his hands. "Morocco's pet or not, he had to pay. It's not like Rahim wouldn't do the same. You, on the other hand, are a more worthy opponent."

Egypt didn't try to respond to that, and he raised an eyebrow when Nigeria started rubbing his hands.

"Ugh… Healing's not my forte at all, but I can do it for myself if it's not _too_ severe." Nigeria frowned, but a moment. "Still, before do I do, I think I can still make you pay for doing that!"

And so he did, with Nigeria becoming even more relentless than before.

"You know, I've been just itching to see _you_ again, Egypt. Why, you're actually number _three_ on my list of I want to torture, you should feel proud of yourself, you know!" Nigeria smirked and again appeared in front of Egypt, who vanished in return. "Yes, feel _proud_ that while in the long run you've actually managed to help organize a cute little resistance, you've condemned yourself and your group of friends into a _hell_ lot of suffering."

Egypt scowled. Was Nigeria trying to get a rise out of him? "Perhaps, but none of us regret what we did."

"Oh no, no, you're not thinking this deep enough. Come on, think about it! It isn't that hard." Nigeria tapped his forehead with a big devious smirk. "If you hadn't roped Mauritius and that little whore Seychelles into your little scheme, I never would've gotten interested in corrupting

Egypt felt his blood boil, but he kept his cool. "They were attempting their own rescue. If we hadn't offered that they join us, they probably would've been caught eventually. They made the right choice."

"Pssh. Oh no, they totally would've been captured eventually, I'm not denying that." Nigeria scoffed, but he quickly went back to his usual self. "Not to mention we would've punished them for their attempted escape, but eventually after they've learned their lesson they'd be sent home to live the rest of their days in peace under the glorious New World Order!"

Egypt's eyes widened. Was that… true? _No_ , he will not believe Nigeria's words. "And if that had happened, are you certain that you wouldn't have gone ahead with kidnapping Mauritius either way?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure, to be honest. But the fact still stands that he would've likely gone back home to his usual life like everybody else."

 _"Really?"_ Egypt said skeptically, not sure whether he should believe a word Nigeria was saying.

"What? We're not Nazis or ISIS or anything." Nigeria attacked him while casually conversing and Egypt defended himself again. "We're not keeping the other Africans in concentrations, prisons or anything like that. They're home, and as long as they obey our rules and don't do anything to cause us or the people fixing their countries trouble, nothing will happen to them. So, with this in mind…"

Nigeria vanished again, and Egypt narrowly avoided getting a knife to his neck. Before he could retaliate, Nigeria happily back flipped away before he fully grinned from to ear to ear."

"It's almost as if this whole situation, Mauritius getting adjusted and Seychelles becoming traumatized, is _your fault!_ After all, you were the one who abandoned him so you could have cute little Seychelles…. All. To. Yourself."

"ENOUGH!" Egypt roared, intentionally scorching the grass surrounding him, but he paid it on mind as he glared at Nigeria. "I am sick and tired of your taunting. I will cut off tongue of yours to spare the world of your voice when I get my hands on you."

Nigeria looked delighted at the threat. "Oh! Is that so, Egypt?

"You know, you never did answer Chris's question about the death toll." Nigeria joyfully remarked while he dodged Egypt's attacks with ease. "You know, I'm very in touch with death, and I'm good at doing the math. So, I think I can estimate the number of deaths to... hmm… ten thousand?"

Egypt gripped his thought. "You…"

"Yes, you're right. Doesn't really add up. Besides, it'd be embarrassing if that was the number of deaths." Nigeria mused as he stroked his chin in thought "Oh, I know! What about one hundred thousand?

"Be quiet, Nigeria!"

"Oh wait, since you're the personification, surely _you_ know how many people died. You've probably even heard some of their screams!"

"NIGERIA!"

"So…" Nigeria snickered. "Tell me; was it around one or two million after all?"

It was at this point that Egypt snapped, and he screamed, to Nigeria's sadistic glee.

"But hey, at least we obliterated some of the Coptic Christians too. So that's one reason you have to celebrate, right?" Nigeria shrugged with the most _infuriating_ grin on his face. Egypt tried blasting him with a ray of light, it even hit him, Nigeria still kept _talking._ "And with your cruddy laws and 'peaceful, tolerant' Muslims, I don't think they'll be having any service for a long, _long_ time…"

Egypt couldn't believe he was hearing about this again. If Seychelles wasn't enough, now his enemies have to mention the Copts too? He didn't want to have this conversation again, but he doubted Nigeria will give him a choice.

He began to wonder if Nigeria somehow knew that he's been criticized for this recently. After all, the Order seems to know what EVERYTHING'S going on…

"SO!" Nigeiria suddenly shouted, making Egypt flinched, almost as if he knew the latter was distracted. The evil man smirked, "So, where's my thank you for that, huh? Weren't you waiting for something like that to happen for years? You know, for Allah to rain down his fury on those eeeevil infidels? I could've sworn there was a hadith with a verse like that…"

"No, there is _not_!" Egypt exclaimed, barely holding back his fury at the notion. "There is no such verse in the Quran!"

"Aw, stop kidding yourself, Egypt." Nigeria whispered slyly. "I mean, why else would so many Muslims be against other religions or homosexuality? I mean, they have to get their irrational hatred from somewhere, right?

Egypt gritted his teeth. "They are misguided."

Nigeria stared at him blankly at that response, but before bowling over in hyena-like laughter. "Psssh! HA! Oh gods, do you realized what you just said?! You just called the majority of Muslims _misguided_! Oh, they're misguided alright, misguided by _Islam_. You've practically admitted that the Muslim World is messed up beyond measure! I just can't-"

Every time Egypt thought that there was no way Nigeria could irritate even more, he was always proved wrong. He didn't bother coming up with a rebuttal and just focused on the task at hand. Time was of the essence here.

"Oh! Oh, gods! I almost forgot! Speaking of Islam, there's something _you_ need to answer for, Egypt!" Nigeria shouted at him, for once not smiling. He almost looked _angry_. "It's something that's been long, LONG overdue!"

Egypt just glared at him. "And just what on earth do I have to answer for? No, you know what? Forget it. I'm through with hearing your ramblings."

"Ramblings? Well, excuse-" Egypt cut him off by hitting him in the stomach with his staff. Nigeria yelped."Agh! Grr… Fine, fine, if that's how you want to do it, then I'll _make_ you answer for your crime…"

"You won't get a chance." Egypt said coldly.

 **You know, I was originally gonna have the whole thing be in just one really long chapter, but then I decided, eh, maybe it'd be better as a two-parter. Then I can finally get to more important stuff once the fight is over. Please review if you have a minute!**


	73. Justice: The Storm Part II

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, apurehetalian, vexey1999, NadiaJA627 and a guest for reviewing. Now, on with the show!**

Panama still couldn't believe his luck.

After dreading and practically having a panic attack at the horrifying fact that Costa Rica and the others going straight to their deaths was completely inevitable no matter how much he tried to convince him, they actually started to have second thoughts about the whole thing.

Now, with any luck, the Africans will dispatch those damn rebels and punish them for causing so much trouble (Although personally Panama hoped that Tunisia will get off easy and not be a victim of Morocco's twisted fantasies, and Romania was a good guy.), and the other Central Americans will start to lose hope that they'll win (like they ever had any in the first place).

Then, as the remaining nations plus any few possible survivors will completely fall apart, Panama will be able to convince his neighbors to abandon this pointless fight and come back home with him before they could get into any more trouble with the Order. Panama's sure that if he could just convince Guatemala to stuff it and the leaders to forgive Costa Rica, Honduras, Belize and even Nicaragua for their interference, they'll all be able to live happily ever after as one big happy family.

That's… That's what Honduras always wanted for them, right? She wanted to be a family, undivided by hatred and politics, to live together in peace without all their problems. They all wanted that in one way or another.

This… Everything will turn out fine… right?

He fidgeted his fingers anxiously and again looked in the direction of his family, who were all huddled up in a group together while they started with their so-called 'brilliant' plan to get Romano to leave Brazil. Panama wanted to scoff. Like Romano even stood a chance at surviving anymore.

But unfortunately, they still had one obstacle to deal with: Italy's whining.

"But why can't I talk to my fratello? He'll listen to me!" Italy had been loudly protesting, looking like he'd burst into tears any moment now.

"Correction: He _won't_ listen to _you_." Belize remarked dryly, and she sent Italy an apologetic look. "Sorry, Italy, but as well-meaning as you are, it's no secret to anyone that you have one damn imagination. He'll probably think you're crazy or you've jumped into kind of crazy conclusion, which happens way too often to possibly help your case."

"Si, I think I have a much better chance of convincing Romano to call it quits and leave!" Honduras said optimistically.

Italy deflated, curl drooping in sadness, and he weakly protested again, "B-But…"

"Oh, just, relax, Italy." Belize grinned, patting the dejected Italian on the back. "Be positive for a chance. Honduras's got this! Your brother's a total sucker for the ladies, and honestly, he's every bit of intelligent as you are. It's the perfect plan!"

Panama wouldn't say 'perfect', but it was leagues better than the original plan.

Italy whimpered and lifted his gaze to reveal his insufferable big, sad, eyes. "Ve, but won't that be a problem?"

Belize was… understandably gawking in disbelief and left pretty much speechless. "Uhhh…."

As for Panama? He did what anyone would do. He facepalmed.

"J-Just… _go_ and pray to God for _Alemania_ and the others' safety, won't you?" Nicaragua ordered him with exasperation as she pushed him away from the group. "After all, a prayer might do us good these days… You have been praying for our success, right?"

Italy blinked, then he suddenly let out a horrified gasp. "Dio Mio, I haven't! I've completely forgot!"

"Then get out there, find a nice, peaceful place to kneel and pray to the Lord that we'll all be alive by the end of the month, including your brother!"

Italy nodded fervently, sweating bullets. "Si, si, I will! I'll go do that right away. I'll make sure to pray for your success. Ciao, bella!"

And so Italy sped off to bother someone else. If there really was a God, then Panama really pitied Him right now.

"Okay~ Lovino should be picking up any moment now!" Honduras cheerfully announced. "I'll put him on speaker, okay? But remember everyone, be-"

But she was unfornatutely cut off by one of the most irritating voice on the planet. _"What the fuck do you want?! I'm busy, dammit!"_

" _Hola_ , Romano~" Honduras greeted in the cutest, sweetest way she could muster. Even Panama couldn't help but smile fondly. "Oh, I didn't know you were so busy. I'm sorry for bothering you in such a time. If you want, I'll go hang up right away-"

 _"What? Honduras? Shit, don't hang up on me, goddamit! I mean…"_ Romano fumbled on his words while Honduras giggled. _"I'm… I'm really sorry for that, Ana Sofia. I… I was in a pretty shitty mood and I didn't check the damn number, so please forget what I fucking- I mean, what I said."_

"Aw… No problem, Romano! I know you'd _never_ be mean to us. You're too good of a friend to do that!" Honduras assured him in a cutesy manner, which was no doubt done deliberately, and Panama snorted when he heard Romano sputtering. "So, what seems to be the problem, Romano? Are you in need of some cheering up?"

 _"H-Huh? What? I mean, no. Oh, no, I wouldn't wanna bother you with-"_

But Honduras giggled. "Oh, don't be silly, Lovino. As your friend, I'm always here for you."

Panama smirked when he heard the coward sputter again, no doubt red as a tomato. " _G-Gah… I mean… grazie, Ana Sofia. But… didn't you have something you wanted to talk about with me? Wouldn't it better if you."_

"It can wait, Lovino. I'm more worried about you than anything else." Honduras said with a more serious tone of voice.. Well, it was true… "Soooo, what happened? Did someone get under your skin? Something bad happened to you? Is there anything I can do to help you in any way possible?

 _"W-Well, if you really want to know, I…"_ Romano trailed off into some incoherent grumbling before finally giving a clear answer. _"Tch. It's that carnival bastard, Brazil. That bastardo fucking tricked me into thinking that the potato bastard seduced my dumb-ass pasta-for-brains younger brother and hooked up with him, and I fucking fell for it! How could I fall for it?!"_

"Because you're as much of an idiot as your brother is." Panama grumbled under his breath.

"Emmanuel, please…" Costa Rica pleaded, and Panama felt more or less compelled to shut his mouth.

Honduras gasped loudly and overdramatically, maybe more than what was needed, but Panama supposed she knew what she was doing. "Dios Mio, Brazil really did that to you? But that's such a mean trick!"

Oh, Brazil's a lot more than just mean, Panama shuddered.

 _"I know, it pissed me off so fucking much!"_ Romano bellowed.

"You must've been so upset when you found the truth." Honduras said symphathetically.

 _"Ohohohoho, I was fucking upset alright, AND I STILL AM!"_ Romano hollered in that grating voice of his, and Panama had to wince, then the Italian began to chuckle evilly. _"So now I'm in the carnival bastard's country to get some fucking payback! In fact, I'm on his way to that bastard's house with my trusty mafia knife and hell lot of Italian rage right now!"_

Honduras's eyes widened at that alarming piece of new information, and everyone exchanged panicked glances, all except for Panama, who honestly could care less about what happened to South Italy. He was just glad that they weren't going on that suicide mission and end up getting killed by his other family. Whatever happened, he didn't care as long as none of the Central Americans (except for maybe Guatemala) will get hurt.

Although Panama would honestly rather go on with this mission of this without having that snappy idiot constantly yelling and cursing at him for no damn reason. Panama's going to have enough headaches and annoyances already with this group.

As he, he heard Honduras giggle nervously. "Ah, but, Lovino… Don't you think that, um, revenge isn't the way?"

"Most of the time, anyway…" Belize added innocently, twiddling her thumbs.

 _"Huh?! Why the hell not?!"_ Romano exploded just as Panama expected he would, and he rolled his eyes when he heard the dumb Italian sputter and fumble his words once he remembered that he was talking to a girl, and one who might actually have a _shred_ of interest in him. _"I-I mean, why not, Ana Sofia? Th-That bastard deserves it for making me waste fucking hours of my life trying to break into the potato bastard's house!"_

"It's one of the things that caused all this trouble in the first place, for one." Nicaragua muttered bitterly, and Panama felt annoyed enough to glare at her. Well, did it occur to her that maybe if the nations weren't such morons and the humans didn't have any power, then none of this would-

"Because revenge isn't healthy, Lovino, and it worries me to hear you so dead-set on hurting poor Brazil, even if he is a jerk!" Honduras exclaimed in a devastated voice, even adding the whole sad puppy look even though it's not necessary. "I just can't stand violence, and I already have to deal with it on a daily basis in my poor home. It just breaks my heart!"

 _"W-Wha…? Really? But I-I- That bastard really does deserve it, Honduras!"_

"I know, but it's still not right!" Honduras pouted. "But I guess if I can't convince you... Aw, shucks... And I was so looking forward to inviting you over for a date…"

Panama snorted when the Italian spluttered again. _"S-Say what now?"_

It was at this point where Panama suddenly decided that he wanted to leave. He knew what's coming next, and he did not want to be there to witness Honduras 'seduce' Romano over the phone. Sometimes Honduras could be pretty frightening when she wanted to be…

He took a stroll around the area, not really seeking anyone to talk to, but doing it might take his mind off his stress about the whole situation. It's not like there's really anyone here who'd willingly talk to him either. Panama could see it in their eyes. They didn't trust him, but with good reason. He might claim he's neutral, but who's to say he'll suddenly decide to leak their secrets to the New World Order?

Panama's said it once, he's said it twice, and he'll say it a million times it that's what it'll take to get the stronger nations here to get off his back. He's not here to hinder them, but he's not here to help them either. The only reason he's here were because of the other Central Americans, and he's going to do everything he could to convince them to leave while they still could.

There wasn't much going on here, from the looks of it. Figures. Most of the louder ones went along on that suicide mission. That left everyone else to basically do whatever they wanted, like try not to be all anxious over whether or not there'll be another attack again.

Aside from Costa Rica and the others, the only ones still here were China and Japan, who seemed to be in the middle of some kind of deep important conversation that Panama didn't care about to listen to. Ukraine and Moldova went on a walk, if Panama remembered correctly. Oh, and Canada's sitting against a car, looking all depressed and talking to his weird talking polar bear (sadly, not the weirdest thing he's ever seen), but Panama hardly gave a damn about his issues with America.

And last but not least, there were the two nations who Panama genuinely pitied other than Tunisia, Seychelles and Monaco. The two seemed to be having some kind of minor argument and Monaco was gesturing at the book she was holding…

His eyes widened. Wait, that's no book. That's Haiti's diary!

Panama already knew that the enemy had Haiti's diary. Belize mentioned that Germany claimed that an African man with an accent that resembled Nigeria's gave it to him; it took a good effort for Panama not to reveal his shock because he _knew_ who that man was. But it still pissed him off that Igbo would give the thing to them, especially if what Haiti suspected about his diary was true.

That thing was dangerous. While Panama could understand why Igbo would give it to them instead of safeguarding it himself, it was still a stupid idea.

"What are you two doing?" Panama asked in what he hoped was in the most polite way possible.

The girls stiffened and simultaneously looked up at him. Monaco quickly closed the diary. "M-May we help you with something, monsieur Panama?"

Well, at least they weren't glaring at him with suspicion, and Monaco had the decency to be polite. Still, he sighed, "Oh, relax. I'm not here to get in on your secrets. I'm neutral. The Baron proved it, didn't he? I'm just curious about the diary. Why are you two arguing over it?"

Monaco looked a little reluctant to divulge any kind of information to the untrustworthy neutral nation, and she shared an uncertain glance with Seychelles before her expression hardened and she finally answered.

"We weren't arguing, per se…" Monaco frowned and pushed up her glasses. "We were merely discussing about the possibilities of the true nature of Haiti's diary and whether or not if it was best if we hold on to it or store it away in a safe location. The reason we appeared, er, _distressed_ would be because we don't exactly have the brightest history with Haiti and his powers and… _friends_ from the other side."

Oh. Panama winced and nodded in understanding. He forgot about Baron Kriminel and how Haiti cursed Monaco at one point. It's understandable that those two were scared of what else Haiti could be capable of.

"We were also debating on whether we should go look for Bahamas and Saint Lucia's bodies…" Seychelles piped up with a soft voice. "I mean, it's not _right_ to leave them there. And what the Baron did to them- It was horrible!"

"But _we_ can't do much for what's left of them, Michelle." Monaco said grimly. "We can ask the Central Americans to help us once they're done with speaking with South Italy, but we need to wait for the teleporters to come back to help give those two a proper burial."

Seychelles cast down her eyes, looking defeated. "It still doesn't feel right… leaving them like that."

Panama shifted uncomfortably. God, this was starting to feel really awkward.

"So, monsieur Panama, you were wondering about the diary, weren't you?" Monaco suddenly asked him pointedly. "How come? I don't suppose you'd have any clue of the true nature of the diary, wouldn't you?"

"Oh, I think I have a very good idea of what's the deal with that diary." Panama said darkly, frowning at the thing. "But since I'm neutral and all, I actually don't know much about the situation. But word spreads quickly around the Americas. And when Haiti lost his diary back in his earthquake, he made a big deal out of it. He was _devastated_."

"And I'm assuming that sentimental value is not the only reason why the loss of diary garnered such a reaction from him." Monaco stated confidently, eyeing Panama suspiciously. "While it is clear he loved writing in it, he did have another use for it, didn't he? And one that's not exactly benevolent."

Wow, she really was smart. Panama needed to watch what he said around her.

"He did." Panama nodded, narrowing his eyes. "As for what it is, well, since I'm neutral, I'm not allowed to tell you what it is."

Panama hated how guilty he felt at how disappointed the two girls looked, and he tried to remedy it before he could feel guilty enough to spill confidential information.

"Can't any of you figure it out? From what I've heard, the whole backstory is in that diary." Or at least that's what Panama understood. "Unless the diary's written entirely in Haitian Creole, it shouldn't be that hard to figure it out. And if it is, don't any of you know at least a little Haitian Creole?

"I… I know a handful of Haitian Creole from when he taught me during the Francophonie get-togethers…" Seychelles explained anxiously, twiddling her thumbs. "So, um, I did understand some of it… And the earlier entries were in older French, so…"

"Ah," That made sense. "But you didn't understand all of it?"

"N-Non… I-I actually think it has less to do with the language and more to do with how Haiti was still learning how to write. " Seychelles replied awkwardly. "I'm pretty sure I spotted a few grammar errors… B-But there was one point where the writing just became scrawls and… I don't know, it just became kind of nonsensical and there were some weird symbols…"

Panama felt the color drain out of his face. "…Oh."

Yeah, he knew the reason why, and Panama did _not_ want to go into it.

"…If you're all done invading my privacy, I'd like to have your attention please."

Panama froze at that chilling voice. No… No, no, no, not now…

He spun around, and Panama worst fear was confirmed when he came face to face with Haiti, who looked _furious_ to see them.

/ / / / /

Despite the searing pain in his torn shoulder, that's still very much _bleeding_ , Tunisia's first instinct was to _run_.

But just when he turned his heel to dash off, he felt a hand enclose around his wrist in a tight grip and looked back to see his smiling brother had no intention of letting him run off. He tried to wrench himself out of Morocco's grip, but Tunisia's efforts only earned him pain and disapproval from Morocco.

"Now, now, there's no need to panic, Malik. I wouldn't possibly hurt you… _much_." Morocco warned gleefully, tightening his grip for good measure. Tunisia winced. "But if you so much as scream or try to struggle, I might have to resort to more _harsher_ methods. And please believe me when I say that you do not want to see me upset, my darling brother."

Tunisia paled at the threat, but he refused to be cowed. He'd almost rather get a temporary death than risk going through another humiliation. "N-No! Let me go, Rahim!"

Morocco's smile broadened slightly, quirking an eyebrow at Tunisia's defiance. "Did you not hear a word I just said? I do not wish to hurt you that much, little brother. And while you do still have other things to answer for, it would be unwise to give fuel to the fire."

"I don't care!" Tunisia spat without considering his words. "I refuse to let myself be tormented again! I don't want to hear anything of what you'd want to say to me. I don't want to be anywhere _near_ you."

As soon as the words flew out of his mouth, Tunisia immediately regretted them. He felt himself filled with terror when Morocco's smile vanished to be replaced by an almost disappointed frown. Oh, Tunisia, what were you thinking?! You did need to grow a backbone, but you shouldn't backtalk at someone who had just punished you in one of the most hurtful and humiliating ways imaginable!

Just another reminder that Tunisia was doomed to live with the truth slowly eating him away, and it's even partly his own fault…

It still hurt. His shoulder hurt. His heart was hurt by. It hurt that for the first time Tunisia's ever seen a man, that same man turned out to be a man-eating monster. It hurt that Morocco did this to him just because Tunisia helped perform magic surgery against his own will.

He hated himself for still caring about Morocco. He hated himself for not being able to let go. Why wasn't he able to move on? Was it really just his own wishful thinking, the fact that his brother maybe did love him in a sick, perverted way? Morocco didn't really care about him…

Yet why did Morocco almost look… hurt by Tunisia's words? Was it just his wishful thinking or-

"Yet you came here anyways, and as fate would have it, here we are again." Morocco's usual demeanor returned as he gave a kindly smile. It pained Tunisia's heart that it was all an act. "It is quite futile to deny the obvious, dear brother. You wished to see me. You craved my presence and affection. You so desperately wish for something you know I can more than happily give you, and so you decided to resort to seeing _me_ again despite the risks."

To say Tunisia was horrified at the idea was an understatement. H-Him? Coming here just to see _Morocco_ again?

N-No, that's ridiculous. Yes, wh-while he did feel a little aroused by Morocco's 'affection', probably more than he'd admit, that didn't mean he enjoyed it! Tunisia was then painfully hit with the memory of discovering how Morocco had helped subject France to an excruciating torture and taken advantage of Mauritius while in captivity, and he felt his blood boil.

But his righteous anger, which burned even brighter with each passing second that he spent thinking about the things Morocco had done, abruptly vaporized when he failed to see Morocco approaching him and yelped when his brothers wrapped his arms around him in a loving embrace.

Tunisia tensed when he felt Morocco's warm breath against his bloody shoulder, briefly becoming paralyzed with fear when he heard Morocco sniff.

"You smell so nice, Tunisia. Are you aware of that? I do hope so. I had always wondered what your blood would smell and taste like, what that… pretty flesh of yours would…" Tunisia felt himself pale when he felt a drop of something fall on his shoulder, feeling it sting a little. Was Morocco _drooling?!_ "You wouldn't mind, would you, dear brother? If just take one little…"

His body became rigid as Morocco leaned closer. No matter how hard Tunisia tried, Morocco wouldn't budge, and the latter would only increase his grip.

"But no… No, not _yet_ , not here… I need only wait a little more." Morocco's breath was hot against his skin. Tunisia really didn't like how it felt, or how his brother was pressing even closer against him. At this rate, they'll… "But even so, I feel that…"

Morocco pressed his mouth against the wound, and Tunisia yelped at the pain that doubled upon the contact. However, when he expected a wave of excruciating pain to follow, what he felt instead was… just Morocco's face against the torn skin… and something moist licking up the blood.

If Tunisia wasn't so immobilized by fear and horror, he would've screamed in disgust. But thank Allah, it didn't last long, as Morocco suddenly pulled back.

"I… I apologize for that, I almost lost control of myself there… " Gone was the gleeful sadism in Morocco's voice to be replaced with seriousness. It was an aspect of him Tunisia wasn't sure if he missed or should be scared about, but he sounded so _sincere_ … It reminded him of when his brother made that _offer_. "But your blood is just so…!"

Tunisia couldn't say anything. He was frozen with fear.

"You are tense, brother. Please do not be. It is not good for the muscles, you know. I sincerely apologize for causing you so much stress."

"T-Then let me go…!" Tunisia tried to plead with him, but he was only ignored, or perhaps Morocco was too absorbed in his demented reverie to listen, and his brother went on as if he hadn't spoken.

"You cannot fathom how delighted I was to see you come straight into my arms. I knew you wouldn't resist the opportunity." Morocco said softly, his embrace gentler than what Tunisia had expected. "Now, I'd love to go on with the formalities and ask how you've been, but I'd prefer if we have our conversation elsewhere… in private. I'm confident that I'm not needed here for the moment."

Those two sentences helped snap Tunisia out of his puzzled state, and he felt his anger return with a vengeance, along with _shame_.

"N-No, you're wrong! It's nothing like that! I didn't come here for you." Tunisia exclaimed in horror, an ugly emotion rising in his chest. "Well, at least not in that sense. I'm not like you. You're my brother, Rahim. And I don't want anything like that! I will not sin any more than I already did."

"Oh?" Morocco didn't sound like he believed it, and his smile broadened. "You're not like me? Are you sure about that?

"I mean it! Don't be ridiculous." Tunisia exclaimed, only to pale at the words he had just spoke. But he tried to go on as if nothing happened. "I came here because I wanted to help Mauritius and I was scared of what you might do to Khalida if I wasn't around to help, and I… I didn't want to cowardly stay behind while you did Allah knows what to her!"

"So you were doing what you always did and followed Algeria around like a lost puppy..." Morocco finished for him with a distasteful look, although that's not what Tunisia wanted to say at all. "…And a very cute puppy at that. How sad."

Tunisia felt his face redden at being called a cute puppy. He tried not to think about it too much. "No, that's not it, either! And I don't follow Algeria around like a puppy, or anything like that for that matter!"

But Morocco only scoffed at this, and inspected his nails. "Oh please, Malik. You two may have your arguments and disputes, but in the end, you're subservient to her. Why would you let her boss you around and get away with her comments of people like us? You don't have the guts to truly oppose her."

Tunisia flinched, the recent memory of Algeria's rant fresh in his mind. "I… I'm not subservient. And Khalida's just in a lot of stress. She's always-"

"Excuses, excuses… Ah, but I do not blame you at all, darling brother. Not one bit." Morocco promised softly as he took Tunisia's chin in his hand, forcing the latter to look into his entrancing brown eyes "You fear her; you fear what she might do to you once she discovers your dark little secret. But I promise that I will help you with that, Malik, along with everything else. No matter how long it takes or what I have to do, I _will_ liberate you."

Morocco's words that dripped with affection, along with the smile on his face, left Tunisia rather speechless.

He gasped when Morocco suddenly snapped his head to the side, eyes wide and alert. Then, after a moment, all the emotion vanished from his face. "…Oh."

Promptly after he said that, Tunisia's heart nearly stopped when an indescribably livid Algeria materialized out of nowhere and tackled Morocco right into a tree.

He jumped, not really believing his eyes at first. Allah, he sure had for getting surprise rescues. "K-Khalida?!"

"Ah, Algeria… I see you've managed to sneak your way past Cameroon." Morocco said pleasantly, though even Tunisia could tell that it felt _forced_. "How impressive. I do hope he at least broke five of your bones in the process."

"You, shut it. Tunisia, are you…" Algeria trailed off as she turned to face Tunisia, eyes trailing over to the wound on his shoulder, and she gasped in horror. "Oh no- Malik! Your shoulder, it's-! What happened? What did Morocco do to you?!"

She glared at Morocco accusingly, whose expression didn't change and Tunisia was about to open his mouth to give his sister a brief summary of what happened and assure her that he'll be alright (though not really), but a horrible realization dawned on him. Wait. He couldn't tell her…!

To tell Algeria of what occurred between Tunisia and the demonic bird disguised as a man so beautiful he could've been an angel, would be to tell Algeria about… about… about _that_. And he couldn't- He could leave out the part where he actually felt somewhat aroused by the stranger's kiss, but it still didn't change the fact that Tunisia had been entranced and seduced by a _man_. And- And…

NonononononoNONONONONONONONONO! What could he do?! What should he do? There's no way out of this. Tunisia managed to spend the past hundreds of years hiding his real sexuality just fine (mostly), but he's still a bad liar! If someone, especially Algeria, asked him directly and specifically, then…

He felt his heart break with despair when Morocco cracked a smirk and opened his mouth to speak, yet the words that came out of it were not ones Tunisia were expecting. "Oh, it's nothing much, Algeria. I was just having a taste of our dear brother. I've always wondered what he tasted like, and he did not disappoint…"

Wait, what?

Tunisia's jaw dropped to the floor as Algeria's face contorted in fury and she promptly pulled Morocco back only to strongly shove him back into the trunk in a rage. Wh-What? What? What? What? What… did Morocco just say? Did he just lie to Algeria? But he didn't even…

That's when Tunisia realized that Morocco had blood stained on his robe. O-Oh, well, that's kind of convenient… And Morocco did also have blood on his mouth, so…

Wait…

He heard Algeria screaming and cursing at a serene Morocco, but it all sounded muffled to Tunisia's ears as the realization struck him. Never had he been so glad that Algeria was looking away from him, yelling at Morocco, because Tunisia couldn't even hide his own shock.

No… No… No, no, no, it couldn't be…

W-Was… D-Did… H-How…? Did Morocco _plan_ this? Was that why he buried his face in Tunisia's torn bleeding shoulder? So that he'd have blood on him and fool Algeria into thinking that _he_ was the one who attacked him?

But _why?_

"…I should kill you where you stand!" Algeria had been yelling as Tunisia somewhat returned to reality.

"Well, it does sound a lot more pleasant than hearing you screech all day." Morocco said brightly. "So what are you waiting for? Are you expecting me to beg for mercy? To apologize for deceiving you for all these years?

" _No_. I don't care what lies you wish to spout out." Algeria spat, and she swiftly removed a hand to take out her knife to hold the tip under Morocco's chin while looking the most terrifying angry that Tunisia's ever seen her in a while. "Where's Western Sahara? What have you done to her, you traitor?!"

Morocco hardly looked surprised at the question. He cracked a cruel grin despite the knife being more than capable of easily slitting his throat and raised an eyebrow seemingly in puzzlement. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Liar! You know something, I know you do!" Algeria screamed at him "You've forced her to live with you for years, if anyone knows what happened to her, it'd be you. So, spit it out already. How long have you been torturing her behind our backs? Why didn't she show up at the African Union meeting? What did you to her when she tried to call us? Tell us now!"

Gulping, Tunisia took a wary step back from his sister. He loved Algeria, and he perfectly understood her anger, but she was always terrifying when she's furious.

But Morocco must've noticed Tunisia's fear, because his smile became a full-blown grin as he stared at him, before going back to Algeria. "Now, now, stupid sister, please do try to control that temper of yours. You're scaring Malik."

Algeria was snapped out of her angered trance and glanced at Tunisia, who tried not prove Morocco was correct, but he felt crushed when he saw her expression soften in guilt. But fortunately, it hardened once again and she went back to glaring at Morocco.

"Don't try to change the subject, Morocco!" Algeria snarled, shoving him into the tree's trunk. "I'm not going to ask you again. Where's Western Sahara and what have you done to her?"

"Me? I've done nothing to her, and I care not for where that rat could be. As long as she doesn't cause trouble, I hardly care what she does." Morocco answered nonchalantly with a serene look on him. He then smirked. "Why, I can't believe you'd be so cold as to assume I would've done something nefarious to our dear sister… Ha! I said nefarious."

"That's an obvious lie, Morocco. Every word you said is a lie!" Algeria yelled and she looked ready to tear Morocco's head off. "Tell me the truth! What have you done to Safiyya?! I know you've got to have spent all these tormenting her while you lied to everyone else. You relish in her suffering. You relish in all our suffering. So you must be the one responsible for her getting attacked in the middle of our call. You just couldn't bear to have her happy."

Morocco was hardly affected by Algeria's words, and only smiled even wider. "Oh, you called Safiyya? How is that brat doing, anyway?"

"Don't ask questions you know the answer for, Morocco." Algeria was only getting even more aggravated. "Now, what happened to her?

It didn't feel right for him to just stand by and just watch, Tunisia thought grimly. He's hardly been doing anything of use throughout this whole mess other than a toy for Morocco and helping Algeria deal with her stress. M-Maybe… Maybe if he asked, then Morocco might be more willing to drop a hint…

"Brother, why won't you tell us where she is?" Tunisia asked uneasily, shifting his feet. "Wh-What do you have to lose? I-I mean, you gave her independence, didn't you? She's not yours anymore so it's not like you have territory at stake. So, why… won't you tell us anything? Please, Rahim, tell us what happened to her…"

Tunisia tried not to tense when Morocco directed his gaze to him, and his expression became blank for a moment. He wondered if he somehow made things worse.

But then Morocco smiled again. "Ah, but Malik, you're being too assuming. I mean, you have no concrete evidence that that troublesome sister of ours is in any sort of danger or even if she's really on your side. For all you know, she could be one of us-"

The sound of a slap resonated through the area. Tunisia gasped.

"Oh my…" Morocco breathed with a pleased smile, a blush on his face as red mark burned on his cheek. "That felt very nice… I reckon you've waited a long time to do now, haven't you?"

"I've had enough of your lies!" Algeria seethed in rage. "Answer now, or- I'll"

"Lies, lies, lies… Lying is a natural part of the job for all of us, Khalida. Even _you_." Morocco said casually, before sending Tunisia a manic grin. "And I have no doubt that even among your allies, there are some who possess deep, dark secrets that they'd do _anything_ to prevent them from being discovered."

Tunisia felt the color drain out of his face. N-No, he wouldn't… Morocco wouldn't, would he? Not after covering for him like he did earlier... No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Please, please, please, Tunisia silently begged hid brother as his breathing grew more frantic. Please, don't say anything about that.

"But I know Safiyya would never be one of you" Algeria countered, completely unaware of Tunisia's terror. "She… She was going to tell us something… She said she knew the truth all along but claimed that it was due to her own 'stupidity'. What does that mean?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Morocco said, all too at ease with the situation.

A vein seemed to bulge in Algeria's forehead as her rage grew by the minute. "Don't test me, Rahim. Spit the truth or I will make you spit out the truth."

" _Oh?_ Was that a _threat_ I just heard? From my 'sophisticated', 'collected' yet dreadfully dull sister?" Morocco smirked, amused more than anything else. "Don't be silly, Khalida. You, threatening _me_? Please. There's nothing you can subject me to that'll make me spill the answers you claim I have. You have no blackmail material, no way of instilling fear into my very being, no way of inflicting a pain so great that'll overwhelm my high tolerance for it… You have nothing, essentially."

Algeria growled, but Tunisia could tell that even she agreed with that. "I might have nothing, but I'm sure the others can make you talk. And if you're not going to say anything of use, then I'll be more than happy to drag you back to

"Yes, that sounds very fun, but I'm afraid I'm due to spend some time with Tunisia… alone." Morocco smiled serenely, and Tunisia had to flinch when his brother looked straight at him with a hungry look in his eyes. "So, if you would please release me and go get a breath mint, it would be very much appreciated."

Somehow, this made Algeria even more furious. "NO! No, I will not! I know what you want to do with him, and I won't let you go anywhere near Malik! This is between you and me!"

"Ah, sister…" Morocco chuckled, and he easily wrenched his right arm out of Algeria's grasp. "When will you learn not to stand in the way of the things I desire?"

For a moment, Tunisia had thought that Morocco would use his free arm to punch Algeria. But in a terrifying twist, a black cobra sprang out of Morocco's sleeve and lunged at Algeria, fangs bared with evil intent. Tunisia jumped back Algeria screamed and in her fright she let go of their smirking brother and while Tunisia quickly went up to catch his sister before she could trip herself.

Tunisia could barely contain his horror, when he saw the cobra and recognized its unusual size for its kind. Oh, he'd recognize it anywhere. That Egyptian Cobra was Morocco's immortal pet, given as a present by their father himself, Abarshane. He gulped. He _never_ liked that cobra, no matter how many times Morocco coddle it and indulge it in baby-talk.

Maybe that should've been a sign that something wasn't right with him.

She felt his sister trembling in his arms, and it helped Tunisia muster up enough courage to snap out of his shock and hold her protectively. It was the least he could do for her.

"Oh my. That look on your face, that fear… It's so delicious. I've always wanted to see that face again" Morocco proclaimed, licking his lips, beaming proudly at his cobra. "And so did Abby here. You always were afraid of him, weren't you? Despite all your pathetic bravado…"

"Wh-What is that _thing_ doing here?" Algeria demanded, her voice cracking with fear.

"Ah, don't tell me you thought that you wouldn't see him in the war, sister." Morocco taunted, kneeling down to pet Abarshane while smirking at Algeria. "After all, Abby has been quite looking forward watching you die from his venom again, especially since it's now _much_ more potent than last time…"

Abarshane snapped and made a strike, and Algeria let out a shrieked and backed away, forcing Tunisia to do the same. He really couldn't blame her. The cobra looked even more intimidating than usual.

"Ah, last time…" Morocco sighed fondly. "Don't you remember, Algeria? Your very first **_death?_** I'm still very proud for being the one who caused it."

Tunisia spoke for himself and Algeria that they both snapped their heads toward in shock, with his sister stuttering out a shocked, "Wh- What did you say?"

Abarshane hissed and snapped after them, or to be more specific, he specifically went to strike Algeria. In an action very uncharacteristic of her unless there were snakes involved

Morocco smirked cruelly. "It's exactly as I said, dear sister. That little unfortunate _accident_ when we were little? It was no accident at all. Your little conspiracy theory that was laughed off by most everyone was true all along! I _specifically_ told Abarshane to kill you!"

Tunisia knew what Morocco was talking about. It was an incident from back when they were all living with the tribes together as a family. One day Algeria was playing alone in the sand while everyone else including Tunisia and Morocco were inside, and Abarshane somehow snuck out of his basket and their home and approached Algeria. From what she told him, the cobra just kept slithering toward her no matter how many times she told it to go away. She even threw sand at it.

…It went without saying that that wasn't a smart move. Abarshane attacked Algeria and bit her with its venom. She died of respiratory failure not long after her crying got everyone's attention. Algeria's been deadly scared of snakes ever since, even now as an adult.

Even though there was no evidence, she had always been convinced that Morocco was the one responsible for setting Abarshane on her… but no one believed her, not even Tunisia.

"You… You sent him to kill me…" Algeria muttered shakily but so quietly that Tunisia could barely hear what she was saying. " I knew… I-I knew it… HOW COULD YOU?!"

After that sudden shout, Algeria tried to run off to no doubt kill Morocco, but as Abarshane hissed menacingly, showing off his gaping mouth with fangs, Tuniais felt frighteningly compelled to restrain his sister before she might get herself killed.

"Ah, yes, that's a fun memory…" Morocco sighed fondly while his two siblings stared at him, one with horror and the other with fury. "Yes, we were only little children then, living with our father, long before the plague of Islam has corrupted us all. If you must know, especially you Tunisia since you have the desire of understanding me, as hopeless as it is, but the thought warms my heart nonetheless..."

Morocco took a break from his taunting to send a warm smile towards him that felt too genuine to have any sort of ulterior motive, and Tunisia felt his face heat up. N-No, he's given up on that quest. Algeria was right, he shouldn't waste time on him… or… Did he really give up on it? Should he really?

"…I was already what one might call a sociopathic child." Morocco sounded oddly proud of this, although his expression darkened shortly after. "And although it wasn't until after the Islamic Conquest that my sadism had been fully awakened, I still was quite _curious_. And one day, you were being quite an annoyance, more so than usual. Our kindly father, may he rest in peace, thought it was just siblings being siblings. But I decided that a little _punishment_ was in order. If father wouldn't discipline you, then I would."

Surprisingly, this managed to snap Algeria out of her scared stupor to once again glare at their brother. "We were _children_ , Morocco."

"Nonetheless, it infuriated me enough to take matters into my own hands." Morocco said coldly, though he smirked again when he saw Algeria shaking as the snake advanced. "So, I gave Abarshane specific instructions to attack you when you were alone playing in the sand while I was having fun with father. And so, the rest was history. You remember it, don't you? Abby gave me a detailed description of what happened. You were all happy, throwing sand everywhere with your chubby hands when suddenly you heard hissing-"

Morocco's recounting of events was cut short when Algeria screamed and wrenched herself out of Tunisia's hold to make a fast beeline for Morocco. Abarshane wasn't having any of it, and he tried to bite her, but Algeria was cautious enough to back away a few steps while still glaring at Morocco.

"I _knew_ you sent Abarshane to kill me!" Algeria snarled while also fearfully avoiding Abarshane's bite attempts. "I knew that wasn't any accident. I saw that look in your eyes. You didn't just find it all oh-so-amusing, you didn't _care!_ Even as a little girl, I knew there was something odd about you, but that incident was the very time I realized that there was evil in you!"

"Not that it really helped you in the long run, did it? You were laughed off, told that you were exaggerating, and overall never taken seriously…" Morocco glowered before clasping his hands together. "Ah, but I believe we've waste enough time talking as it is. Tunisia, shall we?"

Tunisia took a fearful step back.

"I'm afraid you didn't let me finish." Morocco's smile dropped vanished and he glanced at his pet. "Abby, **_kill her_**."

Abarshane immediately lunged at Algeria, who could only run and avoid its attacks. Tunisia screamed for her, but before he could even try to help her, he felt his arms getting trapped behind his back, and he glanced back to see Morocco grinning victoriously at him.

"I do hope you won't begrudge me for what I am about to do." Morocco whispered apologetically to him. "I wish it wasn't necessary, but you're proving to be too unwilling to cooperate. It's a little move America taught me in case it'd ever come in handy, and it's hardly painful…"

Tunisia yelped when Morocco's fingers tightly pinched the base of his neck. A pain that felt like an electric shock shot through him, and Tunisia lost all feeling in his body.

Wh-What…?

He fell unconscious immediately after.

/ / / / /

Cameroon was awfully persistent.

He was strong. There was no question about it. Germany wasn't sure whether or not consider it a stretch to compare it to America's strength, since while Cameroon's punches were strong enough to crack the earth, there was no indication that he could bench press a cruise ship like America could or that the strength America had shown throughout the years was even the true extent of his power. But Cameroon's strength was frightening nonetheless.

What made things even worse was how hardly anything seemed to deter Cameroon. While he did have good speed, it wasn't good enough to avoid Germany shooting him at least five times. Even if it made Cameroon fall down, he'd just get back up again, even angrier than before.

His movements were only a little sluggish, but overall he was still quite dangerous. Germany kept failing to hit any vital organs, or even a headshot. And Cameroon kept Germany on his heels, leaving him little time to concentrate for a better shot.

Also, did he mention that Switzerland was still trying to gun him down? At least France was keeping him occupied but Switzerland was still hell-bent on killing him.

And aside from his current situation, Germany's worried about Egypt and Hungary. He quickly threw a quick glance at the sky, which had been covered with dark clouds along with thunder rumbling in the distance, something which Germany was still trying to figure out. Whatever it was about, it couldn't be good.

He did, in fact, factor in the possibility of a trap being laid on the path in the house to stop them from rescuing Mauritius (and maybe find Liechtenstein if possible), since it'd be unwise to leave such an open field undefended. And Germany knew it was defended, because he heard hearing screeching…

Germany had a bad feeling about this. His instinct told him that they're going to need another nation over there. Fast.

He ordered Romania, who was busy trying to blow Switzerland's head off and defend his side from the bullets, to come and help him keep Cameroon at bay. Reluctantly, Romania complied and cast a protective wall around them to protect them from Cameroon.

"This won't hold him off for long!" Romania loudly informed him as Cameroon roared and punched at the wall. "He's a tough one."

"We need to get someone out of here to help Egypt and Hungary with the rescue!" Germany yelled.

"Then what are you waiting for?! Go make a beeline for Vash's house while I hold off this hulking psychopath!" Romania barked at him as he held up the wall. "Don't object or anything, just _go_ rescue Liechtenstein and see what's the fucking holdup with Egypt and the hag!"

Germany was about to do just that, but then something occurred to him.

"Nein."

"WHAT?!"

" _You_ need to go, Romania!" Germany yelled at him as Cameroon kept punching at the wall. "You'll have a better advantage with your magic!"

"Are you kidding me? But you'll get-" Romania was cut off when Cameroon's fist shot through the wall, but the vampire sent him back with a hiss. "Hey, watch it! But you'll get slaughtered out here, Germany! I mean, no offense. And not to mention that totally goes against the plan!"

"I know it goes against the plan, but I told you that we don't know what to expect from the Order, didn't I?" Germany shouted at him over all the noise. "What matters is rescuing Mauritius and Lili as fast as we can. Once we get them, we can leave before anyone gets killed! If Egypt and Hungary ran into complications, then it's up to you to do it!"

"You do realize you're probably gonna get crushed, right?"

"Switzerland will gun me down if I try to get away. You're the only one here who can get past him.

"Good point. But still-"

"VERDAMMNT ROMANIA, JUST GO BEFORE I KILL YOU MYSELF!"

"FINE, FINE! I'M ON IT! Just let me give the big guy one last…!" Romania gritted his teeth and dissolved the wall, allowing Cameroon to charge, but the former unleashed a bolt of lightning at him, sending him hurling back. Romania gave a satisfied smirk. "There. _Now_ I can go."

Germany sighed in relief once the Romanian tipped his hat before bursting into flames and vanishing.

But it wasn't over yet. There's still Cameroon, he's already stirring. He needed to use this chance to-

Germany coughed, covering his hand with his mouth. God, please tell him he didn't catch a cold on a time like this!

Wait…

Was that… _blood_ on his hand?

A terrible pain shot through his heart, and he staggered to his knees. Germany overheard France calling his name, but he could hardly hear him over the screams filling his head. He recognized all their voices, he knew who they were, and he felt their pain.

Wh-What the…?

Th-The Parliament! They're…!

/ / / / /

Well, it turned out that it actually _was_ a lot harder than Hungary thought.

Covering her ears from the birds' screeching and cawing, Hungary cringed when

She was more or less reduced to hiding close to Anubis's, um, shockingly non-hairy legs while he prevented the birds- the _impundulu_ \- from swiping in to bite her head off, peck her to death or electrocuting her… screeching and shooting lightning at Anubis all the while, who proved to be not invincible against other supernatural beings.

In other words, they were kind of in a stalemate and Anubis might not be powerful enough to destroy all the birds in less than an hour.

There were around a dozen of them from what Hungary could see, and Anubis had already scorched at least _three_ of them. It wasn't a pretty sight. But the problem was, the birds were a lot smarter than they looked, apparently. They seemed to be getting a hang of how Anubis attacks work and were getting better and better at avoiding them, so they both weren't making much progress getting across.

And believe her, Hungary had tried to do something, anything, but she couldn't without almost getting herself killed.

What could she do? According to Egypt, these things couldn't be shot, stabbed or drowned, so not only was her shotgun useless, but her frying was too.

And the worst part was that Hungary just knew that he'd be able to do more against the birds if he weren't so busy protecting her. And the birds were specifically meant to stand guard and make sure no one got pass the field if the way they ignored her and Egypt after they briefly retreated back into the bushes was any indication.

They'd already be at the house if she wasn't such a burden…

Before she could go too much in her self-deprecating thoughts, Hungary's attention was snapped back to Anubis. She could've she heard something that resembled chanting before something exploded and the birds were pushed onto the ground. Then almost immediately after, Hungary shrieked when pale suddenly hands shot up from the earth and held the birds firmly in place.

It was one of the most terrifying things Hungary ever witnessed. Although hearing Anubis roar and then fall to his knees was a close second.

 **"You are right."** A deep voice growled from the giant dog- god!

Hungary paled. "H-Huh?"

"It would be a lot easier to obliterate the beasts without needing to constantly shield you from harm, and you need to save the ones you seek." Anubis- Was it Anubis who was talking?- nodded and "You must go. There is now an opening. Use it while you still can."

 **"Time is of the essence. And I sense that Egypt…"** The god trailed off and he faced away from her. **"Go. Now."**

"A-Are you su-"

 ** _"GO!"_**

Hungary fearfully complied and sped off as fast as she could as she made a beeline for the house. The screeching rang in her ears again, and narrowly avoided getting electrocuted by only a hair. So it's just like she thought. Their main priority was making sure no one made it to the house, so they're going after _her_ now.

Fantastic.

She forced herself not to look back and see all the man-eating birds flying after her, and just ran. But then she heard something crackling and she felt heat on her back, along with the birds' screeching and Anubis barking.

D-Did he…?

No. Don't look back. Just trust him and do what you gotta do, Hungary. Don't hesitate like Poland did. It cost him his life.

With that thought in mind, Hungary's anger flared and her feet moved even faster. The house was getting closer and closer…

There was no time to lose.

/ / / / /

"Oh, would you just stay _still?!_ "

"I'd say the exact same thing to _you!_ "

This was going nowhere.

No matter what either of them did, no matter how much Nigeria taunted him, this was going absolutely nowhere.

And Egypt was getting sick of it.

Nigeria for the umpteenth time disappeared in a puff of smoke, but then promptly reappeared in another spot, but to Egypt's apprehension, he was situated quite far from him. From his point of view, Nigeria in the distance was no bigger than a pencil.

And then something odd happened. Nigeria crouched down and began to… retch?

Egypt blinked and stared at Nigeria's figure kneeling in the grass and holding his stomach. Was he… Did he want to throw up? Egypt didn't recall ever giving dealing him a harsh enough blow to the stomach to cause such a reaction. Could it be a side-effect of overusing his teleportation magic? No, it couldn't…

Wait.

 _No_. What's he doing standing around here for just gawking and watching his enemy prepare to fire some potentially lethal attack? That's just stupid beyond all measure. Whatever Nigeria's doing, Egypt better put a stop it before it's too late. While he could use this as an opportunity to dash off to the house, he couldn't take that risk.

So, with that set, Egypt immediately teleported right to in front of Nigeria. He spared a glance at his coughing form, then narrowed his eyes and raised his staff to slam it on the evil man's head, hopefully with enough force to decapitate him…

And surprisingly, he did manage to hit him… but did not decapitate him as he had hoped.

The staff struck the kneeling Nigeria right in the head, and sent him face-first into the ground with a surprised yelp. Well, there's no reason to try again. Egypt raised his staff, setting it on fire this time, and prepared to swing it again just as Nigeria lifted his head.

But with no warning, a long green snake suddenly shot up from out of Nigeria's mouth and attacked Egypt. Caught completely by surprise, Egypt staggered and fell as the snake hissed and snapped at him as he tried to get it away from him, leaving him no time to use his magic.

All the while Nigeria got to his feet and beamed proudly.

"Whoo! That's a big one. I think it took about a quarter of my soul, or what's _left_ of my soul, to make this." Nigeria said cheerfully and offhandedly as Egypt fought against the snake, hardly paying attention to a word Nigeria was saying. "Do you like it, Goopy? This long slender cutie is a western green mamba. Do you know anything about them?"

Egypt didn't even bother trying to answer as the made its way toward him to bite him.

"No? Aw, too bad. Well, they're quite interesting, if I do say so myself." Nigeria said fondly while Egypt wrestled with the reptile that was starting to overpower him. "For one, they're extremely agile, nervous and alert snakes. They're fast, and highly venomous, although they tend to avoid confrontation if possible. However, if you corner them, you're fucked. While the toxicity of the venom can vary tremendously depending on various factors, I made sure that this one has a _lot_ of it."

It lunged and lunged. It was fast, too fast. Every time Egypt would try to make a move, the snake would just stop him.

"How bad is their venom, you're probably asking yourself?" Nigeria spoke in an innocent yet taunting voice as he smirked deviously. "Well, really, _really_ bad, let me tell you. While it's a lot less severe than a black mamba's bite, it's still nothing to scoff at. The green mamba's venom works _fast_. And I _do_ mean fast. The symptoms quickly manifest during the first fifteen minutes. You'll start having trouble breathing, feel drowsy, have diarrhea, maybe some necrosis here and there and eventually you might not be able to move at all…"

Egypt froze once the information reached his ears, and the western green mamba took this as opportunity to dash and rapidly wrap itself around his body. Out of simple instinct and panic, he began to wrestle the snake to get it off his body before it could bite him.

"And then eventually, you'll end up _dying_ from suffocation. The time varies, it's even possible to die in around thirty minutes, but the result's the same. And your little team will have one of their teleporters out of commission."

At this, Egypt froze, and thankfully, so did the mamba once it saw him realize that he couldn't afford to fight back.

"Now, if you don't want to die a slow and painful death, then I recommend that you sit there and answer for your crime."

"And what happens afterwards, if I might ask?" Egypt asked coldly.

"I'll decide on that once I finish. In the meantime, you wouldn't wanna risk anything, would you?" Nigeria grinned, cocking his to the side, knowing that the answer was obvious.

Egypt fell silent. Acknowledging that struggling was futile for the time being, he stopped attempting to free himself from the serpent, though not without sending it one last glare.

"Good boy. Was that so hard?" Nigeria cooed mockingly. Egypt was almost tempted to risk getting bitten just to wipe that smirk off his face.

"Get on with it." Egypt only responded gruffly, and he heard a huff from Nigeria.

"Fine." Nigeria shook himself out of his annoyance, and grinned evilly as he raised his and then pointed his index finger at Egypt. "You, Egypt, are a hypocrite."

Egypt felt absolutely baffled by the accusation. "Excuse me?"

In response to that innocent question, he saw Nigeria sneer in apparent disgust and dealt Egypt a harsh kick in the ribs. He yelped in pain. Gah! He's pretty sure he heard a crack. And he winced as he felt the green mamba coiling even tighter around his body, which wasn't helping matters at all.

"Oh, don't try to pretend you don't know, Egypt. You think of Rahim, Sadik and the others as traitors, when you're no different from the rest of us." Nigeria grinned nastily while Egypt gasped for breath, "You're a hypocrite, pure and simple. It's in your nature as a religious man, especially since you're a Muslim."

Red flashed in his vision at the insult, but the looming threat of the snake that was staring at him, almost wishing he would act out of line, forbid him from sharply retorting as he wished.

Nigeria seemed ready to kick him again until Egypt admitted whatever he was supposed to admit, but after spending a few moments scrutinizing the obvious confusion on the latter's face, the West African frowned. "Unless… You truly don't _know_ what I'm talking about? Tch. I honestly can't decide which would be sadder. Is it willful ignorance, or…?"

Egypt inhaled sharply, eyes still flitting over to the snake watching his every move. What would be a good way to distract it? As he pondered on that, he glared at Nigeria. "I assure you, I have no idea what you're talking about. And I am no traitor, unlike you."

" _Please_. We're nations. We've all betrayed someone at some point." Nigeria scoffed, and he sneered again as he kneeled down to Egypt's level and jabbed a finger in his chest. "Oh, but you… _you_ , Goopy, are a traitor _and_ a massive hypocrite, not to mention one who's is in serious denial. It's hilarious, but at the same time, _infuriating._ "

"And what exactly am I supposedly denying?"

Nigeria didn't answer for a few seconds, but then he grabbed a fistful of Egypt's hair and the latter yelped as he was pulled uncomfortably close to the West African.

"Look at that glorious entity, manifested in his true form before our very eyes" Nigeria whispered to him, voice filled with admiration. "It's powerful, immortal, beyond human understanding… And when I felt his wrath, I… it was _amazing_. It is without a shadow of a doubt, a god. Wouldn't _you_ think the same, Egypt? Or is it possible that it's… a _fraud_?"

The West African giggled and Egypt focused all his rage into his glare, and suddenly he wasn't worried so much about the snake. "Perish the thought! You yourself know that that is not the case. He is _truly_ the god of death. And of course I think the same! How _dare_ you?!"

The green mamba hissed loudly and opened its mouth, and Egypt faltered, but his anger still remained.

" _Me_? No… no… You're right… I do know that he's the real deal…" Nigeria murmured distractedly before giving Egypt a look of disdain." "But you don't have any right to defend your gods."

"And what ridiculous reasons do you have for that opinion?" Egypt asked slightly sarcastically, sneering at both Nigeria and the snake.

"Tell me, you're a true and good Muslim, aren't you, Egypt?"

Egypt felt offended by the question, but nonetheless replied automatically. "Of course I am!"

To his apprehension, Nigeria stared at him oddly, but then the demented man cracked a smile and threw his head back in uproarious hyena-like laughter. What the hell was so funny about that statement?

"HA! Oh my, you're so unbelievable, Egypt." Nigeria guffawed. "Are you even hearing yourself? You call yourself- No. You think of yourself as a true and good Muslim, but the evidence that says otherwise is right in front of us?!"

"Just what are you talking about? I'm sick of your cryptic-"

" _See_ , this is what I meant when I said you were a traitor and a hypocrite." Nigeria clicked his tongue in disapproval, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "You're a Muslim, you're conscious of it and you uphold all the laws of Islam but you still worship the old gods and _see_ them as gods. Are you a moron or are you just ignoring this glaring betrayal to your so-called 'faith?"

After being posed with that question, Egypt winced as he was suddenly struck with a splitting headache, the likes of which he hadn't deal with in over a century and two. No, not now…! He tried to suppress the pain and organize his thoughts, and he managed to at least formulate a response.

Him? A traitor to his faith?

"You're wrong! I am no traitor. I never betrayed any religions." Egypt snarled, slightly coiling back at the sight of the mamba hissing and opening its mouth menacingly. "I am aware that I am a part of two faiths…"

"So you _are_ aware that you're a traitor?" Nigeria raised an eyebrow.

Egypt gritted his teeth. "I. Am. Not. A. Traitor! I may be a part of two faiths, but I believe in both of them. There is nothing wrong with that!"

Despite what many people might think, Egypt wasn't blind to the fact that he was part of two faiths. He was plenty aware of how other nations deliberately avoid posing a question about it or even bringing it up out of fear of him lashing out. Not even the more annoying ones, such as Prussia or America, not that they really counted anymore, ever brought it up.

Good. While Egypt saw nothing inherently wrong with it (liarliarliar), he'd much rather not think about it. It was a waste of time. And besides, it just gave him a headache…

"Are you kidding me? You believe in Allah and place him and the religion of Islam in such high esteem. But you _literally_ have the god of death as your loyal companion!" Nigeria pointed out along with throwing his hands up in frustration now slowly descending into anger. "And you have the other gods at your side too. You continue to believe in them after everyone else has deserted them and they love you. And _how_ do you repay their kindness to you? By converting to a religion that denounces them and proclaims that there's only _one_ god."

Nigeria's voice was dripping with disgust

"Let's face it, Egypt. You're basically a two-timer."

"I am not, you demented witchdoctor! I've never denounced any god!" Egypt spat, ignoring how Nigeria snickered at the attempted insult for some reason, and continued, "Many nations are aware of my beliefs, but they do not care, so why should you?"

"Because they don't care as long as you put Islam first and everything and everyone else second, but even that isn't to pea." Nigeria waved his hand dismissively, and "You sicken me, you know what? And that's coming from me, ME!

"Really, _I_ sicken you?"

"Even someone like me can have standards." Nigeria retorted, scoffing. "And as someone who has followed and remained loyal to _my_ gods with unwavering loyalty no matter what religion invaded my lands, this pisses me off in levels you can't even imagine."

"Then answer this: How and why do the gods exist then? How did Ra, creator of the universe, came to be and why? Are they truly gods? Who is the real ruler of the universe?"

As soon as those questions reached his ears, the already painful headache Egypt had been enduring became a million times worse. He yelled at the excruciating pain pounding at his skull as he tried to respond despite the different voices demanding that he tell the answers _they_ wanted to hear.

It was torture. No. There was no way to truly describe it. The inner conflict threatened to tear his mind in two.

"Weeeelll?" Nigeria tapped his foot impatiently, his voice barely audible over the pounding and the yelling.. "I'm waiting~"

 _Ra has been there since the dawn of the creation and with him came all the other gods!_

 _Allah is the only God! Do not believe these false idols can even measure him in might and mercy!_

"A-Allah created all of them…" Egypt forced out without much thought as the pain split his skull. It was hard enough to think straight.

Nigeria groaned loudly, but Egypt could barely hear him over the pain crippling his senses. "Oh, come on, Egypt! That has to be one of the _worst_ rationalizations anyone could use. You don't even have any proof of that, you'd get _slaughtered_ if you stated it for the whole Muslim World to hear, and it contradicts what verses say about _other_ religions."

Desperate, Egypt attempted to form an argument. "P-Passages have been lost to time… There could've been…"

"Well, that's true…" Nigeria mused while holding his chin. "There are so many contradictions in Islam that I wouldn't be that surprised if there was actually a Quran verse stating about other gods existing and stuff."

"N-No! Th-That's not what I…"

"BUT since there's no proof of such a verse existing, and again, all the verses about infidels, pagans and whatnot, your argument is invalid." Nigeria declared with all trace of cheeriness now gone from his voice. "So I'll ask you again, and don't you dare try to shy away from answering, who is the true god of the universe?"

"I told you, Allah-"

"Hypocrisy, hypocrisy, HYPOCRISY! Knock it off, I'm _sick_ of it!" Nigeria yelled, painfully yanking Egypt's hair as he pointed at the deity. "That is Anubis! Son of Nepthys and great-grandson or possible illegitimate son of _Ra_ , who was there since the dawn of creation! _He_ is no one's creation. So, tell me. Who do you serve?"

"I.."

"In fact, what are you, really? Who do you serve? Allah or Ra? You can't serve both…"

"I… I…" ' _I serve Allah!'_ One voice in his head wanted him to scream. _'I serve the Egyptian gods of old!_ Another voice screamed as well.

"A figment of mankind's imagination, or the god who you've seen with your own eyes? Who is really worth being loyal to first and foremost?"

Egypt didn't know.

/ / / / /

Just like last time, Tunisia was harshly shoved to the floor.

He had just began to regain consciousness by the time Morocco dragged him to the inside the house, feeling drowsy with an odd feeling in his unharmed shoulder.

And just like the last time they were alone together, Tunisia had tried to quickly scrambled to get himself up and run away from his insane brother while (if) he still could, but he was still weak from… whatever his brother did to him. He was sluggish and he could barely get himself off the floor without the world starting to spin. And to make things worse, Morocco wrapped his arms around him again.

Tunisia was trapped.

"Salam aleikum, dear brother." Morocco whispered huskily in his ear, hugging him again in a deceptively gentle manner. "I've missed you so. I know it's only been a day, but we had been interrupted so early into our time together that I've been waiting eagerly for the next time I would see you."

"Get off me!" Tunisia demanded as he weakly fought to get out of Morocco's hug. "K-Khalida, she's-"

"Not someone you should bother worrying about." Morocco finished as he released him. Tunisia used this opportunity to make a run for it, but Morocco held him back by the arm. "Ah-Ah, you're not going anywhere, Malik. We're going to have some quality time together.

"Y-You're not going to- Abarshane's not going to-"

"Oh, calm yourself, Malik. Algeria won't die permanently. It's too early for that and…" Morocco paused as he stared at the torn skin on Tunisia's shoulder "There's still the aftermath of my little punishment to worry about. I see no signs of infection yet, but do you feel warm or anything that could indicate that its beginning to get infected?

"I-I don't care!" Tunisia shouted, although the pain that still burned in his shoulder and the warmth building up inside was worrying him. He tried to get up again, feeling his energy returning with each minute. "I'm going back to Algeria!"

"Don't be like that, Malik." Morocco pouted, but there was an underlying threat in his words. "I don't know if you're aware of this, but as you can see, I'm being very nice and generous with you, Tunisia. I simply knocked you out and didn't bother to try to bind you when it would've been much more logical to keep you in place with more brutal methods. It would not be wise to test my patience."

Tunisia was about to protest and try to get his arm out of Morocco's grip again, but his brother leaned near his ear and whispered.

"You wouldn't want me to go back and tell Algeria all about your little secret, would you?"

Tunisia paled at threat. Defeated, he stopped struggling.

"…Why did you do that, anyway?" He grumbled.

"Do what?" Morocco asked innocently, though from his smile and the gleam in his eyes, he obviously knew what Tunisia was talking about.

"Why did you lie to Algeria?" Tunisia asked, not able to bring himself to him to look at his brother in the eye. "What was in it for you?

Morocco regarded him calmly for a few seconds, almost scrutinizing him, before chuckling. "What was in it for me? Ah, Tunisia, we may be nations, but not everything we do has to have an ulterior motive or is solely for our benefit. I lied for your sake, to keep your secret _safe_. Aren't I such a loving brother? You didn't complain then, so you shouldn't complain now."

Tunisia shook his head, that couldn't be... "N-No. Why did you really do it?"

"Because _I love you_ , darling brother." Morocco stated with a warm smile and the words pierced Tunisia's heart. "While Algeria's reaction to seeing her loyal little puppy was a filthy homosexual would be priceless, I wouldn't want to see your heart break, not after you were already punished for your little transgression."

It's horrible how Tunisia wanted to believe it, that his brother truly cared about him, 'loved' him even, to lie to Algeria for his sake. But he knew better. It was a _lie._

Everything was lies… wasn't it?

"Now, now, what's with that spark of anger in your eyes, brother?" Morocco asked innocently, a genuinely curious expression on his face as he cocked his head to the side. "While it truly brings me great pleasure to see you finally growing more of a backbone, I sense that there is more to it than what I might assume."

"You're right, for once." Tunisia said bitterly.

"Oh, I can think of many more times where I was correct, but no matter." Morocco shrugged it off and began slowly circling Tunisia, eyes never leaving him. Tunisia tried not to see where his brother might be looking at. "Now, what is bothering you, my lovely little pet? What did I do to make you look at me like that, aside from the obvious reasons? I can't possibly _bear_ to see you upset with me."

Tunisia averted his gaze to the floor, scowling. "And what makes you think I wasn't already upset at you before?"

"Ah, but not like this, Malik." Morocco spoke in an eerie tone, footsteps "You were upset before, though the reasons were completely understandable, but now I see a lot more anger that what I'd expect from you. It's honestly quite sad to see. Is Algeria's anger and overall negativity becoming contagious?"

"I… We've had a bit of a talk before we got here. She helped… come to terms with a few things."

"Like what, exactly?"

Tunisia managed to work up the courage to tear his gaze from the ground and look up at his brother, who was staring at him curiously. "Like the fact you don't care about me. And I shouldn't care about you."

"Is that so?" Morocco's tone was obviously disbelieving. Tunisia clenched his fists.

"I... should _hate_ you for what you did."

"But you don't hate me, you still don't. You can't, no matter how hard you try. We _are_ kindred spirits after all." Morocco gave him a warm smile, and Tunisia's heart nearly fluttered. Then he let out a small gasp when Morocco gently took one of his hands and squeezed it. "It's one of the main reasons why I care for you, Tunisia. So, tell me, what angered you?"

It took quite an effort not to scream at him. He really didn't why know Tunisia was especially angry at him this time?

"You… You don't know…?" Tunisia stammered, not sure if he could believe his ears. "You really haven't got a clue? But how? Aren't you the one who acts as if you know me better than even myself?"

"I swear to you that I don't know, and _this_ I mean with complete honesty." Morocco said with complete seriousness. But how could Tunisia know the statement itself was actually truthful? The fact that he couldn't trust what Morocco said still pained him, despite everything. "I may know you better than anyone else in the world, but I'm not a mind reader, Malik. Although I'm flattered that you think I'm perceptive to that extent."

Despite that semi-relieving discovery, and that he shouldn't expect much from Morocco, Tunisia still felt himself getting angrier. "All that bull about that you can love me and that you understand me, but you don't even know

"You… You speak of loving me, when you assault defenseless men like Mauritius. I know what you did to him, Rahim. And I know he wasn't even fully conscious!" Tunisia trembled, clenching his fists tightly. "Not only is it twisted and wrong, but it proves Algeria right when she told me that she feared that you might try to manipulate me! You _lied_ to me. Admit it, you never wanted to help me. You _never_ cared about me."

It brought Tunisia a small bit of satisfaction to see Morocco finally and look genuinely surprised for once. He even looked a little puzzled for some reason. What, did he think that Tunisia wouldn't catch on to the truth so quick? He thought this bitterly as he stared long and hard at his brother, waiting for his response…

…Until the silence finally broke.

"Pffff- AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…!" Morocco spluttered before he roared with laughter.

Tunisia was… quite taken aback by this, and was left gaping as he watched his brother laugh like a madman.

"I can't believe this! You thought- You know- Oh, I just can't! This is too much- AHA!"

WHAT? What's too much? What's Morocco laughing about? What's so funny about what Tunisia said?

"Oh… Oh Iblis… My _sides_ … Gahahaha! I'm sorry, Malik, but I…" Morocco burst back into his loud laughter as he nearly doubled over, while Tunisia could only stare in disbelief. "Oh my- HAHAHAHA! _This_ is what you're upset about? What I did to Mauritius- that's what… Oh, I can't breathe- AHAHAHAHAHA…!"

No. To say Tunisia was stunned by his brother's reaction would be an understatement. He couldn't believe this! How could Morocco find this hilarious?

He clenched his hands by his sides, and he tried to hold back his _tears_. "It's not _funny_ , Rahim! This isn't any laughing matter. What you did was disgusting and I couldn't believe you'd be so… Ugh! and… and… now your duplicity is exposed and you're _laughing_ about it? Is my pain that amusing to you? Do you even care about _anything_ at all?!

Morocco guffawed some more while waving his hand, "Oh, no, no, no, no, don't get the wrong idea, Mal- HA! Don't get the wrong idea, _please_. You are not the source of my bout of laughter, Malik. It's not you. Well, for the most part."

"Define, 'for the most part'." Tunisia demanded, at this point not even caring that his tone might get him punished. "And what's so funny?"

"Heehee! Well, Malik, it's just…" Morocco trailed off into oddly girlish giggling as he covered his mouth before smiling wide "I've _just_ realized that you and the others are still quite in the dark despite being aware of the truth, and that I was foolish to not fill you in some details in our last meeting. And to think that it culminated to this misunderstanding… and seeing you _jealous_ is just… Oh, wait, here it comes again. GAHAHAHAHA!"

J-J-Jealous? Him? Tunisia felt his face heat up. "No, you've got it all wrong! I'm not jealous, for Allah's sake. You're my **_brother!_** Why would I… Wait, what do you mean, _misunderstanding_?"

"It's exactly what it means, Malik." Morocco responded gleefully as he wiped away a tear, and he straightened himself up while an odd glint appeared in his eyes. "Like I said, I think that in the heat of the moment and the rush of pleasure I was getting at seeing you at mercy, I've neglected to inform of some important details of the real me and my life."

Suddenly Tunisia had a very bad feeling about this, and he was starting to regret starting this conversation. He swallowed nervously. "W-Whhat… details? Like what? That you don't actually care for me at all?"

"No, no, you silly little puppy… My feelings and intentions are genuine, I assure you." Morocco said sweetly. "I believe me covering for you when your deep dark secret was in danger of being exposed and not having had extensively tortured you despite being more than capable of doing so, because, let's be honest, you're not exactly a fighter, is proof enough of that."

Tunisia bit his tongue and looked away, saying nothing. Well, he couldn't really deny that. Morocco had the perfect opportunity to expose Tunisia's sinful nature to Algeria, and even if she wouldn't believe him at first, Tunisia was certain that he would give it away somehow. It was the perfect chance to drive a wedge between them, use the ensuing argument to escape and eventually cause Tunisia and Algeria's relationship to completely fall apart just for his own sick amusement.

Algeria would leave him. Tunisia had seen and heard this happen way too many times, and it was one of his worst fears. He'd lose his family and be ostracized for the rest of his life. And Morocco would have a lot of fun watching it all happen, wouldn't he?

But no, Morocco didn't do that. He lied for him, _saved_ him.

"You see, I'm afraid you are stuck in the strict, close-minded world of Islam. While I cannot exactly blame you for coming to the conclusion that I was lying about my intention to genuinely love you and was nothing more than a duplicitous, uncaring man-whore… and I'll have you know the fact that you did think that actually _hurts_ …"

Morocco paused to give his brother a furious glare, and it looked- the anger emanating from him felt so _sincere_ that Tunisia actually felt _guilty_.

"While it is understandable, I'm afraid you jumped to conclusions, and one that couldn't be more wrong." Morocco reprimanded him in a calmer manner, circling Tunisia again, it didn't help him feel any less anxious. "Also, you failed to consider any other possibilities, and instead went for the worst-case-scenario. Again, while it is understandable, it was still unwise. But now, allow me to explain just _what_ kind of person I am."

Tunisia swallowed the lump in his throat. "Wh-What do you mean?"

"You see, Tunisia…" Morocco's smile returned as he stopped his circling when he stood right in front of Tunisia, and he placed his hand over his chest.. He possessed an air of tranquility that Tunisia had just noticed. "I am free."

"F-Free?" Tunisia echoed, confused. He flinched when Morocco gently took both of his hands into his own.

"I am an existence who is free from the constraints of societal norms, ethics, and excessive morality." Morocco explained with a creepy serenity to him, and his pride over this fact showed so much in his beaming expression. "I always have been since the day I appeared on this Earth, really. I consider it a gift. This freedom grants me the ability to do as I please without feeling any shame or disgust at myself in my pursuits of pleasure. And I possess the _right_ to use that freedom as I so choose."

"E-Even at the expense of others?" Tunisia asked quietly.

"Yes, even at the expense of the people I have no shred of _empathy_ for." Morocco clarified, still beaming, but Tunisia was hardly any less appalled. "What I did with Mauritius… What you consider to be an appalling, immoral act… For me, I'm just indulging in my desires. I just saw an opportunity and I took it. And Mauritius was just so adorable that I just couldn't help myself, no matter how angry Switzerland would be. But I was prepared to deal with the consequences of my actions."

"Adorable? Mauritius was probably drugged or unconscious when you laid your hands on him!" Tunisia yelled, indignant that Morocco was so relaxed about all this. "You and the others were filling his head your ideas, he was suffering and- and- you found the state he was in adorable?"

He probably shouldn't be surprised at this point, but it still made him angry.

"Yes, I did. You should've seen him, Malik. He was just so cuuute…" Morocco cooed before he suddenly did a 180 and _glared_ at Tunisia. "But just so we're clear, dear Malik, I did not rape him. I did quite a few things, but not that. No, it is not _right…_ And if you thought I did, well, please get it out of your cute little head."

Tunisia frowned and said nothing. Was that really true? Or was Morocco just saying that to make him believe that he's not all bad. He didn't know what to believe anymore.

But it wasn't the point. What Morocco did… He… Gah, Tunisia didn't even know what to say about it anymore without starting an inner conflict.

Morocco sighed at his silence and continued. "I won't deny that I am shameless. You were right in that respect. I love having fun. I've fallen in love with the feeling of pleasure, Malik, and I like sharing it with others… And I especially want to share it with _you_."

Morocco's gaze became hungry, and Tunisia took a fearful step back. "M-Me? What do you…?"

Then it suddenly clicked. Tunisia was no stranger no double-entendres, dirty words, or anything like that. He'd spent years under France, for Allah's sake, and he had been a victim of his former colonizer's matchmaking schemes as well as France's dramatic speeches of love and such more than once. So, once Tunisia finally decided to let go of some of his frustration with everything and actually think about what Morocco was saying, he now understood everything… maybe…

Once again, Tunisia felt dumb for not realizing this sooner. Morocco was right, maybe he did jump to conclusions too quickly…

He felt the color drain from his face as the realization dawned on him, and it went without saying that Tunisia was appalled. So… Morocco was just like Lot's people, and maybe just like those embarrassing gay characters that Tunisia hated so much?

He should've known… But if he did, then why did it still hurt?

"You… You're basically saying that you're…" Tunisia trailed off and he felt sick to his stomach for more reasons than one. Think, what's the best way to put it that won't insult Morocco and set him off?" "That you… you… um… _really get around?_ "

That _was_ what the Westerners say, right?

To his relief, his brother's face lit up, and he clapped his hands in delight. "Aha! I _knew_ you were the bright one, Tunisia! That's exactly what I'm saying. I'm what one would call promiscuous. Now, I know I could've just spelled it out for you, but you want to understand me, don't you? A straight answer wouldn't help you do that…"

Tunisia wasn't even complaining about that detail, he's still trying to process this. So… Morocco was… practically a more demented, perverted and licentious version of France… _not that he'd ever say that to Morocco's face_. And… And…

"I still don't understand a lot of things…" Tunisia rubbed his head, his mind spinning after digesting all this messed-up information. But then he realized he's forgetting the main point. "No, forget it. That's not even what's important right now. I can't believe you! So just because you don't care about morals and norms, you do as Lot's people did?"

"Not the best way to put it, but I suppose…" Morocco sighed, scratching his head. "I meant that it's this apathy that allows me to act so shamelessly. And to describe my proclivities as 'doing as Lot's people did' is a bit of a rude generalization in my opinion. It is generally agreed that Lot's people engaged in sodomy, or more specifically, anal intercourse, but you'll find that I can-"

"STOP! I don't want to hear that!" Tunisia shouted in alarm, covering his ears. He's heard enough terrible information for today. "B-But why were you born this way?"

"Ah, that's one question I can't answer, other than why Algeria was born with such a vulture-like scowl. As for the rest, you can't understand me immediately, brother. You need more time to get to know me better." Morocco said in what was probably meant to be in a comforting manner. "But on the bright side, now you know why I had no qualms about having my way with Mauritius! I assume that should dispel your doubts about my intentions, no?

"N-No, it doesn't!" Tunisia exclaimed. W-Well, it kind of did, but Tunisia wasn't willing to admit that. No, _never_. "If you like being with other men so much, then why do you want to be with me? D-Do you want me to be some sort of concubine or what?"

Morocco clicked his tongue and shook his head, sighing in disappointment. "Conclusions, conclusions… You just keep jumping to conclusions… _No_ , that is _not_ what I want for us."

 _Us_. Not for Tunisia, not for Morocco, but for both of them. Tunisia wondered why that was. He swallowed, "Then what _do_ you want? Why do you… _want_ me?"

Morocco smiled "Because you're the one I want to finally settle down with."

Tunisia squeaked as he felt his pounding heart grind to a stop. "S-Settle down?"

"Yes, settle down. As in, be fully committed to a relationship, with no more fooling around or sleeping around with other men. You are the one I want to spend the rest of my long life with in happiness and pure bliss." Morocco said softly, poking a finger at Tunisia's chest as his smile widened. "But if you decide to be promiscuous like me, then it'll be even better!"

"Allah above, perish the thought!" Tunisia shrilled few octaves higher than he would've liked. "It still doesn't make sense. If you want to… to…"

"Settle down with you."

" _Th-That_ …" Tunisia couldn't even bring himself to say it. The" "If you really want that, then why do you keep… being with other men?"

"Well, there's how I want to have as much fun as I can before I settle down with you." Morocco stated, and he winked. "And then there's the fact we _aren't_ in a relationship… yet. So, if you think about that, there's really no good reason to get mad at me."

Tunisia felt his face redden in embarrassment. "I was mad for several reasons…"

"Because for the first time in centuries, you finally felt hope that you'll finally get your happy ending with your prince in shining armor." Morocco went on as if Tunisia hadn't spoken, sighing in what had to be false remorse. "And you were furious when I crushed that hope, and for that I apologize. And you also became jealous that I had my attention on another man."

"I wasn't jealous!" Tunisia was praying that he wasn't blushing. "I-I mean, I… Wait, no, I'm not! I told you, I was upset that you were playing with my feelings! And I was furious when I've discovered that you'd do such an immortal act with such shamelessness and pride as any sane, rational person would!"

"Oh, how hilarious," Morocco chuckle went on as Tunisia hadn't said anything, or maybe, because he _expected_ such denial from him. "This is _just_ like those Western romance stories. You are angry at me for making love with another person even though we aren't in a relationship… yet."

"No, it's not! And stop saying that!" Tunisia was aghast in horror at the idea. "I wasn't angry because of _that._ I told you, I was angry because-"

"Because I had your hopes up?"

"For the love of Allah, please stop interrupting me!" Tunisia exclaimed, gripping his head in frustration. "Rahim, what you want, it's… it's… incest! Can't you see how wrong and disgusting it is? We're brothers.

"It is not a matter of right and wrong, Malik." Morocco shook his head, disapproval all over his face, and he stepped again towards Tunisia. "This is about personal happiness and freeing yourself from a lifestyle that will only torment you until you die."

Morocco reached out his hand and cupped Tunisia's cheek. He tensed at his brother's touch, but he found himself unable to tear his gaze away from Morocco's.

"I believe it's time I make the offer again, Malik."

/ / / / /

Alright… Alright… Now what?

Hungary panted as she slammed the door behind her, leaning on the wall beside her for support. Her heart pounded in her ears as she tried to even her breathing and assure herself that it's okay, she made it. She… She actually made it.

But Egypt was still out there. Anubis was still out there. Everyone else was still out there. And they're not going anywhere until Hungary did what they came here to do.

But what should she do first? Yes, she knew the question sounded beyond stupid, yes, but what if Liechtenstein was here somewhere in the house? What if she's locked in one of the rooms? What if she's in the basement with Mauritius? What if she's **_dead?_**

Well… you're not going to accomplish anything just standing there, aren't you, Hungary?

And besides, what the hell are you saying? For all you know, Liechtenstein's not even here anymore, and they came all the way here for Mauritius most of all. If she decided to go upstairs to find Liechtenstein and it turned out that she's not here, and while she was off searching someone nabbed Mauritius or everyone else gets killed in the time it took Hungary to realize that Liechtenstein wasn't in the house…

Then they're doomed. Everything will be dead, captured or _worse_. And it'll once again all be thanks to Hungary's damn curiosity. That'll probably make- what- around ten people Hungary will end up killing?

Hungary let out a humorless chuckle.

Find Mauritius first, Hungary. Then if you have the time, go look for Liechtenstein too. And make it quick, will you?

She went further into the house, looking around for the place she needed to go. Come on, Hungary. This wasn't the first time you've visited Switzerland's house. You know where the basement door was, right? It's right near the stairs…

She made sure to take careful but quick steps as she made her way to the door. One could never be too careful.

Just as Hungary had the door in her sights and she felt a smile make its way to her face, she froze on her way to the door at the sound of footsteps behind her. Hungary looked back, and her eyes went wide.

"Huh?"

 **Yeaaaah, I know what I said last chapter, and it turned out I think I'm gonna have to extend this for one more part. I mean, this chapter's already 16, 000 words long! Heh, so, that's kinda way I took an extra week. Next time will be the conclusion, I'm sure of it. Despite that, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.**

 **Oh, and in case you were wondering, the move Morocco used was none other than the Vulcan nerve pinch. Yeah, it kind of just came to me. XD**

 **Please review if you have a minute.**


	74. Justice: The Storm Part III

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, NadiaJA627 and vexey1999 for reviewing. Now, on with the show!**

"You _idióta!_ "

 _BANG!_

"OW!"

Hands trembling as she held her frying pan with her free hand, the other being used to hold a shotgun that she felt really tempted to use on the bastard right now, Hungary felt absolutely no sympathy at all as she watched Romania whine and rub the spot on his head where she rightfully hit him for nearly giving her a heart attack.

"What the hell was that for, you Hungarian Hag?!" Romania angrily yelled at her, fangs and all.

"For almost killing me, that's what!" Hungary yelled back at him with just as much anger, if not more. God, what a moron. "What were you thinking? For a moment I thought that you were the enemy trying to sneak up behind me! You're lucky that I didn't shoot you right then and there! How could you try to play a practical joke at a time like this?!"

"Me? I wasn't trying to play anything, you idiot! I just popped in the house, heard footsteps and wanted to see what's what!" Romania exclaimed "And if I was one of the Africans or Switzerland, I'm pretty sure you'd already be riddled with gunshot wounds or be eaten alive."

"Are you saying I can't defend myself?"

"Nu, but you're sure as hell pretty dense!"

"Why you little-" Hungary growled, her fingers twitching, "You know what? We don't have time for this. We can yell at each other later."

Romania rolled his eyes. "Finally, the hag's got herself some sense!"

Hungary's going to try to ignore that. She shook her head. "Whatever. Now, what are you doing here? I thought we agreed that Egypt and I would be the ones to rescue Mauritius."

"Except Egypt's busy with Cuckoo in the Hoodoo outside along and Anubis was dealing with the birds, so we started to wonder what the holdup was." Romania stated easily, shrugging as his expression hardened. "I only saw what exactly the problem was once I got here, but Germany kinda started assuming the worst, and he _demanded_ that I go ahead even though I'm the only thing keeping them from getting shot down by Switzy."

Hungary was taken aback by that. Germany really did that? For her? "R-Really?"

"Da, really." Romania hissed in annoyance, sneering. "Now if we're both done explaining and complaining, I believe our allies will get killed if we don't _hurry the hell up!_ "

"Okay, okay, don't get your Romanian knickers in a twist!" Hungary "So, here's how we'll do it. You go down to the basement and bring back Mauritius while I search the house for Liechtenstein, then we leave with them in tow. Easy enough for you to understand?

"What? What do you mean, we're gonna be splitting up?!" Romania hollered while making what Hungary could only describe as exaggerated hand gestures. It'd be hilarious if she wasn't so stressed out. "Are you crazy? Wait, no, that's a rhetorical question. Let me rephrase that: Are you stupid? Ah- Nu, nu, nu that doesn't seem right either…"

Hungary's eye twitched dangerous, and she decided to cut him off before she could get the urge to knock him unconscious. "What's your point? What's so bad about splitting up?"

"Hag, I'm the living, breathing key to your safety. If we split up, and something happens, then you're screwed." Romania told her bluntly. "Now, if we stick together on the other hand, all it takes is 'Oh, great, strong, valiant, and handsome Romania, please use your amazing powers to get us the hell out of here!'"

Hungary stared at him blankly. "Why? We'd both be dead by then."

Romania facepalmed, growling for a bit. "As always, you're missing the point. _You_ need _me_. I, somewhat, need your dumb muscle and fearsome skillet. We work together, and nothing bad will happen to either of us."

"Oh, please, I can survive just fine without you." Hungary huffed…. And then she blinked and did a double take. "Wait- What do you mean by dumb mus-"

"Don't be prideful at a time like this, hag! We need to stick together."

Romania trailed off into a bunch of incoherent grumbles and curses in Romanian while Hungary only gave him a deadpan look. Thankfully, he seemed to remember that he didn't have time to whine like the dog he was, and took a deep breath before speaking again.

"Hey… Hey, hag. Listen, I know you really wanna make it up to Liechtenstein and save her," Romania began with a somber but hasty tone as he held his hat. "But in case you're starting to get the memory of a goldfish, you've just miraculously managed to get across a field of giant man-eating lightning birds that're giving even a god of _death_ a rough time."

As if on cue, Hungary flinched when she heard thunder rumbling. She turned back to Romania with a deadpan look. "Trust me, I haven't forgotten. So?"

Romania raised a disbelieving eyebrow, staring at her as if _she's_ the idiot here. " _So_ , we _definitely_ didn't expect the outside of Switzerland's house to be guarded by giant man-eating lighting birds of all things, did we? _Nu_. Nu we did not. These bastards were prepared for us. So, who's to say that they haven't laid a trap in the basement or somewhere else in the house too?"

Oh, dammit. He's actually some good points. Hungary looked away guilty, feeling herself flush from embarrassment for not having thought of that earlier. If Count Dickula here had figured that out, then what did that make her?

"It's like Germany said, we don't have any idea what to expect what to expect from these guys." Romania pointed out, and he hissed as he glanced at his wrist, even though he didn't have a watch. "And, da, we're really on a tight schedule here."

'Which was why we _need_ to split up!' Hungary wanted to yell in his ear.

"Believe me, I'm as peeved at the idea as you are, but we have to work together." Romania said in what had to be boredom, shrugging, "Safety in numbers, y'know? Now let's _go_!"

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Hungary burst out exasperatedly. "But since we're strapped for time, it'd be better if we split up and went looking for those two ourselves! And besides, can't you just teleport if something goes wrong?

Romania's face became as red as the stinky blood he drank from innocent young girls. "Exactly! I can _teleport_ , which is why I can get both of us out in the blink of an eye as opposed to you getting evaporated before I can get to you in time to save you!"

"Oh please, now you're being ridiculous." Hungary hissed, and then she tried to calm herself. "But no, fine, fine, you kind of… do have a point. There could be traps all over the house, even though it'd be _impractical_. So, while we might have a better chance of getting out of here alive if this place really is ready to kill us should we play it safe, we'd also risk having the others getting incapacitated the longer we take to get things done."

Romania's face scrunched up, making him look even more hideous than usual. No… he looked conflicted, and even more annoyed. Yes, he's getting her point! Ha! Point: Hungary! All was right in the universe again!

"You're the one who wants to get this whole thing over and done with, so shouldn't you be alright with this? I promise I'll be careful, leave at the first sign of trouble, and find Lili as quickly as possible. Is that good enough for you.

Romania gritted his teeth, and it was little bizarre seeing that he almost looked _worried_. "Not really. But are you _sure_ about this, hag? 'Cause you do know that if you scream, I won't be able to hear you from all the way down there, right?"

"I know, and I'm sure." Hungary said calmly, and confidently.

Romania growled for a few seconds, and Hungary caught him muttering the words 'stupid hag'. But before she could hit him, Romania threw his hands up. "Grrr, fine! We don't have time to argue, anyway. We'll split up, but don't go blaming me if you run into trouble."

Now it was Hungary's turn to roll her eyes. "Whatever, you scrapped concept for a Buffy character."

"Fine! I'm sorry for caring! I'll just go and get this over with!"

"Fine! Guess I'll be going too!"

 _"Fine!"_

 _"Fine!"_

"…"

"…"

"So, where's the basement again?"

"It's right behind me, you moron."

/ / / / /

"We need to talk, China-san." Japan had stated to his confused former mentor.

Honestly, Japan had surprised himself in the abruptness of his decision without considering any potential fallout from this. But it was something that had been eating away at him for a while now, and something that desperately needed to be addressed for the greater good.

Japan, in a similar vein to France, had recently come to acknowledge the numerous sins he had committed, and that they were his own fault and no one else's, as well as coming to realize the actions he had done that helped add fuel to the fire that was Hong Kong, North Korea and the Philippines' hatred of him. He was a coward and a fool to have tried to shift the blame away and pretend he did nothing wrong.

Rewriting history, how his citizens were so foolishly patriotic that they refused to see how utterly demonic they were in the past century, denying some of the things that had happened, being bitter towards America when Japan should've known that he had the bombing coming after everything he did…

Japan probably didn't make himself or the world any favors by possibly contributing America's fall to apathy.

Yes, he was a fool.

In light of all this, he had resolved to become a better person and pledged to make up for his sins. It won't erase the past, Japan was well aware of that, but sometimes feeling remorse and apologizing won't do. He'll face the consequences of his actions,

But the same couldn't be said for China.

China, similar to Russia, still hasn't come to acknowledge the numerous sins he had committed, much less that they were his own fault and no one else's. He still refused to see or even admit that he played a large part in having Hong Kong and Macau want to rebel against him, getting North Korea to absolutely loath him, and humiliating Mongolia to the point where he's likely eager to give him hell.

Honestly, it highly displeased Japan to see him like this, acting as if he didn't have just as much part as the others in causing all this.

Japan was still internally debating what the exact reason for this implausible and dangerous denial would be. It could be pride, China had been always been prideful, and still is to this day, so it made sense. China might also be like this out of hurt, and just wanted to pretend that Hong Kong and the others hated him for no real reason, because it meant that he hadn't been being such a terrible brother.

Or perhaps… China was truly that blind. But Japan hoped that wasn't the case.

So, this was why Japan had politely. He wished to speak to him about all this, help him see reason, and more importantly, prevent another incident similar to England's.

And in another note, China accidentally admitting that he had been intending to do something to undermine Hong Kong's freedom after Belize accused him aroused some concern in Japan. A bill that might cause the 'one country, two systems' policy to fall apart? This needed to be addressed.

It was one of the many things that needed to be addressed.

"What is this about, Kiku?" China asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

In a surprising twist, Japan didn't bother stalling and immediately got straight to the point. "I mean, we need to talk about Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia– Everyone who we've had a hand in causing them to join the Order, as well as your attitude regarding this."

As expected, China's expression immediately morphed into one of distaste. "And just what do you mean by 'my attitude'?"

"I think you know what I am referring to, China-san." Japan said grimly as he shifted uneasily, but he kept his calm. "You still have not learned your lesson. You have not acknowledged your responsibility. You refuse to realize the role you played in pushing Hong Kong and the others to-"

"Aiyah! Not you, too!" China groaned loudly in frustration, and he sent an annoyed glare at Japan. "Is Belize mocking me in Taiwan's place not enough? Now you are going to blame me for those two brats going insane, as well as whatever Mongolia's problem is."

"This is not about blame, China-san." Japan assured him in what he hoped was a calming tone. "Throwing around blame won't do any of us any good. This is acknowledging the mistakes we made, our part in unwittingly causing this war, and being prepared for the consequences that will follow. Only then will we be able to redeem ourselves."

"Redeem ourselves? Don't make me laugh, Kiku" "I have no reason to feel any remorse for those ungrateful children, especially after how they played us for fools. And they want to kill us– _us!_ It's unforgivable!

Oh dear, looks like this was going to be harder than he thought after all, Japan thought nervously. He nodded, "Hai, I agree that what they've done – and no doubt what they're going to do – will be unforgivable. But that does not mean we should not accept responsibility for letting this happen."

"If you want someone to accept responsibility, tell it to Opium. Hong Kong only started becoming a brat when he was under his 'care'. As for Macau, well…" China trailed "I-I'll just assume he was crazy all along. The point is, I've tried my best to raising those two and support them even when they were European property, and when I finally got them back and try to set them on the right path again, now it turns out that those two hated me?"

"Hong Kong is very much angry at England-san too, if you remember what Belize-san said." Japan tried to explain to him, hoping that he didn't sound too harsh. "But China, you are as responsible for this as he is. I-I do not know if you are unaware or truly too prideful to admit it, but you've _neglected_ him when you became addicted to opium, and his admiration of you only diminished from there. And when you got him back, what freedom he had was limited."

"I cannot say that I know what could be Macau's exact reasons, but I can only assume that unlike Hong Kong, he _pretended_ that he was happy." Japan pondered out loud. This was likely something only Macau himself could answer. "Although, I'd say that the main reason he was 'happy' and didn't nearly complain as much is because a large number of your citizens lived there, thus maintaining a feeling of patriotism so to prevent dissent."

China scowled and averted his gaze from Japan's, and the latter knew that he had 'hit the mark' as the Westerners say. Japan decided to press him further on this, if only to make him realize the truth.

"Then again, I assume that was deliberate on your part, no?"

Again, China did not speak.

"And If I remember correctly, you kept trying to do the same to Hong Kong, but it only made him and his people angrier."

China clenched his tremble hands. It was difficult to tell if this was out of anger or fear of having no choice but to accept the truth, but Japan kept going anyway. He needed to do this.

"And let's not even go into the situation regarding the um… riots." Japan said awkwardly. Was that the right way to put it? China did have a knack for exaggerating. "From what details you've given us of how you've been 'dealing' with the protestors, I highly disapprove of your army's methods."

China scoffed in derision. "Well, of course _you_ don't approve! You have to see it to know how horrible the situation has gotten, Kiku! The people are acting like rabid dogs, aru! The police are either doing nothing or helping them. And the Mainland Chinese are being beaten and dumped into garbage trucks! And I already have the burns to prove the destru"

"I-I understand, I really do. But shooting down the humans? Was Tiananmen Square not enough for you?" Japan snapped, feeling an odd feeling of satisfaction and remorse at the same time at seeing China flinch. "A-And what is this about a bill that would further destroy what freedom Hong Kong has under you?"

China noticeably paled. "It's nothing important!"

"This may be my personal opinion, but I believe that a bill that possibly even further undermine Hong Kong's freedom does not classify as something unimportant." Japan said evenly, narrowing his eyes at his old teacher.

China glared at him for that, "Tch…"

China then went on to grudgingly explain the details and contents of this bill – or The Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 as it was officially called (Kami, that's quite a mouthful) – and frankly, Japan found himself feeling more and more repulsed the more he heard about this, and the implications it would cause for Hong Kong despite how China tried to sugarcoat it.

He did not like it, although that would probably be putting it mildly. Japan wondered if Hong Kong somehow knew of this, since it was _his_ government that was going to implement it. He wondered if it would also explain how violent the humans were being.

Eventually, Japan could no longer remain silent. "China-san, do you even realize what Hong Kong

"I don't suppose you or your boss had anything to do with… 'suggesting' the bill to the government of Hong Kong, do you?" Japan asked flatly with a raised eyebrow. A bill that could erode Hong Kong's legal system… and China is becoming more and more controlling… It sounded too suspicious.

Still, a more hopeful yet rather naïve part of him hoped that he was wrong, that China still retained some of his regard for his siblings' freedom and way of life and would never contribute to such a horrible idea.

But when he caught the flicker of guilt, Japan felt whatever optimism and faith he had in China left dissipate.

"I cannot confirm nor deny that." China said coldly.

"So, in other words, you _did_ have something to do with it." Japan surprised himself over the boiling anger in his voice. When was the last occasion he showed this much emotion? "I cannot believe what I'm hearing. You really are becoming worse with each century."

"It was necessary!" China exclaimed defensively. "Leon was becoming too Westernized, we were becoming more and more distant. His people won't stop complaining about me. I had no idea that it could've been because he was planning to kill me all along! We had to do something to show them the proper way. I can't even get Taiwan to stop her delusions of grandeur, but at least I can-"

"And look what this self-righteousness has gotten you, China. You are marked for death!" Japan exploded, unable to hold back his emotions any longer. "It is a _miracle_ that Taiwan hasn't joined them despite her ties with America and how you have suffocated her throughout all these years! And what _I_ did to her in the last world war…!"

Or at least, that's what Japan hoped. Her name and photo weren't in the album the African mystery man had given Germany, but it also didn't include any of the 'neutral' nations such as Panama, so there might be a possibility she _knew_ about all this.

Taiwan had always gotten along well with Hong Kong and Macau. Could they have…?

"My cowardice and your possessiveness and refusal to acknowledge that you could be in the wrong will end up costing countless lives if we don't do something about this!" Japan hissed, somehow managing not to scream at China's face. "You need stop pretending that everything before you can do something reckless like England-san and make your situation even-!"

A scream snapped Japan out of his anger.

/ / / / /

… _Please_ tell him that Haiti wasn't standing there the whole time.

Panama nearly stumbled to the ground in fear at the nation before him who could _easily_ subject him and anyone else to a horrifying demise with a doll, instead jumping back _away_ from him, just nearly avoiding bumping into one of the girls. Oh, but he didn't care about that, he was too busy staring at Haiti in pure horror.

What. What. _What?_ Wh-Wh-What's _Haiti_ doing here? Why? Why? Why?

To make things even worse, Seychelles just had to let out a loud shriek at seeing that Haiti's here, no doubt alerting everyone in fucking _London_ , including the Central Americans, that something really, really bad was going on… So, it's only natural that they'd rush over to see what's going on, right?

Which meant that the Central Americans will be involved...

And Belize will probably somehow piss off Haiti because it's Belize and she couldn't for her life censor what she says. And then there's Nicaragua, who's sometimes arguably _worse_. Honduras will probably be ignored unless she demands that Haiti tell her about El Salvador's whereabouts… Costa Rica will be Costa Rica… and Panama won't be able to really intervene as it'll violate the neutrality agreement…

Maybe the universe really _was_ out to get him. It's the only logical explanation for the terrible luck Panama's having lately.

Haiti had winced at Seychelles's shrieking, and he rubbed his ear. "You don't have to be so _loud_ , cheri."

But the damage was done. Before Panama knew it, he heard loud footsteps and the scatter-brained rebellion had arrived, no offense to the Central Americans (except for maybe Nicaragua). China and Japan also showed up. Even Canada was here, though he was hardly worth mentioning.

"Hey!" Belize barked at the ever-uncaring Haiti, simmering and pointing an accusatory finger at him. "You! Evil! _Brujo malvado!_ Bastard! What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Bonswa, idiots…" Haiti greeted uncaringly as he sneered at them with utter disdain. As he scanned the nations around him, and there wasn't even a flicker of surprise or even anger when his eyes landed on Panama. "And… also _Panama_ apparently…"

Panama's breath hitched in his throat once Haiti directed his disdained gaze at him, and he was quickly filled with _panic_.

D-Did Haiti know about him and- and- _why_ he's here in the first place? Did the Baron tell him? Please tell him that the Baron actually bothered to tell Haiti that.

Thinking fast before Haiti could consider doing anything or accuse him of _treason_ , Panama blurted out, "It's not what it looks like, Haiti! Honest! I'm not on their side or anyone's side, you know that. I told the Baron that. Didn't he tell you that? I'm just here to-"

"He mentioned your presence, actually." Haiti informed him coolly, cutting Panama off, and he narrowed his eyes. "I didn't really believe it at first, but after I was filled in about the other details, I realized that it actually made a bit of sense. So, don't worry; no gratuitous violence for _you_."

Panama felt himself relax a little with _that_ reassurance, but there're still the others to worry about.

The universe quickly addressed his worries by having Belize snap at Haiti.

"You've got some _nerve_ showing up here after what you did to Bahamas and Saint Lucia!" Belize snarled, shaking her fist at him while being held back from getting herself killed- or worse- by Honduras. "You sent that- that Baron or whatever he is- to kill them!

Haiti was unfazed by Belize's "Baron Kriminel is a loa, a spirit, and the first murderer. And he's many times stronger and wiser than you'll ever be. Be respectful to him, you cheeky brat."

"Like hell! How about I _respectfully_ shove-"

Costa Rica was quick to slap a hand over Belize's mouth. Thank you, Costa Rica.

"Ano, Haiti…san," Japan began a little anxiously, you know, because it's Haiti. "What are you doing here?"

"I won't beat around the bush, as they say. As much as it'd be fun to hurt you all, I'm in a bit of a hurry." Haiti stated flatly and tapped a few fingers on his wrist, even though he didn't have a watch. "Now, if you'd all be kind enough to answer… Where's France? And while we're at it, where's my diary?"

F-France? Diary? Panama gulped, eyes widening in shock, and he sent a quick glance to Monaco, who was hugging the diary to her chest with trembling arms. Haiti was after that? Panama thought that he'd decided on letting these morons plus the Central Americans keep it in hopes that an 'accident' would happen or something. Or at least that's what he figured, because Haiti wouldn't let someone else have it if there wasn't a good reason.

And as for France, well, Panama had no idea what Haiti would want him right now. If he could, Panama would just tell Haiti where he is so that he'd leave, but that would be helping the Order, and therefore breaking the neutrality agreement. And Panama didn't _want_ to break the neutrality agreement.

And Panama will give the nations here a reason to kill him.

So… what could Panama do?

It looked like Panama won't have time to think about it, because as Haiti scanned the crowd of nations, his eyes landed on Monaco, and they widened as he snarled. "YOU!"

Monaco let out an alarmed yelp at the sudden attention, and with a growl, Haiti vanished and then reappeared right in front of the girl. He then promptly snatched the diary from her hands without as much as a warning before staring at the thing with a terrifying grin.

"Wi… Wi! Finally, after years of separation, I finally found you again!" Haiti laughed in glee as he held the diary high with trembling hands, looking like he'd explode from pure joy. It wouldn't be the most horrifying thing Panama's ever had the misfortune of seeing. "It's still in perfect condition! Well, as perfect as a centuries-old diary can be, but whatever! I'll have this victory yet!"

The fact that Panama probably knew what Haiti's talking about while everyone else stared like him like he was crazy (though to be fair, he really was), didn't help with his guilt at all. But he'll cross that bridge when he'll get to it, right? _Right?_

"Ah, but that's enough celebration for now. Here you go." Haiti smiled toothily and gave the diary back to Monaco, who took it reluctantly. Panama was only confused by all this. He was… giving it back?

Panama didn't understand this. What's Haiti's plan? He thought… But… Huh?!

Haiti wiped his hands before turning his attention back to them, now back to scowling. "So, anyway, France? Where did he go?"

Of course, no one answered. Meanwhile, Panama just stood there shrinking and hoping that Haiti remembered the terms of the agreement so that he won't ask him.

"Hmmm… Now I that I think about it, there's quite a few of you missing here." Haiti hummed "Why is that so? Does it have something to do why France isn't here?"

"Hmph. I don't see any reason why we should tell you that, Haiti." China harrumphed, and Panama didn't know whether to be impressed or irritated at how foolishly brave he was being in the face of someone like Haiti. "And I would've figured you knew where they went, since the Order seems to know everything."

Haiti sneered at him. "Flattered, but believe it or not, we don't know everything. Now, where's France? Answer me, or I'll set Baron Kriminel on you all again, or maybe another spirit. And you don't have that infernal dog to protect you this time."

The threat filled Panama with fear, but it didn't seem to stop Belize.

"Why do you wanna see France in the first place, anyway?" Belize demanded, still rude as always.

Haiti glared at her, but of course, Belize returned it with a glare of her own. "I was… told by America about what happened with England, how France had apparently went through the trouble of calling America to warn him. It was suspicious. And now I want answers from France."

"Wh-What do you mean 'suspicious'?" Canada's stuttering voice piped up as he hugged that weird bear of his. "Papa helped Alfred and the others, didn't he? What's so bad about that?"

"Because I don't trust him, it's something a dog like _you_ wouldn't understand." Haiti snarled at him, and the needle he was holding _gleamed_. "I don't have time to elaborate more. Just answer me before I lose my temper!"

…

"Well? I'm _waiting_."

/ / / / /

Morocco's touch was surprisingly warm.

Tunisia honestly felt lost right now. He didn't know what to do. He needed to leave, find Algeria and make sure she's alright, that much he knew at least. But he knew he couldn't that as long he was with Morocco. He was weak. He didn't have anything to defend himself with. And he found his eagerness to leave had… diminished.

He came here with a chilling fear and a scorching anger towards Morocco, dreading seeing him again but wishing to confront him about his 'lies' and see that his brother (and prove that he really was cursed to live-). But now it turned out that Tunisia's anger was for nothing. It was all just an embarrassing misunderstanding. Morocco was just promiscuous, and what's more, he wanted to 'settle down' with Tunisia.

…Tunisia didn't know what to think.

No matter how he urged himself to get a grip, he couldn't bring himself to slap Morocco's hand away.

Maybe it was the dark, deprived part of him that's caused him so much misery nearly his whole life, the one that's _desperate_ to be loved. Maybe, despite how hopelessly insane and callous his brother and everything he did, deep down Tunisia wanted to hear that Morocco will love him.

Tunisia quickly cast that thought aside. No. He may be deprived, he may be a sinful man, but he refused to fall any further.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Morocco spoke up softly, "First off, I really think it's time you start being honest with yourself, Malik."

Already, Tunisia felt himself getting a little angry again, or maybe he's just tired of all this pain. He again mustered up the courage to glare at him. "Honest? You've already made me _admit_ my greatest shame to you. What more could you want from me?!"

Morocco was as unfazed by Tunisia's anger as always and played with a lock of the latter's hair, humming, "Yes, that is correct. Last time we've met, I've made you admit what you are, and face your mistakes that you kept running away from. It was the first step to helping you."

"Helping me?" Tunisia repeated.

"Yes, helping you. Helping you stop this endless torture you're putting yourself through and set you on the path to true happiness," Morocco explained happily, giggling. "With me, of course! And now we've come to the second step, which is that you need to be honest with yourself about your current life."

What about his life? "I-I don't…"

"Come on, be honest, brother." Morocco purred, leaning uncomfortably close toward him. " _You_ have no one."

The words pierced through his heart and made him flinch, but other than that, Tunisia was baffled. "Wh-What? What do you mean, I have no one? That's not true. I-"

He found himself shushed by Morocco, who pouted and jabbed a finger into Tunisia's chest. "Ah, what I have told you, Malik? You're supposed to be honest with yourself."

"Y-You're the one who's not being honest, Rahim!" Tunisia stammered, and he hated himself for it. Why did the words bother him so? "I'm not alone. I-I have Algeria and the rest of our family. And also France and–"

Morocco chuckled, as if Tunisia was just being silly. "No, no, brother. You know as well as I do that that is not true. Are you that in denial? Or have you perhaps tricked yourself into believing that's actually true?"

"I have not!" Tunisia exclaimed, indignant. "Just why do you think I don't have anyone?"

"Let us begin with the obvious, shall we? No offense to you, Malik, but you're not exactly… hmm, what's the word? Ah, outstanding! That's it!" Morocco snapped his fingers, flashing him a sympathetic smile. "You're not very outstanding, though that's hardly your own fault."

Tunisia tried not to dwell on how much it hurt being reminded of his lack of popularity. Downcast, he looked down at the ground bitter. "I'm well aware of that already. You don't need to rub it in my face."

"Malik, I'm not doing this out of malice. I'm doing this for your own good." Morocco's tone became serious, almost exasperated, as he petted Tunisia's head. "For you to be free, you _need_ to be told the ugly truth."

Tunisia didn't offer a reply or to lift his gaze from the floor, not that Morocco really needed one, because he continued anyway.

"Ah, yes, it's quite sad, how you lack the 'pizazz' that makes other nations so popular. You got one moment in the spotlight with the Arab Spring, but that's it. You've got nothing else that makes you really stand out. No oil. No notoriety. No ongoing conflict. You've never been caught in the middle of a spat between the major powers. You're overshadowed by your larger neighbors. And as a result, not many people _care_ about you."

Tunisia could really do without that reminder. He knew his place in the world was an important one, and he knew that if he collapsed, it'll probably hardly make a difference.

Why did it have to be like that?

"To them, you don't have much worth, leaving a few nations including our family and other Muslim nations to forge genuine bonds with you." Morocco went on with the same soft, gentle voice, as if that would somehow lessen the pain. "Although, you are the only North African nation to be classified as 'free', so you have that to be proud of."

Did he really?

"Ah! Speaking of whom, then there are your relations with the Muslim nations." Morocco realized with a sly smirk. "Here's where it gets even more tragic,"

Dread quickly flooded into him, and as a result, Tunisia now finally fought to get Morocco to let go of him. No, no, no, he didn't want to hear it. Not again. Tunisia didn't want to be reminded of that again!

But Morocco only pulled him close in a tight hug, hushing him gently and rubbing his back. It's a pleasant sensation, but the fact that it was Morocco did nothing to help with his dread, and to Tunisia's chagrin, he felt his body relax.

"They don't care about _you,_ Malik. No, they care about the Tunisia who's religious and obedient, a good Muslim." Morocco's voice was dripping with disgust, as if he's feeling that way on Tunisia's behalf. "And what's more, they only _care_ about you as long as you're a true Muslim, or at least not a Shia. If they ever discovered you like men, ergo the real you, then you'll mean _nothing_ to them. But you know that well enough already, don't you?"

Tunisia swallowed down his despair. "Yes…"

"Algeria is no different." Morocco said uncaringly. His brother then broke the embrace just so Tunisia could see the nasty smile on his face."Or do you seriously that the same woman who complains about nations legalizing same-sex marriages would accept you without the slightest bit of shame? More importantly, do you really think she'll accept you at all?"

Biting his lip, Tunisia looked down at his shoes. He couldn't answer, and it pained him. He desperately wished he could say, yell, scream that yes, he believed that his sister would never turn her back on him and treat as he's seen countless Muslims like him getting disowned by their families.

"If you believe that Algeria will somehow be an exception, then I truly pity you, Tunisia." Morocco shook his head in disapproval, even frowning at him. "Algeria's among the last people on Earth who'd ever accept someone like you. I'm sure you've up with enough of her rants to know that better than anyone. That's why you never told her, no?

"Khalida wouldn't abandon me, she wouldn't hate me…" Tunisia murmured, feeling some of his confidence renew. "Sh-She loves me. She cares about me. E-Even if she'd be mad at me for keeping it to myself for so long, she wouldn't do that."

But he felt his newfound confidence get crushed when Morocco clicked his tongue and uttered the next words in disdain, "Oh please, Malik. You should know as well as I do that she doesn't love _you_. She loves the little puppy that follows her around who she _knows_ is a good Muslim. In other words, this little front you put up. Tch. It's the same with _all_ Muslims. Their love for their own lasts only as long as they're 'faithful' to their religion, or _their_ interpretation of it."

"N-No, that's not true…" Tunisia denied weakly, even though he knew in his heart that… "She may be strict, and sometimes a little harsh on people she disagrees with, but she would never hate me. You saw how worried she was about me."

Morocco raised an unimpressed eyebrow, not buying into Tunisia's words, and sighed. "Oh, Malik, Malik, Malik… so in denial… It saddens me to see you like this."

He clapped Tunisia's cheeks.

"But such difficulty should be expected, however, and I refuse to give up on you."

Tunisia didn't feel flattered.

"As for the Westerners, well, it's not like they're much better either. Yes, they would accept you. Hell, they'll even _celebrate_ it. It is really becoming a trend there. A gay Muslim, they'll say in awe. What a _treat_ , they'll say. But that's it. That's all they'll care about. They won't care who you are or what accomplishments you've made, just that you're gay. They'll treat you like glass. To them, you won't be Tunisia. You will be just a gay Muslim. And you don't want _that_ , do you?"

No, Tunisia inwardly admitted with much pain. No, he didn't want that. He didn't want to suffer through such a humiliating and degrading existence for the rest of his long life. He didn't want it. He didn't want it. He didn't want it!

That's why he never trusted France or anyone else with telling them his greatest shame.

Either way, he'll be treated as less than a person.

With that thought in mind, Tunisia didn't think he could his grief all holed up within himself any longer. He wanted to cry, but he was scared of showing that weakness to Morocco. Was his brother enjoying this, seeing him suffer?

"Ah, but _you_ won't need to ashamed of yourself anymore." Morocco's kind voice tore through his grim thoughts. He was smiling warmly again, and he cupped Tunisia's cheeks. "In the new world we're going to build, people like us outside the West will no longer be ignored and trampled upon, nor will they let their newfound rights override their reason. _Everyone_ will be treated _fairly_ and _equally_. And we nations will finally stand above the wretched humans that have abused us non-stop for millennia as we so deserve."

Tunisia looked up at him with teary eyes. "R-Really?"

"Yes. They will never hurt you again, nor will they abuse and ostracize you for who you are. If they do, I'll kill them, I swear it." Morocco hissed with so much fervor that Tunisia honestly began to feel terrified again. But as if sensing his fear, Morocco relaxed. "I will protect you with my life."

Gently, Morocco stroked his cheek until he removed his hand. Tunisia hated how he felt a tiny pang of disappointment and longing.

"So, I will say this again, my beloved brother. I can love you. I _will_ love you. I _want_ to love you, and you _want_ to be loved." Morocco smile became kind and reassuring, his tone soft and loving, and he took Tunisia's hands in his. "Come with me, Malik. Turn your back on Islam, the source of your suffering, and embrace _me_ instead. Join us. No, you don't even _have_ to fight if you don't want to. Abandon this useless cause before you suffer what's to come and live with me in my house. We can live together for the rest of our lives in bliss."

Leave Algeria and everyone else behind, and abandoning Islam, with Morocco and live with him happily ever after as lovers while everything else burns? The very idea repulsed him, but yet why at the same did it sound so tempting?

Tunisia hated that it felt tempting.

"While the rest of our family and fellow nations will scorn and turn their backs on you for who you love, _I_ will be there for you until the end of time." His brother promised so sweetly, and Tunisia wondered if it's genuine. "We'll be there for _each other_. You'll only need _me_ in your life, no one else. Not your boss, not your people, not your so-called friends and family and certainly not _Algeria."_

He shook his head, the tears falling from his eyes after he gave up on holding them back. He wanted to deny it.

"I promise that I'll do everything I can to make you happy for the rest of your life." Morocco squeezed Tunisia's hand. He… He really did sound so… genuine. "Being with me is pleasure, my sweet dear brother. Give yourself to me, and you have my word that you will never suffer again. I'll show you _all_ the pleasures there is to know in this world."

Happiness… forever? Tunisia stared blankly at his hand that was joined with Morocco's, and he felt a hand tilt his chin up to face his smiling brother.

"I merely wish for you to be happy, Malik."

Was that really true?

"So dear brother, what do you say?"

What did he say?

It sounded too good to be true. Could he really find happiness with Morocco? Even with someone as cruel as him?

Cruel…

Then he was hit by a terrible reminder. The threats. Morocco bombing Algeria. Morocco sending that creature to toy with Tunisia's feelings. Abarshane. Algeria. Mauritius. No. No. No…

"N… No… No, I can't…" Tunisia wrenched his hand away from Morocco's and he slowly stepped away from him, the tears pooling from his eyes. "B-Brother, you're a monster. You've lied to me, you sent Abarshane to kill her when we were children just for laughs, and you're unbelievably cruel for no reason… And now… y-you expect me to want to be with you?"

Morocco stared at him with an emotion Tunisia couldn't decipher but one that unnerved him. Was he angry, disappointed? But then to his horror, Morocco started to walk towards him as his smile returned with full force.

"Oh, Malik. We are both sinful men. In the eyes of Islam, we are both damned to hell. So why not make the most of things?" Morocco said eerily as Tunisia kept backing away from him until he bumped into a wall. "And I think you'll find that there is a lot more to me than just bloodlust and cruelty."

As if to demonstrate, Morocco suddenly grabbed Tunisia's arm and pulled him into a kiss.

/ / / / /

Algeria had always hated that damn snake.

Starting the day when their father had happily gave the basket containing the damn Egyptian cobra to Morocco as a present with the way it hissed at her whenever Algeria had tried to approach it out of pure childish curiosity, to the day when that little demon in disguise (Abarshane, she meant) killed her, to right to the present day. That snake was always out to get her.

Pets tend to take after their owners, they say. Well, it's certainly true when it came to that cobra and Morocco.

But it wasn't just her! Abarshane obviously never liked her either.

As petty and childish as it might sound, Algeria also always hated how Morocco always coddled and spoiled the damn snake as if it were his child or something of the sort. It was frankly disgusting sometimes. But she also suspected that he may also have done just to annoy her.

Yes, treat the little demon that killed her and bared its ugly deadly fangs her at every opportunity like a _prince_ and not like a menace that needed to be disposed of immediately for the sake of mankind.

However, there's another thing. She hated admitting it, she'd never admit it even though practically everyone knew about it already, but she's also terrified of that thing. She feared and despised it at the same time. She wanted to strangle it, but she's also afraid of being bitten by it again. Even though she's a grown woman, even though she's died many times already, the thought of dying the same way as she did when she was a little girl made her blood run cold.

Come on, get over it, Algeria! Stop being a coward and take the offense, already! You're only prolonging Tunisia's suffering with each minute that you waste shrieking and dodging!

She needed to kill it. No, she's going to kill it.

Even… Even if she'll be bitten in the process. She should enough time to reach Tunisia before the venom killed her, shouldn't she? And then there's the chance that it'll just be a dry bite.

Oh, stop reassuring yourself and get on with it!

/ / / / /

"Is everything in position, Toris?"

"Yes. All the snipers and guards are in position and waiting for the word to shoot. The doors have been locked and bolted with a couple of our men stationed outside just in case. There's no going in or out." Lithuania happily informed him, a rather charming smile on his face. "Any remaining humans in the building have been either expelled or disposed of."

"Excellent." Prussia nodded, returning the smile. "And the microphone?"

"All set, just turn it on and you'll be heard loud and clear." Lithuania said, handing him the microphone.

"Danke, Toris."

Why the microphone? Well, Prussia wanted to make a sort of speech to the humans, a short one. Yes, it would be much quicker to just kill them immediately and get it over with…

But that wouldn't be so satisfying, would it? And besides, Prussia had a few words to share.

With Lithuania by his side, Prussia cleared his throat, before speaking in a clear, cold voice. "Attention, members of the German government body. I understand you must be very confused of this sudden announcement. Some of you may recognize my voice, some of you may not. It does not matter. You have no choice but to listen."

He paused to regain his breath, all the while the snakes and vultures below murmured and even yelled things that weren't worth paying attention. Prussia could _feel_ the confusion, and more importantly, fear steadily increasing among the crowd.

"Pardon my rudeness, but all of you are worthless, greedy scum, proof of the hopeless nature of the human race." He stated bitterly, not even bothering to see their reactions. It didn't matter if they shouted obscenities at him, they knew it was true. "I personally find all of you to be disgusting, especially that cowardly broad of a chancellor over there. However, you've all also had your uses."

The noise was becoming louder, but Prussia did not care. Beside him, Lithuania was frowning in distaste at the humans.

"You further proved the incapability of the human race to lead and resist greed and corruption. You are the proof that humanity needs us, the nations, to take the lead and set them on the right path. No more will be abused by the plague known as the human race." Prussia spread out his arms, feeling a proud smile spread across his face. "No longer will we be corrupted and used for your own foolish and selfish ends. This is end of the era of human leadership and their never-ending chaos and self-destruction. And from the end of that era, will begin the glorious new era of the _New World Order!"_

Lithuania smiled Prussia took one more pause to take another deep breath. This was the last and most important part.

"From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for being stepping stones for the New World Order." Prussia said genuinely, but he soon scowled at the humans below. "And from the bottom of my heart as well and with every fiber of my being, I _despise_ you for ruining this country for the sake of your own greed and self-righteousness. So, as punishment and for now becoming completely redundant to our plans, **_DIE_**."

Lithuania gave the command through the phone. Not even a few seconds later, gunshots rang out through the building, along with the screams of the arrogant insects of everyone inside.

Prussia watched it all unfold, cold expression unchanging.

He was no sadist. He's aware that he's cold, callous even, but ne never derived any cruel delight or pleasure from any of the things he had done. Prussia only focused on the goal and the mission at hand.

Yet somewhere deep in the darkest depths of his heart, he felt the smallest twinge of joy.

/ / / / /

How annoying.

These words ran through Cameroon's mind over and over as he failed again to reduce France to a bloody pulp with his bare hands. Tch, while that worm was never good at fighting directly, he was good at dodging and fleeing. More evidence to his cowardice.

He didn't care about the thrill of battle. He just wanted to _kill_ him.

"I still don't understand why you still don't believe that I was honest in my attempts to help Amerique and his friends, Camerun!"

What's more, the pathetic frog was talking. He was _talking_ while Cameroon was trying to _kill_ him. And he was still going on and on about his supposed innocence and 'good intentions'. If that wasn't enough, France was hardly doing anything to fight back. Was this a joke? Was Cameroon not being serious enough with his attacks? Well, _that_ can easily be fixed.

"I know I've been a terrible person, I realize that now, but-"

Cameroon growled and caught France by the collar, shoving against a tree. "Spare me the pathetic excuses. It'll earn you nothing but even more scorn from me."

He expected –hoped – to see a look of anguish on France's face so that Cameroon could relish it. But to his pure bafflement, France laughed. "Oui, oui, I guess there's no use."

"Why are you laughing?" Cameroon demanded coldly.

"Oh, nothing. Believe me, it's not at you. I just… hate that I've been so blind for so many years." France gave an infuriating smile. "Cameroon, despite what happened, and what I did, I want you to know that I always did care about you, even though I didn't do a good job showing it."

"LIES!" Cameroon snarled, and he shoved him against the bark again. "You _never_ cared. We were just trophies to you, then after we were free, we were proof of your carelessness and apathy, and now that you know the truth, you look down on us with pity! Haiti, South Vietnam, Morocco and I were just the only ones who managed to see through you…!"

Wait. _Morocco_.

That name brought his rage to a screeching stop. Yes… Yes, that's right! Cameroon had solemnly promised to protect him and make sure none of these bastards would harm him while he's with Tunisia. If Morocco wouldn't look after himself, then Cameroon will do it for him.

And if Romania had teleported away to the house…

"R-Roshaun? Are you-"

An inhuman roar erupted from him, and Cameroon threw France to the ground, uncaring over whether or not he broke a few bones or not.

Just like that, his anger at France and Germany was swiftly forgotten and was replaced by sheer panic and even stronger anger that was aimed toward himself. Shit. Shit. **_Shit_**. How could he have forgotten that?! He had promised Morocco. But no, no, no, no! He let his bloodlust and rage distract him from his other priorities, his duty as a friend and a comrade, when they should come first before his desires!

And now thanks to his own greed, Morocco was now possibly in danger, which made Cameroon want to tear his own flesh off. And if that wasn't enough punishment for him, Mauritius was there free for Romania to take.

He needed to fix this. Quick. Now.

"South Africa. South Africa!" Cameroon shouted over to his friend in a language only the two of them could understand. "There is a problem!"

South Africa's grin fell from his face, and he promptly shot Russia before snapping his head toward Cameroon. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"That vampire has teleported away to Switzerland's house!" Cameroon shouted over to him. "Morocco is in there and Nigeria is too busy with Egypt. Please, summon a few of the impundulu while I go dispose of the European before he can get away with the recruit or kill Rahim! I apologize but I promised him I'd keep him safe!"

South Africa's eyes widened, before they narrowed again, and he nodded in understanding. "There is no need to apologize. I will call the impundulu. Once they arrive, immediately escape during the confusion while I help them deal with these ones."

Cameroon nodded, uttering a quick thank you to him before backing away from the area. There were a lot of trees, and

He heard clapping, and South Africa's voice boomed as he called for the impundulu. Once the lighting shot through the sky, Cameroon knew this was the time to run, and so he did.

He needed to make sure Morocco was alright.

/ / / / /

Egypt couldn't even speak now. The noise was maddening.

The unbearable pain of his mind splitting in two was horrible beyond words, and it only grew worse with each taunt, accusation and imposible questions that Nigeria threw at him. The bastard was _enjoying_ the show Egypt was giving him. And to top it all off, Egypt had no idea what to do about it. To be fair, it was difficult to try to find a solution to his predicament when he could hardly think straight.

Right now, the darkness of death was beginning took much more preferable to suffering through this torture, to be forced to choose between two of the most imporant things of his life. But he knew he couldn't do that. It was cowardly. He couldn't just abandon everyone else...

So with this, Egypt was seemindly left with no option but lie there and endure the headache while still ensared by the large snake's body as Nigeria kept toying with him.

"I never understood why you've grown to care so much about the Muslims." Nigeria had been saying nonchalanatly as he played with his knife. "You may treat the remnants of your past with care, but your mother's legacy has been run to the ground. Years and years and living in such a great and glorious kingdom. And look at you now, all your mother's hard work crumbled into nothing. You're a disappointment. Crime and corruption are rampant. Your women are treated just as well as the slaves were in your mother's era. Islam has ruined you."

"Islam has ruined nothing." Egypt miraculous managed to force himself to speak, although it did him no favors. "I try to do what I can. I… I… The Muslims, they were-"

"Like parasites, I totally agree." Nigeria nodded happily.

"N-No-"

"But I wonder, are you truly that loyal to Islam? Or would you betray it just as you betrayed the gods?"

"I am loyal in my faith!" Egypt shouted for no real reason, other than a part of him felt the need to. "No matter how I might want it to be otherwise, I am tied to the two pantheons."

W-Wait, did he just contradict himself?

"Oh, is that so?" Nigeria smirked evilly, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Mind telling Anubis that?"

Surprisingly, a lot of the noise quieted down when Nigeria said, and Egypt looked up at him in bafflement. "W-What?"

"If you're so confident of your 'faith', then I don't see any reason why we can't have you proclaim your devotion to a pedophile and his delusions to your loyal friend who stuck by you all these years." Nigeria smiled nastily at him, savoring the look of fear on Egypt's face, and he turned towards where Anubis was then took a deep breath before loudly singing, "Oh, Anuuu-"

Something in Egypt snapped in that very second. The last of the noise disappeared. And the suddenly the snake binding him didn't matter anymore.

He vanished just as the mamba sank its fangs into his skin, but it was left behind as Egypt appeared in front of Nigeria and punched him in the face.

Before it could bite him yet again, Egypt had managed to grab it and he willed his hand to set fire, thus disintegrating the snake. But to his surprise, once the snake let out its agonized hiss with its body evaporating, he suddenly found an odd glowing light instead of remains before his very eyes.

Then suddenly, it slammed right into Nigeria, sending him right to the ground with an alarmed shout all the while Egypt wondered what the hell just witnessed.

Or at least… he tried to, because as the adrenaline and panic began to leave him, it was replaced with… fear.

Egypt heard laughter, and he whipped his head to see Nigeria back on his feet.

"Oh. Oh… Ohohohohoho! You're really the textbook definition of desperation, aren't you, Egypt?" Nigeria laughed mockingly while wearing a victorious grin. "Do… Do you realize what you've just did? Do you know what that desperation cost you?"

Egypt breathed heavily, but he took a look at his arms, legs, even his shoulder… and his eyes widened when he saw the puncture wounds. There were on one of his legs, his hands, his arms and even one slightly above his right foot. Just now after seeing them he had finally realized the gravity of his rash action. And almost as if on cue, he felt a fiery pain around the wounds, and he choked.

"You may have killed the mamba, but it still bit you. Five times even!" Nigeria erupted into high-pitched hyena-like cackling, finding Egypt's pain hilarious. "Sure, a couple of them might be dry bites, but it still spells bad news for you. More than two times the normal fast-acting venom of the western green mamba has been injected to your tissue and is now coursing your bloodstream. Do you know what this means Egypt?"

He tried to breathe slowly, to not panic, to little avail.

"You're _dead_ , Egypt!" Nigeria screamed in glee, and he danced around victoriously while singing, "Dead, dead, dead, dead!~ You're finished, you're beat! Unless you bleed out, with the amount of potent venom in the mamba I created, you really _will_ be dead in thirty minutes or even less! And for what?! To hide what's already obvious? By keeping me from telling your god the truth, you've basically screwed yourself and this entire rescue of yours over!"

Nigeria's words struck through Egypt. He… He did what…?

No… Nigeria was right. What had he done? Yes, Egypt prevented Anubis from discovering his cowardice- his- his betrayal, but at what cost? Already he could feel could feel the air failing to reach his lungs. He felt tha panic - the fear - people would experience upon being bitten by a snake. How long will it take for him to...?

Did he really... fail everyone in exchange for keeping his shameful dilemma a secret? Did he really just reduce the chances of them leaving here alive and in one piece by a drastic amount?

What... did he just _do?_

"Hee-Hee! Well, it was nice tormenting you, Egypt, but I think I've toyed with you long enough." Nigeria giggled darkly." While I _could_ just let the venom kill you, I'd rather not take any chances. You'll have plenty of time to wallow in guilt and denial later. Bye bye~"

But the pain that Egypt was expecting to feel never came, and a familiar growl reached his ears. He blinked, and looked up to see what was happening.

"H-Huh…?"

Nigeria blinked in dull surprise, before his head fell to stare at his chest, where a large khopesh had been impaled through his chest through a greatly bleeding wound.

"Oh…"

It was Anubis. Anubis had come to save him.

Egypt could barely let out sigh of relief, mostly because it was becoming difficult to breathe correctly, as Nigeria cackled weakly. "Ha, not again…! A god... No fair…!"

"Says the one working with someone who has the impundulu on his side." Egypt deadpanned with the same amount of weak energy. He felt tired…

"Heh… Guess you're right…" Nigeria chuckled weakly before gorging out more blood, and he turned his head up at Egypt, his manic grin wide and unfaltering. "This isn't over, Egypt…! Ha! Y-You can run… from truth, but you can't hide…!~ Sooner or later you'll–"

 _SPLAT!_ Egypt held back a wince when Anubis swiftly retracted the khopesh, effectively eviscerating the madman and letting him fall lifelessly to the ground.

Was… Was it over? Nigeria was so ridiculously durable that finally seeing his corpse almost seemed surreal.

Egypt almost expected Nigeria's head to suddenly snap up, mad grin and all, and cackle as he obliterated him while still in shock. But such a scenario never came. Nigeria, and Egypt sensed death on him, although not like with Poland…

So Nigeria was only temporarily dead…

…Why didn't Anubis kill him right on the spot? Was it because Egypt didn't command him to? Did he know about the… Should Egypt have told him…?

Despite the stinging pain in his body and how it was gradually becoming more difficult to breathe with each passing minute, Egypt's eyes were stuck staring at Nigeria's limp form that was lying face down on the grass. Somehow, Egypt just knew that despite being dead, Nigeria still had that insane smile plastered on his face. It would've annoyed Egypt if the venom wasn't making him feel drowsy…

He pressed his palm to his head, steadying his breathing and closing his eyes. It- It was getting harder to think clearly for a lengthy period of time. Drowsiness- Dizziness- This was not good at all. The venom- He needed to do something, but-

"A-Anubis…!" Egypt called out to his friend, finding his voice sounding strangled. "Nigeria– A snake– I was bitten and – and the venom is starting to…"

Anubis quickly turned to him, but Egypt flinched. There was an unfamiliar but unsettling emotion in Anubis's eyes. Did he… know?

He tensed when Anubis stretched out his hand toward him.

"You have what humans would consider thirty minutes." Anubis informed him curtly, his voice sounded "That is the longest I can delay death for you. Use them wisely."

"W-Wait!"

But Anubis turned back into his dog form and said nothing more.

/ / / / /

Surprisingly, it turned out that there weren't any booby traps so far.

Well, so far anyways. Romania wouldn't relax just yet. For all he knew from what crazy stuff the Order had up their sleeves, Switzerland put a hidden ceiling of spikes that'd activate if any intruders entered the room or he's had some lasers installed- It could be anything, really.

There was a flight of stairs leading down to the basement. After running down while Romania made sure that spears would suddenly fly out of nowhere and impale him with extreme prejudice, he reached the door soon enough. This almost felt too easy. Especially when

Geez, for an evil torture/brainwashing room located in the basement, Switzerland did take care of the place pretty well. Romania hasn't found a single speck of dust. Didn't smell that bad either, honestly…

Romania spotted Mauritius just about in the center of the room, already visible through the small window in the door. Bingo.

But once he entered the room, he growled, baring his fangs in distaste, as some kind of whirring sound entered his ears, or maybe it wasn't whirring. He wasn't sure how to describe it. But whatever it was, Romania didn't like it one bit.

Romania surveyed his surroundings until his eyes landed on a speaker thingy. Ah, mystery solved.

He walked towards the thing as quickly as he could so as to not waste any more time, and Romania hissed at the louder the sound got the more he got closer to it. It's weird. One hand, it's annoying as hell, but on the other, it felt weirdly… calming for some reason.

Romania didn't bother looking for the off switch. What? It's not like he cared for Switzerland's mind-fucking stuff. He picked up the thing and threw it to the wall with all his might, smirking when it broke upon the loud impact, relieved that he wasn't hearing that damn noise anymore.

Wonder how Switzerland would react to seeing one of his toys broken. Maybe Romania ought to destroy the rest of the stuff here too for good measure.

But he needed to check on the kid first and see if he's still... y'know... _himself_. Destruction could wait for a minute or two.

Frowning, he turned his attention back towards Mauritius and rushed to see if the kid was alright. Weirdly, Romania saw Mauritius beginning to stir and groan like he's just been woken up at three in the morning. Did the weird machine radio speaker thing have something to do with that? Or was it just the loud noise the crash made? Romania needed to look into that later…

Once he stood right in front of the poor island nation, Romania regarded him with careful scrutiny, eyes narrowed in suspicion as he looked for any signs of danger. He kept at it while the hag kept untying the rope and barked at Romania for not helping. He hissed.

He wasn't being lazy. While the hag did tell him to get that they needed to get guy out as soon as possible, Romania still needed to check if Mauritius's going off the path to the dark side or not. Yeah, yeah, clock's ticking, but it'd be pretty inconvenient if the kid suddenly attacked them while Romania carried him up the damn stairs So, the moment Romania saw any sign of evilness or Mauritius salivating at the burns and cuts Nigeria gave him, he's _totally_ gonna knock him out.

Mauritius's head rose up and his eyes slowly opened, and they blinked at him tiredly. Wow, he did look awful. "Wh-What…?"

"Hey, Mauritius." Romania offered a sympathetic grin along with the tip of his hat. He wanted to get straight to the damn point, but he shouldn't stress the guy. "How you feeling? You doing okay? No voices in your head telling you to gut my face?"

"Romania…?" Mauritius questioned drowsily, thankfully becoming more awake by each second to the point of doing a double take and gaping like a fish. "W-Wait, Romania? Is that… you…? Are… Are you… Don't tell me I'm hallucinating again. Why are you…?"

Hallucinations? What kind of hallucinations?

Gah! You can't ask those questions later, Romania! Just check him for any possible damage and get him out of here as soon as possible before the hag yells at you again.

"Nah, don't worry. It's all real." Romania sheepishly gave him a comforting pat on the head, only for the kid to flinch when he did. Oh, shoot. Should he not have done that?

Despite that comfort, Mauritius didn't look very happy. "Then why…?"

"No time to explain, Mauritius. Long story short is, this is a rescue mission and I've come to get you out of here." Romania tried to give him one of those smiles that always seemed to manage to calm down Moldova. He rubbed his hands and got to work on the bindings. "So stay still while set you free, okay?"

Nice, Romania. Tell the guy who probably felt like he's getting the biggest hangover ever not to move.

Not liking the awkward silence, Romania decided to test something. "You know, Seychelles's been real worried about ya."

Now that got a reaction out of him. Mauritius snapped his head up at him, looking suddenly wide awake "What? Michelle's here too? Is she alright?"

"Relax, she's over at the unofficial hangout, waiting for you to come back safe and sound."

Mauritius seemed to relax at that. Once Romania finished freeing him, he helped the poor kid up… only for the kid himself to immediately collapse.

"Whoa, easy there, Mauritius!" Romania caught him just in time, grimacing. God, that was close. "Looks like I'll have to carry ya after all."

"I'm… sorry…" Mauritius apologized drowsily. "Feel tired… and I think I got drugged…"

So far, Romania hadn't seen anything suspicious, except for maybe the hallucinations thing. Maybe they haven't gotten to him in any way, after all… That is, unless this was all a big trap and w maybe he's just pretending to be all tired and dazed so that he could get the jump on them later. Was that it? Why else would they leave the basement trap-free?

Nah, maybe Romania really was being a little paranoid about this. They've only got Mauritius holed up in here for – what? – _two_ days? That's not nearly enough for them to completely break the guy and put him back together the way they want it, unless they're _really_ good.

Romania felt himself relax somewhat, but then he tensed right back again when another thought occurred to him. Wait, what if they've managed to program some kind of trigger command into him? You know, like a _sleeper_. Could that be why they left the basement unguarded? Was this a trap? But then why would they put so much effort into not letting them reach here?

Tch. Again, he and the others really needed to look into this later.

But one thing's for certain. They're probably gonna need to keep him locked up until they're safe he's okay.

Mustering up his strength, he started carrying the kid (who's only like only a year or two younger than him, but it still counts) outta the room.

Meh, if anything happened, he'll just zap him into unconsciousness.

 **Yeaaaah... I think I'm gonna stop saying when I'm gonna finish a particular story arc, although the next one should be the last one. I wish I could've ended it here, but I ended up having to flesh out a lot more stuff than I planned so.. Also, I wanted to update today. Still, hoped you enjoyed it! The next one shouldn't take another week-long delay. Please review, if you have a minute.**


	75. Justice: The Storm Part IV

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, vexey1999, NadiaJA627, and Ariality for reviewing. I accept the criticism for the controversial aspects of the story, and I'll try to tone it down in the future. I'm sorry if they've given the wrong idea. Anyway... Yeah, I should really stop predicting when I'm gonna update. I mean, this chapter is almost 20,000 words long! But I wanted to take a week off to work on Abscond to the Other Side, which has been now updated in case anyone's interested. But I think this should be it for the extremely long chapter and VERY updates (I hope). Now, on with the show!**

No one spoke.

This will sound cruel and unfair, Panama didn't care, but he wished that _someone_ would say _something_ , but he sure as hell couldn't without breaking the agreement! He didn't care about what that stupid Germany and the others were doing in Switzerland's house; he just wanted Haiti to leave!

Panama's head snapped around as he took a look at every single nation around him. They all looked just as conflicted and panicked as he was, and they were even occasionally sending looks at each other as if someone actually had some genius idea as to how to solve this. Well, guess what? NO ONE HAD ONE A PLAN!

He thought it couldn't get any worse until a certain voice reached his ears.

"Ve~ I finally found everybody! I'm so happy! I thought everybody got eaten by crazy cannibal nations!" A familiar obnoxiously cheerful voice, and Panama tried not to groan. Oh, great, just what they needed. "Please, never do that again!"

His sheer obliviousness to their little situation lasted all the way until he noticed the way everyone was staring at him… Oh, and that Haiti was here too. And once his damn bubble was popped, that was his cue to start panicking like always.

"Huh? What's happening?" Italy asked fearfully, becoming a little pale in the face once he met Haiti's cold stare. "Ve, wh-why is Haiti here?"

What the hell did it look like was happening, you Italian dunce? Haiti, an enemy, was here and that obviously spelled trouble in all caps!

Haiti sent Italy a look of utter disdain, which made the idiot recoil and whimper. "Here's a summary for an idiot like you: I came here to find France, only to find that he's not here along with other nations of this pitiful group. So, if you don't want to end up dragged to Samedi's world, you'll tell _where_ he is and we can all come out of this happy and in one piece."

Italy audibly gulped, and further retreated away from Haiti, crying out, "V-Ve! B-But how can we come out happy when you'll be going after big brother France and it'll be all our fault?"

"That's not the point, you _enbesil!_ " Haiti yelled angrily at him, sending the Italian running to cower behind Honduras, and he pointed his needle at the others. "You. Anyone. I don't care. Someone better start talking or you'll all have to prepare yourselves to face _my_ definition of terror!"

That is, until Honduras broke the silence with her nervous laughter.

"Well, we…" Honduras trailed off as she anxiously wringed her hands, before giving a nervous enough smile. "We don't know where he's _not!_ Haha…"

Panama sent her an incredulous look, along with everyone else who wasn't busy panicking (coughItalycough) or trying to come up with a plan. What– What– What was she doing? How's that supposed to help with their current predicament? What's going on in that head of hers?

"Are you trying to tell me that none of you know where France is?" Haiti asked disbelievingly, and he scoffed. "Likely story."

"Oh, no, no, no,! I guess it wouldn't be _inaccurate_ to assume that we couldn't exactly not say that it is or isn't almost partially incorrect." Honduras supposed with an innocent shrug with a matching smile to top it all off, and then she winked. "…If you know what I mean."

What?

"Uh… Does anyone else know what Honduras's talking about?" Panama heard Belize 'whisper' to Nicaragua and Costa Rica, both as lost as everyone else was. "'Cause she kind of lost me after… whatever the hell she just said."

How the hell would they know?!

"I am already lost…" Japan said hopelessly, brown eyes glancing at Haiti and Honduras uneasily.

For once, he agreed with one of the enemy. Just what the hell was Honduras trying to do here? She's just spouting out overly long technical truths that sounded like or probably will turn into pure nonsense sooner or later. If she's trying to trick Haiti, then sorry, but she's doing a terrible job at it. In fact, if anything, Panama would say that Honduras's ramblings were only making things _worse_.

Haiti was noticeably beginning to get annoyed. "So, you _do_ know where he is?"

Honduras's face scrunched up in apparent concentration as she tapped her chin in thought. "Hmm… Actually, on the contrary, I think we're possibly more or less not definitely rejecting the idea that in no way with any amount of uncertainty that we undeniably do or do not know where _Francia_ and co. shouldn't probably be…"

Panama's head was starting to hurt as he failed to keep up with Honduras's 'logic', and he groaned as he rubbed his temples. Oh God, just when he thought he couldn't get an even bigger migraine today. Did Honduras even know what she's doing? Yeah, she's scarily clever, but he really wasn't seeing the point of this. All Honduras was accomplishing was delaying the inevitable and pissing Haiti off.

He covered his ears and tried not to look at the growing anger on Haiti's face. And Honduras still kept going on despite of that! God, at this rate, France, Egypt and the rest of those idiots will back by the time Honduras finished talking!

The realization hit Panama like a ton of bricks.

Wait, no. That's it. She's _stalling_.

"Stop it. Stop it!" Haiti hissed aggressively. "Give me a clear answer!"

Yet Honduras kept going and going, as if there's really no threat at all. Panama didn't know whether to be in awe of her bravery or be exasperated by her foolishness… yeah, probably the latter. Since when did Belize's stubbornness become infectious?

"…You know, if that indeed wasn't where he isn't!" Honduras was saying brightly, but the nervousness was still there in her eyes, in the way she fidgeted her fingers. "Even if he wasn't at where we knew he was that'd mean I really have to know where he wasn't. And we both know that's not true now, do we?"

Haiti growled and facepalmed himself, while Panama was torn between burying his face in his hands over this sure-to-be disaster and watching Honduras dig herself a deeper grave.

Unfortunately, it seemed that more and more nations were starting to realize what Honduras's doing, which then led to some of them taking a page out of her book.

"Y-Yeah, Soph's totally right!" Belize piped up, blinking a few times before playing it cool with her typical sly smirk. "I mean, to be fair, France might not be where we think but not completely know with completely certainty he is right now."

Haiti's hand slid off his face to glare at the younger nation. "And why can't you just tell where you're not completely certain France could be, in other words, his original destination, in hopes that I will stumble into him there or at least track him?"

Panama stifled a horrified shout. Damn it, he knew this was doomed to fail!

"Y-You can't! I completely concur with Honduras and Belize!" Monaco suddenly exclaimed before calming down and pushing up her glasses. "I mean, considering our 'ahem' track record, for all we know France and the rest of the crew could've suddenly found themselves in the middle of the Himalayas to fight off an army of mutated abominable snowmen!"

Everyone murmured in agreement at that one, even Haiti, albeit grudgingly.

"All right… I'll admit, you do have a bit of a point there… even though we don't have any mutated abominable snowmen in the middle of the Himalayas." Haiti muttered that last part, along with a string of mutters in Haitian Creole. "But even so, you can't _confirm_ that. There's still a chance that they arrived at where they needed to go, which is…?"

He raised an eyebrow at them, clearly waiting for them to finish the sentence for him. Panama felt a chill down his spine along with the air suddenly becoming. He knew this feeling. Magic. Evil spirits. Haiti was getting impatient and even angrier…!

"Aiyah! Don't be ridiculous, Haiti!" China huffed, deciding to involve his greedy ass in this too. "It would not be very useful if we told you where we think albeit not with complete certainty but yet not completely implausibly be. That is, if France and the other brats are where they may or may not be… which we aren't exactly sure about... maybe… Yes! It'd be much more convenient if you know where exactly they are and will be for a definite time!"

A furious scream tore through the sky as China narrowly avoided getting a needle to the forehead.

Panama could only slump to the ground, exasperated. He didn't like this. What were they thinking? Just tell Haiti about France and the others going to Switzerland and be done with it! It's not like it'll make much of a difference anyway! They'll never win against Switzerland and the Africans, much less in the former's own territory!

"S-Si! Wouldn't it be a lot easier if you just called one of your allies and ask them if they know where France is?" Italy proclaimed confidently, before the color promptly drained from his face as he quickly realize exactly what he just said. "Wait, huh?"

Everyone, especially those who have caught on to the plan, stared at Panama in either horror or blazing _fury_. Seychelles let out a small shriek that she quickly muffled by covering her mouth. Canada let out a pathetic cry of 'Maple!'. Nicaragua and China looked ready for _murder_. Japan was too stunned to properly react. Costa Rica and Honduras appeared equally horrified and betrayed. And Belize screamed to the heavens a 'WHYYYYYYYYY?!'

And as for Panama? He felt shocked that neither he nor Haiti realized such an obvious solution to the problem. W-Well, not like Panama really could point out to Haiti, especially in front of the Central Americans. Who would've thought that Italy would actually be useful for once?

An empty laugh almost escaped him, and he began to feel all the energy leave his legs. Panama wanted to smile. He wanted to cry. He seriously couldn't believe his luck. Once again today, his friends were spared from getting killed, or worse. And this time it wasn't even thanks to his own efforts! Could it be that the universe wasn't completely against him after all?

"Oh… I hadn't thought of that…" Haiti muttered dumbfoundedly, staring wide-eyed into nothing as he palmed his forehead. "By _Bondye_ , why the hell didn't I think of that earlier?!"

Meanwhile, as Haiti thought over this overwhelming realization, Panama saw that everyone was now angry at Italy.

"Aiyah! Italy, you idiot! Look at what you've done!" China screeched, smacking Italy rightfully on the head. "Now Germany and the others have another nation to deal with! Why did you feel the need to suggest calling his allies, aru?!"

Italy was on the verge of either bursting into tears or just dying right then and there. "B-B-But I thought we were making fun of Haiti's logic!"

" _No_. We were supposed to be _stalling_ for time in order for Germany, France and the others to conveniently arrive right at the nick of time, _not_ help Haiti point out the obvious solution to such an easy problem!" Belize growled, before faltering and turning to Honduras with an unsure look. "Uh, that was the plan, right, Soph?"

"Mm-hm," Honduras nodded with a weak sound, grieving over her failed plan. "I thought it was genius, too..."

If by mean genius, she meant genius for getting themselves in a horrifying situation, then yes.

"But _non_ … you're right… you're absolutely right, Italy." Haiti chuckled darkly to himself , gaining everyone's attention as he smirked triumphantly. "I really should have done that in the first place. In fact, I'll go do that right now! Be grateful that the fool actually did you all a favor for once in his life. You have no idea how close I was to unleashing hell. Ahem, now then…"

Of course, Belize, being the stubborn one as always, wasn't having it. She _charged_ ,"Oh no, you don't, you murdering, heartless little–"

Haiti grinned maliciously at and with a wave of his fingers, he disappeared in puff of smoke, though not without saying " _Babay!~_ "

…And Belize ended up tacking the air as she fell face-flat on the ground with a shriek.

/ / / / /

Their screams echoed in Germany's mind.

He recognized each of their voices. How could he not? He's sat through multiple meetings with them and watched them bicker non-stop for the past few years. His government was being massacred, and Germany was bearing the brunt of it.

Their voices would scream out in horror as the sounds of bullets going off rang in the background, and they'd suddenly be silenced, or if they've somehow survived or were just in their dying moments, they'd start to beg and cry for mercy or desperately try to bribe their attackers to help them. Judging from the screams and gunshots that followed afterwards, they had no intention of being merciful.

Who could've…?

However, before he could even complete that thought in the midst of all the chaos banging in his skull and eardrums, Germany choked when he felt an even worse pain pierce his heart and he knew _well_ what the pain meant.

His boss was _dead_.

As soon as that realization passed his mind, the pain burned even more, and he fell to his knees and screamed.

The pain when one nation's boss got assassinated was always terrible, always. A nation would always feel it in the heart. And what Germany was feeling were pangs of pain in his chest before finally feeling the horrible sensation that resembled a bullet shooting through his chest, as if his boss was being beaten to death before whoever was doing the crime suddenly decided to end it right then and there.

Of course, it wasn't a lengthy torment, as the pain of the kill passed soon enough. But there was still the lingering pain and the shock of it all that left Germany writhing on the ground as the noise and deaths continued torturing him. The sound of everything going on around him was barely audible above the bullets, the shouting, and the humans dying.

That is, until a familiar voice spoke up.

"Well, well, well…" Germany's head snapped up in surprise to see Switzerland strolling towards him, a smug smirk on his face. "What's this? Blood from the mouth, hand clutching your heart, and a look of indescribable agony on your face? Ah, _Prussia_ must've begun his grand plan!"

Prussia? Plan? His brother was behind this. He choked "Wh-What are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing I should bother explaining to someone as worthless as you…" Switzerland gleefully told him, relishing the sight of Germany writhing in pain. "And I have to say, how delightfully convenient that he executed the order as I'm trying to kill you. It's like the universe wants me to kill you. _This_ certainly makes things easier."

Germany heard something click, and he was greeted by the muzzle of Switzerland's gun.

"And now, I'll be finishing you off… temporarily, of course." Switzerland stated bluntly. "I won't put you out of your misery. I'll just shoot your arms and legs so that you won't be able to move. That way, you'll die a slow, painful death as you bleed out and hear the voices of your accursed government finally are silenced. But your will to live and keep going will keep you alive even longer, thus extending your suffering. I think that'll be able to satisfy my anger for the time being…"

Germany felt himself regain some of his clarity as he began to panic. "W-Wait, Vash! I need to know what you did to–"

"SHUT UP!" Switzerland shouted, hissing, "Don't you _dare_ use my… other name. You have no right! I don't want to hear my name uttered by a failure like you."

Germany gritted his teeth. Switzerland wasn't helping with his headache, that's for sure. "You… k-keep saying that… Why am I failure?"

Switzerland react to that simple question by giving Germany a look that seemed to believe that was most idiotic thing he could ever ask. "Oh, I think you know full well why you are a failure, Germany."

"Oh, the World Wars and the Holocaust are merely a few of the many reasons why I despise you and that you're a failure." Switzerland snarled, the hand pointing the gun at Germany was trembling. "You were arrogant beyond reason, you still are! You are weak to the 'rules' no matter what they are! You and your boss allowing millions of _parasites_ into Europe that you foolishly believe would _behave_ , and while it did serve to prove a few of our points, ultimately caused us nothing but pain and unnecessary trouble! You are destroying the continent!

The words hurt. Germany almost wished that the screaming and gunshots became loud enough to block Switzerland's voice, but he could hear the other nation loud and clear.

"Gilbert wanted you to work with us- He wanted you to be there when the new world finally comes." Switzerland spat out so quickly that Germany almost had a hard time following, and his features further twisted in pure rage. "But Prussia- he recognized that you were doomed to fail from the very beginning! Austria wisely tried to advise him otherwise, but Prussia went ahead and gave you the chance to prove yourself anyway! The result? The _result_ was a complete and utter failure that'd never be of use to us!"

Germany flinched. Was that what Prussia really thought of him? A failure? Not a brother, but a failure? Was that really what Germany was to him for all these years? A part of him wished to believe that Switzerland was exaggerating or blinded by hatred, but he just didn't know _what_ to believe.

"But then again, I suppose that's not fully true. You've had your uses over the years." Switzerland grudgingly accepted while Germany tried to get himself together and avoid getting struck by lightning. "I won't list them off now, as much as it'd be fun to rub it in your face. But the point still stands. You, are a complete failure."

"Really, I am the failure? I'm the embarrassment… and the idiot?" Germany uttered out in disbelief. He didn't know if the chaos suddenly clouded his better judgment, but he decided to finally make a retort to Switzerland's nonsensical rage. " _You_ don't have any right to call me any of those things, Switzerland."

Admittedly, he sort of regretted spitting that out as the words flew out of his mouth as Switzerland _froze_. Groaning inwardly, he half-expected Switzerland to become enraged which would then be followed by a roaring rampage…

But instead of shooting Germany's head right off with a barrage of bullets, Switzerland simply lowered his rifle with his expression becoming what could be described as the most scornful look Germany's ever had the displeasure of witnessing.

And he was saying this as someone who had met a lot of arrogant individuals throughout his life, including nations. It was almost terrifying to watch. This scowl radiated pure hatred and disgust. It was as if Switzerland was looking down at a bunch of cockroaches crawling all over the dishes instead of just Germany. Or maybe that's just it. He truly thought Germany was _that_ beneath him.

It actually hurt more than he'd ever admit.

"And why, pray tell, do you have that opinion?" Switzerland asked in a manner that betrayed the fury in his eyes.

"Oh, I think you know, or at least denying it." Germany spat, before he started coughing up again.

"Do you wish permanent death that badly, Germany?

He might as well be twisting the lion's tail, but he's had enough of the Order's holier than thou attitude and he needed to stall _somehow_. " _You_ weren't even smart enough to know that all you had to do was tell Lili to go home, or at least treat her as well as you did when you were acting, and the trouble with Liechtenstein never would've happened in the first place. You were arrogant, just like I was."

Germany couldn't until he was abruptly kicked in the face by Switzerland.

"You worthless piece of trash… I should just do this hideous world a favor and kill you right now." Switzerland snarled hatefully. "But nein, Cameroon will never forgive me if I finish you off before he could ever get the chance to get back at you, and I'm not willing to strain our relationship just when we patched things up. So, I guess I'll have to settle for torturing you as well."

"But I supposed a few good things did come out of it." Switzerland mused in an eerily calm way. "I proved to Cameroon that I'm completely loyal to the Order, so we're on good terms now that he believes that I will put the mission above anything or anyone else. I got to encounter you, thus giving me a chance to hurt you for all the trouble you've caused."

"So you're glad that Liechtenstein went against your wishes? You're glad that you got to hurt her?" Germany asked him accusingly, narrowing his eyes.

"Stop twisting my words, you worthless, human-whoring filth!" Switzerland screamed in frustration, pulling the trigger, and Germany yelled in pain as a bullet hit his shoulder. "I loved Lili as my little sister, I always did! Until you and that Hungarian harlot came along and–"

"Took advantage of how hurt she was over you neglecting her, I know." Germany accepted with a somber nod. He then glared at Switzerland. "But it doesn't change what you did or how you acted. Admit it, you were in over your head just as I was!"

"I messed up, I realize that well. I recognized my mistakes, unlike you did." Switzerland admitted with surprising somberness before he went right back to glaring back at Germany. " _You_ didn't have _nearly_ enough brain cells to realize that the dirty Middle Eastern 'refugees' were doing nothing but leeching off your money and raping your women!"

Germany flinched, but he wasn't about to give up. "I know I've been unwise, I've mistakes. Like you said, I was arrogant and thought I'd succeed in the end without giving any thought to the consequences. But you need to admit that-"

"ENOUGH! I've had enough of your ramblings. You may have managed to delay the evitable, but now it's _over_."

But before he could be greeted with more pain, Germany hastily got back on his feet and narrowly avoided the fate Switzerland intended for him. But it didn't do much of a difference…

The massacre, the loss of all his important officials and leaders, was leaving him drained and struck with pain. Switzerland's bullets were causing him to bleed out, and Germany expected the other consequences to follow soon. He was dealing with a more massive headache than usual. He was being besieged by what could only be described as monstrous, human-sized lightning birds.

But it's not that simple.

It's just like Switzerland said, just like _Prussia_ said years ago. No matter what happened, Germany will keep going. His willpower will keep himself alive and allow him to go on, even though if it'll get him nothing but pain.

The horrors of the First World War didn't crush him; he was willing to see it through the end. Falling into poverty after the first war didn't crush him; he kept working and working to help his people. Being faced with his guilt over his actions in the Second World War didn't crush him, he intended to live with his actions and redeem himself. Being split in two and being separated by Prussia didn't crush him.

Prussia's betrayal… did crush him, as did everyone else's revealed lies. Centuries worth of laughs and happy memories were suddenly ruined. But after some self-reflection, along with one or two pep talks with Japan and Italy, Germany got his act together and vowed to put a stop to all this mess.

So even if one might reason that he should just give up and let the others do the rest, Germany will just keep going. He'll grit his teeth through the pain, hardship and scorn as always and show Switzerland just how wrong he was about him being a failure.

/ / / / /

The pain had stopped somewhat, and he found himself being able to breathe normally again, but Egypt could _feel_ he was living on borrowed time. Two minutes had already gone by, two of thirty minutes Anubis had given him, mostly spent trying to heal himself so that he wouldn't have to _limp_ all the way to the house despite , only two, but he could feel his life force slipping _away_ from him.

Anubis hadn't said a single word ever since he turned back to his other form, and instead had taken to sniffing along with snarling at the roasted corpses of the impundulu instead of seeing if Egypt was alright – either physically or emotionally – and the silent treatment was _suffocating_.

Hurt pricked at Egypt's heart at the apparent schism between him and Anubis.

As he mentioned before, all the _impundulu_ had been finally killed, burnt to a crisp by Anubis' hellfire. They didn't smell as good as one might expect. Seeing those evil creatures dead was good news, at least. All seven of them were dead.

Odd, Egypt could've sworn there were more…

Frowning, he shook his head and turned around in direction of the house. It didn't matter. What did matter was that he needed to go inside now. It looked like Anubis had managed to allow Hungary to run ahead without getting pecked or electrocuted to death.

He had then begun going toward the house, limping in the process as a consequences of the wounds Nigeria dealt to him, until he felt something tug at his robes. Egypt gasped and looked back to see Anubis biting his clothes hard enough to prevent him from taking another step further.

"A… Anubis?" Egypt called out hopefully, daring himself to believe that maybe his friend had decided to forgive.

 _"Do not."_ Anubis growled, bluntly and curly. Egypt felt his hope evaporate. _"The Romanian is there with the woman, he is taking care of the matter as we speak. He had teleported while you were dealing with that African, therefore leaving your other allies much more vulnerable. The two will be fine. You should go back and defend the… other Europeans."_

R-Romania was with Hungary? Egypt's head whipped to the house and then back to Anubis. Did the others begin to suspect that something happened to him? Well, they wouldn't be wrong to assume that, as Egypt was nearing temporary death's door with each minute.

Knowing Romania and Hungary's… turbulent relationship, Egypt had some doubts that they'd be able to do what they needed to do without bickering every minute for the pettiest of reasons. But this was different from last time, they weren't exactly in the know in Paris and they know that they needed to hurry… And if Anubis wasn't worried, then Egypt should trust his friend's judgment.

As if sensing his worries, Anubis spoke again. His voice startled Egypt out of his thoughts.

 _"You are right to be reluctant. The two Europeans and the boy are not alone in that place."_ Anubis informed him forebodingly, yet calmly. Egypt stared at him in horror, but Anubis shook his head. _"I would not worry if I were you. The Romanian will save them from harm."_

Even so, Egypt felt worried. He frowned and looked back again at the house. "You may be right, but I feel that I should still…"

 _"You will **not**. You are needed here. I cannot fight alone."_ Anubis growled in a tone that he had never used with Egypt before, and he froze. _"The brothers of these abominations will come soon to avenge their fallen kin."_

As if hearing Anubis's words, thunder rumbled at a deafening volume, and it was promptly followed by lightning flashing throughout the sky with the impundulus' furious screeching echoing in the distance.

Egypt felt himself pale, and he was sure it wasn't the venom. M-More impundulu? That certain was alarming news. If they were headed to where Germany and the rest were, and Romania wasn't there to provide any magical protection from them, then…

Steeling himself, Egypt nodded towards Anubis, and the god in disguise began going off in the direction where they needed to go.

Egypt quickly followed suit. And so he walked, or rather, walked while slightly limping, toward where all the commotion was. Throughout the entire walk, Anubis never spoke nor spared a glance at him again.

Quietly, Egypt cried to himself.

/ / / / /

Hmm, lightning. How curious, Russia thought when he first saw it flash in the sky. And it was quite sunny with a fair number of pretty white clouds earlier, so of course something was definitely not right.

In fact, Russia was sure he felt there was something… magical about it, something supernatural. The situation – the lightning, the ominous yet quite annoying screech that could only belong to some sort of bird – even sounded familiar. Not in the way that it's something he had experienced before in his life, but that it resembled something someone once spoke about…

He wracked his mind for answers so that he'd know what to do when the new threat finally showed itself, but it came up with nothing.

Then suddenly, it all clicked. Oh. Why didn't he think about that earlier…?

Russia's mind flashed back to the memories his outings with the BRICS nations, now forever tainted by revelation that two of the nations were only _using_ them, where one in particular stood out to him. He remembered they all got into a fun discussion/argument over which supernatural or mythological beings originating from their countries, 'real' or not, was truly the most terrifying of them all.

Yes, they were all fond of morbid discussions now that Russia looked back on it…

But anyway, while he kept insisting that General Winter was truly the most powerful and scariest, South Africa jumped to the challenge and began retorting with a list of supernatural creatures that 'supposedly' lived in his land. Russia vaguely remembered a snake, a gremlin (no doubt the being that stalked them earlier), and most importantly, a lightning bird…

If he recalled Chris's words right, there was a creature that existed in the folklore of certain South African tribes called the… _impudulu_ or _izulu_ , among other names. A bird that could manifest as lighting, was the size of a human, and had an insatiable hunger for blood and suffering…

Perfect little minions for South Africa.

"What's wrong, Russia?" South Africa taunted as he pushed the knife against Russia's pipe, grinning from ear to ear. Russia so desperately wanted to pummel it off his face. "Scared of the impundulu? You should be, they're _hungry_ for blood."

Russia smiled tightly. "Oh, not at all, Chris. I'm sure they'll be quite cute."

South Africa practically beamed at that. "Ja, they really are! They're the best familiars anyone could ask for! Still, I wonder if that opinion will hold up when they bite off your entrails, even as you're still breathing.

"Tell me, Chris, since you're so knowledgeable, who was the one who murdered my little sister? Would you not answer for your dear friend Russia?"

"Aw, come on! Even though the culprit should be obvious, I'm not gonna spoil it for you in the off chance that you're _wrong_. That'd be no _fun_." South Africa pouted, practically dancing as he avoided Russia's attempts to beat him down. "There is more than person who'd have a vendetta against both the Wicked Witch of Eastern Europe and the Abominable Snowman, after all... That second one's you of course."

As much as it annoyed him to hear that insulting nickname again that America invented, Russia knew better than to take the bait. "Ah, I am well are aware of that, Chris. But while that _is_ true, there are clues pointing towards Lithuania being the bastard who murdered my sister. I asked because I'd to have a confirmation just in case, so that I would know who I need to exact my revenge on."

"Oh? Clues?" South Africa tilted his head, an infuriating smirk on his face. "Well, it's not like we're trying to hide which member did the revenge killings, but I know for a fact that the culprit himself would prefer if _he_ were the one who revealed that he was responsible for offing poor wittle Belarus."

"Really?" Russia blinked. "When can I expect this 'him'?"

To his irritation, South Africa merely shrugged. "Whenever he decides to show himself, _obviously_. This may come off as a _shock_ for you Russia, but just because you want something, doesn't mean you'll always get it, much less right away."

"And if I…" Russia began to push the annoying pest, relishing how South Africa struggled to push back. "…Say, try to _beat_ the answer out of you? Will I get it, or will I need to resort to uglier and gruesome methods?"

South Africa smirked, confident as always. "You can try, but I have a high pain tolerance."

Honestly, Russia's had about enough of South Africa's constant taunting and smirks. It nearly rivaled America's endless taunts and bragging in terms of how irritating they were. He wished to turn tables as they'd say. And he knew how, he knew very well how to 'grate on someone's nerves' as America and others do to him. One only needed to take a look back at the Cold War to know.

It just so happened that Russia's idea to taunt South Africa coincided with one of the many burning questions in Russia's dark little mind.

"Oh, well, that's too bad, da? Then how about you answer dear friend Russia's other question?" Russia proposed innocently enough. "I just have to know. You and the other nations of the New World Order, you all can influence your nations, correct? I believe that is how you had events go about the way you wanted them."

"Ja, that is correct." South Africa answered quickly, flashing a sly smile. "Ah, but don't think that everyone was completely planned and controlled. We influenced some people and some events, but not everything. Even if it's just minor influence, humans do live with their own free will in certain countries of the organization. And there are even some things that just… happened, without our involvement."

Is that so? Hmm, Russia will need to remember this information for later to tell the others. All knowledge was good knowledge, they say?

Anyway, this was his chance to deliver the question, and Russia had plenty of hope for good results.

He hummed in thought, feeling his smile require less strength to keep it in place. "Ah, interesting, very interesting. In that case, which category had good, kind, and very huggable Mr. Mandela belonged to?"

Russia immediately _relished_ the look of genuine surprise on South Africa's face, and he saw the moment the latter lowered his guard. He used it to his advantage. With a delighted grin, he slammed the pipe down South Africa's head.

"Ah, I can tell you weren't expecting that." Russia chuckled amiably while South Africa tried not to stagger, rubbing his poor little head. "I just couldn't help it. Think about it. One of the most peaceful men ever to walk this earth, and it turns out his own nation is his polar opposite!"

Without even waiting for a response, Russia walked brusquely towards the South African with the intention of grabbing his head. But South Africa suddenly whipped his head up with a manic grin and stabbed Russia in the chest with a hunting knife.

Russia grunted and stumbled back, allowing South Africa enough time to recover enough to speak properly.

"You want to know about Madiba, huh? I guess someone had to ask about him sooner or later…" South Africa grumbled, trailing off into mutters in Afrikaans as he regained his balance. He spread his arms wide with a bashful smile. "Well, Russia, I won't lie to you. What Madiba did… his ideals, his kindness, his hopes and dreams, and his profound foolishness? It was all him. I did nothing to influence it."

Hissing, Russia took out the knife from his chest, hardly feeling any spark of pain and uncaringly threw it away just as South Africa's interesting words reached his ears. His eyes widened slightly at this revelation.

He regarded South Africa with careful scrutiny, looking for any indication if he was lying. "Is that so?"

"Ja, honest! I know it's hard to believe, but it's true!"

"…Did you hate him, at least?"

" _Nee_." South Africa responded immediately, crossing his arms with a faraway look. "He was annoying, but I didn't hate him."

Now that was something Russia wasn't expecting. His eyes widened. "Oh? That's surprising. I would've thought that someone such as him would've frustrated you. And you did just call him foolish…"

"And so were the Boers sometimes, but that doesn't mean I hated them." South Africa retorted listlessly before speeding towards the knife Russia threw away and snatching it off the ground before the large nation could kick him. "He was stupid, extremely stupid. What else could you expect from someone who was friends with tyrants such as Castro and Suharto?"

"But you respected him?"

"Ja…" South Africa smiled ruefully, playing with the bloodied knife in his hands. "He fought against my hatred and _won_ … though it was a hollow victory. Still, he has my respect for managing to overcome the humans' hatred… somewhat and temporarily. He ended the damn Apartheid, and I'm also grateful for that."

"I know someone such as you probably didn't care about human lives, but you always 'lamented' and complained about the Apartheid. Surely, there was no way for you to prevent that from happening, da? You yourself said that you've influenced your people in the past. Was there no way to convince your leaders to have your nation go in a different direction and spare yourself all the suffering?"

To his surprise, South Africa threw his head back laughing at the question. "And prevent the whole world from seeing the beautiful result of my land and people after many years under Ned and England's 'care'? Nee dankie."

"What do you mean?

"You see, Russia, it's a complicated matter." South Africa sighed sadly, staring off at the distance as he sidestepped Russia. "And I'd love to go on a tangent about it for you, but frankly, you're not worth my time. Also, I want to save the whole backstory for Ned and my neighbors. But I'll try to _summarize_ it for you…"

South Africa cleared up his throat, and then began telling his story while Russia tried to stop the bleeding on where South Africa stabbed him. Might as well put the time he was given to good use.

"The Apartheid was a purely human creation. I let it happen. Hell, I even made it easier to happen!" South Africa almost sounded _proud_ of this. "The racism, all the hatred and all the voice violence… Some of it may have been fueled by my own immeasurable hatred for both sides, but for the most part, it was the humans. It really shows how despicable they are, doesn't it?"

"Fascinating, but that still doesn't answer the question." Russia said impatiently.

"Humans truly are scum. I'm sure you know this well, Ivan." South Africa remarked distantly, staring off into nothing with a blank gaze. "You don't know what it was really like for me all throughout the years with the Boers and the local tribes fighting. I watched innocent Boers get slaughtered. I watched my people become slaves mistreated their owners. I watched Zulu fade away in front of my very eyes. It was all fun at first, but then..."

South Africa scowled and trailed off into a series of mutters in Afrikaans just as Russia decided to attempt to bash his head off. It ended up failing, of course.

"But then you grew attached to the enemy, and you ended up even slightly estranging yourself from your people." Russia guessed, or at least that's what he's getting from this. "And as a result, you did little to curb the violence. You resolved to make the most of it, da? You did not know who to really hate, but you went along with everything anyway."

"Ja. I didn't know who to hate. Eventually, years after Zulu met his end, when I had no one who could understand me… I finally decided who I hated." South Africa paused from his grim words and then smirked. "I hated _everyone_."

Just as that was said, South Africa abruptly burst into psychotic laughter.

"So, when I heard the humans were thinking of the whole Apartheid thing, I knew this was the perfect opportunity to watch them destroy themselves in their senseless hatred. I saw an opportunity for some delicious bloodshed. And the leaders were willing to let it happen, albeit with my approval, since someone needed to show the true horrors of racism _somehow_. I was the best candidate for it!"

Russia couldn't help but frown. "You'd get the misery and suffering you wanted to see, but surely you knew that you'd suffer as well, no?"

"Oh, I didn't give a damn about that! But to be honest, I was a little… in over my ahead with the whole thing. I think the xenophobia and racism did a number on my reasoning." South Africa scratched his head in embarrassment with a sheepish smile. "What followed was one of the worst experiences of my life."

"And again, you did nothing to stop it." Russia pointed out, feeling more and more displeased with what he was learning. To his annoyance, South Africa only shrugged.

"I could have done that… but I didn't want to." South Africa shook his head, looking like he was barely managing to restrain himself from giggling. "The hatred, the constant violence, the borderline civil war were tearing me apart! But it was so much fun tearing those _bliksems_ apart with my own hands and gulping down their blood! Whites, blacks, it didn't matter. They were all trash in the end. Their hatred fueled me, and mine fueled them in return. The rampant bloodshed diminished my sanity and prevented me from ever considering stopping what was happening. I was too drunk on sadistic pleasure to _care_. I only regained reasoning until Madiba came into the picture, but even so, I don't really regret anything."

Well… This was also something Russia wasn't expecting to discover…

"So you were willing to forsake your own sanity and put yourself through pain just to torture your own people for fun?" Russia had to gawk at him. "Forgive me, but that is insane! And that's coming from me! Not to mention idiotic!"

South Africa scoffed, sending a taunting smirk. "Oh please, don't act like you haven't been involved in actions that were just as reprehensible, Russia! But you're right, right… I am obviously the worse one. You can't possibly comprehend the depths of my inhumanity."

Russia flinched when lightning struck on the ground near them as South Africa's smirk widened.

"Allow me and the _impundulu_ to demonstrate."

/ / / / /

So far, nothing. Absolutely nothing. Hungary's found no trace of Liechtenstein… you know, _yet_.

Hungary groaned for officially the sixth time as she closed the door behind her, admittedly a bit rougher than she needed to be, but what the hell did she care about Switzerland's property? What mattered was that she couldn't find Liechtenstein!

And Romania's constant reminders that they were kind of short on valuable time still did nothing but make her feel even more anxious. Grr, she could already hear his nagging voice in her head, pressuring and telling her to hurry the hell up before following it up with demonic cackling… Okay, she might be exaggerating a little but that's not the point. Clock's ticking.

She almost slammed the door close and went to check on the next one again when it happened. She froze. Hungary had to do a double take after around half a dozen failures.

Mouth dropping, Hungary's eyes went wide and she opened the door wide to see the entire room again. To her delight, she saw that, yes, Liechtenstein was there on the bed!

Nearly squealing at her little victory, Hungary hastily made her way over to Liechtenstein's prone body on the bed, inwardly crossing her fingers that she wasn't… that she didn't end up like Poland. She wasn't sure if she could take another death on her conscience.

Once she stood in front of the bed where she could see her friend up close, it was there where Hungary saw what was up with Liechtenstein. Her eyes narrowed at the gaping bullet wound on Liechtenstein's forehead, as well as the ones on her chest. Looked like Switzerland wanted to be better safe than sorry, but on the bright side, he didn't give her a painful death. Still didn't excuse it though.

At least Switzerland had the decency to set her down on a bed instead of stuffing her in a closet or something.

So… If she remembered correctly, China said that a nation could be permanently killed if their heart was ripped out of their chest or something along those lines. Hungary perked up with that thought. Well, unless her eyes were playing tricks on her, she wasn't seeing any big, bleeding obvious hole in the area where Liechtenstein's heart should. Unless there was another way that even China didn't know about…

Hungary shook her head at that negative thought. No, even if there was, Switzerland didn't use it. How did she know this? Because it looked like the bullet wound was _healing_.

Liechtenstein will come back.

All right… How was she going to do this? Hungary's shoulders slumped at that thought. Oh, come on, how come she didn't think of how she was going to carry Lili and a weapon at the same damn time?

Well, she'll just put away her frying pan in her portable wormhole like always, and she had her shotgun hoisted on her back… But the thing was, if she's going to be carrying Liechtenstein, then how will Hungary defend herself if she ran into trouble?

Her face scrunched up in concentration. Well, let's see here…. Should she go with the frying pan or the shotgun…?

After about a minute or two of reorganizing and getting Liechtenstein on shoulder into a comfortable enough position for them both, Hungary sighed and left the room with a satisfied smile on her face. Mission accomplished!

Oh, but really, thank goodness

Was that… a _scream_ she just heard? It sounded familiar too…

Concerned, and with Liechtenstein in tow, Hungary went to investigate.

/ / / / /

Killing Abarshane turned out to be easier said than done… unsurprisingly.

Algeria thought this bitterly as she sat near a tree branch, glaring down at the cobra currently trying to climb up the tree. It was making slow progress, but it was still progress.

Again, that little devilish reptile was clever, fast, and most of all, deadly. There wasn't much she could so about her situation. Algeria needed to kill it either with her gun, somehow get the drop on him to stomp on his body, or pelt it with rocks… That is, if she could _find_ rocks.

 _She'd also be making progress if her fear weren't holding her back so much. But she couldn't help it. Every time Abarshane made a lunge in yet another attempt to inject her with its venom, Algeria was reminded of the pain that exploded in the fragile skin she had when she was a little girl living with the Berbers. She was reminder of the fear that gripped her very soul, of how **terrifying** Abarshane looked when it opened its mouth…_

Alternatively, she could also flee with the little beast chasing her so that she'd be able to kill it with help, but Algeria suspected that Abarshane knew of that possibility, because he always seemed to cut her off whenever she tried to make a long retreat or escape. The little demon was perceptive, apparently.

So that left her with a grand total of one option that had the best chance of success: Algeria could try to shoot the damn snake down with her gun, even though Abarshane was frustrating fast. If she tried to catch it to strangle it or rip it herself, then there was a good possibility that she'd get bitten in the process. And while Algeria would be… willing to get bitten if it allowed her to kill the cobra and get to Tunisia quickly, she'd rather avoid it if possible…

 _Because she was scared scared scared scarescaredscared... She didn't want to die like that again. She didn't want to watch her own body rot away, didn't want to see herself cough disgusting things out of her body and then feel herself hunger for more air and air until she just couldn't anymore…!_

But she needed a good shot, or else she'd need to close enough that she'd get bitten anyway. And while Algeria aimed to kill the pest as quickly as possible, and maybe stomp on it as revenge for the trauma he inflicted on her, it'd be best if she didn't get bitten so that she'll have plenty of energy for when she'll throttle Morocco.

 _If the venom didn't kill her first, hands clawing at her neck as she desperately gasped for air._ No, stop it. **Stop it!**

And something told her that it'll take more than two or three bullets to kill Abarshane. While the little devil didn't have a nations' resurrected immortality, it's still immortal, and it's probably had plenty of experience dealing with tricky humans considering who his master was.

 _It probably knew how to deal with her._

Taking a deep breath, Algeria looked again at Abarshane climbing up the tree with his eyes taunting her at every second, hungry to see her die. She felt her face twist into a hateful scowl, and she gripped the handle of her gun.

Morocco… He's probably banking on her fear getting the better of her and thus preventing her from besting Abarshane.

Algeria's hand, her arm – no, her whole body trembled with fear. She suddenly felt like the little girl she was then, slowly growing more frightened by how Abarshane was approaching her with evil in his eyes. She wanted to scream at the snake to go away, perhaps throw some sand in his face, despite what good it did her last time…

She recoiled at the sound of Abarshane's hissing.

A bead of sweat trailed down Algeria's neck. Her trembling became more violent. She swallowed the nervous bile down her throat…

Abarshane was coming closer, its mouth almost seeming to curl up in a malicious smirk.

No, she wasn't that little girl anymore.

Abarshane was now even closer…

Algeria gritted her teeth and pointed the muzzle at Abarshane.

There.

Algeria pulled the trigger thrice.

 _BANG! BANG! BANG!_

Out of some sort of instinct, or perhaps her fear, Algeria closed her eyes after making those shots. But the sound of agonized hissing caused her to open them again, and Algeria was greeted with the sight of Abarshane's body fallen on the grass with two bleeding holes in his body.

She did it.

For a quite an unnecessary amount of time, Algeria had remained there up the tree, frozen in shock at her accomplishment as her gaze was frozen at the sight of Abarshane weakly hissing as he moved his injured body. Despite her obvious victory, Algeria still had a hard time digesting that information.

She did it. She really did it. She finally put that demon in its place.

Cautiously, Algeria jumped down from the tree at a safe enough distance from the cobra. She approached it slowly and carefully, but the little demon couldn't do anything but hiss and wriggle its body futilely.

Algeria sneered and stomped on the beast, eliciting another cry from it, before turning her back from it and walking away. Yes, she could kill it now, but there was no time. Besides, it was already bleeding out, wasn't it?

She could rub it in Morocco's face when she finds him. Now, if she remembered correctly, she was sure that she saw Morocco drag Tunisia away in this particular direction…

With the thoughts and worries of what Morocco could possibly be doing to her brother running through her mind, Algeria sprinted off without sparing a glance behind her, thus failing to see Abarshane slowly slither away…

/ / / / /

France felt useless. Yes, that would be the perfect way to describe what he was feeling right now. Useless. Useless. Useless. Useless.

Ever since he had arrived here, he had been nothing short of useless. France had tried to help Germany take down Switzerland, but he ended up accomplishing little to nothing. He had been attacked by Cameroon and was barely able to hold his own. And now? All he was doing was trying to survive getting killed by monstrous birds.

…While Egypt and Anubis fought most of them.

It's pitiful. It's pathetic.

Well, it's not like it was that surprising. After all, how could France ever compare to more powerful nations such as Germany or Russia, or nations with helpful abilities such as Egypt and Romania? France had relatively nothing going for him. He supposed his quick-thinking counted as something… when it was actually useful. All France was good at right now was miraculously staying alive.

But what hurt the most was that this mission was made with the purpose of rescuing his boy Mauritius, who France had failed in preventing his capture, and he wasn't even doing anything to help facilitate his little brother's rescue.

In a way, he failed Mauritius again. Even more so should they lose this battle…

But France wasn't pessimistic about their chances at victory. He just knew they just had to wait a little longer for Egypt and the others to come back with his boy and they could all go back to the rest of the group.

They just had to hold on a little more…!

Even so, he was beginning to harbor some doubts that he'd be able to keep his promise to his girls about not doing anything foolish or getting himself hurt. France loved his girls. He couldn't bear it in his heart to see them sad. But he wished to do _something_ to help.

If only there was something he could do…

If there was anything, ANYTHING France could do for his boy and the others, he would do it in a heartbeat. It's the least he could do for them for being such a burden…

/ / / / /

It took Tunisia a full ten seconds to snap out of his shock and realize the horror of his situation once again.

Morocco, his brother, flesh and blood, was kissing him again – _again_ – for what was probably the third or fourth time – Tunisia was always too traumatized and disgusted with his arousal to bother counting. Tunisia hated that it took him that long for his mind to snap from the haze and his grief.

But he felt torn. He felt disgusted with himself. He was sinking deeper and deeper into despair after being forced to listen to the harsh reality of his life. His heart ached, yearned for something he'll never have. There didn't seem to be any real happy ending for him in sight. And Tunisia hatedhatedhated that he had no idea what to do, or even that he wasn't immediately repulsed by his brother's 'offer'.

A happy eternity with the person you loved. It'd sound so nice if it wasn't so painfully out of his reach. If it wasn't so disgusting and Morocco wasn't the one making that offer…

Why did it have to be someone like Morocco?

Was there really no one else who'd…?

But what mattered was that he realized the horror of the offer when he did, right? That's what's important, right? H-He really meant it when he said that he couldn't, no, didn't want to be with Morocco. Putting aside how they're brothers, biological and all, but as Tunisia said before in Tunisia, Morocco was insane! How could Tunisia even consider after everything he did to him and everyone else?

Tunisia tried to yell out a desperate plea to his brother to stop this, but his voice was muffled by Morocco's mouth on his, and he didn't seem to care about any issue he had with this… this _depravity_.

He couldn't believe this was happening again. Tunisia wondered how many mores times he'll have to endure this if Morocco was truly hell-bent on 'settling down' with him. Tunisia almost wanted to wish Morocco would just give up and throw this whole idea about 'loving' him so that he'd just be treated with cruel disdain instead, like his brother did with Algeria. He'd suffer either way, but it sounded better than _this_ humiliation.

Even worse was how… _pleasant_ this sin actually was.

Morocco's lips were soft. Tunisia could barely even taste the blood on them, his blood. And his brother was being surprisingly gentle, not forceful and invasive like past times. Tunisia may not have any experience in anything like this at all (and he doubted that the – the _bird_ counted),

It- It even reminded him of when Morocco first kissed him on that night, you know, all loving and…

Horrified with his own thoughts, he felt his very being fill with dread, especially with the incident with the creature still fresh in his mind (and his torn shoulder still aching), and he became even more desperate to get away. N-No! He musn't fall! No matter how disgusting he was, he couldn't – he won't!

Instinctively, he tried to push him away in a panic, or at least pull away and then run run run away as fast as he could, but in response to this defiance Morocco snaked his hand around Tunisia's head and pushed it forward so that he wouldn't be able to break away with another hand on his back to further diminish Tunisia's freedom and the chances of him escaping. And then Morocco began to caress Tunisia's back.

It felt… _nice_. It sent a shock through his body, but then it made him feel all warm inside. But it felt so wrong.

Just when Tunisia thought that things couldn't get worse, he suddenly felt something wet force its way into his mouth and play with his tongue. If he could, Tunisia would have _screamed_.

Indescribable horror along with a slowly increasing feeling of _arousal_ , to his utter chagrin, shook him to the core as Morocco's tongue invaded his mouth, leaving no spot untouched. He was completely sure he heard Morocco moan into his mouth while doing it. Tunisia felt more disgust and shame well up within him. He tried in vain to stop Morocco's tongue, but just like always, he couldn't do anything.

After what felt like centuries, Morocco finally let him go, and the spell was broken. And as he relished being able through his mouth again and not having Morocco's tongue in it, Tunisia was left horrified.

Morocco, on the other hand, was more than pleased.

A hand grabbed Tunisia's own throat "B-Brother, why…?"

Morocco sighed contently, red in the cheeks, and wiped his mouth with his sleeve before smiling proudly at Tunisia. "See, brother? I told you, you'll find plenty of happiness with _me_."

"G-Get away from me…" Tunisia could only stammer as he struggled to escape Morocco's hold, but then he gasped when he felt the grip on his arm tighten.

"My sweet little Malik…" Morocco whispered softly, stroking a shaking Tunisia's cheek with his index finger. "Why so scared? It's just a kiss. I won't _bite_. Not like the impundulu did…"

Morocco's eyes briefly trailed over hungrily to the wound on Tunisia's shoulder, and he licked his lips. The younger one of the pair was not amused, and despite how it's never worked for him before, Tunisia gave in to his fear and tried to get the hell away from here.

"Listen to me, brother," Morocco commanded with a firmer tone, grabbing Tunisia's chin to force the latter to face him. "I can love you, I will love you. I will say it as many times as I will need to. I may be cruel, I may be hopelessly sociopathic, but I do _care_ about you. I want us to live together in bliss. Surely, you realize that in the way that I kissed you?

Tunisia felt his face flush red, if it wasn't already from the indecency Morocco put him through. "Y-You– I– It– You put your tongue in my mouth! It- it was disgusting– It was–"

"But you liked it, didn't you?" Morocco cut him off, smiling wickedly. "Don't lie to me. I felt your body react to my affection. Just as I said before, you crave it, so despite my _qualities_ and how much you try to deny otherwise, you desire pleasure. No, you desire pleasure from _me_."

Wh-What? Tunisia flinched at the suggestion, feeling bile rise up is throat. "N-No, you're wrong! Rahim, we're _brothers_!"

"You say that as if that's a valid excuse." Morocco grinned maliciously, and he began caressing a still terrified Tunisia's cheek. "We are nations. Do blood ties really matter that much as it does to the humans? It's not like we can procreate."

"Y-Yes, of course it does matter!" Tunisia cried out at him. "It doesn't matter if we're men or can procreate or not! I-It's s-s-sick a-and wrong and I hate that you keeping doing this to me!"

Morocco clicked his tongue, shaking his head in amused disapproval. "Malik, Malik… Why the shame? Why the disgust? You're with a fellow sinner, family even! You should feel confident sharing _all_ your feelings and cravings with _me_. I may have lied to you for all these years, but you can trust me."

Tunisia shook his head, the tears streaming down his cheeks. "I don't want to! I never wanted to have these– these cravings! I never wanted to be cursed with this! And you're asking me to trust you? All you've done since you've revealed yourself is play with my feelings, harass me, hurt me, and you punished me for something I wasn't that willingly a part of!"

But instead of seeing reason, Morocco smiled sadly and wrapped his arms around Tunisia "Shh, shh, Malik… It's alright… I'm here for you, always…"

Still sobbing and hiccupping, Tunisia weakly tried to fight out of Morocco's embrace. "Let… let me go… You're evil and…"

"No, Malik. Get Algeria's influence out of your head and listen to me." Morocco said in a more commanding tone. "I've been helping you free yourself. I'm only trying to make you see how good it feels to embrace that part of yourself. And the punishment – well, let me tell you, I was quite hurt when I heard that you helped our abuser recover from his rightful punishment."

Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. It was all lies… _right?_

"N-No, you're not…" Tunisia sounded strangled as he pathetically tried to push Morocco away.

"Yes, I am. You're only afraid, and that's understandable." Morocco said sympathetically. It sounded genuine. Why did he sound genuine? "You're… not used to this freedom and pleasure after so many years of living in fear and self-hatred. You've been indoctrinated for centuries to have this attitude, after all."

"I-I…"

"But I will say this again, join me and you'll discover pleasure beyond your wildest dreams. You won't have to suffer through prejudice of any kind. And I will love you no matter what may happen to us until the day we fade away from this earth."

"No, I don't want this…" Tunisia croaked out weakly, sniffling. "I-It's…"

"Oh Malik, what's the point in keeping up the charade and putting yourself through this torture when now you finally have a chance at happiness? Why not free yourself and join me in sweet pleasure? And don't say it's because you're filthy." Morocco frowned disapprovingly, cocking his head to the side. "Would you rather live out your lie to the very end? What would you do then, when the truth finally comes out? Because when it does, and you know it will, then you know well that your life will become hell."

"I don't have a choice! I have to do this. It's the only thing I can to do to make for… for… I know it doesn't redeem my sin, but being a good Muslim is the least I can for Allah!" Tunisia cried out desperately, choking back a sob. "It's all I can do. And I'd… I'd rather die with Algeria than spend the rest of my life with a _monster_ like you!"

Like with the previous times, while it felt nice getting his frustration with Morocco out, he regretted those words as soon as they left his mouth. He watched Morocco's smile vanish as his expression became just like before, purely unreadable and frightening. Morocco didn't move a muscle, not a single inch, as he stared right into Tunisia's soul. It was beyond unnerving to even put into words.

Fear filled his whole being, and Tunisia pressed his mouth shut to prevent himself from spouting out even more dangerous words. He hated this cycle. He'd be terrified of Morocco, and whenever Tunisia finally worked up enough courage to talk back at him, he'd go back to being a quivering mess.

"You keep calling me those things… Cruel, heartless, monster…" Morocco spoke blankly and in an almost stilted manner, as if in deep thought. "All true, obviously. I am an unrepentant sociopath. I've already admitted this to you, my dearest Tunisia. But it doesn't change the fact that I want you to have a happy ending. "

Tunisia didn't respond.

"And I have to ask, are Algeria and the others truly that much better than us?"

Tunisia's eyes widened as he looked up, confused. "Huh? Wh-What do you mean?"

"Take a good long look at yourself and your allies, sweet brother." Morocco wrapped his arms around Tunisia from behind, whispering. "How many of you have really taken a good, long look at their actions and not shrug it off as us being petty or delusional? Have any of you even thought of the future should you defeat us? You do realize it's this lack of planning that's one of the many reasons why Africa is in such a poor state in the first place, right?"

"We… We haven't gotten around that yet. I'm sure the others will come up with a plan sooner or later…" Tunisia tried to sound confident as Morocco's hands, not liking how close they were and he's starting to rub his sides. "And about the other thing, I think they just need some time to… let everything sink in."

Morocco hummed, not sounding very convinced. "They need some time, you say? I doubt it. Admit it, your 'friends' and allies are just as driven by hatred and anger as the rest of us, or am I wrong?"

Tunisia swallowed, he honestly didn't know. "I-I don't–"

"Tell me, how much has Russia just laughed off the obvious fact that it's his self-righteousness and cruelty that drove Lithuania to join us and kill Belarus? How much has China scoffed at being told that his SAR's had very good reasons to hate him? Has Egypt ever realized how much pain Islam has caused us all and resolved to do something about it? Has Canada realized that it's his foolish jealousy, betrayal and lack of drive that drove America to forsake him as a brother? And England, well, _I don't think I need to say anything about him_."

"Be quiet, brother! I d-don't want to hear any more of this!" Tunisia yelled at him, trying to cover his ears, but Morocco grabbed his wrists and forced them to stay in place. "You're only trying to manipulate me-!"

"And tell me… just how much time does Algeria need to accept people like us? A century? Millennia? How much time does she need to realize there could be citizens of hers suffering thanks to hard-headedness and beliefs? How much time does she need to realize that she's been insulting and cursing her own kind brother the whole time?"

That very last question caused Tunisia to sob, and before he knew it, he suddenly found Morocco in front of him again, unsmiling and hands gripping Tunisia's shoulder.

"With all this in mind, is living with me really the worst thing that could happen to you? Brother, I already told you that I'll treat you well." Morocco reminded him in an eerily kind tone, "I wish you'd just give up on this pointless quest to make yourself as miserable as possible. If you let me _love_ you, if you let me express how much I want to love you, then you'd never know suffering again."

Tunisia tried not to blush at the horrifying images the suggestion conjured. "D-Do you really want me to come with you that much?"

Morocco's smile became kind. "Of course I do. I want what is best for you, dear brother. I wish to see you truly happy."

"Th-Then w-wouldn't it be much easier to just brainwash me instead?" Tunisia spat out bitterly, _forcing_ himself to sound bitter, even though he should _really shut up_.

Morocco stared at him with a nameless emotion, something that looked like confusion, before he erupted into amused laughter. "Heh. Brainwashing? Now, wouldn't that have been quite the process…"

For a moment, Tunisia was terrified that he unintentionally gave Morocco an idea. Why waste time trying to convince Tunisia to come with him when Morocco could just mold Tunisia into exactly who he wanted him to be? He felt his breath catch in his thought the horrifying thought. But he was then caught by surprise when Tunisia felt Morocco pat his head.

"Oh, to be honest, I have considered it, albeit briefly, but it wouldn't be the same." Morocco chuckled as he got over his bout of laughter, smiling as sweetly as always, like the old fake brother Tunisia knew. "I want you to free yourself and be with me out of your own free will."

Tunisia would be lying if he said he was expecting an answer like that, and he looked at his brother in surprise. "R… Really?"

Morocco snorted, sounding almost offended, and smiled ruefully. "Well, of course! While very idea and the various scenarios it conjures is exciting in itself, it's not what I want for you. I don't want to do that to my poor cute brother. Besides, brainwashing you into becoming an adoring slave would, technically, defeat the purpose of freeing you."

He tried to keep that mental image out of his head, as well as its implications.

"I will convince you, show you that you deserve happiness. I will accomplish that goal without having to resort to altering your mind." Morocco stated resolutely, with a seriousness and truth in his words that Tunisia hadn't heard before, and he closed in on him again, whispering in his ear. "That is how much I love you, my beloved Malik."

Tunisia nearly had a heart attack Morocco's slick tongue trailing his earlobe, and to his embarrassment an involuntary gasp escaped his mouth. Morocco's voice was so mesmerizing, his tone was so perfect and everything he said was so _believable_. It'd be too easy to just let go, but…

"Just let go of your ridiculous morals and embrace me instead…" Morocco whispered to him, almost in a commanding manner, as he closed in the space between them. "I promise everything will be… _just fine_ …"

Not even bothering to fight back, Tunisia was kissed by Morocco yet again. Somehow, it wasn't so bad this time around…

"FREEZE!"

The shout and the following sound of a door being loudly kicked open caused Tunisia to jump and break the kiss while Morocco held him place. They both whipped their heads to see who intruded upon them, and to Tunisia's horror…

It was Hungary.

Tunisia felt his jaw drop to the ground for more reasons than one.

Yes, really. It was Hungary, with Liechtenstein hefted over her shoulder and a shotgun pointed right at them, and whose menacing expression quickly vanished into a look of shock once she… saw… both Tunisia and Morocco… together…

Blanching at the realization, Tunisia looked at himself and Morocco and saw that, yes, they were what one may call a lovers' embrace. Horrified, he quickly wrenched himself out of a thankfully distracted Morocco.

No… No. No. No. No. Nononononononononono!

"Huh…?" Was all Hungary could say.

To say Tunisia was panicking would be an understatement. Someone just saw him and Morocco kissing! He turned to his brother to see how he was reacting, only to flinch in fear. What he saw in Morocco's face was the same blatant but terrifying fury and irritation that he saw when South Vietnam interrupted their last 'reunion' …

Until Morocco's smile came back.

"Ah, well if it isn't Hungary. How do you do? I see you're looking surprisingly well… for the time being…" There was an underlying threat lacing Morocco's words as he smiled politely at the European woman. "Enjoying the show, are we? Well, I'm afraid any and all intruders will have to disposed of, voyeurs or not."

Hungary looked anything _but_ pleased, her mouth agape in shock as she pointed her shotgun at the two of them. "I- Wh- What's going on here? Why are you two–?"

Morocco hummed as he turned his smile toward a shell-shocked Tunisia. "Well? Do you want me to tell her, Tunisia? Or should I?"

Tunisia couldn't speak. He couldn't move. He didn't what to do. What should he do?

As if taking his silence for some kind of nonsensical answer that he'd never say, Morocco's smile suddenly morphed into a psychopathic grin, and in the blink of an eye he conjured up a knife from apparently nowhere and threw it at Hungary, who moved just enough for it to strike her in the shoulder.

Hungary screamed, stumbling back, and Morocco took it as the signal to run straight at her with yet another knife. Tunisia barely processed what happened afterwards, but he was sure that Hungary and Morocco were now embroiled in a fight outside the room while he stood here, frozen in shock.

She… She saw him… She saw him with Morocco. Had she connected the dots yet? Had she been listening in to their conversation? There were just too many questions…

As if suddenly snapping out of a trance, Tunisia was then painfully reminded of the other situation going on here that wasn't about him. Wait, what's wrong with him? Had he really forgotten what he's here for?

What's happening to a sinful man like him didn't matter. It'd be even more terrible of him if he did nothing while one of his friends was being attacked by his brother. Even if Morocco… he… No, don't be fooled, Tunisia. Don't…

He couldn't just stand here.

Biting his lip, Tunisia steeled himself and ran out of the room. He found Hungary currently in a deadlock with Morocco, and when he saw his brother, he wasted no time in running towards his brother and pulling him away from the female nation.

Morocco was startled by Tunisia's sudden appearance. "Gah-! Malik?!"

"Brother, stop this!" Tunisia pleaded, trying his best to restrain him.

How was Morocco so strong?

"Malik, stay out of this. It'd do you very well if you don't get yourself involved." Morocco coldly remarked as he easily "Don't make me hurt you more than I've already have. You may be my sweet brother, but my job comes first."

 _I don't want you to get hurt either!_ Tunisia wanted to scream at him. But Morocco easily got out of his hold and shoved Tunisia aside to walk towards the distracted Hungary currenly checking on Liechtenstein. But he wasn't going to give up just like that. If restraining Morocco wouldn't work, then…

Rather foolishly, Tunisia tackled his brother to the ground.

"Hungary, do something!" Tunisia cried out to the woman as Morocco yelled and thrashed around him.

"R-Right!" Hungary nodded, snapping out of her own shock, and she prepared her shotgun. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

/ / / / /

Nigeria was dead.

This thought ran through Cameroons countless times, his anger growing with each reminder as he stomped throughout the house. Nigeria had been killed. That was one member of their group that had been put out of commission by the enemy. His friend had been killed. Temporarily, thank goodness, judging from the lack of true death Cameroon could sense from what little magic he had.

Somehow, he believed that it was the god who was responsible, not Egypt. Cameroon doubted that that man would've suddenly turned the tables on Nigeria after spending so much time fighting him all on his own. Anubis must've helped him.

And as much as Cameroon admired and respected Nigeria's abilities, both of them knew well that the latter stood no chance on an actual god.

That was one of the reasons why Cameroon didn't go after Egypt or Anubis to avenge Nigeria. He would not be able to hurt Egypt with Anubis around, and the _impundulu_ patrolling the house had been defeated. And more importantly, Cameroon already allowed his rage to get the better of his judgment, and it won't happen again.

Now Cameroon must focus on finding Morocco and ensuring his safety.

Or at least, that was his intention until as the front door suddenly opened just as he passed by it. Cameroon stopped to stare, curious to see who it was, and to his surprise, it was Algeria who came through the door and closed it behind her before coming face to face with him.

"You." Cameroon growled, feeling his bloodlust rear its head yet again.

Algeria in return widened her eyes in surprise, but they narrowed into a glare just as quickly. "Cameroon. I should've known there would be someone else here… Where's Morocco and Tunisia? Answer me _now_."

What made this woman think that Cameroon will answer? But that was the least of his complaints. What was bothering Cameroon more was the fact that Algeria was here, and she wasn't supposed to be here.

"How are you here?" Cameroon growled the very question burning in his mind.

Algeria raised an eyebrow. "Morocco tried to keep away me, and he failed. End of story."

What?

From what Morocco had told of Cameroon about his plan to drag Tunisia away, his friend had intended to set Abarshane upon his sister. Using her phobia of snakes to his advantage, Morocco would be free to claim Tunisia and take him away to a more secure location.

If Algeria was here, then that meant…

Was Abarshane dead?

Cameroon narrowed his eyes dangerously at the woman, his hands forming into tight fists. "You… You will _pay_ , woman..."

Every single of the African Five had at least one pet. Cameroon, for example, had his lion Kokolo, who was currently still back home, as he felt that his friend wasn't needed yet. They all cherished their precious pets, and they cherished the others' pets as well, for they were like family too. By killing one of their pets, this woman had killed a good friend to all of them.

Cameroon's rage went aflame; it took most of his self-control to prevent himself from lashing out at her. He should not be one to let his emotions get the better of him. He was calm and controlled. He couldn't use his calculating nature to his advantage if he let himself be blinded by red and his lust for blood and flesh.

"Where is my brother?" Algeria snarled back, showing no fear in the face of Cameroon's rage. How _admirable_.

He prepared himself for another fight. Hands twitching, yearning to rip Algeria's entrails out of her stomach, he coldly spoke, "You will never reach him."

Now was the time for Cameroon to come through with his promise.

Without even waiting for her reaction, Cameroon pounced.

But not even two minutes had passed in their so-called fight before a new voice made itself known.

"Hey, hey! What's with all the commotion in here?" A… European voice loudly complained, and both Cameroon and Algeria froze as another nation walked into the room. "Dammit, hag, I told you that we shouldn't have split up!"

It was Romania, of all people, with an annoyed scowl on his face and… was that _Mauritius_ he was carrying?!

"Romania?" Algeria gaped at him, and then she noticed the nation he was carrying. "Mauritius?"

"…Oh." The fool blinked once he realized who he was facing. "Am I, uh, interrupting here?"

Cameroon couldn't even bring himself to make some sort of coldly sarcastic response, as he was too busy trying to deal with his priorities. Terrific. Now he needed to protect Morocco and retrieve Mauritius before the Romania could teleport away!

As if that wasn't enough, another commotion reached his ears and screaming echoed throughout Switzerland's abode as three bodies fell down the stairs. Cameroon only reacted with mild surprise as he recognized them as Hungary, Tunisia and… Liechtenstein?

But at the top of the stairs was none other Morocco looking down on his prey with disdain, and to Cameroon's relief, he looked relatively unharmed.

"Brother!" Algeria rushed toward Tunisia.

"Algeria…?" He blinked up at her warily.

"Algeria?!" Morocco exclaimed with a barely restrained fury as he stormed down the stairs, likely having come to the same realization Cameroon did. "How are you–?"

 _"ROMANIA!"_ Hungary screamed at her old rival as she held Liechtenstein, red in the face with fury. "This would be a great time to-"

Realization crossed said Europeans face. "Da, I'm on it! I'm on it!"

"NO!"

Cameroon immediately to tackle Romania, or even better, rip out his heart before he could get the chance to complete the spell, but his vision suddenly became completely engulfed in flames. Undeterred, he tried to reach out to grab him as Morocco did the same…

/ / / / /

Egypt had arrived right at the nick of time to find a heavily wounded and bleeding Germany being overwhelmed by a practically feral Switzerland, conjuring a barrier to block the bullets that might've killed his European ally. Germany had quite a few bullet wounds, but there was also something off about his condition. But he supposed this wasn't the time to ask.

He had tried to heal him with what mediocre amount of talent he had in that area, but Egypt didn't manage to accomplish much with his multitasking. At least Germany wasn't going to drop dead.

France was also here alongside Egypt and Germany, and he had been dealing with the _impundulu_ reinforcements by the time Egypt had arrived. Anubis swiftly directed the creatures' attention to himself, thus allowing France to breathe somewhat easy. He was mostly unharmed, fortunately, but he was uneasy and worried for his siblings. Currently he was assisting Germany against Switzerland.

Despite all this, and his successfulness in keeping Switzerland at bay, Egypt felt the venom coursing through his veins kill him slowly with every minute. It was becoming difficult to breathe properly, his world was beginning to spin in decreasing intervals, and he was feeling the other symptoms as well. He did not know how much time he had left, but he assumed that it was not a lot.

The clock was ticking. With every minute that passed, Egypt was one minute closer to spending a dreamless sleep for an indeterminate amount of time and therefore leave his companions here to die. They needed to _leave_.

And it appeared that Egypt's not the only time who had gained a new sense of urgency.

"Where the hell are Romania and Hungary?!" Germany growled, somehow managing to yell despite coughing up blood every two minutes.

"And where are Algerie and Tunisie?! They've completely vanished from sight!" France shouted over all the noise, searching around frantically. "I don't see _Maroc_ anywhere either. What if something had happened to them? What if Rahim-"

Please. Please, let them hurry. He's even starting to gasp for breath now and they couldn't afford to _lose_ this conflict.

But as if the gods heard his plea, a spot of the grass near him went massively aflame; only for it vanish to reveal just who they were waiting for.

It was Romania, who was semi-carrying a drowsy and weak Mauritius by the shoulder. It took a few seconds for Egypt to fully register his presence, but when he did, an indescribable relief washed over him. And not only that, but accompanying him were none other than Hungary piggybacking Liechtenstein's limp body and Algeria who was helping Tunisia off the ground.

Egypt didn't waste any time in getting their attention. "Romania, Hungary! You have returned!"

The nations all turned their attention to him, Hungary in particular smiled at him sheepishly despite the cuts on her face the red stain on her chest. "O-Oh, Egypt! There you are!"

Egypt would've returned the greeting, if he hadn't been interrupted.

"YOU!" A voice filled to the brim with pure hatred barked, and Hungary flinched to find Switzerland abandoning his hiding spot and making a beeline toward them. "You harlot! I _knew_ I should've disposed of the body better! You-"

But the barrier prevented him from taking any step further, even as he banged against the glass. Egypt made sure to keep it up strong even through his fatigue, while at the same time see what's happening with the others.

"Li… Lili…" Germany muttered in disbelief as he weakly got up and limped toward "You… You found her… Is she…?"

"It's only temporary, Germany." Hungary assured him, smiling warmly as she nodded toward the limp girl. "Trust me, I've checked.

"Oh, Algerie, Tunisie! You're both alive and safe!" France cried out with joy as he trapped the two North Africans in a hug, much to their chagrin. "You have no idea how worried I've been for you two!"

"It is…" France murmured as he rushed over to Romania. "Kelvin! How is he, Romania? Is he alright?"

"So far, nothing suspicious or alarming, France," Romania informed him as he tried to support the island nation. "Though I say we should definitely keep him locked up until it's completely safe to say that he's, y'know…"

France opened his mouth to speak again, but a groan from the nation in question stopped him.

Mauritius, who seemed to be waking up from his daze, blinked at France and squinted, as if he couldn't quite make out the Frenchman. "Francis…? Is that…?"

The most relieved smile appeared on France's face, and he enveloped his former colony in a hug, looking almost ready to cry. "Oui, oui! It's me Kelvin! It's me! Your big brother has come to bring you home!"

"You came for me…" Mauritius said as if he couldn't believe it. "I… I thought…"

Germany cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention. "Ja, well, this is all well and good. But we should _really_ be going now, so you can all have a proper catching later. So, where the hell is Russia? I don't see him-"

"I am right here, Germany."

Egypt almost jumped (honestly, he's getting too many surprises today), and he as well as everyone else realized that Russia had finally appeared. And… And…

To put it simply, he looked _terrible_. No offense to Russia, of course.

Egypt couldn't recall the last time Russia appeared so wounded, probably because he never once encountered him during any strong conflict going on in the latter's country. It was honestly rather frightening to see him like this, and not solely because of the scowl on the tall nation's face. Russia's coat was torn in several places, his hair was rather disheveled, and there were several blotches of red all over his body.

"O-Oh…" Germany blinked, having the same stunned reaction as everyone else, but he kept his face hard. "And what about South Africa? Is he dead?"

" _Nyet_ , he is not." Russia growled through his teeth. "Perhaps a little dizzy and disoriented for a couple of minutes, but not dead. The _birds_ made sure of that. Luckily, they seemed to be more focused on Anubis."

"Hey, hey! Can you all continue talking later? 'Cause in case you've forgotten we're still in danger here!" Romania yelled irately at them, and he looked around with a fanged snarl. "Come on, let's go ba-"

His sentence was cut short when a roar came from behind the European, and…

Egypt's eyes went wide with horror.

Cameroon suddenly materialized out of nowhere, and while Romania was distracted, he raised his fist with his face filled with feral rage and it collided right into Romania's head. A splat-like sound resounded through the area, and Egypt could only gape as Romania fell limp to the ground, a chunk of his head missing and bleeding on the grass. And with the loss of support, Mauritius collapsed along with him.

"Romania, Kelvin!" France called, rushing over to help, but a knife flew right past him.

"Well, well, the whole gang is here!" South Africa cheerfully remarked, revealing himself with forced smile as he stepped out from behind a tree. "How _nice_. Is this the part where you all persevere with the power of friendship, teamwork or some other sappy nonsense like that?"

Russia snarled, "I thought I've given you enough of a concussion, you…"

"You didn't really think _that_ would've been enough to keep me down, did you?" South Africa taunted with a sly grin. "Oh, Russia... I'm so _offended_."

"Yes. I think it's still quite too early to celebrate your victory, don't you think?" A familiar, cheerfully malicious yet polite voice remarked from behind Egypt. He spun around to see the origin of the voice only to be greeted with the sight of Morocco with a knife in his hand.

The venom seemed to be dulling. So,

…Thus leaving someone else to literally pull him out of harm's way. He vaguely heard France shout before feeling someone grab his arm, _"Egypt, get out of the way!"_

And so the knife barely managed to scrape Egypt before France got him away from Morocco. If Egypt wasn't eternally to France for what he's done to help before, he certainly was now. If France hadn't pulled out of the way there, then the group would've lost both of the teleporters.

But Morocco didn't give up that easily. He lunged again, only for Algeria to tackle him. Russia only barely managed to hold Cameroon

As if that wasn't enough, just as soon as that happened, Switzerland dashed out into view as and opened fire on them. Curses, he went around the barrier!

This must end now. They needed to... Should Egypt…? No, there was already another way.

"Anubis! You all must go to Anubis!" Egypt shouted at Germany, hoping that he could hear him. "He will help teleport you all away! Go to him while several of us remain here to hold them off! Tell Anubis come here! Go! GO!"

"Right," Germany nodded, thankfully understanding what Egypt was trying to say "Russia, help carry Romania and Mauritius! Hungary, you're coming with him too! And for the rest of us, hold them off until Anubis comes here!"

Miraculously, things started off well enough, but it quickly turned out to be much more difficult than Egypt thought.

He had tried to keep up a barrier to protect himself and his allies, but they kept seemingly finding a way around it and South Africa seemed to have found a way to _break_ it. Was he magical too? Egypt was too drowsy to dwell on that. But this man was just as annoying as Nigeria…

However, the barriers at least bought France, Algeria and Tunisia enough time to hide behind some trees with Germany occupying Switzerland until Anubis could finally arrive. In the meantime, Egypt was dealing with South Africa.

"Somehow, one way or another, no matter how great or small, you'll be paying today for escaping and causing us all this trouble, Egypt." South Africa smirked at him before shooting rounds at Egypt again.

Egypt didn't bother to respond to that. He was just tired…

"You're getting sloppy, Gupta. Don't try to pretend otherwise. Your eyes are tired, your movements are sluggish you look ready to drop dead." South Africa noted with cruel glee. "I guess it wouldn't have something to do with the snake bites on your body, would it?"

Egypt was really feeling annoyed. "Perhaps…"

"So, tell me, how are you still alive? I mean, you're obviously slipping closer to deaths door. I can sense it. But that doesn't explain why you're still standing." South Africa commented in a more serious manner, almost concerned, though not for Egypt. "With that many bites you should be _dead_ by now."

"You can thank Anubis for that." Egypt answered simply as he shot lightning from his finger, which South Africa evaded with ease.

"Ah, of course." South Africa was oddly accepting of the answer. "So, what kind of snake did Adigun create?"

Egypt scowled in annoyance. What was with the Africans and making small talk in the middle of a fight to the death? "Am I really obligated to answer you? Just be quiet."

"Well, you're not obligated to not answer at all," South Africa pointed out mischievously. "And who knows? Come on, where's the harm in telling me?

If it'll get him to be quiet, then… Egypt sighed, "It was a western green mamba, if I heard correctly."

Oddly, South Africa seemed _surprised_ at that. "A western green mamba? Well, that explains it… Sounds like your survival was nothing more thanks to luck, after all."

"What do you-"

Before Egypt could finish, a flash of fire sent South Africa flying back. He snapped his head back to see what was going on, and he was relieved when he saw Anubis standing not too many feet away from them, barking.

This was their chance.

"Come on!" Egypt urged. "We have to go!"

Tunisia was hesitant. "B-But what about Rahim and-"

"Just ignore them! They can't do anything now!" Algeria scoffed as she helped her brother. "Capturing Morocco doesn't matter anymore, not if it'll put us in danger. Let's just leave and-"

 _"Leaving so soon, are we?"_

Egypt tensed. _Morocco_.

"Oh, Algeria, my dumb, _dumb_ sister… It'd be such a pity if you leave now!" Morocco sang mockingly, his voice loud and clear for them to hear. "It would be _so_ _unfortunate_ if you leave without knowing what happened to Western Sahara!"

Algeria froze in her tracks, and so did Tunisia. Both Egypt and France noticed this, and they were immediately worried.

"I have so many things to tell you about her, so much that you've missed! And so much that has happened under your very hideous nose!" Morocco's malicious laugh echoed throughout the area, "She was such a _delightful_ toy. All those years, suffering in silence, watching the show play out no matter how much she wanted to stop it… Can you just imagine what it was like for her? Did you even notice how much _pain_ her smile hid?"

He was _baiting_ her, Egypt quickly realized and he felt his very being fill with panic. No, no, no, this was not good. Algeria was no fool, but she was too prone to anger for her own good, _especially_ when it came to her sister.

As if to prove his point, Algeria's hand formed _"I knew it…"_

She made a move to turn around, but only slightly. It was still enough to worry about.

"Algeria! No, no!" Egypt hissed at her in alarm, seeing the growing anger on her face.

"Khalida, let's go!" Tunisia begged her, a terrified expression on his face. "Please!"

"…She always believed that you would see through my entire deception and rescue her." Morocco continued taunting in the distance. Egypt wished he could eviscerate him as Anubis did with Nigeria. "Some sister and friend you are, am I right?

"Algerie, please, don't listen to him!" France pleaded to her as he saw her confliction, and he grabbed her hands. "He only wants to anger you, to draw you out. He could be lying just to do that. He wouldn't be above such a thing!

"She desperately wanted to escape, and she once tried to, AKA the war. She knew the consequences would be for such an act of defiance, but she still went through with it!" Morocco was taunting and taunting. "That's why she was so frantic at that time. If she lost, she would go through hell for rebelling. So, when you failed her and you went home with only a few tears, empty promises and a heartfelt apology, you actually failed to prevent her from being free from us and being tortured. You failed her. The world failed her."

…

In the blink of an eye, before anyone could even stop her, Algeria turned her heel and ran off.

Tunisia screamed as his sister stormed towards Morocco, but his horror at the situation was nothing when as Algeria reached toward Morocco, she was then attacked by Cameroon. She took the bait, and now she was paying the price for it.

The same would've likely happened to Tunisia when he sprinted a few steps forward if France hadn't restrained him. "Let me _go_ , Francis! Khalida- It's my- She-!"

"I know, but rushing in won't do any good, Malik! You'd end up ensared by Rahim and the others as well!" France warned him, and Tunisia faltered and becoming quite pale.

"We're surrounded. We can't possibly reach her without getting killed!" Egypt tried to tell him, despite being just as eager to rescue her as he was.

"W-We can't abandon her!" Tunisia protested, looking like he's about to break down.

"No, Malik. We will not." France stated stoutly, and he turned toward Egypt. " _Egypte_ , mon ami. I have experience with situations such as this. Why, back in World War II, my beloved Resistance were experts in evading their enemies and frequently participated in guerrilla warfare and sabotage! So, this is what we are going to do…"

"I'm all ears." Egypt nodded. Any plan would do.

"…With my expertise, I will go out and grab the Africans' attention, cause a diversion of sorts, to give you time to teleport Khalida and the rest of you away." Egypt stiffened as he processed the details of the plan while France remained oblivious. "I will, in other words, take one for the team."

Egypt could not believe what he was hearing. He stared at the Frenchman in horror. "…What?"

He took it back. He was not alright with this plan.

"I will keep the Africans and Switzerland focused on me while you all make your escape!" France said hastily. "There is no time to argue. I'll go and when I have Morococ sufficiently distracted, you will do the rest."

To say Egypt was horrified at the idea would be an understament. "Wait, no! No! Don't you remember what you promised Michelle and Monaco? You-"

"I am aware of what I said, and that's why I'd like you to apologize for them." France smiled sadly at him. "Tell them I'm sorry for being such a terrible frère to them, won't you? I… I think I can trust you and Germany to keep them safe. Now, _please_ , do as I say or we'll never leave here."

"France, no!" Tunisia exclaimed, as appalled by the idea as Egypt was. "R-Rahim- The others- They'll torture you!"

France kept smiling, but the _fear_ was present in his eyes. "I know, Malik. I'm terrified of what'll happen to me. But frankly, I'd rather let them take their rage out on me than to see you or your sister captured. Be sure to tell your sister that. Tell her not to blame herself, oui?"

In a similar vein to Algeria, France turned around and ran off without another word. And begrudgingly, not that he had much of a choice, Egypt did as France said.

France wasn't bluffing when he said that he was good at evading. When their enemies took notice of his presence, France impressively avoided all their attempts on his life by using the trees or bushes as a cover, or even with just good reflexes. It's likely how he managed to stay alive despite being hounded by Cameroon, Switzerland and the impundulu. While he wasn't good at offense, he was plenty good at just _surviving_.

When Egypt was sure that he had a good opening, he took the opportunity without hesitation to not waste France's sacrifice.. He made sure to just grab Algeria and do nothing else, not even to see if France was alright, and returned to do the same to Tunisia and Germany.

He didn't look back as he made his escape. The impundulu had tried to stop them, shooting lightning or swooping down at them, but they failed and Anubis did not let them do harm.

Egypt only prayed that France will not be broken, and that Seychelles will forgive him for failing again, as South Africa's words echoed in his mind..

 _"Somehow, one way or another, no matter how great or small, you'll be paying today for escaping and causing us all this trouble."_

/ / / / /

If Seychelles nerves weren't killing her before, they certainly were doing now.

She was worried. Well, of course she's worried. Everyone's worried. How could anyone not be worried? How was it possible _not_ to be worried? She's worried for France, for Mauritius, for Egypt, for everyone! And now Haiti knew how to find them, who knew how much difficult it'll be for them?

Oh dear, she just wanted to chew her nails so badly at this point. But France said that it's not ladylike to chew her nails.

Don't get her wrong. She- She wanted to be optimistic. She wanted to hope and know that everything will be okay. But how was she to know that everything's going to be okay when no one even knew what to expect once they got to Switzerland's?

Even though everyone else was busy doing their own thing, Seychelles's super sure that they're all just as worried as she was. The Central Americans were awfully quiet as they played their impromptu poker game. Italy had retreated to a corner in guilt with Japan trying to comfort him. Everyone was doing something to take off their minds off stuff. They're worried. And if they're all worried and nervous, then what did that say about the chances Egypt, Frances and the others had at coming back?

Oh, what should she do? She should've gone with them. She might kind of useless, but her presence there might have made a difference somehow!

"Young lady, you're trembling again." Monaco notified her with slight exasperation as she flipped through the pages of Haiti's diary.

After flinching from being surprised from her nervous thoughts, Seychelles took a look at herself and realize that yes, she was a trembling mess, and flushed red. "I- I'm sorry. I just-"

"You're nervous, oui. We all are." Monaco breathed, looking a little antsy, although, that could also be from reading Haiti's diary entries. "But you're not doing yourself any favors by becoming a quivering mess or biting off your precious, carefully polished nails, young whippersnapper."

Oh no. Monaco's talking like an old man again. This wasn't a good sign. She only acted like this when she's under stress!

"But when are they going to come back?!" Seychelles screamed as she pulled her pigtails, completely freaking out. "I'm not sure how much of this I can take! Lucille, what if they're all dead or- or capture and it's my entire fault for convincing them to go rescue Kelvin?"

"I doubt every single one of them will be killed. I assume France, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria will be kept alive for the Africans' amusement…" Monaco innocently noted, only to cringe when she saw how Seychelles became pale. "…Not that that helps very much. But what I'm trying to say is, calm down. I'm sure they'll be fine. And if anyone goes horribly wrong, then they can always teleport back here."

"B-But there's still a chance they'll die before they can do that! What if they don't come back? Then what do we do?!"

Almost as if God heard her question, a puff of smoke appeared right next to the Central Americans.

Belize shrieked at the sudden entrance, and as always, jumped into Honduras's arms. " _Ahhh!_ What the hell?! Why does this always happen to me?!"

But Seychelles knew what this meant, and suddenly she felt a burst of energy. They're back. They're back. But how were they? She shared an uneasy glance with Monaco, and with a nod from the latter, she jumped to her feet and ran across the pavement to where the smoke was clearing, followed closely by her friend.

Just as she hoped, the smoke cleared to reveal the group of nations that went to Switzerland.

"Oh, it's just the brujo, Germany and company! I should've known…" Belize grumbled before inhaling and shouting for everyone in the vicinity to hear. "Hey, everybody! Germany and the others are back!"

Seychelles could vaguely hear voices clamoring, but she too busy looking to see who was here. She couldn't even to begin to describe her joy, but it was short-lived when she quickly noticed the state of the other nations. It became even worse when she realized that there was a dead _body_.

It looked like she was the only one to notice this so far, because Belize and the others kept talking like nothing was wrong.

"It's about time you guys got back! Everybody was getting seriously, you know. So, how did it…" Belize's energetic voice trailed off. "…Oh."

Germany was in rough state, with blood staining his mouth and several bleeding wounds on his stomach and legs that resembled gunshot wounds. Hungary was bleeding from one of her breasts, and looked like she could barely carry what looked like Liechtenstein any longer. Algeria looked relatively unharmed except with a few cuts and bruises while her brother Tunisia looked like he had his shoulder… _eaten_. Russia was just frightening to see, especially with that scowl on his face. Romania… She gasped, hands clasping over her mouth.

Romania was dead, with a chunk of his head appearing to have been blown off of him.

The moment she spotted Gupta, Seychelles instantly ran over to him, desperate for answers. "G-Gupta! You're back! I- Are you okay?

Seychelles gasped, and she then felt stricken with worry when she saw how he looked up close. Egypt looked _pale_. He was breathing heavily, almost gasping for air, and looked like he'd faint any given moment judging from how he's staggering.

Egypt smiled weakly at her. "Hello… Michelle…"

"What happened to you?!" Seychelles demanded.

As a response, he showed him one of his arms and lifted his robe. Snake bites. How-?

"D-Don't worry… I-I'll be fine… It's not permanent…" Egypt had tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it came out looking horribly _forced_. He's _lying_. "B-Besides, there's… there's someone who wants to see you…"

At first, Seychelles wasn't sure what he meant, but it quickly hit her. _Mauritius_. Almost as if on cue, someone stumbled into her vision. Swallowing, she dared let herself hope. Could it be?

Seychelles's breath caught in her throat when she turned around. It… really was Mauritius! He looked just as tired as everyone else, if not more. He was moving all sluggish toward her, and she found that she couldn't move. When he was finally in front of her, he stared down at her with lifeless eyes. Almost as if…

"K-Kelvin?" She called hopefully, silently begging him to recognize her.

Slowly, the life returned to Mauritius's eyes, and he smiled tiredly at her. "Hey… Michelle… Missed me? Are… Are you… okay?"

There was a long period of silence, until-

Not even caring that everyone was watching, Seychelles wrapped her arms around Mauritius, hugging him tightly as she could as if he'd slip away from her if she didn't. She didn't bother to stop the tears from falling from her eyes. She was just so happy to see him again…

Seychelles wasn't sure if she could believe this was happening. Here she was, dreading and becoming worried-sick for Mauritius, over what he could be going through, and now… Mauritius was back. He came back to her. She's hugging him. She could feel him. He's here. This wasn't a dream. He's really back.

"Oh, Kelvin..." Seychelles sniffled as she smiled in dismay, shaking her head. " _I_ should be the one asking you that. You've been kept there for like over days!"

"Wait, just two days?" Mauritius said, confused. His voice sounded a little raspy, like he hasn't talked a lot lately. "It sure felt a lot longer than that…

"That's not the point!" Seychelles snapped, hugging him even tighter, and she paled when she noticed the teeth marks on his shoulder. "Oh No- Are you okay? Are you hurt? What did they do? Did they hurt you? How much did they hurt you? What did they say to you? Well, whatever they told you, it's wrong. I-"

"J-Jeez, Michelle! It's okay, I… I _think_ I'm okay…" Mauritius laughed weakly, which didn't help Seychelles' worries at all. "I mean, I can hardly feel my legs, but…"

"He'll be fine." Germany assured her with a tired smile. "H

Feeling herself filled to the brim with joy, Seychelles let go and Mauritius and looked again at the other nations, many of whom she just realized were smiling at her. They're happy for her.

"Oh, Gupta! Thank so much for helping bring back Kelvin! No, I want to thank _all_ of you for bringing him back." Seychelles smiled brightly to everyone. "I'm sorry what you have to go through, but.

And that's when Seychelles came to a chilling realization.

"W-Wait. Wh-Where's Papa…?" Canada asked fearfully.

Seychelles's eyes widened, realizing the absence of her adoptive older brother. He wasn't anywhere in sight. No… no.. no…

"Wh… Where's Francis?" Monaco stammered as she searched around frantically. "Where is he?! Why isn't he here? He _should_ be here!"

She desperately wanted to be proven wrong, she wanted to believe that he wouldn't break his promise. Seychelles looked hopefully at the nations who went with France, who were all here except for him, for answers, but all she got were looks of remorse.

Still not wanting to believe it, Seychelles turned to Egypt to help prove her wrong. "G-Gupta? What happened?

Egypt was breathing even more heavily, and he weakly rasped out, "I… He… We're sorry…"

After speaking those words, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he collapsed before her like a ragdoll. Seychelles was too shell-shocked to react. France… Then France… France was still back there, with- with people who wanted nothing but to see him suffer…

Why, France? Why couldn't you keep your promise?

Seychelles got her wish. She had Mauritius back, but she lost France in the process.

"Francis, you liar…" Monaco sobbed as she fell to her knees.

Overwhelmed, Seychelles could only do one thing. She screamed.

 **Yup, that's The Storm, ladies and gentlemen! How you enjoyed! Now I can finally move on to other stuff. The next chapter or two will focus more on nations we haven't seen in while, like Hong Kong, Netherlands, the non-Order Africans, America, etc. So stay tuned! Fingers crossed this won't take another two weeks! Please review if you have a minute.**


	76. Justice: Meanwhile II

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, HelloThereHowAreYou, Redbayly and NadiaJA627 for reviewing. Welp, I updated late again (mostly because some stuff came up), but at least it didn't take another week to finish it. Hope you like it! Now, on with the show!**

How _annoying_.

That's what Switzerland thought about this as he silently watched South Africa check up on Nigeria's corpse while Cameroon and Morocco toy with France. No, no, it wasn't directed at _them_ for once. That's what he thought about the outcome of this little skirmish as well as being faced with the fact that Lili had been taken…

In fact, rage was too mild of word to describe what he was feeling about _that_ little problem, which he again did not foresee (go ahead, _laugh_ ), but it wasn't even the main focus of his mind, surprisingly. Yes, believe it or not, his entire life didn't revolve around that traitorous little t… you know.

So… While for a while he did want to murder someone, tear off their flesh piece by piece while keeping them brutally alive, shoot their organs until they all splashed all over the body and the surrounding ground, beat them with their bones and scream at the sky for God knows how long… He's pretty much gotten over it now. Besides, he had _other_ matters to attend to.

They wanted to take Liechtenstein? They wanted to convince her to join their pitiful little cause? _Fine_. Have it _their_ way. Switzerland didn't doubt that she would join them, especially after what he did. Not that she would last long. While Switzerland was still going over many conflicting feelings, most of which were highly negative, he wasn't going to just stand idly as that traitor gets away with her crime.

The thoughts and mental images of how he'll enact his revenge elicited a dark chuckle from Switzerland. Yes, that's right. It appeared that the failure and his ragtag group of idiots forgot who's the one Liechtenstein had been heavily dependent on for the past decades.

Did Germany really think that he could possible replace Switzerland as Liechtenstein's? If so, then he was even more delusional than Switzerland had thought.

Anyway, Switzerland wasn't willing to complain too much. He wasn't an idiot. This failure didn't change Switzerland's opinion that overall, their side came out pretty much unscathed save for Nigeria's temporary death, and they're _lucky_ it was temporary. Who's to say that dog knew how to kill them?

South Africa was very right in summoning those birds – the impundulu – to assist them. While they're more than capable of facing the nations themselves at the same time, their predictions were correct in that the enemy had decided to bring quite a few nations along with the god of death. It's probably thanks to the birds that no one had been dragged to the underworld or brutally mummified…

Had they decided to stick with what they had, Switzerland grudgingly admitted that somehow, one or two would've slipped by and gone past them. And that's not even going into how there's no telling that they were supposed to deal with Anubis, who was not only a god, but was a deity powerful enough to practically curb stomp Nigeria and South Africa.

And most notably, despite their failure in winning,

Yes, you're all probably wondering. What the hell was this? Switzerland was being calm and reasonable and not firing his pistols in a flying fit of rage? Tch! Stupid humans… He may be temperamental at times, but irrational.

But he wouldn't entirely blame the ants. He doubted he'd be as calm if it weren't for one simple fact…

Switzerland blinked when Cameroon's fist connected with France's face, sending him rolling on the ground again. Honestly, it's surprising that he wasn't anything but a bloodied mess of a corpse yet.

Well, he supposed that a breathing punching bag is better than a dead punching bag.

"Well, well, you really have landed yourself into quite the predicament, France!" Morocco remarked brightly, betraying the simmering fury in his eyes. His smile even looked slightly forced, a bit too uncanny for Switzerland's comfort. "Or was this really your idea of a heroic sacrifice? Do you have any idea what you doomed yourself to?"

France. Not that he really had anywhere to run, really. This was enemy territory. Despite his own country and two of his allies being located next to Switzerland, France probably knew that he had no hope of getting anywhere. Catching him would be effortless.

"Really. Of all the things you that could've happened, I definitely wasn't expecting this to happen..." Morocco sighed, leaning his head on his palm with a more neutral expression. "We, your former trophies and toys, were supposed to wait until the perfect time to play with you. And we could only give you a small percentage of what's to come if we happen to run into you and there's time to spare."

Cameroon walked brusquely, eyes wide with unspeakable rage, and roughly pulled him up by the shirt. "Get up, you _salaud_. We're not even close to being finished with you."

Morocco then spread his arms wide and laughed- cackled as he approached France again. "But now look where you are now! You've practically given yourself to us just so all your little friends would escape! Isn't this sweet? Instead of waiting for the inevitable, you've decided to turn yourself in!"

Wincing, France kept his head down, but said nothing. Cameroon did not appreciate the aforementioned silent treatment and gave him a swift uppercut, while Switzerland looked on in pure indifference.

"Why, I can hardly believe our own luck," Morocco was practically giggling in glee, and he turned his grin to the ever stone-faced Cameroon. "Cammy, can you believe it?'"

"Non, I can hardly believe it either," Cameroon replied emotionlessly.

"I know, right?" Morocco snorted, before leaning down to taunt France in his face again. "Tell me, did you even think this little stunt of yours through? Did you even stop to consider what you'll go through once you were in our hands?"

"He probably thinks that he can take whatever we have in store for him," Cameroon sneered disdainfully, his hands clenched at his sides.

Morocco's gleeful smile morphed into a disgusted scowl as his attention returned to France, who to his credit was managing to put on a brave front. "Yes, I quite agree, Cammy. That's it, isn't it? You believe yourself strong enough to endure it all. That's why you were so willing…"

In a change of pace, France gave what resembled a glare to Morocco as he rubbed his swollen bruised cheek.

"Even in situations, your arrogance shines through." Morocco said coldly "Why am I not surprised?"

Again, no retort from France. No nothing. Switzerland didn't know if it's because he knew that there's no point in coming up with a good comeback, or because he's scared that anything he'll say might have a slight chance in provoking the already furious Morocco and Cameroon.

"Oh, but you probably don't even care, do you?" Morocco's voice was becoming increasingly angrier. "Because really, it doesn't matter _because everyone else got away-!"_

"You're not… entirely wrong."

Both Morocco and Switzerland were surprised to hear France finally break his silence. "What?"

"It wasn't arrogance… It didn't matter if I… could endure…" France rasped out through his pain, trailing between sentences to wince or breathe in sharply. "I knew… You… You wouldn't resist an opportunity to get a shot on me… even… with… Algeria… That's how I knew I'd be the perfect distraction… Worked perfectly, non?"

France smiled up to his furious ex-colony weakly, not a very wise move in Switzerland's opinion. And he was promptly proved right when Morocco snarled, scratched France with those razors for nails of his, and shoved his face into the dirt and grass.

"You've made a grave mistake making this sacrifice, a pointless one at that. One day, every single one of you will be punished for your defiance. It's inevitable. We are inevitable." The large nation snarled at him, before snatching one of France's arms. "In the meantime, _you_ will be the one to pay for their crimes with your _pain!_ "

With his great strength, Cameroon twisted France's arm, and a loud crack was heard. France screamed.

Well, at least they're having fun.

Switzerland had half a mind to join in on the 'fun' too, to be honest. He had his own scores to settle with that disgusting Frenchman after all. But he doubted that those two will allow him, especially they're under the impression that… Also, Switzerland would rather prefer hurting France when he's one piece, thank you very much.

Before he could delve any further on his desires to unleash his own pent up anger and frustration, Switzerland was surprised to see Morocco suddenly avert his attention away from France, leaving Cameroon to torment him on his own, with worry on his face.

"I would, but I'm worried my dear pet… Oh, where could Abby _be?_ " Morocco said nervously, something you don't see in him often, as his eyes darted around the area restlessly. "I can't find him… And I _can't_ enjoy tearing this frog's flesh off knowing that Abby could be out there, bleeding and hurt…"

He shot a glare at France as he said this, and the European merely flinched and avoided meeting eye-contact with Morocco. Coward.

Morocco growled and held his arms, and he spoke coldly, "I swear by my Father's name, if I find that she killed my dearest Abarshane, her role in my plan be damned. I'll go and mutilate all her ge-"

"Rahim, calm yourself." Cameroon said soothingly, putting a hand on Morocco's shoulder. Well, as soothing as Cameroon could be. "You should know very well that Algeria couldn't hope to kill Abarshane, especially not that easily.

Morocco blinked twice, looking unsure. "But-"

"Cammy's right, Rahim," South Africa nodded, though even he had worry written on his face as he turned to them. "You know Abby is, he likes playing possum whenever the humans think they've got him. I'm sure we'll find him."

Despite the reassurances, Morocco bit his lip anxiously, "A-Alright…"

"How's Nigeria, by the way? Has the dog done anything else to him?" Cameroon asked the rainbow nation, features still creased in worry. "Will be alright?"

"Nee. Nothing off, from what I can see. He should be good as new when he's all healed up. But I'll still try to bring him back as soon as possible." South Africa answered with notable relief in his voice, and he turned to Morocco with a sympathetic look. "Still, we should go look for Abby in the meantime. We- Oh?"

Something was rustling in the grass, too loudly for it to just be wind. Instinctively, Switzerland reached for his gun, but he stopped himself from taking it off his holster when he saw just what came out of the grass…

It was Abarshane, looking horrible worse for wear. It hissed so weakly, and looked so in pain, that it even slightly pulled _Switzerland's_ heartstrings…

"ABBY!" A horrified scream erupted from Morocco as he hastily rushed over to his beloved pet. "ABBY! Abby, my dear Abby! Look at you! What has she done to you?!"

Judging from the bleeding holes on its body, Switzerland would guess Algeria shot it, an effective and more brutal method for dealing with snakes, but an effective one nonetheless. But not effective enough to kill _Abarshane_ , as everyone could clearly see.

"Chris! Please, you have to-!"

"Don't worry! I'm on it, I'm on it!" South Africa said quickly as he kneeled and tended to the cobra as he commenced… whatever that convoluted African healing ritual was called.

"I'm sure you feel sooooo proud of yourself, aren't you?" Switzerland hissed, his tone just brimming with hatred and sarcasm as he yanked the disgusting Frenchman's hair. "I'm sure you feel all proud and heroic for what you did. You helped everyone else get away. Woo-hoo! Hurrah! Bravo! Hoot-Hoot! Oh, and I suppose Hip-Hip-Hurray, etcetera, etcetera."

Switzerland all this while waving his hand uncaringly, but he went back to glaring soon enough. He was pleased when he saw France flinch back in fear.

"But the thing is, France, you have no idea what you've gotten yourself into." Switzerland stated darkly. "You will regret staying behind, mark my words. You don't know how terrible your former colonies really are. They'll make you wish you were dead, that someone else took the bullet for you."

His hand reached for his gun, fingers twitching.

"Also, I think you'll recall that I have plenty reason to torture you too," Switzerland added, smirking when France paled. "Ah, nice to see you haven't forgotten. Well, you'll have plenty of time to agonize over your mistakes when you're dealt with a punishment of eight nations combined.

France cringed.

A guttural growl resounded from a seething Cameroon, who looked on the brink of going into a feral rage. "Oui, I concur. Someone must pay for this humiliation. We lost Mauritius and Liechtenstein. We failed, we lost…"

Well…

"…Not… necessarily…" Switzerland chimed in distractedly, bringing the entire ruckus to a stop.

/ / / / /

Okay. Romano will never admit this even if the mafia held him at gunpoint, but he might have felt a teeny-tiny bit nervous.

Oh, and he might be chewing his nails a little. But just barely, barely at all. So shut the hell up and about it and beat it, bastards!

Why? Why of all times did Honduras, lovely, lovely Honduras, have to call him today when he's about to enact his revenge on the carnival bastard?! Why today did Honduras, one of the most beautiful girls Romano's ever had the fortune of knowing, have to sweetly ask him out? It wasn't fair, dammit!

He needed justice! Besides, think of all the damn money he's gonna have to pay for the damage done to that potato bastard's house, and the trouble it's gonna cause with his boss and their already strained relations with the potato bastard! And it's all thanks to how that carnival bastard tricked him that his brother and the potato bastard have… Yuck! He didn't even _want_ to think about it!

Brazil needed to pay for all that. And Romano will make him pay. He'll wipe that dumbass grin off his face, alright! That'll teach that bastard for messing with Romano and causing him to get crushed by a fucking chandelier.

By the way, fuck that chandelier.

…But Romano couldn't break Honduras's heart like that. He's not an asshole. He wouldn't ever ditch a girl over such a (admittedly a little selfish) reason! How could he ever refuse an invitation from a sweet girl like Honduras after how hopeful, understanding and sweet she asked him to come over to her place. She really sounded like she'd be looking forward to it…

And then there's how she kept worrying over him. God, you should've heard how worried she sounded. Romano was dangerously close to tearing up from how guilty he felt in his heart for making her feel that way. Good God, his heart. He felt like such a piece of shit for making her worry.

Oh, and she might have brought up the good point that Brazil might be anticipating Romano's roaring rampage of revenge and had set up another humiliating trap for him in advance to later laugh at his face. Fine, okay, that's a good point. That would be in the bastard's character. He'll admit it. She's right.

Goddamnit it, could Romano be more lucky and unlucky at the same time?!

So, after spending a long-ass while being conflicted as hell, during which he didn't definitely cry – No signor, he did _not_ – not a single tear, Romano came to a solid decision.

He's gonna blow this shithole and go run into Honduras's waiting arms.

Think about it. While he did want to blow up that carnival bastard's house, preferably with the bastard himself inside, he wasn't exactly in no real hurry for revenge. It's not like it's end of the world or there's a big-ass war going on or anything. He could wait… somehow. Plus, it also gave him even more time to think about how he's gonna humiliate that bastard back.

Romano grinned evilly as he rubbed his hands in a villain-like way. Yes, that's a fantastic idea.

Now… time to book the next flight to Honduras. Good thing Romano hadn't lost his wallet, and that he found a few coins scattered about, or he'd be stuck here.

Romano shuddered. No, don't worry. Now, come on, Romano! Honduras's waiting!

/ / / / /

Despite the loss of enjoyable company, DRC was still undeniably in a good mood.

The reason was obvious. He had Belgium, all bruised and bleeding (but it'll be nothing compared to what's coming next), in his grasp and he's completely free to inflict whatever tortures he wanted on her. There's no boss, no nation, nor anything else stopping him or holding him back. And there were many times he wanted to do, terrible, terrible, things…

However, he's also just as happy to see that, for the first time in decades, CAR was sleeping soundly and peacefully. His friend finally had the meal he so deserved after years of nothing but starvation and enduring the endless pit that's his stomach.

DRC smiled at his friend, who was sound asleep on the couch had carefully set him on after arriving at their little hideout, and in a bit of an awkward position at that. The younger one's clothes and face were still stained with blood, but DRC decided that cleaning up could wait after CAR's rested.

It went without saying that gorging down all that Belgian meat and experiencing such a change in his previously hopeless situation left him completely emotionally and physically exhausted, although not at all in a bad way. CAR hadn't been this happy in years.

The place where he and the others had decided to set up to be DRC's little torture prison was a lone but nice house in the Belgian countryside, practically in the middle of nowhere, so it was perfect for their operations. The basement had been cleared out to be filled with the wonderful torture devices they brought over from South Africa's house, along with the _former_ inhabitants of the house.

It's strange. His twisted morals were strange, who would've thought. There were children among the inhabitants, but DRC didn't feel any desire to be merciful as he did with the youngest Belgian princess. Then again, he did kill off her siblings without so much of a second thought. How strange. It was almost a little funny…

And he's even also developing more of a sense of humor now. He supposed finally experienced true happiness and hope could do that to you…

Speaking of whom, DRC wondered how his little princess was doing. Prussia did mention that the girl would be given some amnestics and be given to a kind, childless couple who'd be more than happy to take care of her. Perhaps DRC should go visit, once he's done with Belgium…

Smiling at the thought, his gaze returned to CAR, who had a peaceful expression on his face, and was even drooling a little from his chin. DRC quietly chuckled and ruffled the younger's hair, before standing up and leaving…

The witch herself was currently tied down painfully to an uncomfortable chair downstairs in the house's basement. She was fortunately still alive by the time opened the trunk after arriving at their attention, and he took some precautions to make sure she didn't die of blood loss, infection or anything of the sort. DRC didn't want to wait _that_ long.

There were a couple preparations that needed to be done for Belgium. Not to mention that he still needed to decide if he wanted to first her with the odd, spiked, long and lethal-looking instrument or with the Breast Ripper… He'll need to start heating up the latter if he's going with that one first.

Then it was only a matter of waiting until Belgium woke up, wounds completely healed, so that DRC could start _fresh_.

He nearly felt like erupting into manic giggling.

Oh, this was going to be so much _fun_.

/ / / / /

Boy did Hong Kong wish that he had _something_ to do…

He grumbled a mixture of Cantonese and English as he slid further into the covers of his stupid hospital bed, somehow feeling even more bored of out his mind than before.

Yeah, yeah, he's tried taking a nap… Emphasis on 'tried'. But he just couldn't, you know! He's too restless, and more importantly, he _needed_ to know about the remote. He needed to know that it's still there, in working condition, and that Mongolia and Macau were gonna bring it back.

Hong Kong couldn't rest easy until then. He already went through enough hell for almost two days, including when Egypt nearly killed him, so something going well for him would be really appreciated right now.

On the plus side, his injuries were healing up. His throat wasn't hurting as much as it did hours ago, and he actually managed to get a few words out without the whole raspy voice when he spoke with one of the nurses. He was doing very in the places where he got shot too. Sure, he's still stuck in this stupid bed, but it's still great to see that it's only a matter of time before he's free to beat up PLA soldiers again.

Speaking of, it'd be really great if someone briefed Hong Kong on how it's going on the outside. Sure, he could sense the struggles, but he didn't really have any surefire way of knowing what exactly's going on.

It's pretty frustrating. In fact, though it'd be a little hard to admit it, he's also worried about his people. They're fighting for _him_ , and Hong Kong knew well how merciless the PLA were in making sure 'peace and order' were restored. Man, woman, child, they're all in danger.

At least his allies' troops were helping them out, rescuing them and shooting down PLA troops and stuff. Hong Kong didn't think he could put up being stuck in this funky-smelling hospital knowing that his people were being beat and gunned down.

Luckily for him, he didn't have to wait long.

He snapped to attention when he heard footsteps and the door open. Could it be?

Hong Kong felt like bouncing on the balls of his feet – you know, if he had been able to do that right now – when he saw Mongolia walk into the room, a smile on his face that could only mean that he did manage to find the remote, with Macau right behind him, the idiot beaming as always.

He never thought he'd actually be happy to see the gambling freak, but he better not have gone anywhere near the 'area where he hid things area' or injuries or not, he'll shove those cards right up his…

Wait. No. That freak would actually like that, wouldn't he? Well, who cares? They're finally back, and Hong Kong could finally start avenging the pain and

"Master, you're back! Did you find it? Did you find it?" He asked eagerly, even sitting up despite the small pang of pain in his back and stomach.

Mongolia's smile was patient as he stopped and wagged his finger to and fro. "Patience, Leon. You're still recovering. If you truly want to leave and join the chaos as quickly as possible, then you should better take care of yourself. "

Flushing red, Hong Kong muttered a quick apology and lied back down on his bed. "S-Sorry, master. S-So, did you find it?"

To his delight, Mongolia's smile broadened, and he took out a familiar square-shaped device. "We did, and it appears to be in good condition."

Hong Kong felt himself grin stupidly like Macau whenever he won a huge bet, and he'd jump and hug Mongolia if he could. Damn PLA. "I-It is! Oh, thank you so much, master. I-I know it couldn't have been easy travelling through the city b-but–"

Mongolia grinned and ruffled Hong Kong's hair, much to his embarrassment. "Nonsense. It's no problem, Leon."

"And that's not all!" Macau added proudly with a twinkle in his eye. At first, Hong Kong felt terrified, but it quickly vanished when he saw the bag Macau's holding. "We figured that you've probably gotten sick of doing nothing in this hospital, so we took the opportunity to bring you some of your absolutely favorite movies to watch while you're recovering."

Hong Kong gaped in shock. He's been bored for hours. How did he not think of that? How did this moron think of that? "Y-You did?"

"Why, of course! You definitely deserve some entertainment after all you've been through recently." Macau chirped and took out a couple of boxes for Hong Kong to see. "Look! Jackie Chan's best hits!"

Hong Kong blinked at the DVD covers of his favorite movies, and then back at the beaming Macau. "W-Wow… I… Thanks, Macau."

Macau brightened up like a Christmas tree. "You're welcome!"

He instantly expected Mongolia and Macau to happily agree with him so that they could then go one to blow up Beijing and the Chinese Communist Party along with it, and therefore not only weaken that bastard, but get back at him for all the shit he's put them through. But what he wasn't expecting

Mongolia frowned for a moment, before his expression a… guilty one? "Ah, well, yes, about that… I'm afraid we can't do that right now."

And just like that, Hong Kong felt the balloon that represented his massive feeling of joy deflate pathetically. "Wh-Wh-Wh- _What?_ What do you mean we can't?"

"There's been a new order from the leaders," Mongolia explained curtly, eyes narrowing, "One that explicitly commands that any and all major operations involving bombing, invasion or large-scale death and destruction that were meant to be carried out today will be suspended until the next twenty-four hours."

Macau sighed, sounding almost disappointed as he clicked his tongue. "It's quite a shame, really. Especially considering the reasons involved. But orders are orders…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hong Kong demanded, trying not to strain his vocal chords too much as he tried make sense of this. "No. More importantly, why would they do that? Why do we need to wait twenty-fours?"

Mongolia and Macau shared a wary glance, something that only made Hong Kong feel even more worried, before his mentor cleared his throat. "Ahem. Well, you see, a while ago we received a call from America, who specifically wanted to speak with you, but he was unable to reach you due to your phone having been destroyed. So, he called _me_ instead..."

Hong Kong's eyes widened. America? America wanted to talk to him? "Alfred? Why would he want to talk to me?"

"I'm getting to that, Leon. Well, after reassuring him that you were alright, he asked me to pass on some recent news to you." Mongolia continued stoically, and after probably sensing Hong Kong's concern, waved his hand. "Don't worry, everything's alright. It's just a… bit of a surprising matter."

"What do you mean by that? What do you mean by surprising?" Hong Kong asked curiously, his hands fisting his blanket. "Did something happen?"

"Yes, but it's not what you'd think. But before I tell you, I want you not to panic," Mongolia ordered him calmly, frowning. "You have every right to be angry, but don't strain yourself."

Not sure if he should be nervous, Hong Kong swallowed whatever anxiety he had and nodded, "O-Okay. What's the matter? What's the reason for- for all this?"

"Well, without beating around the bush," Macau smiled a little nervously- Wait. Macau, _nervous?_ "Unbeknownst to most of his allies, England appears to be trying to launch nuclear missiles at you and his other former colonies in the Order."

You could just hear the record scratching. Hong Kong's mouth dropped in shock. That limey bastard did _what_ now?!

"Ah! But don't worry, he-"

"WHAAAA- 'Hack' Ugh, my throat!" Hong Kong hacked and coughed after straining his damaged throat, and Mongolia patted him on the back.

"Leon, what did I tell you about panicking?!" Mongolia scolded him, "You didn't even let Macau finish."

"I-I'm – I'm sorry, but –" After getting the last cough out of his system, Hong Kong was free to be fully pissed off. "What?! I'm- The whole gang's going to be nuked?! That bastard! I should've planted deadly fireworks at his place too! Then we'll- Ow!"

Hong Kong yelped and held his head to glare right at Macau, who was looking at him disapprovingly with a fan in his hand.

"Hey, what was that for?" Hong Kong demanded, before Macau smacked him again. "Hey!"

"Firstly, it's quite rude to not let someone finish. And second, there's no need to panic." Macau scolded in that condescending, light-hearted way that made Hong Kong want to smack him with his fan. "England is apparently in a poor mental and emotion state, along with having consumed large amounts of alcohol. Looking at it realistically, there's no way his human superiors will approve of his demands, especially in such a pathetic state."

"Moreover, I think you've forgotten that all of us already have countermeasure put in place in such an event." Mongolia interjected serenely. "So, really, there's no danger.

Hong Kong flushed darkly, and he wanted to hide in his covers in shame for overreacting for nothing in front of Mongolia. "O-Oh, right, I forgot… But wait, I don't see what any of this has got to do with the twenty four hour thing. And if there wasn't any danger, then why did Alfred want to tell me this?"

"Ah, very perceptive, Leon, but please let us finish."

It was there when the story got _weird_.

At first, Hong Kong didn't know what to make of it, or if he wanted to balk or just keep saying 'seriously?' like a broken record. Apparently, the reason why America knew about England going cuckoo for cocoa puffs and want to nuke the whole British ex-colony gang… was because earlier, France had called America to warn him, not knowing it wasn't necessary.

Of course, America didn't believe him at first, but after a lot of arguing and drama, he finally got convinced France was being honest. And after telling the European that the warning was totally unnecessary, he apparently became so impressed with France's genuine intentions that he decided to pay him back. How? By convincing the ex-French colonies to give France a slightly less extremely gross and painful death and the leaders to cancel all major operations until the next twenty four hours.

Wowie. Now that's a way to pay back someone.

"…And Al's super sure that France's being completely genuine? Like, no tricks or ulterior motives or anything?" Hong Kong asked uneasily. "I mean, I know Al's a living lie detector, but still…"

"I doubt Al would do something like this if he wasn't completely confident that France was being entirely truthful." Mongolia stated with a small smile. "Believe me, I asked him the same question myself and he gave me that same answer. Well, that and I quote 'Why the hell does everyone keep asking me that?'"

Yeah, that's true. America wouldn't do something like this if he wasn't super sure. Hong Kong looked down at his blanket. "I see…"

"So, it's due to all this that we must wait twenty four hours for us to make the first big step towards our revenge." Mongolia gave Hong Kong an apologetic look. "…I'm sorry to disappoint you, Leon."

"D… Don't worry about it, master. Tch. And I was _so_ looking forward to blowing up Beijing…" Hong Kong grumbled, before shrugging and letting out a small sigh. "Oh well, time to watch Jackie Chan kick ass."

Hong Kong was pretty confused when the other looked at him in surprise, as if they just saw him sing the Chinese national anthem or something.

"Wh… What?"

"You're not angry?" Macau said, looking puzzled for once in his life.

"Well, I'm not happy about it. But I trust Al; he knows what he's doing." Hong Kong admitted, albeit a little grudgingly. "Besides, it's just twenty-four hours. If it was, like, a week instead a day then I'd definitely go and beg him to change the time. And It's not that dumbass teacher's gonna discover the bombs and fireworks anytime soon."

"Yes, well, it's a little out of character for you to be so… accepting of something like this." Macau remarked. "So we were just… pleasantly surprised."

"Considering your impatience, I was slightly expecting you to complain a little." Mongolia noted nonchalantly, smiling as always. "The Africans and Haiti certainly did. Alfred had quite an argument with them. They don't quite like his sense of honor."

"Hey, I can be patient… sometimes! And like I said, it's just one day, master." Hong Kong blushed, rubbing his head in embarrassment. "Well, it's either that or the medicine they're giving me is really messing with my head. Could be both."

"And America's sense of honor?" Macau inquired.

"Nah, don't have a problem with it either."

The whole thing about 'Safe', 'Indifferent' or 'Extremely dangerous' never matter all that much to him, honestly. Okay, maybe that's not entirely rue. It's good to know who exactly was or was even more of a nutcase like Macau (and he _barely_ qualified for 'extremely dangerous) so Hong Kong could stay the hell away from them. What he meant to say was that whole morals thing never mattered, save for the worst bastards in this group…

America's sense of honor never annoyed Hong Kong. Heck, he's a breath of fresh air. Mongolia taught him all about true honor, which China had always been blind to, and America adhered to that honor too. He didn't really get why people like South Africa didn't approve of it. So what? He's still in this with everybody else until the end.

"So what if Al's a decent person compared to those guys?" Hong Long grumbled, loud enough for the others to hear. "Doesn't change that he's done a ton of stuff for everybody, even taking the burden of being the superpower so no one else would have to put with the trouble that comes with the job. Besides, England, France and the other assholes are still gonna die."

"My, that's very mature of you, Leon," Mongolia praised him with an approving smile, and Hong Kong sank back into the covers. "Good on you for being reasonable about this compared to our other allies. I'm proud of you."

Hong Kong failed to even stutter out a response to that.

"It's so sweet that Alfred has retained some of his goodness, despite all he's gone through." Macau said in a disturbingly serene manner, before frowning slightly. "Although, if I may be fair, it does make him a bit of a party-pooper, so I can understand why the others aren't happy."

Hong Kong instantly shot him a deadpan look. "Macau… You… You got once into a bet with Bulgaria over who'd be able to survive longer being drained by leeches! If Alfred didn't found out about it and intervened, you two would've- Blegh!"

He didn't even want to _think_ about what would've happened.

"Like I said, a bit of a party-pooper." Macau repeated nonchalantly as he fanned himself with his stupid fans. Hong Kong gaped, while even Mongolia shot a distasteful look at him.

Growling curses under his breath, Hong Kong barely restrained himself from facepalming at Macau's unbelievable lack of sense, "Ugh, whatever. I don't care what you think, Macau. At least this way, I'll have a lot of time to recover so that I can laugh at China loudly without killing my throat."

Also, he'll got to watch Jackie Chan! How awesome was that?

/ / / / /

North Korea had decided to kill time while his dear spoke to the others by walking away from the group to gaze at the horizon.

Normally he would remain quietly and dutifully by America's side in case his lover required support or his help, and a North Korea had intended to do so, but he had found himself so uneasy and lost in his musings that he felt obligated to have some time alone. It was selfish, but he needed to gather his thoughts.

North Korea truly adored America, but despite their close relationship sometimes he just couldn't _understand_ him.

Why bother giving the Frenchman a bit of mercy? Why, when this should serve as a reminder that France deserved nothing of the sort? Why go through the trouble and risking the ire of the other British ex-colonies. Why did America snap at North Korea? Although he'll admit it felt quite… _pleasant_ … to see America tell him to back off. Why did America even _bother_ keeping his sense of honor and _human_ morality?

He just didn't get it. And no matter how many times North Korea encouraged him to abandon that sense of honor and morality because really, none of the nations nor the humans deserved such mercy, he would just be ignored, his concerns brushed aside.

But America was all too aware of North Korea's lack of understanding for his pointless morals, and of course often joked about it, citing that in their organization North Korea was very good living example that 'Evil Can't Comprehend Good".

North Korea would often snort. Good and evil meant little to him, and what he was labeled as mattered to him even less. He only cared about the organization, the only group of people who ever understood him, getting his brother out of the picture so that his incessant paranoia won't plague his relationship with America any longer, and most of all, America himself.

Yes, he's aware of his own cruelty and love for carnage. But to call him evil would be a bit of a stretch in his opinion. Yes, just a little. Heartless or ruthless would be a much more accurate way to describe him. And evil was such a subjective term, used, twisted and thrown around by many sides and cultures. What one may consider evil could be considered completely acceptable by another. Did the word even possess any real meaning at this point?

"Hey there, kiddo."

Barely managing to hold back his instinct to slitting the throat of anyone who tried to surprise him from behind, North Korea flinched before looking behind him to see a grinning Ireland approaching him. He let out a sigh, not an exasperated but still not a positive one nonetheless. He was sort of hoping to be alone here…

"Ireland. May I help you with something?" North Korea asked blankly. It wasn't that he didn't like the Irishman's presence, this America's precious family after all, but he was hoping to have some time _alone_.

"Well, I don't suppose you got any ale on you that you might give me, do ya?" Ireland asked with a chipper smile.

North Korea stared at him. Did he really look like the sort of person to constantly carry a canteen of alcohol on his person like Ireland himself did? Moreover, North Korea wasn't even _physically old enough_ to drink in most countries-

He was startled when the European started _laughing_.

"Aw, I'm only codding ya, lad!" The ginger-haired nation grinned in amusement and patted a bemused North Korea's back. "No need to look so grumpy. I just approached ya because you looked pretty glum and I thought I could help take that puss off your face!"

North Korea was so stunned by the laughter that he only caught the part where Ireland claimed there was _pus_ on the Asian's face. He blinked in confusion, "…I'm sorry, Ireland, there's _what_ on my face?"

Ireland sighed, mumbling something about Asians, but cracking another grin. "It's slang, lad. I meant, I thought I could cheer ya up!"

"You could have just stated that in the first place…" North Korea deadpanned as the Irishman laughed heartily.

"Eh, I would, but that would be too boring!" Ireland grinned mischievously, the same kind of grin South Korea would wear after groping some poor person. The comparison did not help brighten North Korea any more than Ireland was.

"Well, if you truly want to help out…" North Korea began to say in what he hoped was the politest way he could muster. At his sides, his fingers twitched. "Then please, let me be at peace for a little while. No offense, Ireland, but I like the peace and quiet."

He hoped that would be the end of it, but oh, was he wrong. In typical Ireland fashion, he took it the wrong way and fumed, "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?! You sayin' that I can't be quiet and respect peoples' privacy, Kory?"

Kory? "No, I am not. I'm only saying that some peace and quiet would be much appreciated and help me very much"

"Well, too bad, boyo!" Ireland cackled, wrapping an arm around the shorter North Korea's, who was too distracted wondering what the hell 'boyo' means to dodge to notice until too late, all the while the man kept grinning. "You're gonna tell me whatever's bothering ya and I'll help you through, so it won't somehow blow in your face later!"

North Korea bit his lower lip to prevent himself from sighing. Well, since there's no convincing him, "…Fine. Sometimes I don't understand your nephew."

Even Ireland was rather taken aback by that revelation. "Oh? Is that so? Is this about the whole thing with France?"

"Yes, but it's also more than that." Getting those words out of his mouth proved a tad more difficult than North Korea had expected, and he put his hand on his chin. "…Ah, how do I put this…? _Listen_ , you're new so you still might've not caught on yet, but there's a difference in mindsets and moral viewpoints among the Order. Surely, you must've noticed it somewhat…"

Ireland seemed to ponder about it, even finally releasing North Korea from his crushing grip to fold his arms, a slight frown on his face. "Now that you mention, yeah. I've noticed that some of you are more… ah… morally dubious than others, at least compared to Al."

"That's one way to put it, yes." North Korea nodded, "In the organization, there was once a… psychological test for the members for various reasons, including what tasks and how to prevent further sanity deterioration, and we ended up sorted into three categories: 'Safe', 'Indifferent', and 'Extremely Dangerous'."

"Ohhhh, you mean like some kind of morality score or somethin'?" Ireland guessed in a relaxed manner, not appearing bothered by the implications, while scratching his chin. "Like, who's more cuckoo and who's more of a decent chap?"

"Basically, yes, that is correct. " North Korea flashed a small smile, appreciating how he caught on quick. "'Safe' nations are does with… somewhat decent morals, and generally don't take pleasure in suffering. 'Indifferent' is just what you'd think it means. Not too terrible, but not 'good' either. 'Extremely dangerous' are, well, pretty much the worst of the worst. But despite our differences, we'll always do as we're ordered. I do hope you'll do the same…"

"Aye, don't worry about me. I can do as I'm told, even when I'm drunk," Ireland assured him with a wave of his hand. "So, judging from this load of information, are you and Allie polar opposites on the moral spectrum or somethin' like that?"

"Yes. I myself am classified as 'extremely dangerous'. However, America is classified as one of the 'safe' nations. So our different viewpoints have… caused arguments more than once."

Ireland didn't look nearly as surprised as North Korea supposed he'd be. "My, my, that's surprising to hear. And you're still together despite that?"

"We make it work," North Korea said simply.

"Now that's bloody admirable, chap." Ireland praised him with a small smirk, "So, is this the wee little problem in your relationship? That he's not stone cold like you? Or rather, as mean as you'd _like_ him to be?"

Why did he have to word it that way?

Still, after shooting Ireland a brief glare, North Korea sighed, "I wouldn't word it _that_ way, but… I don't approve of his morals; it'll only cause him trouble. I try to advise him, but he just shrugs it off and sticks with it anyways. I respect him, and I would never force him to change, but I sometimes I just don't understand him. It's frustrating. Why? _Why_ is he like this?"

Ireland scratched his head at that, before letting out a sigh. "Well, lad, I'm not sure if I'm the bloke you should be asking that question. Like you said, I'm still new here. I may have known that America was hiding something under all that loud blabbering and smiles, but I don't know exactly what's made him the man he is today."

"But you're still his family," North Korea reminded him impatiently. "Shouldn't you at least know something?"

Ireland shrugged, "Well, you're his lover. Shouldn't you know him well enough to know why?"

North Korea's eye twitched.

"I- Gah! This is so frustrating!" North Korea yelled, unble to contain his own pent up frustration and anger anymore.

"Hey, hey, calm down, lad." Ireland said nervously with a calming gesture, before a look of realization flickered across his face. No, wait. How about you just let it all out before we can have a nice-"

"So _what_ if some humans die as a result of collateral damage? What does it matter? It won't affect any of them. The world is overpopulated anyway; why not start with a few tens or hundreds of humans in advance? Why be grateful for not needing to have a few those _insects_ die?"

"…Hey, lad? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm getting a feeling that you don't like humans all that much."

North Korea scoffed. "Oh, you have no idea."

"Is this also why you ain't happy with Al's decision?"

"Trash. Lesser beings. Greedy pigs. Insects slowly destroying this world…" North Korea sneered in disgust. "I enjoy coming up with ways of how I can crush them under my foot and show them who the real dominant species is."

Ireland raised an eyebrow, looking impressively undisturbed by North Korea's intense hatred for humanity. "Is that so? I thought you were a real wanker back then, yes, but I never figured you'd be someone who'd hate humanity. Wait, no, I should've known you had it out for bloody humankind. Why else would your house be such a hellhole of colossal proportions?"

North Korea regarded him with curiosity. "What did you think the reason why my home was like that, other than my boss?"

"I figured what everyone bloody figured, that you were a delusional, not right in the head, holy joe," Ireland remarked calmly, before sending him an apologetic look "No offense to ya, kiddo. I mean, you do seem lots smarter and nicer than before."

"None taken, your honesty is most appreciated," North Korea said calmly. He didn't know what a 'holy joe' was though, but he didn't care enough to ask.

"Oy, speaking of delusional, not right in the head, holy joes, whatever happened to that manky fat dicktator, huh?" Ireland inquired with an understandable amount of distaste. "Allie mentioned somethin' 'bout a lotta Order nations offing their crappy bosses and other wankers when the lad called me."

North Korea immediately felt all his negativity vanish. Now this was something he'd **_love_** to talk about with _anyone_.

He felt a grin spread on his face from ear to ear, "He was the _first_ to die."

Instead of appearing unnerved, Ireland smirked, perhaps a clear sign that he was meant to be one of them. "Ah, I figured as much. Reckon anyone would want payback after going through all that shit. So, how did ya off him?"

North Korea could barely keep himself from squealing in delight, but he let escape a few giggles. "Oh… Now _that's_ quite a tale. Well, before I can answer that question, let me ask you one thing. How _strong_ is that stomach of yours?"

"Enough to withstand a zillion gallons of alcohol, that's for sure." Ireland responded with overall nonchalance. "But we're getting off-topic here, Kory. I think I've grasped the problem of all this anguish of yours."

North Korea's eyes widened and he leaned closer to hear clearly the answer he craved. "What? What is it?

"No offense, lad. But you sound a little feckin selfish."

That answer was like someone dropped a boulder on North Korea's head. **_"…Excuse me?"_**

"Oy, get that look off your eye. I said no offense, remember?" Ireland raised an eyebrow at him, though he looked far from scared. "Say, you consider Al a genius, right?"

"Of course I do! He's one of the greatest minds of this organization, able to think of things that I'd never be able to!"

"Then why don't you trust him?"

North Korea flinched, taken aback by the accusation. "What do you-"

"I mean, from what you've told me, you seem to imply the opposite. I mean, okay, you're worried his good nature will get him in trouble one day. That's perfectly understandable. But Al's a breathing lie detector, Kory. And he's dealt with enough crooks to know who's not a crook."

"But he-"

"Hey! Don't interrupt me, damn it! Oh, and about the selfish thing. Don't you see, Kory? Instead of respecting who he is and trusting that a genius like him knows what he's doing, you want him to change to fit your own standards better. And I don't know about you, but that is no recipe for a healthy relationship."

North Korea gritted his teeth. He wanted to deny it. He wanted to deny it because that would mean that he was being cruel to America without even knowing it, but…

Was he… really being selfish?

/ / / / /

Okay, Molossia's gonna be totally honest here. He's really not sure how much time flew by while he fucked up Sealand, even knowing that if they don't wanna get seriously grounded they couldn't stay in this dump for too long.

But he got so into taking out all the damn rage that's been building up in his goddamn heart over the years since he was 'born' in this shitty world. Oh, no, not just from dealing with fucking Sealand, but from seeing all the shit America went through for everyone, putting up with the masquerade, and hardly being able to unleash his unbelievable rage on anyone for most of his life… that he kind of lost track of time using Sealand as an outlet for all that anger.

And he's not even the bastard who deserved the pain the most! Hell, if Molossia had more a heart for brats, he'd almost feel bad for the little shit. But no, he didn't feel bad. Molossia had been eager to start having some peace of mind, so why not start now?

Molossia breathed in and out heavily, staring at his work AKA Sealand before him. For whoever's hearing his inner monologue's sake, he'll keep the details vague and R-rated free, but boy, was it something to look at.

He glanced at his buddies plus Liberia to see what they think. They're reacting pretty much how he expected them to react.

Ladonia didn't seem to mind the unadulterated violence all that much. And he's currently staring at Sealand's corpse what's probably boredom or either a bit of distate or something. Heh. Not surprising, his folks were Vikings for Christ's sake.

Kugelmugel's the closest one here to actually showing any disgust at this seeing how he's pinching the bridge of his nose with a distasteful look, and it's not even for moral reasons or anything. He's one of the 'indifferent' nations, you know. He never really liked the smell of blood all that much… Eh, it's also probably 'cause he thinks Molossia's brutal style wasn't 'artsy' enough or some shit like that.

Oh, but Liberia. Fucking Liberia on the other hand… Now he's looking pretty impressed. Oh, of course he's impressed. He's a cannibal. He's probably doing his best not to drool all over this sea dump.

"Awesome! That was awesome!" The moron was saying over and over again in dumb glee. "Well done, baby brother! Oh, I wish I could take pictures…"

"Man, this looks like something Sweden and the others used to back in their Viking Days." Ladonia remarked, a small smirk on him. "All that's missing is ripping their lungs out, and you'll have a perfect reenactment of how Sweden killed his enemies."

Kugelmugel nodded furiously. "It's ART!"

Yeah… Yeah, he did nail it, didn't he?

Molossia kept on staring.

You know, whoever said that vengeance felt empty… was a fucking liar.

A carnivorous smirk made its way to the teen's face as he stood victoriously over the damn brat, or technically, what's left to him. Yeah… Yeah! Yeah, to hell with that bullshit! Molossia felt fucking _great_. In fact, he felt so great that he felt like laughing. No, wait, what's stopping

So, with that in mind, he laughed. Loudly. He laughed without a single care in the world…

/ / / / /

The pain in Western Sahara's stomach caused from the times Igbo 'gleefully' kicked her had begun to fade as the day went by, along with some of the nauseous urge to heave into her toilet again, which brought her quite a lot of relief. She didn't want to see her own lunch again, and she couldn't tend to Igbo in such a state, could she?

What's more, despite several having passed since the… since that dreadful incident, she was recovering more quickly than she thought.

Despite that Western Sahara had grown long used to pain (though unfortunately she's hopelessly nowhere near as pain-tolerant as the Five), caused by punishment after punishment for rebelling or even just for small slights, her… healing factor wasn't exactly as good as one might expect. Sure, she could take punishment, but it didn't change that it'll take a while for her to recover from it. Morocco would often take advantage of that…

She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes as she shut off the memories. Please, not now…

But now, she had noticed that ever since the fiasco with DRC, whatever injuries she had, minor or otherwise, would heal at a much faster rate than in the past. Well, she hardly noticed then, since she was dealing with painful emotional turmoil at the time, but now…

She wondered… Could this boost in her healing factor have something to do with the fact that she wasn't Western Sahara, disputed territory, anymore, but now officially the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, sovereign state at last?

She shook herself from her thoughts, chastising herself for getting distracted again. What was she doing, pondering over her own state?

After making the deal with Nigeria, damn demon, regaining enough strength and getting her act together, Western Sahara had shakily dragged the still unconscious Igbo and set him on a couch (for once, she's thankful that he's so skinny). The poor fool's already been through enough, the _least_ she could do for him was get him off the dirty floor and patch him up again.

Of course, there was a part of her that doubted that Nigeria really did keep his end of the bargain. Yes, it might sound paranoid. But he and the others promised to leave her alone and look at all that's happened since she got her independence. Just torment after , it could serve her right for what happened to ROC, but still...

W-Well, if it turns out Nigeria lied; she could always go and complain about it to Austria or Prussia, right? They did nothing to stop the Africans' cruelty, but even they got highly displeased when someone doesn't hold their end of a deal. Surely, despite what she did to ROC, they'll give her the time of day… right?

Well, she could figure that out later. For now, Igbo needed her.

And so, with nothing else to do, Western Sahara could only try to recover and wait…

Eventually, her patience did pay off.

She froze in the middle of finishing tying one of the new bandages when she saw Igbo's body begin to feebly stir, and she's sure she heard tired groaning from the man too. Yes, yes, she wasn't imagining it. He really was moving!

Could it be? Was he finally...?

Dropping whatever she was doing, Western Sahara moved closer to him and cautiously put a hand on his shoulder. "I-Ike? Are you... Ike, is... is that you?"

The man stirred even further, groaning in what seemed like pain, before he slowly opened his eyes to stare up at her with weary eyes.

His eyes were brown again.

"Safiyya…?" Igbo croaked out, trying to sit up, but Western Sahara firmly kept him down. "Safiyya, is it…"

"Yes. Yes, it's me. Don't worry, everything's alright now." Western Sahara smiled at him reassuringly. She says that, but Nigeria could still turn him against her the moment she made a big enough mistake. "Oh, I'm so happy you're awake…"

Igbo blinked drowsily, both pained and confused. Did he not remember' "I… What…"

Then realization passed over his face, and his eyes slowly widened in horror as he seemed to remember what transpired earlier. His gaze also went to the bruises on Western Sahara's face from when he kicked her. She could only bit her lip and look at him sympathetically.

"Those bruises… I… I remember… Nigeria- I heard his voice and I felt…" Igbo had only begun recounting before he trailed off in horror. The memory semed to be coming abck to him. He slowly shook his head, and began to tremble. "No… No… _No!_ Not again! I remember, but Safiyya, did I really…?"

Western Sahara almost felt tempted to deny it, if only to spare him the guilt. But she wouldn't ever lie to him. And Igbo said he'd remember, didn't he? She brushed her fingers against the bruises on her face that still ached when she touched them, and reluctantly she pulled back one of her sleeves to reveal some fading burns from when Igbo shot fire at her.

She couldn't bring herself to say yes.

Igbo's expression was heartbreaking.

"I… I'm so sorry, Safiyya."

"N-No. No, don't be." Western Sahara pleaded with him. Why did this fool have to blame himself so much? "It's not your fault. That wasn't you."

"You don't _understand_ , Safiyya." Igbo cut her off with an uncharacteristically firm tone that made her flinch slightly, and he looked away in shame. "You... You remember what I said when I was under Nigeria's control. I knew I wasn't myself, I knew he was controlling me, but I didn't care. It's- It's a horrifying experience, Saf. All I cared about was fulfilling his desires and hurting you in ways that I can't even begin to describe. I became a monster…"

Oh, Western Sahara hadn't forgotten, no matter how much she wanted to. The memory of witnessing the mockery of her friend taunting and mocking her over being aware that Nigeria's control, but not caring that he did.

"Nigeria's will is a _terrifying_ thing, Safiyya." Igbo told her shakily, a haunted expression on his face. "I could always feel it tearing through the corners of my mind, flooding my body with his malice until I become nothing but an extension of him. And that's not the only thing. He can… He can influence me in other ways, Safiyya, without me even noticing. If I'm not careful, sometimes I can play right into his hands…"

Igbo lowered his head, a sob escaping him. Western Sahara couldn't bear to see him like this.

"I know what you said, but that still doesn't make it your fault!" Western Sahara tried to convince him, frowning, not understanding. Why blame the victim? "It's all Nigeria. He made you- He- He _corrupted_ you into acting like that. You're the _victim_ , Ike."

But Western Sahara's words did nothing to soothe him, and he pressed a bandaged hand against his head. "Even though it's my foolishness that caused my predicament in the first place?"

"You just wanted to be free! You're a victim. And I'm not even angry at you for not telling me. You said it yourself that you couldn't do it. _None_ of this is yours to blame"

Igbo looked about ready to protest again, but another look of realization appeared, and he stared at his hands with confused eyes. "But… But I don't understand. Why am I myself again? Nigeria wouldn't have…"

Western Sahara bit her lip again, bracing herself for Igbo's reaction. "I'm the one to thank for that."

Igbo whipped his head toward her, becoming pale. "What did you do?"

"Nigeria and I made a deal," Western Sahara began explaining bitterly, scowling a little at the memory. "In exchange for not having you attack me again, I agreed to refrain from contacting my family or answering any attempt by them to contact me until further notice. That's all."

Igbo's eyes widened. "You… You gave up the opportunity to talk to them just for me?

"Yes. But, well, let's be honest. Nigeria, Morocco or someone would've found a way to ruin it." Western Sahara stated grimly. "And I wouldn't just leave you like that. I-I'm sure I'll see them again, one day. For now, I'm just happy you're your usual self again."

But of course, that served to increase Igbo's guilt, and finally the man broke down in tears.

Western Sahara wanted to reach out to him, to hug him even. But she hesitated. The memory of fear was still fresh on her mind.

She wanted to ask him if it was true if he knew things about her family that he couldn't tell her about. She wanted to ask him how he was able to give the evidence to Germany and the other nations without alerting Nigeria. She wanted to ask a lot of things.

But not now. Right now there's a friend in need. Igbo needed her. And Western Sahara will be there for him.

 **Yeah, I know it isn't much. But I'd like to get some things out of the way before focusing on other characters, and I wanted to make a shorter chapter. Next one will have more segments. Please review, if you have a minute!**


	77. Justice: Blame

**Thanks to HelloThereHowAreYou, Eternal Nexus Warrior, vexey1999 and Redbayly for reviewing! Sorry for the delay. Had a really busy week. Now, on with the show!**

Germany considered it a miracle that he's still able to stand and think clearly – kind of – after enduring the hell that was the massacre of his government body.

Maybe it was a testimony to how strong his will to keep going was, despite the pain, as Switzerland. But Germany hardly gave a damn about that in his current state. He needed to check on his people– needed to inform everyone on everything that happened– needed to help Liechtenstein -

He grinded his teeth together as he pressed a hand to his forehead. Damn it, this long list of priorities wasn't helping with his headache _at all_.

And then there's France. Oh, France. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit! Germany had actually begun to grow more of an appreciation for France today, especially since he's one of the few G8 who's actually being competent and reasonable. And now France was gone, captured. They gained two nations, but at the cost of one powerful one.

Actually, there were other questions on his mind, ones he really wished to know the answer to. Mauritius, Liechtenstein, France, among other things… But Germany realized that the others obviously had their questions to demand answered as well.

However, Germany wasn't expecting Panama to be the first one to do so.

 _"How?"_ The blonde jerked up to attention in surprise and he saw Panama staring at him as if he were a ghost. Maybe he _did_ , with the blood loss. "H-How are you here?"

He said it in a way that implied that Germany and the others – _almost_ all of the others – was an appalling crime.

Germany wasn't sure if he wanted to muster the energy to deliver an answer, and the blood making its way up his throat wasn't helping matters either. And he had a feeling Panama wouldn't accept any answer given. Add that to just how tired Germany felt and his only response was a cough as he tried to get the last of the aftermath of the massacre out of his system.

Costa Rica frowned in worry and reached out a hand towards his neighbor. "Emanuel, you-"

Panama flinched away from Costa Rica's touch. "D-Don't! Don't touch me!"

Taken aback, Costa Rica took an uneasy step back. Panama must've realized how he came off, because the anger slowly began to leave his face and he looked away morosely.

""I-I…" Panama rubbed his head, grimacing. "I- I'm… I think I'll be over _there_ , in case anyone wants to yell at me for no reason."

Without another word, Panama walked away from the group with his hands in his pockets, though not without first sending a glare right at Germany and then at Egypt's body. Germany didn't know what to make of that, but he didn't protest when Costa Rica gave them all an apologetic look and followed after his friend.

"What happened, Germany-san?" Japan then asked, his eyebrows furrowed in worry. Next to him, Italy looked on in worry; for once understand that this wasn't the time for hugs.

The question wasn't just referring to what happened to them in Switzerland or _why_ France wasn't here, it must be obvious that something wasn't right with Germany's condition. Their appearance must be generating a lot of questions.

In fact, after taking a look at how everyone was doing, Germany decided that he's probably in the worst condition, not counting the ones who died.

Oh, where could he start? Where should he start? Well, he could start with the obvious.

" _We_ got out, barely. And it was only thanks to Anubis." Germany got out gruffly, wiping his mouth. He wasn't vomiting anything anymore. That's a good sign, right? "Romania got killed in the middle of the escape and Egypt was severely weakened by then."

There. At least he managed to provide a brief summary. Germany glanced over at the former French colonies, including the ones that came with them, who were all… dealing with their brother being missing. Even Mauritius, despite being sluggish and exhausted, had caught on that something happened to France and looked perturbed as Hungary tried to support him.

But how was he supposed to explain to them about what happened to France?

Germany sighed. Refusing to let anxiety stop him now, or maybe he's just become too exhausted from blood lost to care, . "However, we ran into some… _complications_ as we attempt to make our way toward our escape."

"…What complications?" Another voice coldly asked, startling Germany and several others. To his surprise, the question came from none other than Canada, who was currently sending him a bitter look. Was he… always there?

Clearing his throat, Germany tried not to think too much of it for now and went on to clear up a few things. "To start off, due to what I assume was the Africans suspicions that we'd bring Anubis along, they summoned a supernatural flock of large man-eating birds whom not only were a giant pain in the ass to deal with, but they could shoot lightning too."

" _Impundulu_ ," Hungary coughed, not meeting anyone in the eye.

"Ja. _Impundulu_. That's what they're called, apparently" Germany nodded. Note to self: start researching supernatural creatures from the enemy nations' mythologies in case they have them at their command.

Oddly enough, Germany didn't feel nearly as surprised at this discovery as he probably would've been under different circumstances. Perhaps the Haitian demons, Egyptian gods, and tales of voodoo teddy-bears and the discovery of a global conspiracy had desensitized him to these types of things. Instead of being in disbelief, then drinking himself into a stupor before going off demanding to launch nukes at other countries, he's just worried about the possibilities.

"Giant African man-eating lightning birds?" Belize echoed in disbelief, raising one of her thick eyebrows. "Seriously? They have those too?"

"They already have magic and demons, Vanessa," Nicaragua scoffed. "I don't see why you're surprised."

"African cannibal birds?!" Italy exclaimed in a shrill voice. "Ve! That sounds terrifying!

" _South African_ , actually." Russia piped up unexpectedly, having spent "I was, ah, told that the monsters were _his_ servants. And I can personally attest that they are, indeed, a large pain to deal with. I tried hitting them many times, but I only achieved denting my pipe."

Germany coughed, regaining everyone's attention. While he definitely would appreciate everyone discussing on the supernatural threats, and if they could, devise some appropriate countermeasures against these creatures, that's not the main point of this discussion. Also, it's becoming gradually difficult to stand up, think clearly and speak at the same time

"Right. Well, the point is, they're extremely dangerous. And not only did they prove to be problematic for us, but they also proved to be a difficult adversary for Anubis" Germany , glancing at the aforementioned dog who was sitting calm in front "Thankfully, Anubis managed to hold them off, and even terminate many of the monsters. And in the end, he was able to teleport all… most of us away."

"…And what about Papa?" Canada snapped, once again startling quite a few people. Germany wasn't too surprised to see the boy glaring at _him_. "How come he wasn't included?"

The area fell into a tense silence. The other nations, including the ones who came with but didn't know the full story either, all turned to look at him. He, the leader, the one who's supposed to know everything. The only exceptions were Algeria and Tunisia, the formed of whom was looking extremely pained while her brother, the latter, gazed at her worriedly.

Germany narrowed his eyes. He would've delved further into this, or even asked Algeria directly about it, if he hadn't been cut off again by Canada.

"Well? Answer me!" Canada demanded, angry tears streaming down his face. "Why did you leave Francis behind?! Why did you leave him?!"

The blonde gritted his teeth. "I didn't leave him, Canada. Hell, I'm not even sure what happened-!"

"You don't _know?_ You don't even why Francis was even left behind?" Canada snarled, filled to the brim with anger. "How could you not know? How could you let this happen?!

Refusing to leave silence as his only answer, Germany did his best to rein in his frustration and answered as calmly as he could, "We were busy trying to regroup. Canada, we're lucky that the rest of us made it here alive with both of the people we were trying to find!"

"Wasn't the whole point of this to get Liechtenstein and Mauritius back and come back with everyone? Why didn't that happen? What was even the _point_ of all that?!"

For a second, Germany was rendered speechless. Then, he suddenly felt rejuvenated with furious energy and all his sympathy toward Canada forgotten. In the corner of his eye, he saw Hungary glaring at the Canadian with just as much venom. She seemed ready to hit him or verbally pummel him, but Germany made sure to beat her to it. No, this was Germany's responsibility and he's hell-bent on setting him straight.

"What was the point of all that?" Germany repeated with a strangled voice, struggling to keep from going on a rage-fuel tirade as hands formed into trembling fists. "You're asking me what the _point_ was of all that _?_ "

Canada looked just about ready to retort, but a deadly glare from Germany shut him right up. He'll admit that he felt some satisfaction seeing the Canadian flinch, but he wasn't enjoying this any more than _he_ was.

"Do you honestly think that I would've organized this rescue team if I realized that there was no point in doing so?" Germany said slowly with a growl. He's just done with the bullshit he's had to endure all day. "Nein. I wouldn't. And do you seriously believe that there wasn't any point to this rescue, none at all? We were going to rescue two nations from the enemy. And as an added bonus, we-"

"But why did you have to leave Papa for that to happen, huh?" Canada demanded with increasing hysteria. "What's your excuse for that? Why did you have to sacrifice him?"

Germany narrowed his eyes. He hated being interrupted, but even more so, he hated when people just

As if things couldn't get any worse, Canada then directed his anger toward Anubis of all people. "And you, what's your excuse? Aren't you supposed to be a god? Then how come you couldn't? What, was he too lowly for you to bother saving?"

Anubis didn't appear to take too kindly to the slight toward its abilities and great efforts to assist the group, and he bared its pointy teeth in a low and guttural growl. It sounded too deep and harsh and _frightening_ to belong to an actual dog.

"Um, Canada? Buddy, hermano, guey? This is just my opinion, but," Belize started saying with a horribly forced grin as she addressed Canada, " "But maybe you shouldn't piss of the almighty god of death and mummification when he's saved our asses at least three times already."

Canada turned his venomous glare toward at Belize. "SHUT UP!"

"Well!" Belize huffed, offended.

"Ve! Canada's being scary!" Italy exclaimed

That's it. Germany was content, but this was beginning to go out of control. "Canada, that's enough!"

"You shut up too!" Canada screamed at him. "This- This is _your_ fault."

"You know, if you're going to blame someone, at least be _consistent_ in whom you're angry at." A voice coldly remarked to the Canadian. And well, what do you know? It was Panama with his arms folded over his chest as Costa Rica stood nervously behind him, and there wasn't a single trace of neither sympathy nor pity. "At least the Order knows who they should blame."

The lack of sympathy did indeed appear to wound Canada; he's almost starting to crumble, but tried to put up a good front. "Y-You don't have any right to tell me I'm wrong! Y-You're on their side! You're-You're probably happy this happened!"

Panama merely sneered at the accusations. "No, I'm not. Believe me. I'm just pointing out how pathetic you, and by extension the rest of you, are."

"S-Says the guy who sided with murderers!"

"Jeez, he really needs to work on his comebacks," Belize whispered flatly over to Honduras, who gestured for her to be quiet.

"Hmph. You really have no idea how lucky they were to come back with just _one_ loss." Panama smiled humorlessly. "Not only is it a damn miracle, it's an impressive accomplishment. You should be glad and grateful that your oh-so-powerful leader and the god of death managed to make it possible."

"Grateful? I should be grateful?!" Canada fumed. "I should be grateful they came back while Papa didn't?"

"My, my, I never knew you cared, Kanada." Russia commented with a fake smile, positively dripping with sarcasm.

Panama sighed, looking profoundly disappointed, and most of all, annoyed. "That's obviously _not_ what I meant, you moron."

"No, I'm listening to you! Papa is gone and for what?" Canada sobbed, sending a tearful glare at Mauritius and Liechtenstein. "J-Just for those t-two? We lost Papa just for _them?!_ "

There was another gasp, this time coming from a hurt Seychelles. "How could you say that, Mathieu?"

"Wow… I never knew you cared, Canada." Mauritius surprisingly managed to remark dryly, despite being barely able to stand on his own.

Germany did not like where this going. He wasn't just going to stand here and let Seychelles bear the brunt of Canada's rage. "Hey, Canada! Don't you dare get them involved in your tantrum too! Can't you see that she's hurting too?"

But he was promptly ignored.

Now Canada glared at Seychelles as if she were the cause of all his misery, while the girl looked terrified. "You don't get to say anything either, Michelle! This is your fault too and you know it! None of this would've happened if you just realized that there's no point endangering everyone for just one tiny nation. But nooooo! You just _had_ to cry everyone a river and beg them to get Mauritius back!"

Seychelles stiffened at the hurling accusations, and she slowly shook her head, on the verge of tears. "N-Non! I didn't want this to happen, I swear! I didn't want Francis to-"

"Well, congratulations, Michelle! You got your stupid, useless, annoying friend back! And all it cost us was France! I hope you're happy now!"

Seychelles burst into tears and ran off sobbing.

If Germany didn't feel furious before, he certainly did now. The same went for everyone else. They were all shouting and jeering at Canada, who just seemed too angry to even notice. No, that tears it. He wasn't going to put up with this any longer. Germany's going to-

"Hey!"

Surprisingly, it was _Mauritius_ who spoke. Germany couldn't believe that he only just now realized that he's standing on his own now, and the island looked _livid_.

Mauritius then began to approach Canada. He took uneasy steps in a slow plodding gait, but he didn't waver or stagger even once. Germany didn't think he's ever seen the island nation so _angry_ before, there's something almost unnerving about the glint in his eyes.

"What?" Canada demanded.

"You made Michelle cry," Mauritius stated in wooden tone that betrayed the fury on his face.

"So what?"

Mauritius's eyes widened, before they narrowed dangerously. He snarled as he clenched his hands into fists. "Take it back, apologize to her, or I'll show you how _useless_ I really am, you transparent _hoser_."

Sniffling, Canada spat, "Make me!"

That seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back. Mauritius's expression became _murderous_ and he raised his fist as he bared his teeth in a snarl.

 _CRACK_

Germany's eyes went wide.

He watched as Canada tumbled to the ground with a pathetic yelp while _Algeria_ stood over him, watching the Canada writhe on the ground with cold brown eyes. Mauritius only looked on with an odd puzzled expression.

"Stupid _Westerner_ ," Algeria glared down at the Canadian, though she didn't look or sound as angry as she would've been. She sounded _tired_ , _grieving_. "Always rushing to blame the one in charge or with the most power. No wonder America was more than happy to betray you."

Germany did not expect to hear that, and he will admit that his jaw dropped in shock. Did he really hear that right? There were a few 'oooh's' and gasps from the other nations, while Russia and China just quietly watched on with interest.

The jibe actually caused the anger to leave Canada's face to be replaced with pain. "A-And what do you know, Algeria? You-"

"What happened to France wasn't Germany's fault, nor Anubis's nor anyone else, you idiot!" Algeria hissed at him. "It was _mine_ and mine alone!"

A heavy silence fell into the area. Germany had to do a double take. _What?_

Eventually, not even Algeria could hold back her own tears. She wiped them off with her sleeve as she continued bitterly, "It's my fault France's gone. I gave in to my anger, messed things up, and France paid the price for it. He sacrificed himself so we could escape."

France sacrificed himself?

"So, if you want to blame anyone, blame _me_." Algeria said quietly, tears dripping from her face. "Not Germany, who did everything he could to not only ensure our success, but that we leave alive in one piece. Not Anubis, who fought demons for us, and certainly not Seychelles, who just wanted her friend back."

No one spoke. The thought ran over Germany's mind, every time increasing the feeling of dread and guilt pooling inside of him. But at the same time, there was a small feeling of relief. So he- they didn't abandon France, they didn't willingly left him to suffer possibly a fate worse than death out of selfishness. It was France's decision.

He gnashed his teeth together and bowed his head, cursing at himself. What was he saying? It's not like it make things any better. France was still at the mercy of their enemy, and worse – captured by two incredibly sadistic nations who both held a strong hatred for him. No matter what actually happened, France will still suffer. And the worst part was, they had no idea how to get him back.

Canada was trembling now, his hatred now all directed at Algeria. "You… damn-"

 _BANG!_

With a single blow to the head, Canada fell limp onto the ground. Russia stood over him, unsmiling but still looking quite satisfied.

"Russia!" Hungary exclaimed, glaring at him. "What did you do that for?"

"What? Don't tell you weren't getting tired of hearing him whining." Russia shrugged uncaringly, cracking a small smile, and he kneeled down to heft the unconscious Canada over his shoulder. "Besides, I think we have much more important matters to attend to, da? This was the only way to shut up poor Canadia."

"There must've been a better way…" Algeria muttered as she stared down at Canada listlessly.

"Ja. That's still no excuse…" Germany grumbled, and he promptly palmed his own face. Ow. "However, Russia has a point. We still have a lot of things on our agenda, and we need someplace to move to properly recover."

"Yeah, let's do that!" Belize grinned nervously. "And maybe while we're at it, how about we tell you all about how while you guys were away, Haiti came over for a visit!

 _"What?"_ Germany demanded coldly.

Belize immediately shrunk at Germany's harsh glare, and Honduras jumped quickly put herself between her neighbor and the European with a nervous smile. "I-It's not as bad as it sounds, _Alemania_ , we swear!"

"Is that so? Because it does sound dire and I'd really appreciate it if you tell me every single detail of what happened."

"A-Actually, Germany-san, I think you should lie down." Japan said hastily, stepping forward with a concerned frown.

"I agree," Honduras piped up, with none of her usual cheer. It occurred to Germany that he might be baring a disturbing resemblance to the corpses she sees so often in her cities. "You obviously need a nice big long rest. You're bleeding so much that you'll drop dead in less than half hour if you don't get them treated!"

"I-I'm…" But the protest died in his throat. Oh, who was he trying to fool? Of course he wasn't fine. Germany won't deny it this time.

"You're right. I should lie down." Germany admitted dejectedly, to the surprise of even Japan. "But not here. There's still… much to do…"

Heal up, and regenerate in Romania's case, investigate just what the hell happened to Germany's entire government, perform an impromptu psychological test on Mauritius, discuss the possible and obvious ramifications of losing France, wonder just how the hell they're going to get him back, comfort Liechtenstein's inevitable breakdown over the truth regarding her brother and help her, finally organize a search for England _and_ Bosnia, go back to planning the meeting…

That… That should be everything for now, right?

"We'll do all that needs to be done one at a time. You shouldn't burden yourself with stress." Japan advised him, well-meaning, but Germany only felt _slightly_ more at ease. "If you want to keep everything and everyone in order, then you must rest, Germany-san…"

A part of Germany still wished to protest, but then Japan glanced and leaned in a little to whisper to him.

"I… I know the loss of France wasn't your fault, Germany-san. You did your best. And if you'd like my opinion, you did _well_."

Letting Japan's words sink in, Germany turned to look at Liechtenstein, who was still being watch over by Hungary. He could still hardly believe they actually managed to find her. They weren't even sure she'd be here.

But it turned out she was. And now she's here...

"Ja… You know what? I think you're right, Kiku. Let's all rest. I think we've been through enough for today."

/ / / / /

All in all, things... kind of turned out better than he expected them to. Even the calls didn't turn out as disastrous as his pessimism thought they would.

Sure, America got into an argument with about half of his 'brothers' and became temporarily deaf in the process. But he did successfully managed to convince the leaders to make it an order to make France's death less painful and to postpone many large-scale operations until about tomorrow. If that's not a victory, then he didn't know what was.

Well, he couldn't get in contact with Hong Kong, which totally didn't cause him to almost panic. Nope. No panic at all. But America's glad to have had his worries proven wrong when Mongolia explained that Leon's okay, just super pissed off. Also, they're apparently planning to start with the plan to detonate all those fireworks and bombs under Beijing.

Huh. What're the odds? Well, anyway, he left the task of breaking the news to Hong Kong to Mongolia and Macau. If anyone could keep him in line, it was them.

Plus, if Leon didn't take news of him not getting to kaboom Beijing for a little while well, America won't have to deal with any more yelling.

He sighed, banging his head right into the van, ignoring Iceland's complaints that he might accidentally break it. Why did delivering such a simple piece of information (okay, it's not that simple and anyone would have the right to be skeptical, but still) have to cause so much _drama?_

But no, America took a deep breath and got his face off the van, eyes narrowed. No use complaining, right? It's never helped him now, and it won't help him ever. You know what you were getting yourself into, and it's admirable that you didn't let that weaken your resolve, even as Haiti, South Africa and Nigeria criticized you for being 'soft'. You cast aside your hatred, your hesitation to express your gratitude to France for finally being genuine, and you should proud of yourself for being able to do so.

...That's what Washington would tell him, right? You know, if he was here for America to always confide his problems to. Was it really something he would say? Y-Yeah, it probably was...

He chuckled humorlessly to himself. Well, there's no point on dwelling on 'what ifs'. Washington's _dead_.

"Told you that you should've left it Gil," He heard a voice say to his left.

One of his eye twitching, America's head to his left and he glared at Denmark who was lying against the van with his arms folded over his chest. Heh, Denny probably thought he looked so cool like that.

"Nah, that'd just be cowardly. And you know I don't shy away from _anything_ even if it'll be hard for me," America said morosely, and he turned around to lean against the van. "'Sides, Gil's busy offing the whole Germany Parliament and Rod's reviewing some plans for when we're finally exposed to the public. So it's not like I had that option in the first place."

Denmark raised an eyebrow, his serious expression not changing. "Is that so? Well, that's too bad. Still, they didn't complain too much, did they?"

America of course didn't miss the concern in his buddy's voice, despite how blunt and solemn Denmark would sound (and always sounded) to everyone else. It actually brought a small smile to his face. Try as he might, Denmark still had the big heart the fake one had, even though

"Actually, it was less about having their plans ruined and more about how 'soft' I'm being. Gah, you know how they are." America waved a hand while another pressed against his forehead as he remembered the argument he had with South Africa. _You disappoint me, Alfred._ "They never liked that about me, no matter how much they consider me a good friend. So, they gave me a hard time for it."

They just couldn't understand. Well, America couldn't understand why they're so against him actually having semblance of h

The look on Denmark's face darkened. "I see... Ja, of course they did. Were they that harsh with you, Alfred?"

"I guess, but not as much I originally expected," America calmly assured him, but he couldn't help but feel bitter about it, and he scowled. "Just a lengthy diatribe, a semi-debate, and discussing the perceived pointlessness of all this and whether France's being genuine. All in all, nothing that heated compared to other times."

Denmark still didn't look happy, but his scowl softened. "But are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." America nodded, and after seeing the suspicious look on Denmark's face, he groaned. "Come on, Matt. Sure, we don't see eye to eye on some stuff, but they still respect me and see me as a friend."

Although, to be honest, their definition of friendship was a little skewed, to put it mildly.

"Friend…?" Demark muttered the word as if he couldn't believe it.

America ran his fingers through his hair, staring off at nothing. "Yeah, really. And something about it sounds like it's not just because our differences. It's... almost as if they're worried about me."

"Hn," Denmark grunted, again not appearing to believe. Then something dawned on him, and he looked at America. "Wait. What about the fact that you know France didn't lie? Did you tell them that?

"I did. But no sell, dude. Not even that seemed to convince them." America admitted begrudgingly. "They think that it's all just crocodile tears and shit. That France can't be trusted. They also gave me a hard time for that, for thinking that he might've learned anything."

"So the idea that France can't do anything resembling a good deed is impossible for them to grasp?"

"Pretty much." America grimaced. "I... I wish they'd be more considerate about my sense of morality."

"I hate to be harsh with you, Al, but you won't find such consideration in your little gang of former colonies." Denmark stated in his typical bluntness. Leave it to him to be brutally honest with anyone. "And especially not with friends like them."

America blinked at the sudden hostility towards South Africa and Nigeria, and he stared at Denmark curiously. "You never liked Chris or Adigun that much, haven't you?"

" _Ingen_." See? What did he tell you about the honesty?

"Look, I know that there's the whole thing with values and whatnot, no offense," America offered a brief smile before going to his usual seriousness "But there's got to be another reason why you don't like me being around them."

"Oh, there is." Denmark agreed grimly, and he went on to list off the reasons with his fingers, "They're a bad influence to be around…"

"That part I know," America mumbled.

"Not only that, but I don't quite like how unstable Nigeria is." Denmark continued solemnly, ignoring America's comment. "We should've put restrictions on how much he can use his own soul for his convenience. As for South Africa, he's hard to figure out, but he loves to corrupt way too much. I don't like it. And I _don't_ want him affecting you."

Now that was something America could deeply understand, he made a distasted expression. 'Friends' or not, there's just some times where not even America could really tell what the hell's going through South Africa's cray-cray head. His psyche was pretty hard to wrap his head around too. Yeah, he's not a mind-reader, but there's something unsettling about not knowing what's on someone like South Africa's mind.

…Not that he didn't trust the guy, but there were still lines that had to be drawn. Yeah, he's talking about South Africa's part of the Legacy Plan, and you can bet that he didn't like the implications of it.

Luckily, it's mostly a back-up plan more than anything. But if you ask him, South Africa's a bit _too_ eager to see it happen. Even though it'll…

As for Nigeria, well, he's only a little easier to understand. And that's even with America actually having been told the whole backstory by the guy himself. But to put it simply, America _really_ wished he'd stop treating his own soul like a tool. Nigeria's already a nutcase with his fractured soul; God knows how he'd be without most of it.

Then there his possible futures, which ranged from 'oh, okay' to just plain horrifying, and America honestly hoped that the predictions will turn out wrong.

"Yeah, you make good points." America sighed and let the back of his head hit the wall of the van. "But seriously, Matt, I'll be fine. I appreciate the worry though."

Denmark didn't seem to like how he's shrugging it off, but thankfully, he seemed to remember that America could perfectly take care of himself. "If you say so…"

…

"Hey, Matt."

"Hm?"

"You don't think there's anything wrong with me for holding on to my humanity, do you?"

Denmark seemed a little surprised at the question, but he did ponder on it for a while before answering, "I think… that there's absolutely _nothing_ wrong with you, Alfred. You're a highly competent nation and you never let emotion your judgment. So get those idiots' words and suggestions out of your head or I'll bash them out of your skull with my axe."

"Ha! Yeah… You know what? You're totally right, Matt." America chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye, and grinned like an idiot. "What am I saying?"

"Exactly," Denmark nodded, actually having a real smile on his face. "Come on. We need to get going. The sooner we leave, the better."

That's right. There's no point in going on and on about this. The invasion on Russia, as well as picking up the key to destroying General Winter, might be put on hold until around tomorrow, but there's still the Abskazia and South Ossetia situation to take care of.

So, fast forward to now, where the whole group was cooped up in the van as they continued their little field trip of doom to the 'capital' of this 'country' with America himself at the wheel. Shouldn't be that long till they get to Tskhinvali, maybe a half hour or so.

North Korea hadn't been giving him a hard time or even giving him the usual 'you're gonna regret it, Al' looks that America's so used to getting whenever he did something remotely that could be considering 'heroic', surprisingly. Instead he's been awfully quiet about it.

He'd be lying if he said that it didn't creep him out a little.

America had half a mind to ask him what's on his mind, since he's too curious for his own damn good and all. But he knew that gloomy look on North's face; he's seen it a million times now. You know, that serious face with the faraway look? It meant that North's deeply contemplating about something, and judging from the strong lack of craziness in his eyes, that _something's_ probably unrelated to murder.

So, he opted to let him go about his musings and deep thinking and ask him about it later. For now, America needed to focus on driving.

Or at least, that's what he would've done.

America was brought out of his thoughts when his phone buzzed. "Shit. Denmark, dude, can you get that for me?"

Denmark grunted and obliged, snatching the phone from the spar-spangled nation pocket's, then he checked America's messages. Almost half a minute passed, and in the corner of his eye, he saw Denmark look _shocked_.

"What's wrong? Who's it from?" America asked, looking at him curiously.

Denmark growled, "You're not going to like this, but…"

America listened intently without a single. By the time Denmark finished, He nearly tore off the steering wheel.

 _"France, you idiot…"_

/ / / / /

The first thought that struck Botswana's mind as he slowly came to was that his head hurt like hell.

His eyelids slowly opened. He groaned as he stirred around feebly when he realized that he was lying face down on the earth, and both his hands grasped the ground as he weakly lifted himself off the ground. He _did_ feel a little weak, and his thoughts were a bit of a blur. Botswana like someone hit him with like, ten footballs. Just what…

Botswana began to regain his senses, however, and took a dazed look at his surroundings. It took some time for Botswana to register where he was, but when he began to recognize this place as South Africa, even more questions began to pop in his head.

"Wh… What happened…?" Botswana murmured while rubbing his head, the first question that popped in his mind.

Where exactly was he? What's he doing here? The last thing he remembered… There was a flash and…

Then it all came back to him. Khoisan. Car. Others. Lightning. Screeching. And then… _darkness_.

He gasped as he scrambled to his feet as the memories of what happened became clear. O-Oh no! The others! What happened to– to Angola, Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Kh-Khoisan? Botswana's head darted around frantically, but there's no one in sight. Wait. What even happened to them in the first place? Was it an attack?

"Hey! Botswana! There you are,. I was starting to think that-"

As any person would naturally react to hearing a loud voice behind them after waking up in the middle of nowhere, Botswana jumped in surprise and screamed. No, no, not like a girl. Or at least he hoped it didn't sound like a girl. And another voice joined on screaming with him too.

After about ten seconds of continued screaming, Botswana was then abruptly slapped in the face.

"You idiot!" A feminine voice snapped at him. "I wake up in the middle of nowhere all alone, and you decide to give me a heart attack?! I've had enough surprises for

Rubbing his sore cheek, Botswana soon got over his shock and realized that he recognized that pissed off voice. He _knew_ that voice.

Daring to let himself hope, he turned towards the person who slapped him and to his shock (and most importantly, relief), he found himself gawking at none other than a livid Namibia, who's glaring at him with her arms folded over her chest. She was about as dirty as he was, and Botswana was sure there're a few scrapes, but other than that, she looked okay.

"Na... Namibia?" Botswana couldn't help but stammer. He felt a sense of relief wash over him. So he wasn't alone after all...

Said nation scoffed and slapped him again, this time in the shoulder, although even she couldn't hide the obvious relief in her eyes. "Ja, of course it's me, Botswana! In the flesh. No heatstroke-induced hallucination or whatever! Now, what the hell-"

Botswana didn't let her finish. Feeling a surge of panic again after realizing that everyone's still nowhere in sight, he grabbed Namibia by her shoulders, eyes wide, and he began spouting out questions before he even realized it, "Y-You're okay? You really are okay! Are you actually okay? What happened, Namibia? What happened to the others?"

Namibia looked quite taken aback by the sudden barrage of questions, and that Botswana cut her off before she could rant for once in their lives. But he didn't care about that. He needed to know if she and the others were okay.

"C-Calm down! I'm fine, I'm fine. Really!" Namibia assured him, removing Botswana's hands off her shoulders. "Just a bit of dirt and a few bruises. Let's just say I woke up in the middle of sharp rocks and leave it at that."

"Oh, good, good…" Botswana nodded, but he frowned, "But what about everyone else?"

Realization appeared to dawn on Namibia's face, and she opened her mouth to answer, but- "Hey! What's with all the screaming?

He could barely believe their luck. It was Angola, Mozambique and Zimbabwe rushing toward him, all in one piece. They were a little dirty just like Namibia and Botswana were, and Zimbabwe was being practically carried by Angolia despite how he obviously _uncomfortable_ he was with it. But they're all okay.

Botswana felt himself smile from ear to ear in relief, until he hit was hit with grim realization.

But no Khoisan…

Just as the fact sank in, Botswana was suddenly enveloped in a hug by a fussing Angola. A really, really tight hug. Ack! Pretty sure that was a crack. Still, he returned the hug. He's just glad everyone's here and in one piece.

"Thank goodness you're okay. Do you have any idea how much of a scare you gave us with your screaming."

Botswana sweatdropped, and chuckled sheepishly. "Aha… Were we really that loud.

Angola broke the hug to glare at him like a disappointed parent. "Of course we heard you! In fact, I'm pretty sure everyone in Northern Cape heard you."

Botswana flushed in embarrassment, and he offered an apologetic smile. "Hah… Um… Sorry?"

"Oh, who cares if everyone in South Africa heard you?" Mozambique waved her hand "We're all here. We're alive. Let's just be glad

"But what happened to Khoisan?" Botswana had to ask.

He paled when he saw he uncomfortable looks on the others' faces, and it was Namibia who answered, "We don't know. We haven't seen him since… you know, since we ended up here."

"Th-Then…" Botswana began shakily, his eyes nervously darting around, as if another threat might suddenly jump out from one of the rocks. "Why did we end up here? What happened to us in the first place?"

"Your guess is as good as ours, Sammy." Mozambique shrugged, scrunching up her face as she tried to remember. "All _I_ remember before blacking out was Khoisan yelling and this big flash of lightning."

Botswana's eyes widened. So he didn't imagine it at all? "H-Hey, so did I! You didn't also hear something like a-"

"A really annoying screech? Ja," Namibia answered dryly, before realization dawned on her face. "Wait- So, I wasn't the only one who heard it?"

"I thought it sounded like some kind of bird, to be honest." Mozambique remarked pensively, hand on her chin.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too." Botswana nodded.

" _I_ didn't hear birds or see any lightning," Zimbabwe grumbled as he tried to stand up on his own. "I just remember everyone yelling and shouting and the sky getting dark."

Namibia made an amused snort. "That's because you were too busy taking a nap in the middle of the South African road and you were too drowsy to realize what was happening."

"What's wrong with taking a nap?!" Zimbabwe exclaimed, almost sounding offended.

Botswana almost wanted to sigh as the others started bickering again, as if they haven't just been suddenly teleported to the middle of nowhere with their only guide being nowhere to be seen. Well, at least things were kind of going back to normal.

"YOU GUYS!" Angola shouted at them angrily, bringing the bickering to as stop. She crossed her arms. "Come on, quit it! This is _not_ the time for arguing. In case any of you have _forgotten_ , we're stranded in the middle of… um, _somewhere!_ And Khoisan's still missing!"

A heavy silence fell.

"W-Well… What should we do?" Zimbabwe asked, glancing at each of them.

"Maybe we should wait for him…?" Botswana proposed innocently.

"We can't just stand here and just wait for him to come back, Botswana!" Namibia snapped at him. Then, she glanced around, and threw her hands up in frustration "Where the hell _is_ here, anyway?"

"How about we try to look for him, first?" Mozambique suggested with a calm smile. "If all of us ended up here nearby, then maybe he's only a couple miles off or something."

They all considered that. Angola hummed in thought, "I guess we can take a look around…"

"I don't think there's any need for that."

Of course, everyone screamed.

/ / / / /

Tunisia felt _lost_.

And that's only a mild way to describe what he's feeling right now. In fact, he's not sure what he's really feeling, or even what he's supposed to be feeling. He felt a lot shame, that's for sure. Not to mention disgust in more ways than one, that's probably the most prevalent emotion he was feeling. Fear? Of course. There's hardly a day that went by without feeling the slightest hint of it. Anger? Too much to put into words. Guilt? You have no idea.

Even now Morocco's words and promises still echoed in his mind, no matter how much he wanted to block them out. And a deep, twisted part of him found the sweet-spoken offer ever so tempting. An eternity of sin and eternal bliss,

Hungary hadn't mentioned the disgusting thing he was doing with Morocco to anyone, to which Tunisia was eternally grateful for. Hungary also hadn't spoken to him at all ever since they got back here, which Tunisia deeply appreciated, but it also put him on edge. He didn't know her motives for staying silent. He saw the way she glanced at him almost worriedly, but why worriedly? Why hadn't she said anything at all?

Will she bring it up sooner or later?

He still couldn't decide whether Hungary's the best or worst person who could've ever stumbled upon his secret. On hand, it could've been worse. Oh, a lot worse. Tunisia was all too aware her… um… proclivities.

What was she thinking? What did she _think_ of him? Then again, if she suspected him of being a traitor, Tunisia had no doubt she would've already acted on her suspicion and pummel him with her frying pan. He winced at the thought, which didn't help at all with his nerves.

And to make things worse, France's _gone_. Well, not _gone_ gone. Not yet… _maybe_... hopefully. Morocco and the others will probably torture him just for kicks, probably make him wish he dead. And for all Tunisia knew, Morocco probably blamed France for Tunisia's escape with the other, or at least he'll take his anger out on him. And it's all Tunisia fault for being such a damn-

He choked back a sob. No. Crying and blaming himself won't do any good, especially when Algeria's already busy doing just that. The least he could do was try to stay strong for her, she needed the comfort more than he did.

It didn't stop her from fussing over him though.

While Tunisia was dealing with his own conflict and feelings of immeasurable shame and guilt, he's been doing his best to support Algeria. His problems didn't matter, unlike hers did. And he's still a brother. The least he could do was be a good one.

But Algeria... She wanted to be alone right now. Part of Tunisia felt compelled to stay anyway, but he respected her need for privacy. He could perfectly understand.

So... Now he's here, alone sitting on a chair.

"Uh- Hello?"

Tunisia froze solid. No.

"Can I... sit down with you?

Gulping down the growing urge to throw up, Tunisia put on what he desperately hoped was a convincing smile as he tried to calm his trembling. "S-Sure. Go on ahead."

He couldn't really say no to her anyway, could he? She knew something was going on. And knowing how stubborn Hungary was, she'll just pursue him until he spilled what's happening to him even though he didn't _want_ to. Tunisia didn't have a choice this.

Hungary smiled back, though to him it looked tight and anxious. "Thank you."

The Hungarian woman then turned around and sat down right next to Tunisia, who narrowly avoided having a gasp escape his mouth when she did, but not still at a enough respectable distance that it didn't remind him of how his brother violated his personal space.

They spent the next minute or so in a very awkward but suffocating silence, and Tunisia just wanted to die and die and die. Hungary hadn't made any attempt to speak or address the elephant in the room. instead she's fidgeting her fingers while occasionally shooting brief but uneasy glances at Tunisia. Wait. Anxious? Why's she anxious?

Tunisia didn't understand why she's all nervous, even if she did know that the question she probably wanted to ask (like why was he doing something so _disgusting_ ) would tread into controversial territory for someone like him and clash with her own… ideas proclivities.

"So..." Hungary began suddenly, using what was noticeably an attempt to sound light-hearted, complete with the still tight smile on her face. "Um... What's the deal with you and Morocco? What was _that_ all about?"

Huh. She went straight to the point. Tunisia wasn't sure if that's better or not.

He stiffened at the question he's been dreading since they got back. Somehow, it felt even worse than he imagined.

Tunisia started to panic even more than he thought was possible. What should he do? Tunisia hopelessly asked himself this with a whimper. What should he do? Was he supposed to just tell her the whole truth, even about Morocco's 'love' for him? Hungary's probably expecting him to do just that, wasn't she? Just how much had she figured out. What's she planning to do with this information? What if she tells Algeria?

Trying hard not to break, Tunisia barely noticed Hungary frown at him. What? What did he do? Why's she frowning at him? Did he do something?

He flinched when she spoke again, this time in a gentler voice, "I mean, I'm not sure what's really going on in your family. All I know is that Morocco has it out for you and Algeria, or at least that's what I got from what she told everyone else what happened in Paris. But I _am_ sure that _that_ it wasn't what it looked like."

Hungary gave him another smile, probably meant to be a reassuring one, but it wasn't doing anything to help Tunisia at all. What did she know, really? She didn't know how Tunisia was feeling throughout that entire torture.

"I know that we're not… you know, good friends and all. And you probably don't like me all that much. But you're a nice person. I'm sure it wasn't anything... sinister." There was that smile again, and Hungary didn't look like she was forcing it. Tunisia didn't know what to feel. "And because... you know... You two are brothers and Morocco's evil so... that'd be all _sorts_ of wrong. I mean, even _I_ can't stand that kind of stuff. And I'm into some weird stuff!"

For some reason, Hungary then cracked up at that, laughing almost breathlessly at her own words while Tunisia just _stared_ at her. He just couldn't believe her. He didn't get it. What part of all this was so funny? Her 'hobbies' weren't funny.

Thankfully, Hungary suddenly stopped, and she cringed as she rubbed the back of her in embarrassment. "I... I'm sorry, that was horrible wasn't it? I-I really hope it doesn't become a habit…"

Tunisia nodded slowly, quietly muttering an "Uh-huh..."

"I thought so. I'm really sorry; I just wanted to light up the mood. I guess it's not a good time for that right now," Hungary frowned, glancing away for a moment, before she turned to him with a more seriously. "But seriously though. What happened there?"

Tunisia didn't want to answer. He wanted to beg her to please, go away and leave him alone.

"Does Algeria even know?

 _"I-It's not what it looks like!"_ Tunisia finally managed to stutter out in a voice filled with terror while trembling.

Hungary stared at him oddly. "I… I know. That's what I said about a minute ago."

"I'm not a traitor! I didn't enjoy it, I swear! He didn't leave me a choice! I never wanted to be like this!"

"Wh-What are you talking about?"

"I- No, _forget it!"_ Tunisia cried, pulling on his air, and he looked at her pleadingly. "Please, just forget about it! Forget you saw anything!"

"Tunisia-"

He wasn't going to hear any of it. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Tunisia stood up from the bench and stormed off, refusing to look back when Hungary called for him.

/ / / / /

 _"Well, well, I never thought I'd see the day where you'd ask me for this kind of help, Switzerland!"_

 _"And I thought I'd never see the day where the limits of my patience are stretched even further, but here we are. Life is full of surprise. So, will you do it or not?"_

 _"Man, you really need to lighten up, Switzy. But very well."_

 _"Good. Hurry it up-"_

 _"…Hey, wasn't there already a-"_

 _"There is, but you know that they say. Better-"_

 _"Okay then~ it's time to begin. Oh, we're going to be spending a lot of time together…"_

Mauritius's memory was pretty much a blur.

Or maybe it's just 'cause he's tired as hell, but whatever. He felt awful. You know, like that time Seychelles accidentally cooked like this really unhealthy fish and the whole gang ended up vomiting into buckets for days. Even though he didn't want to throw up, some part of him felt disgusted for some reason, or reasons. It's weird. But something told him there's more than one reason for it…

But that wasn't even the worst of his sorry state. Not only did he awful, he felt weak and he's about lost all feeling in his arms and legs. Guess that what'd happen to you if you spent, like, two days (It was two days, right? Unless he heard wrong…) strapped to a damn chair being used as a lab rat and a literal chew toy.

The lapses in his memory was frustrating, to say the least. It was infuriating.

He didn't remember much after Switzerland fed him... Then again, Mauritius didn't remember that much of a lot of his time down there. It didn't sit well with him.

But then eventually… later, somewhere between soonish and later on (god, being stuck in that place really messed up his perception of time), he woke up from his nap to see Seychelles hovering over him.

Since he wasn't THAT out of it anymore, or maybe because he's too used to getting stoned by Comoros whenever he got _too_ close to her sister, or maybe because lately everytime he woke up he was greeted by either a psychopath or Switzerland messing with him, Mauritius might've freaked out and screamed a little. Yep. Just a little.

"AHHH!" Seychelles shrieked and jumped back, ending up hitting the wall behind her. "KELVIN! Don't do that to me!"

"Mi... Michelle?" Mauritius called out in surprise as the jumpiness passed him and he rubbed his head tiredly. Then again, he's a bit too sluggish to remain on guard anyways. "Is that... Wh.. Why... Why did you do that?"

"Oui, of course it's me!" Seychelles huffed a little weakly, failing to look tough from the way she's trembling.

"Mon Dieu. Wh... What the bloody heck were you doing hovering me?" Mauritius asked a little drowsily, trying not to slurr his words.

He'd understand if he wasn't waking up and Seychelles wanted to desperate to wake him up with a magic kiss (because, come on, it's only matter of time before she couldn't resist his exotic good looks any longer). But come on, a guy needed his rest after being mind-fucked for two days.

By the way, was it seriously only two days?

"I was just checking up on you." Seychelles sniffed. "Until... until you scared me half to death!"

"Hey, I'm the one who woke to see you millimeters from my face! I think I'm the one who almost died."

"That's not true!"

"It is!"

"It's not!"

"It is!"

They spent the next few moments staring at each other. With Mauritius giving his best smile despite how god-awful he felt right now, and Seychelles doing her best to imitate Comoros's usual glare, only for it to make her look even more adorable.

Then in the blink of an eye, he suddenly found himself wrapped in a bear hug.

"I've missed you, Kelvin..." Seychelles said with a muffled voice as she cried all over Mauritius's shoulder.

"I've missed you too, Michelle." Mauritius said softly, smiling tiredly, which then morphed into a frown. "Is it really true? You know, that Francis..."

Seychelles hugged him even tighter.

"Hey..." Mauritius said as his fellow nation started to sob. "It's... It's not your fault. Don't listen to Canada. He doesn't know what he's talking about..."

But deep down, he had the urge to strangle that Canadian with his own two hands.

/ / / / /

After somewhat getting his act together and after his headache faded enough, Germany had been able to work up enough energy to get back to work.

He was glad to see that the others weren't doing so bad compared to him. Out of everyone on the rescue team, Algeria was the one who could be considered in good shape, considering she only got scrapes and bruises from Cameroon and Morocco's cobra, and to an extent her brother Tunisia as well, with his only major injury being a large tear on his shoulder which according to Algeria, who explained for her shaken brother, was the result of Morocco cannibalizing him.

As for the rest? Well… they weren't as lucky.

It turned out that Egypt had died from the venom of all the snakebites on his body, the origins of which Germany could inquire later. So that officially put two of their magic casters out of commission (thus leaving only England active and God knows where the hell that idiot could be). And Germany didn't quite remember how long it took to revive from snake venom…

Considering that they had now three nations out of commission plus one exhausted (who they still needed to psychologically evaluate), and there were two permanent corpses in the building, Germany had managed to easily convince everyone to move to another location before everyone could explain what happened on their respective sides, but not before recovering the two girls to later discuss how they'll bury them.

He proposed moving to England's house, the most convenient and comfortable location Germany could think of in the midst of his exhaustion and pain, despite not being able to ask for his permission, which was met with no protests.

Thankfully, Anubis was kind enough to help out with the heavy lifting to prevent humans from spotting them and asking questions. The dog – god, whatever – was also kind enough to bring Ukraine and Moldova over, since they were still away…

Their reactions were exactly as you'd expect.

"Oh my- What happened to all of you?!" Ukraine exclaimed in horror, clasping a hand over her mouth once she saw how banged up they were.

Moldova was frozen, albeit trembling slightly, and after catching a glimpse at the state of his brother's head just before Hungary hastily covered the sight of him. Although he had relaxed when he was informed that his brother will come back.

Their reaction to the rest of the story was... Well, you can probably guess right.

Germany had been more or less forced to lie down shortly by Honduras, Belize and a surprisingly forceful Italy. He had also been ordered to relax, which he had been trying to do... somewhat.

However, it seemed that the day wasn't done with Germany yet.

"Germany-san!" Japan came running into the room, panic all over his face.

Said nation instinctively sat right up, despite the pain it generated in his back. "WHAT? What is it?"

"It's England-san! Some of his agents found him, and he's in... they say he's in horrible condition! I think he might've been attacked!"

 **Yeah, I know that not much happened in this chapter. But I wanted to devote the segments for some much needed characterization and development for Denmark and Canada. There'll be more segments next time. Please review, if you have a minute!**


	78. Justice: Ups and Downs

**Thanks to AquaEclipse, Eternal Nexus Warrior and vexey1999 for reviewing. Now, on with the show!**

Turkey won't deny that he felt really proud right now.

Oh, not just of himself. Although Turkey always felt immense satisfaction at seeing his plans turn out exactly as he had wanted them to. No, no, no. He didn't deserve all the credit, why, he only deserved a small portion of it. All he did was plant the idea and give the others a little push.

The team bonding would never have been so successfully if it weren't for the willingness of the other members to try to continue the conversation and interact with each other, which was exactly what Turkey had been counting on. They were the ones who deserved a big pat on the back! He may have helped bring the group together, but they did most of the work. And he couldn't be happier with the results.

Once again, Turkey's games of friendly well-intentioned manipulation for the greater good were a complete success!

As a bonus, discussing the human race with members he didn't usually talk to was certainly interesting and lots of fun. And Turkey did in fact appreciate hearing the thoughts and opinions of nations not as sick and twisted as him. It's… fascinating

He reflected back on what everyone else said,

Turkey had no real plans for his own humans. He'll just be glad those ignorant, miserable, stubborn, thankless _idiots_ won't be such a nuisance to him anymore or stand in the way of his freedom and personal relationships. They'll just be subtly influenced to accept the Order's plans for them and that'll be that. Once again, Turkey's games of friendly well-intentioned manipulation for the greater good were a complete success!

Sure, maybe he could allow the occasional religious extremist cause a ruckus if he ever got bored and missed the old high of putting those delusional pieces of shit in their place. You know, even though there won't be many Muslims left by the time the war's over, but ideas never die.

But other than that, nothing. If anyone dared disturb his peaceful, fun life, then he'll kill them. If anyone decided to really fuck up his peaceful, fun life then… well, use the damn imagination you humans are so damn proud of.

However, what Norway said about humanity being one of the greatest sources of entertainment struck a chord within him. Could there be other ways Turkey could put his useless humans to good use other than his own bloodthirsty ends?

Did they really have any hope as a species? Heh. It's hard to think about it with a straight face.

/ / / / /

Haiti had _many_ options over who to go to for answers about France's whereabouts. He could literally call anyone for help, since it was just one simple question and he didn't think he'd cause too much trouble, even request the spirits to locate the damn frog. But he wasn't going to be a lazy bum and just randomly call the first nation that popped in his mind.

No, he refused to take any chances or waste any possibly valuable time. He's better than that. He's supposed to be better than that.

For all _he_ knew, France could be minutes away from slipping from his grasp, and by the time Haiti finally called the correct nation and got the information he needed, he could be long gone and back to his damn allies. Ohhh… What a shame that would be. And to top it all off, it'd be his entire fault for being such a lazy ass and not properly thinking things through.

Well, they couldn't have that now, could they? No… No, no, no, noooo… Haiti's no fool. He wasn't blind to their trick.

Yes, yes, _yes_ … That made a lot of sense the more he pondered on that. Yes, yes… Why else would those morons waste so much time trying to stall him and delay the inevitable? They were trying to buy time for France and the others to come back and save them since they're too weak to do anything themselves. And when they came back, Haiti would have no choice but to retreat, because as powerful as he was, he didn't stand a chance against everyone there.

Especially with Egypt and Romania there.

It wasn't a crazy a theory, not to him, at least. It was the truth.

But one thing was bothering him, and he did mean really bothered him. Another mystery. How the hell was France back on his feet so soon after Haiti and the others deliciously tortured with the added satisfaction that the bastard's going have to deal with a cute whittle snake eating him away from the inside after it was over?

Nations' healing factors could be impressive, but this was just ridiculous! And there's no way anyone among those nations were actually that stupid to bring an incapacitated nation recovering from organ damage and loss to somewhere dangerous, especially someone who's so useless and cowardly like France.

Guess that's another thing he'll have to strangle out of him.

So, he had to think through this carefully and intelligently, but at the same time he mustn't devote too much time to this. The clock's ticking after all. Luckily for him, the first step to unraveling this mystery dawned on him fairly quickly.

First, he had to think back to what he'd heard about his fellow members' recent activities, as well as their current objectives, positions and work. See which one of them would be more likely to not only have been discovered by the enemy, but to have a good reason why France would go, especially since beneath all that bravado he's as weak as a rooster.

Second, he'll go crossing off the names of those with the least likelihood of having a reason to be confronted by France. Fortunately, the list wasn't that long. Haiti seriously doubted France would go stop the Nordics' genocidal campaign against their Muslim populations.

...Good Bondye. When was the last time any of those idiots have checked the damn news?

America's obviously off the list. Not because of their recent argument, no. They're both better than that. It's because there's never been any indication that he knew anything about whatever the hell that bastard's up to, not that France would have any real reason to tell the guy(and even Haiti doubted he's that dumb), or that America would probably tell Haiti anyway. He'd probably also _count_ it as France's _reward_.

Ugh.

Anyway - again - After some careful pondering and whatnot, it didn't take long for Haiti to come to the conclusion that if there's anywhere France would gladly go even despite having been recently tortured, it'd be Switzerland... where Mauritius was located and Cameroon and Morocco were keeping an eye on things.

...Seriously, it only took him, like, five minutes to figure it out. It's almost kind of obvious.

'Sigh'… But anyway, once Haiti reached the said conclusion, he went ahead and called Morocco to see if his theory was correct… only to receive no answer.

A little baffled, but not willing to start feeling worried just yet, Haiti instead called Cameroon. No answer.

He then tried calling his big brother Nigeria, even though Haiti wasn't entirely sure if he's actually _at_ Switzerland's house right now. No answer.

His trembling hand began increasing its already tight grip on his phone as he felt a pool of worry well up in his stomach. _No_. He tried South Africa. No answer either.

That was the last straw.

Screw stealth. Screw the risk. Haiti refused to believe that Nigeria and the rest of the Africans were all defeated by those pesky cockroaches. And he knew that there's also the logical sensible explanation that maybe they're just too busy with something to check their phones. But he couldn't stop feeling worried. Haiti was going over there.

What he found wasn't exactly what he expected to find at all.

Haiti materialized outside the house, because while he didn't give a damn about his enemies, he liked to be polite and he would rather not cause a scare just yet. He scanned the area for fellow souls while trying to sense any familiar hidden presence in the vicinity, like the.

Once he decided that there's no else here except for the familiar inside the house, Haiti was allowed to breathe easier. But there were still other questions unanswered. Feeling himself tense, Haiti anxiously fiddled with one of the bandages wrapped over his lower left arm as he tried to keep a calm mind.

He turned back to the door and knocked three times, resolving to teleport inside if he heard no activity after a minute. Luckily,

Switzerland's hair was a bit unkempt, and his clothes were soiled with dirt

"Haiti?" Switzerland's eyes widened, before his face morphed into a hideous scowl. "What the hell are you doing here? Unless it's work, then get the hell out of my property. I don't need another nutcase under my roof."

Haiti raised an eyebrow, but he was hardly bothered at the rude greeting. He's gotten used to Switzerland's weird hatred and disgust for anyone the European saw as a 'nutcase', especially the African Five. Haiti thought it was kind of endearing, honestly.

In fact, if he had been in a much better mood, and not dealing with the chaos in his mind, he would've made a cheerfully sarcastic remark, something to piss Switzerland off. But now wasn't the time for that. He could tease people later.

"Nice to see you too, Switzerland..." Haiti murmured. He decided to get straight to the point. "I don't suppose France or any of the Africans have been or are in your home right now?"

"As a matter of fact, they _are_." Switzerland replied bluntly and grumpily. "What business do you have with them?"

"Oh, thank Mama Brigitte. I need to know…" Haiti trailed off and did a double take. "Wait- What do you mean, 'they'? You mean the Africans? Or…"

Switzerland gave him a scrutinizing stare for a long moment. Haiti's patience was starting to wear thin when Switzerland sighed, "Before I answer, is this about the stupid France thing?"

"Wi." Haiti nodded, though not appreciating how France wasn't giving him any real answers. "But how do you know-"

"And will you be staying here for a painful while too?"

Haiti narrowed his eyes at him in suspicion. "It depends on what's going here, which I'd _really_ appreciate if you'd explain it to me."

"I'll take that as a yes." Switzerland scoffed, not paying Haiti's annoyance any mind, and he gestured for him to come in. "Get in. If I'm going to have to explain the whole story, I might as well do it sitting down and with help."

And the sight waiting in front of him when he entered the living room were the surprised faces of none other than South Africa, Cameroon, Morocco, and… France on the floor?

Haiti was thankful that miraculously his jaw didn't drop from the surprise. He didn't want to look like an idiot in front of them.

"Haiti?" South Africa asked, eyes widening fractionally in surprise.

"Hennrick?" The frog exclaimed, not even looking nearly as horrified as Haiti would've wished.

"Oh. Why, hello again, Haiti." Morocco greeted him with a warm smile, polite as always, and though he appreciated it, the smile looked a little forced in Haiti's opinion. "How have you been lately?"

"I think the most appropriate question should be 'What are you doing here'?" Cameroon stated bluntly, staring blankly but not unkindly at Haiti.

He didn't even know which of... which of everything he was seeing should he react to first. Haiti already had come up with several possible scenarios as to what happened, including what'd be waiting for him when he showed up, he definitely wasn't expecting this. But he managed to feel a wave of relief of seeing them in one piece.

Well… kind of.

Cameroon was in rough shape, but he looked just as focused and reserved as always. There were dark spots- burns on his body and clothes. They sure didn't look like bruises, Haiti thought, but he had a hunch where he could've have gotten them from. They looked too similar to the injuries Haiti would get after having accidents with his magic. But there were what appeared to be bullet wounds on him too, but he wasn't bleeding. South Africa must've help heal him.

Speaking of, South Africa's probably tied with Switzerland for the nation looking the least like crap out of all of them. He was a little dirty, and the only injuries Haiti could tell he had were the same burns Cameroon had. But it didn't seem to bother South Africa all that much.

Morocco didn't look that bad, he's still less okay than South Africa and Morocco. There were several holes in his robes, holes that looked suspiciously like they were from bullets, if the dried blood was any indication. His posture was straight and unflinching, as expected of someone who was very devoted to his prim and polite facade. In his arms being cradled like a baby was his pet Egyptian cobra Abarshane, who looked _dreadful_.

And then there's… Nigeria. And the sight of him was more than enough for Haiti to snap out of his dumb-looking state.

"Nigeria! Wh-What happened to Nigeria? What happened to all of you?" Haiti asked in alarm, thankfully not sounding like he's freaking out. No, he's better than that. He's better than that. He glared right at France writhing on the ground. "And why is _he_ here?"

France had the damn nerve to look at the floor in shame.

"Calm down," South Africa commanded calmly, raising his hands. "Nigeria's gonna be okay. He just took a khopesh to through the chest by Anubis, is all."

"What?" Haiti gawked.

"Well, since the witchdoctor here seems unable to answer a proper question, I think it falls to me to do the work for him," Switzerland remarked flatly. "It seems he's having a childish fit over the France thing too."

Haiti and every other African save Nigeria, glared at Switzerland.

"I'm _not_ having a fit, you…" Haiti snarled, his fingers twitching, before he let it go with a groan. "Ugh. _Look_ , I just wanted find France, and when I tried all of you for information, none of you responded. So, I…"

That drew looks of surprise.

"Oh, you called us?" Morocco asked, blinking as he appeared genuinely surprised, and his expression shifted to one of remorse. "Oh dear, it seems that we were so busy patching ourselves up that we…"

"We left our phones here, put away somewhere the enemy wouldn't find them" Cameroon explained clearly, glancing at Haiti. "Bringing them to a fight would be... impractical."

Haiti sighed in relief. So, he was right on that theory after all. Oh, of course he was right on that. Stupid, stupid Haiti. You should've known better than to think that the Africans would end up being defeated.

"Oh…" Haiti blinked, and he felt very embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well, that explains that. I'm sorry. I should've figured…"

"Nonsense. We apologize for giving you a scare." Morocco smiled apologetically, with Abarshane hissing weakly in his arms.

Haiti suddenly felt his face heat up. "I-I wasn't _scared_. B-But anyway, why is France here?

The other nations shared a look, with Switzerland only shrugging indifferently, before South Africa offered Haiti a smile. "You might want to sit down for this. It's quite an exciting tale!"

/ / / / /

Forgive her if she sounded selfish, but Singapore didn't think she was in a state to deal with... _any_ of this right now.

And please believe her, she had been trying to properly wrap her around everything that's happened to them without going insane, but of all the times that something troubling had to happen, it just _had_ to be in the middle of the night.

The recent revelations, coupled with her sleepiness over being waken up late at night, was not doing Singapore's stress any favors. It was miracle enough that she had managed to fall asleep given how she spend the earlier day being held hostage before being thrown in a prison and then left to cope with all that transpired and was revealed.

She's not angry at Indonesia for this, of course. The both of them and East Timor were all going through this together, and if they wanted to remain sane (and likely unhurt), they needed to be there for each other. Singapore will even admit that she'd probably have had a nervous breakdown already if it was just her in a cell, all alone.

Besides, it was against Indonesia's will that she got dragged into this whole new discovery about South Vietnam, and Singapore _hardly_ blamed her for being upset about it.

South Vietnam... Oh, she didn't even know where to start on that one. First off, he's alive now. And through some complicated magical cockamamie method to boot! What in the actual hel- heck? And it also appeared that he had gained a murderous near irrational hatred for his sister, to the point that it nearly sounded that he was on the verge on flying into a fit of rage when it seemed Indonesia was 'siding' with her for a brief moment.

Also, did Singapore forget to mention that he apparently wants to start a new civil war, or perhaps to be more specific, basically do a re-enactment of the Vietnam war. Yes, with Agent Orange, the bombs, the carnage and everything. With the only differences being that it's won't be about capitalism and communism, North Vietnam will be the only one suffering from the destruction, and it'll be South Vietnam who'll be the victor in the end.

And Vietnam – North Vietnam – will be left with nothing. Just like her brother was.

But… That's just _impossible_. An ex-nation can't just waltz into their former territory and cause a civil war just because they – not the people – want it, can they? N-No! That's not how it worked. S-South Vietnam and whoever else allied with him had to be aware. And their enemies didn't seem the type of people to miss such a simple detail.

Yet from everything Indonesia told them, it sounded like South Vietnam was confident in his victory. Well- How many allies could he possibly have to give him such confidence?

Oh, what a mess…

"You can't blame yourself for this, Kirana." Singapore hopelessly tried to convince the nation currently sinking into despair on her bed.

"I can and I will! It's my fault and you know it!" Indonesia snapped back at her, struggling to keep a glare while trying not to burst into tears again. Her eyes were still puffy from doing so. "I messed up with Chinh and I made him angry and- and- now he's going to Vietnam to start a war and-"

Even now, Singapore wasn't quite sure if she could believe this– the South Vietnam being alive all long thing. But like she said before, she knew Indonesia wouldn't lie whenever it came to South Vietnam, or even go tell them that he's alive and thanks to magic of all things if she wasn't completely sure of it. No, not South Vietnam.

However, Singapore knew that whatever stress and anguish she's feeling obviously paled in comparison to the grief Indonesia was going through.

Oh, of course Singapore knew about... 'ahem', the so-called _secret_. She wasn't an idiot. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone in Southeast Asia who didn't know about it (or too stupid to not at least notice the _signs_ ), except... for perhaps North Vietnam herself.

And now… it appeared that South Vietnam was on his way to start the war. And as if that wasn't enough, Philippines, the accursed traitor, showed up to rub to not only to announced just that, but he rubbed in in their faces just before he grabbed Malaysia and literally disappeared into smoke. At that point, Singapore was too shocked to even _ask_ how he did that.

And now, according to Indonesia's ever-infallible logic, it's all _her_ fault.

"Oh, for the love of- It's hardly your fault for being understandably upset at South Vietnam's insane plan!" Singapore threw her hands up out of frustration of what she was hearing. "If it were me, I'd be upset too. And if anyone's stupid, it's South Vietnam for thinking you might've been okay with this!"

"I'm not saying that I shouldn't have gotten upset. I still don't like this whole idea about a second Vietnam War any more than any of us do!" Indonesia protested, sounding almost offended. "But I still should've handled it better! If I'd known that he'd be flying off to Vietnam, then... then I wouldn't have..."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think the conversation ending well would've changed anything to begin with!" Singapore balked, determined to get through to Indonesia even if she had to be harsh with her. "He still would've gone through with his crazy-idiotic war plan even if you hadn't objected to it and had a falling out with him!"

Somehow, Indonesia began to look even more pained. "I-I know, but it would've at least bought Lien some time to maybe- find out what's happening."

"Time? How? For all we know, we're the only ones in the whole world who knows about this- this whole conspiracy going on under our noses."

"And for all we know, there could be people who are getting close to finding out what's going on!"

Singapore suddenly found Tibet standing between them before she could open her mouth to deliver another retort, with the monk's back to Singapore as he looked at Indonesia with what was no doubt a grim expression.

"Stop it, two," Tibet commanded, ever-calm and peaceful despite his tired and injured state, as he glanced back and forth between the two female nations pleadingly. "Please, just stop it."

"Tibet-"

"Arguing over this will achieve nothing. It won't change anything," Tibet stated with an uncharacteristic harshness to his tone. "And can't you see you're upsetting East Timor?"

Singapore was admittedly, to her later shame as she prided herself over being reserved and controlled, tired and irate enough that she was about to yell at him for getting himself involved in their discussion, but the mention of East Timor made her whip her head towards where she was.

East Timor, little East Timor who was still only a child in spite of all she's been through, was on her own bed curled up in a quivering ball with her small hands covering her ears while Laos awkwardly tried to comfort her.

Almost instantly, Singapore was hit with a pang of horror and guilt. Dam- _Curses_. East Timor, did she really hear- Oh, of course she did. Singapore couldn't believe she forgot that East Timor was in the room.

Indonesia was just as ashamed of her actions, and now looked even more heartbroken. After murmuring some words in shock that Singapore couldn't quite catch, she quickly rushed over to East Timor's side and started apologizing.

"P-Please stop yelling…" East Timor whimpered in such a fearful way that Singapore felt even more of a buffoon. "No more…"

"I-I'm so sorry, Tina. I didn't… think- Oh, I'm not going to make any excuses for myself." Indonesia shook her head, and she as she squeezed East Timor's little hands. "Please don't cry, I don't think I can…"

East Timor's trembling didn't cease, but she wasn't crying as much anymore.

"I admit, I still am trying to wrap my head around everything you've told me, and I do not completely understand it," Tibet said in a softer manner, but still with strictness. "But I do know this is hardly the time to turn against each other."

It actually irritated Singapore how right Tibet was. A lot of things were irritating her.

"I'm sorry," Indonesia suddenly said to Singapore with her eyes on her slippers.

"Hm," Singapore said nothing, before a look from Tibet made her feel ashamed enough to swallow her pride, "I'm… sorry, too. I think I really need to sleep."

Tibet nodded approvingly at her.

Singapore felt ashamed for thinking this, because she wouldn't wish their situation on anyone, but she's actually glad Tibet was with them.

Tibet and Laos had recently told them their own respective tales of how they got the scare of the century before being thrown into this place. Tibet was going about his everyday business when he was suddenly ambushed by _Mongolia_ and _Hong_ _Kong_ , and the rest was obvious. They left him quite a bloody pulp from what Tibet told them. Laos's story was very similar. He was preparing for a meeting with Vietnam in home when he was attacked by North Korea of all people, who also left him bruised and battered.

In fact, they were still recovering. Not surprising, even healing factors had their limits. Along with several dark bruises on different parts of his body, Tibet had bandages wrapped around his limbs with his broken right arm in a cast. While Laos seemed to be recovering from mild to severe lacerations all over his body and even a few stab wounds to the stomach. Singapore was content with giving the details that way.

They were patched up by their captors as soon as they arrived, they said. How nice of them.

Anyway, Singapore will admit that the little detail regarding the business with Vietnam provided some small sliver of hope in her that the other nation will start to notice something's wrong. And surely their bosses will be launching an investigation sooner or later. But it's too soon to start hoping that things will magically resolve themselves.

But someone was bound to come rescue them sooner or later, right? There's no way they could be kept prisoner forever… right?

"Um…" Laos shuffled his feet uneasily. "Now what? Does this mean we can go back to sleep now? And with no surprises this time?"

"Judging from how irate we're all feeling," Tibet began as he glanced at each of them. "I think it'd indeed be best if we saved any and all discussions for tomorrow."

Not even Indonesia argued with him there.

/ / / / /

It took a painful while that almost felt like centuries, but they finally found a clinic not long after leaving the southern region where they could help patch up Vietnam.

Thailand let out a big sigh that couldn't even begin to describe his relief as he sat down on one of the chairs in the waiting room next to an equally concerned South Korea, covering his face with his hands. Thank goodness they did find this place when they did. Any longer and the wounds would have started to get infected.

And even more thankfully, the humans here weren't hostile in any way and immediately rushed to tend to Vietnam with great efficiency when they saw her. Perhaps they sensed she was their nation. So there were no more frightening surprises and Thailand could finally rest easy.

Oddly, they didn't encounter more angry mobs shouting and screaming curses at them after getting away. Although, if Thailand would be honest, he couldn't help but feel a strange feeling of hostility unwelcomeness from some of the humans they passed during the trip. Somehow, he suspected that the anger wasn't directed either him or South Korea…

He hadn't stopped thinking about what the mob had been screaming at them – or perhaps more specifically Vietnam, since they only seemed focused on her – about the insults that all coincidentally had once been said by one Thailand fondly called - knew as - his beloved. The familiar curses haunted him, even brought up some old feelings that he had long tried to keep buried back to the surface.

Thailand wasn't even sure why he so quickly thought of South Vietnam when he recognized the insults. But the chosen words just seemed so nonsensical and random, not unlike the ambush itself, that it was the only connection he could form.

Unless there was actually a purely logical and sensible explanation for all that that Thailand just happened to miss in the midst of his panic and worry...

Or... Perhaps... was this really all just his imagination running wild as a result of having visited the gravestone and past memories. Was he so desperate to find any trace of South Vietnam, tangible or not, that he started to wonder if maybe from beyond the grave...

No, that's impossible. Thailand went through great lengths to ensure South Vietnam would rest and peace and provide protection for him so that his anger wouldn't keep him tied to this world as an evil spirit, he even invited a monk to chant prayers at the funeral. There was no possible way for that to be possible. South Vietnam was

No matter how many times Thailand might pray for him to come back to him, that's how it was and that's how it'll always be.

Then... What could this mean?

Oh, look at him. Here he was, spending a good portion of his time being concerned about the angry mob who just happened to remind him of South Vietnam instead of the other living Vietnam currently lying on a bed with bandages wrapped around her head. Thailand really needed to sort out his priorities.

Even though the mystery regarding the mob also something more than worth worrying about. Because he definitely hadn't recalled any public dissent going on in Vietnam other than the protests about China, especially ones that involved anger towards the communist party.

Was it just an unfortunate, random occurrence? Or was there really something going on that Thailand wasn't aware of?

Not liking how helpless he felt, a feeling he hated with a passion, Thailand decided that he needed to discuss this with someone. So, he looked to his left where South Korea was seated in a nearby chair. He'd been unusually quiet ever since the ambush, but even South Korea knew better than to joke around at a time like this.

South Korea was frowning, yet he was staring off at nothing, maybe in deep thought. It was understandable, given that Thailand was pretty much doing the same a minute ago, but there was something about it that worried him. He just looked so… distant.

It was just the two of them in the room, conveniently allowing Thailand to freely converse with South Korea. And so he didn't hesitate when he understood that something was wrong.

"South Korea?"

The younger nation almost jumped, snapping out of his thoughts as his head towards Thailand, looking quite shaken. "Y-Yes?"

"Are you all right?" Thailand asked worriedly.

"Oh… I was just trying to re…" South Korea trailed off, his face scrunching up in confusion for a moment, before frowning and continuing "I'm worried about Lien… da-ze… And I don't get what's going on, da-ze… even though problem solving originated in…"

Trailing off, South Korea gazed downcast as his shoes, not even having the energy to finish his usual outlandish claims.

Pushing aside his confusion at South Korea's first words, Thailand sighed. Wringing his hands, he spoke softly. "I'm worried about her too, Yong-Soo. But she'll be fine. It shouldn't be long before she's back on her feet."

"Yeah…" South Korea said distantly, briefly staring off into space again "But I don't understand what happened, Thailand. Why did those humans attack us like that?"

"I have no idea," Thailand admitted somberly, feeling a bitter taste in his mouth over how helpless he felt. He really didn't know.

South Korea lowered his head, saying nothing.

Thailand stared at him. "Although, the only thing I am sure of is that we weren't the ones they had their attention. They only tried – did – hurt Lien, not us for some reason."

South Korea's hands fisted "But we don't what that reason is, right, da-ze?"

"Unfortunately, we don't." Thailand once again admitted with pain, but he tried to keep a positive attitude, as hard as it was for him. He tried to smile, despite it becoming increasingly difficult for him to do so these days. "But we can ask Lien about it when she wakes up."

"Yeah… I guess…"

After that, South Korea seemed to drift away in his thoughts again. Thailand couldn't help but do the same.

/ / / / /

When Portugal came to, the first thing that greeted him was a pounding headache and a nasty feeling of nausea.

"Ugh…"

Groaning, he slowly opened his heavy eyelids while trying to stave off the dizziness, and he drowsily noted his surroundings. It was dark, not very lit. He couldn't really tell It wasn't a place that Portugal recognized, it wasn't the room Brazil shoved him into, that's for certain.

Wait.

Once the realization of his surroundings and predicament finally sank in, Portugal was immediately struck with panic and looked around him frantically. W-Wait. What's this place? Where… Where was he taken to this time? The last thing he remembered before… before he blacked out… was… What happened, again? He couldn't…

No, he didn't just simply black out. Brazil knocked him out, Portugal realized, remembering how his former colony suddenly started throwing a fit of rage and took it out on him for no clear reason. Portugal's confident that whatever riled Brazil up so much, he wasn't the cause for it. But the point was, Brazil… Brazil must've dragged him away. But to where? What kind of 'love' will Brazil express to him this time?

And... Portugal gulped took a look around him again. He didn't see Brazil anywhere.

Portugal felt the urge to flee return, but he only just noticed that he couldn't move his arms or legs. With dread, he looked down at himself, and just as he feared, he found his arms and legs tied up with rope.

He was trapped.

"Oh… Would you look at that? You're finally awake."

Portugal froze, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "Xavier?"

"Who else?" Suddenly, Brazil materialized in front of him, wearing a blank expression as he coldly stared down at a nervous Portugal. How long had he been standing there?

"Xavier, what are you doing?" Portugal demanded, refusing to let fear take hold of him in front of Brazil. "Where are we? What are you planning?"

"We're somewhere where they won't be able to find you," Brazil explained simply as if it were an obvious fact, tilting his head as he stepped towards a helpless Portugal, who feel. "I won't let them. They… are _never_ going to take you away from me again, _papai_."

There was unsettling glint in Brazil's eyes and he's staring at the other nation in a way that the latter couldn't really describe. Portugal thought it almost resembled something akin to twisted adoration, but no, that didn't seem right. It just didn't. Hatred? Well, it fit Brazil's nonsensical feelings for him, didn't it? Or could it be fear? But what the hell would this monster be afraid of?

A part of him felt that Brazil wasn't even looking at _him_.

"As for what I'm planning, well, I don't like giving spoilers," A feral smile abruptly appeared on Brazil's face. "But for now, _this_ is where we'll be spending our time together."

"Wh-Wh- What are you talking about? Why here?" Portugal asked shakily, not liking how Brazil seemed to be staring through his soul. "And who's they? Are you saying that-"

"NO!" Brazil screamed hysterically, and without warning he lunged towards a startled Portugal and grasped the collar of his shirt with a snarl. "Don't you dare think about it, _irmão_. You will not escape. You will never escape. You will never even _think_ that one day you'll escape. Do any of that, and I'll get very, very angry with you."

Portugal swallowed, wanting nothing more than to get away from the crazy boy. But he mustered enough courage to glare at his former colony, despite the nervous cold sweat trailing down from his neck and forehead. He was scared. Frankly, he's a little terrified, but he had to something, anything to show, to prove that he wasn't going to just cower and become subservient to him.

Then Brazil did the last thing Portugal expected him to do: A smile spread across his face, and he _laughed_.

"Ah, I like that look on your face!" Brazil praised, grinning with disturbing glee. "Sim, I _knew_ I was right in thinking _he_ can return through _you_. I was right. I was _right_. This is one of the reasons why I love you so much, Portugal. You never cower or grovel."

Portugal had no idea what the hell Brazil was rambling about, but frankly, he doubted he'll understand the answers any better. Brazil's logic and goals made no amount of real sense, and he had mostly been resigned to just reluctantly doing what his former colony with as much resistance as he could without being threatened for it.

"I know. You must feel powerful, not giving in to your tormenter, right?" Brazil remarked in an eerily soft voice that completely betrayed the smirk on his face. "This reversal of roles- It feels so nice knowing how the one felt in other's shoes, don't you think?"

Portugal didn't bother responded to that. Instead, he asked bitterly, "What are you going to do with me now?"

Surprisingly, Brazil's smile became a lot more-lighthearted with that question. "I told you, Portugal! This is where we'll be spending our time together."

"Except you have me tied up to a chair in a dark room," Portugal couldn't help but bitterly remark.

"Ah, well, that's only for precaution. You know, better safe than sorry!" Brazil laughed merrily, but Portugal wasn't amused. "Oh, don't worry, you'll still have your moments of freedom."

"Like _when?_ "

"I dunno. Like when I'll want us to hang out somewhere less dark or something," Brazil said almost uncaringly, grinning from ear to ear. "And if you want to go to the bathroom, just let me know and we'll go together!"

Portugal chocked, "T-Together?!"

"That's what I said. Together." Brazil affirmed before that damn smirk of his returned to mock Portugal. "Oh, come on, Portugal. Do you really think I'm stupid enough to risk making _that_ mistake? You wound me, _irmão_."

This only made Portugal angrier. "Will I ever have any privacy? Any at all?"

"Oh… It looks like you've forgotten I've told you, and what your role is." Brazil spoke quietly, and before Portugal knew it, he found his little brother only inches from his face with a carnivorous smile. " _I_ am the master here. You don't get to demand that you're given what you want. I'm the one who decides how much freedom you have, how much food you eat, and what you're allowed to do."

Wincing, Portugal _desperately_ wanted to get away. He wanted _desperately_ to free himself and _strangle_ Brazil for what he'd done. But it was true, wasn't it? Brazil's the one in control here. He could decide to leave Portugal to starve to death as many times as he wanted or to tear him apart as the South Americans did to Spain.

Whether he liked it or not, that was the reality of his situation.

He had no choice, but to endure it until a miracle happens. Since Brazil won't let him die, it's the only thing he could so. So, he gritted his teeth and said nothing to Brazil, refusing to even look at him in the eye.

"But don't worry, _irmão_." Brazil's voice became soft again, and his smile became more innocent again. "I promise that we'll have a wonderful time together. And in end, you'll love me as much I love you. You can trust me on that."

Portugal highly doubted it.

/ / / / /

Somehow, Nambia wasn't the slightest bit surprised to see that the bastard who scared them was the old man himself.

"Khoisan?!"

"Khoisan?"

"KHOISAN!"

"Khoisan!"

"K-Khoisan?!" Namibia exclaimed, nearly sounding hysterical as she clung tightly to Botswana. "Y-You- You're here?! Where the hell have you been?!

The old man had the bloody nerve to smile at them like nothing happened, as if he didn't just vanish without a trace. And Namibia thought that she'd smack him if he wasn't old and skinny and not someone she long thought dead. But he at least had the decency to look a little apologetic for nearly scaring the piss out of them.

And maybe, if she wasn't so pissed off, she'd give him a hug because for a moment Namibia was really worried that Khoisan abandoned them here or that something terrible happened to him. Maybe. Probably not.

"Ah, I apologize for scaring you yet again-"

"Damn right, you're sorry! Haven't you given us enough scares for today?!" Namibia snapped at him, shaking her fist.

"Namibia!" Botswana whispered disapprovingly.

But Khoisan only chuckled and waved his hand, "No, no. She has every right to be angry. I'm really sorry to have scared you all like that, as well as how confused you all must've been when you woke up. But it was the best I managed to do."

"I can't believe you're back," Angola sighed in relief, "I was actually starting to think that you've abandoned us or worse."

Khoisan shook his head, looking appalled at the idea. "Leaving you _here_? In _South Africa_ , all by yourselves? Of course not. And I've told you before, haven't I? Don't worry about me. I actually have more of a chance of surviving than all of you combined!"

Namibia wanted to groan. How was that supposed to help them feel any better?

"How reassuring…" Zimbabwe muttered, now standing up with Mozambique's help. "Did you come back just to tell us we're likely going to die?"

"Yeah. Where _were_ you?" Mozambique asked, tilting her head in confusion. "You, like, completely disappeared!"

"More importantly, what exactly happened to us that made you teleport us away to… to here?" Angola demanded, waving her arms around at their surroundings.

Namibia turned to stare expectantly at Khoisan. Yeah, she'd really appreciate an explanation for- for- whatever that was about. She's not coming any closer to figuting it out and no memories were spontaneously coming back to her.

The smile on Khoisan's face suddenly vanished, and his expression darkened, "I was busy dealing with the ones responsible for our little accident. But I managed to convince them to leave us alone… for now."

The five Africans shared a look, and they turned to Khoisan uneasily. Angola was the one who broke the silence. "What do you mean?"

"Oh- That's right. You don't know, or at least you didn't see all of it." Khoisan looked away for a brief moment, and when he looked at them again, he was scowling. "What I mean to say is, we were indeed attacked, but I managed to drive the attackers off."

Namibia's eyes widened. Attackers? Wha- So, it wasn't an accident. Well, of course it seemed too weird and suspicious to be an accident, but…

"So it was an attack after all…" Botswana murmured to himself, eyes wide.

"But who attacked us, Khoisan?" Angola asked him perplexedly, folding her arms over her chest. "I didn't see- I mean, I don't remember seeing anyone ambushing us."

Khoisan almost looked disgusted as he stared at the sky for some reason. "Oh, shouldn't it be obvious, Angola? The culprits behind the attack weren't humans or. Surely, you've realized that the events leading up to your lapse to unconsciousness were… strange."

"You mean… how the sky got all dark and cloudy?"

"What about the screeching?"

"How most of us remember a flash of lightning before we woke up here?"

"Exactly." Khoisan nodded, with hands behind his back as he looked up at the sky again. "We were ambushed by none other than the _impundulu_."

Needless to say, that wasn't an answer any of them were expecting. Namibia felt her jaw drop, and the others had a similar reaction. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Se… Seriously?

"I-I'm sorry, what? Did you just say the impundulu?" Namibia sputtered, wanting to be sure that she heard right. "Those lightning bird creatures from the Zulu and Xhosa folklore? That's what attacked us?"

"We were attacked by fictional creatures?" Angola questioned, sounding as baffled as Namibia was.

"Well, it does explain how it got so cloudy all of a sudden." Mozambique pointed out.

"And the lightning," Zimbabwe said.

"Yes, it's all the _impundulu's_ doing," Khoisan nodded grimly, saying the word like it's one of the worst things he's ever seen. "They were acting on South Africa's orders."

"Wait. Chris sent them after us?!" Botswana exclaimed in horror. "But- But why?"

Because he's a jerk, although that'd probably be an understatement.

"Probably a warning, or maybe he was bored. Sometimes it's hard to tell with that boy." Khoisan shook his head, frowning. "Please, don't think much of it. What matters is that everyone is alright and mostly unharmed."

So for all they knew, South Africa nearly scorched them alive just for kicks. Nice.

"You mean… the tokoloshe, the inkanyamba, the impundulu– they're all real?" Zimbabwe asked in what sounded like awe, a weird sparkle in his eyes.

Namibia's eye twitched. Angola also glared at him in disapproval. She wanted to pinch his ear and remind him that one of those creatures tried to kill him. But thankfully, Khoisan did the work for her.

"Yes, all the folklore creatures are real. Real and very dangerous," Khoisan told him pointedly "Most prominently in the fact that they are loyal to South Africa, and they won't hesitate to hurt you in any way should he desire it."

"I don't see why it's such a big surprise," Botswana said innocently, "I can use magic. I mean, not much, but it's still magic. Why is that unbelievable?"

"Astral projection's one thing, Sammy." Mozambique said with an amused smile, with Namibia enviously noting that she's taking this a lot better than she was. "A big snake or a giant man-eating lightning bird is another."

"How did you chase them away then?" Namibia asked Khoisan anxiously. "Are they gone now?"

Khoisan scowled again at the question. "I didn't. I'm not strong enough to defeat several impunduly. Instead, I made a deal with them."

"A deal? What do you mean?"

Khoisan grumbled something, it almost sounded like a language Namibia was familiar with. "In exchange for never attacking us unless due to a deliberate provocation or if they interpret our actions to be against South Africa's desires, a few of the impundulu will be keeping a watchful eye on us."

Almost as if on cue, Namibia winced when she heard a familiar screeching in the distance, and she snapped her up to look at the sky where lo and behold, where three birds circling above them. And call her crazy, but they a little… off.

She could hear Botswana gulp, "A-Are those…?"

"Yes. The impundulu." Khoisan glared hatefully at the birds. "Don't worry, it was agreed they will not harm you. And if they break their promise, then, I promise I'll do everything I can to protect you all."

As reassuring as that was, Namibia couldn't help but feel nervous. Not that she'll ever admit it.

"Come," Khoisan spoke up, starting to walk away to a certain direction. "The settlement should be nearby. You'll be much safer there than here."

No one objected or even spoke. It's not like they had any other choice. And Namibia would much rather go with Khoisan than to wander around the South Africa wild and stay where the birds could easily swoop in and kill her.

The silence was broken once again by Angola. "Wait! Khoisan, I have a question. What happened to my car?"

"Your car?" Khoisan questioned, blinking, before he looked at her apologetically. "Ah, that's right. I'm afraid the _impundulu_ set it aflame and torn it to shreds."

 _"WHAT?!"_

/ / / / /

"Welp, there it is…" America announced rather unnecessarily as he exhaled a breath, looking over the 'city'. "Tskhinvali, capital of South Ossetia."

Georgia wasn't impressed then, and she wasn't impressed now.

This place was a sorry excuse for a capital, she hissed in her mind. Why South Ossetia decided that Tskhinvali would be the perfect town for his capital, Georgia will never understand. Then again, it's not like the other towns are that much better either. _Everything_ about this breakaway state _screamed_ desperation, delusion and an inflated sense of ego.

Every one of which were MAJOR personality traits of South Ossetia.

And that's not even getting into the sorry state of the 'capital' since the Russo-Georgian War ('Damn him and damn those two traitors' she wanted to scream at the sky). The economy here was clearly struggling, not helping by their stupid stubborn insistence on becoming 'independent' from her. The health system was so poor that Georgia even felt a little bad for the humans here. And the place hardly looked that recovered since the shelling, and a lot was damaged when that occurred.

It's no vacation spot either. Even in _better_ times corruption, violent banditry, and general lawlessness have made this dump an unappealing place to visit, much less for a vacation. At least Sukhumi was warm with foreigners and a _lot_ better to look at.

Razing this place to the ground won't be a sad loss. They'd be doing the world a favor by getting rid of such a waste of space.

"Okay, let's go over the plan again one more time." America sighed, clapping his hands together as he waved for everyone to come over. "Once we go deep enough into the city, we'll begin our assault. This will serve for two purposes. One, it'll throw the whole capital off-guard and plunge into fear, chaos and confusion. And two, the destruction's guaranteed incapacitate South Ossetia with pain and prevent him from escaping his house."

Georgia listened intently and nodded. It made sense. South Ossetia's intensely patriotic, and a lot more stubborn and headstrong than Abkhazia. He won't hesitate to jump to the fray. If they wanted to weaken him and keep him in one place, they needed to hit this town hard. Hopefully America's right in that just the six of them could pull that off.

"Then we'll be splitting up again into two mini groups." America continued after a moment and eyed each of them, as if checking if anyone had a problem with that plan. "One's going after the president and the rest of the government while the other will keep up the chaos and capture South Ossetia."

"Am I going to be part of that first team?" Georgia asked eagerly, although she mentally kicked herself for interrupting. America should already know that she wanted that, shouldn't he?

America nodded with a small smile, proving Georgia right. "Yep. I already figured you'd want to go for those guys' heads. And North Korea and Iceland here will be helping you."

Iceland only nodded, not looking at all surprised at being assigned with Georgia, and thankfully seemed okay with it. North Korea, on the other hand, was less than happy. It almost looked like he was hurt, but then again, it's not like Georgia or anyone else ever knew much about North Korea's emotional range. North Korea opened his mouth, probably to object, but he shut it just as quickly and looked away.

Georgia blinked twice, wondering if she should feel offended that North Korea seemingly didn't want to work alongside her. Oh, come on. Was this about the hug?

" _I'll_ be working with the 'destroy then search' team." America explained simply, and he sent an apologetic look at North Korea. "I'm plenty good as assassination, but considering my firearms and super-strength I think I'll be more useful with creating mass carnage."

Oh, yeah, she forgot about America's strength. Georgia. The mental image of America lifting a building with his own two hands or using a human as a club to swat other humans, while it should've been satisfying, honestly made Georgia pale.

She's never really heard of any stories of America ever going completely berserk with his impossible super-strength, not even during the Cold War. Georgia briefly wondered if that was also part of the act, but she pushed that thought aside. And what's more, according to a story she once heard from Estonia, America could bench-press a _cruise ship_. Georgia wasn't sure if she's ready to see just how strong America really was.

"I assume that I will be part of the 'destroy then search' team too?" Denmark asked blankly, as if he knew the answer already.

"Yep." America affirmed, giving the Nordic a smirk. "Wouldn't want to still be a little rusty when the real war begins, right?"

Denmark grumbled something about not being rusty, but otherwise made no comment. America then turned his attention to Ireland and

"Uncle Patrick, I know you're... you know, _new_ and all, but I'm gonna have to ask you to work on the destroy team," America told the Irishman reluctantly, looking like he's trying his best to not look uncomfortable. Georgia smiled at this; it's really sweet how considerate America was. "Your magic, without anything or anyone holding you back, can easily create

"Aw. You're sweet, Allie, and I love that about you, but don't worry about it." Ireland made a Cheshire Cat-like grin. "I'm fine with it."

America raised an eyebrow, but he seemed to accept it, if not reluctantly. "If you say so, dude."

Ireland stuck his tongue out. "Come on, Allie! I told you, I know what I'm getting myself into. And it's not like I have any reason to give a feck about the humans here."

Georgia smiled nodded fervently in agreement. Yeah, that's right! No use feeling bad about punishing these traitors for their crimes. What'll happen now will be their own fault for siding with that Russian home breaker.

"It's all good, Al. Really!" Ireland casually waved it off, before sending a grin towards Georgia. "Besides, I'm all for supporting this lass's cause in any way I can. About time us smaller nations can make a real difference, I'd say..."

Georgia grinned back. She's really starting to have more of an appreciation for Ireland.

America finally smiled at Ireland, now appearing to be convinced, and he clapped his hands. "Well, okay then, I think that's all for the plan. Remember to meet up back at the van when you're done with your respective objectives. We're not going to stay here more than we need to, got it?"

"Great. Let's move out, people!

/ / / / /

Ah, Sukhumi... former famous beach resort for communists but still a famous tourist spot for Russians and anyone else who couldn't afford going to much better places like French Polynesia, Bora Bora, anywhere in Indonesia, or Disney World thanks to the beneficial policies of communism! A place filled with surprisingly warm locals, nice botanical gardens, old buildings, and more...

…As well as future mass grave, crater, and soon-to-be physical proof of the Order's might.

Turkey observed all the sights around and below him with an amused smile as he waited with Bulgaria standing close by his side as always, who was staring disgustedly at the city as if he was actually looking at a nest of maggots. He chuckled. Turkey rather liked that look on his face, it made his lover look even cuter.

He already knew what Bulgaria's big issue with this place was. Turkey needn't ask, he knew the other nation, and could read him like an open book. It wasn't just the humans that were pissed him off, there were also Russians here. It's still a pretty cool vacation spot for those people, what, with Abkhazia being Russia's bitch and all.

Finally, _finally_ Turkey will get to release all the pent-up bloodlust he's been keeping cooped up inside of him for the whole trip. Syria wasn't enough. Vatican City wasn't enough. Egypt wasn't enough. He needed a real bloody tragedy to finally start feeling a little satisfied after years of holding back.

No more being remembered as 'the sick man of Europe', Turkey will carve out a legacy that'll haunt even the future generations of the lands that once mocked him.

"Dimitri, my dearest one, picture this!" Turkey smirked as he snaked an arm around Bulgaria's waist and pulled him close, causing a delighted squeal from the cutie. He stretched out his hand towards the scenery. "You and me, on a romantic stroll on the beach of Sukhumi with the carcasses of hideous half-naked humans lying all around us, dying the sand and sea red with their blood and spilled guts! What do you think?"

Turkey had always imagined Bulgaria and himself in these kinds of scenarios. You know, a gruesome, horrifying sight and event going on all over some sad place, and right in the middle of it, would be him and Bulgaria dancing over corpses.

It'd be such a twisted and loathsome sight. One Turkey was itching to see become reality.

Bulgaria gasped, and he smiled adoringly at Turkey. "Oh, my beloved, that sounds wonderful! Wonderful!

"This isn't a field trip for your amusement, Turkey," Sweden ever so cheerfully reminded him in a voice just _filled_ with strong _emotion_. "We're free to destroy this place through any means necessary, but don't forget who we're after."

"Man, you really love sucking the fun out of everything, Sweden." Turkey sighed disappointedly, removing his arm from Bulgaria despite his lover's dejection. "You really need to spend less time with Finny here,"

Finland growled at him. "What's that supposed to mean? And I told you, don't call me-"

"Oh, relax," Turkey snorted, waving his hand dismissively. And with a sly grin, he spread out his arms. "You know I'm not stupid. I know what we're here for, and it's just as much of a top priority for me. I _truly_ want to help Bedisa finally wrap up this drama once and for all. I want to do this as proof."

Sweden, of course, had _no_ emotional reaction to Turkey's genuine well-meaning motivations and merely grunted with a nod. "Good to hear. Just needed to be sure, we can't lose sight of our goal."

"Of course. America wouldn't have trusted me enough to invite me into this if he thought I wouldn't be good for the job, right?

"But of course America asked for your help, darling!" Bulgaria exclaimed, obviously offended at the implication that America wouldn't want Turkey's help. "He knows what a true genius you really are. How wonderful you are at wiping those damn humans from the surface of the earth. You're so strong, clever and beautifully destructive. And- And…"

Iran sighed and pinched Bulgaria's neck. "Bulgaria, what have we told you about showing fervent reverence out in public, again?"

Bulgaria squeaked in delight at the pain, and he laughed sheepishly at himself. "Hee-hee… Sorry?"

"Well, I for one am also looking forward for delicious ultraviolence, as well as testing out new spells!" Norway cheerfully commented with a beaming grin. "I haven't been able to deal with the vermin in my country for as long as Sweden and the others did, so I'd say this is a splendid opportunity for lots of fun."

Turkey smirked at the support, and gestured toward Norway, "See? He gets it."

"Ja. Besides, there's nothing wrong with having fun on the job. After all, we do need to hit hard on this city in order to prevent our little target from escaping." "Breakaway states can be so stubborn."

"I agree," Iran piped up, staring off into the distance contemplatively. "He may be less stubborn than South Ossetia, but that doesn't mean we should go easier on him."

"No…" A knowing smirk spread across Saudi Arabia's face. "That would be… _lazy_."

"Very lazy," Turkey agreed, and he grinned at Norway. "So, Lukas, is the 'president' in his office?"

"Ja, along with most of our intended targets." Norway happily informed them. "Those who aren't appear to be in other locations in the city, but we can snuff them out easy enough."

"Well then…" Turkey rubbed his hands together, feeling a new burst of excitement within him. "Let's go have ourselves some _fun_."

 **Phew! I can't believe I actually managed to finish in time. But yeah, I'm really happy with this chapter. It's pretty refreshing working on other characters I've kind of been neglecting for a while. And I hope that to mostly focus on the mission for Georgia next chapter to finally wrap that up. I hope you liked this chapter. Please review, if you have a minute.**


	79. Justice: Price for Betrayal I

**Thanks a lot for the reviews! Sorry for the late update again, I needed to take a few days rest and I devote some other days to finally update Mystery of the Great World Anomaly, in case any of you are interested in checking it out. Hope you enjoy! Oh, and more nations will reappear and be introduced in the near future. Now, on with the show!**

America had a plan. He always had a plan. So, he definitely had a well thought out plan for the two breakaway states.

Of course… he at least had a few versions of them planned out, because there's no telling which nations will actually be able to help out once the time came. Some of their operations might end up having unexpected outcomes (which proved to be true), so they might end up being needed somewhere else. And not everyone was suited for the job…

But despite all that, for the most part, he had a solid plan, he _needed_ to have a solid plan.

He couldn't just be like, 'Okay, gang, let's storm into the capital of insert breakaway state's capital here, fuck shit up and find the personification! Have fun!' and just have that as the big plan. That's just damn lazy. Not to mention a recipe for disaster.

Just because they, the nations of the New World Order, had the potential to be super dangerous and destructive when they worked together, it didn't mean that they could just rush in without a plan. If they did that, then South Ossetia and/or several of his important humans could escape, their invasion could fall apart with a lack of coordination, etcetera, etcetera.

So, America came prepared like always, because he'll be damned if one day he just made a stupid plan like that. What's more, he and the others did their research.

To say Western Sahara and Venezuela's information was helpful would be a damn understatement; it really helped out with the layout of the plan. They got close to the brats, discovered their weaknesses and fatal flaws, and helped stroke their egos to further enable their downfall.

They've studied both of the 'capitals', gathered a truckload of intelligence regarding those places and the 'countries' themselves, whether it'd be from humans or nations, and kept track of the developments within the 'nations'. Security, economy, level of corruption and the effective of the police… Every bit of info was valuable, because while America and the other nations ain't no pushovers, it's still generally more risky than sending a squadron or the army there.

…No matter how superior the other guys thought they were than the humans. Rats can be sneaky. Fleas were hard to spot. Cockroaches can become a pain to catch when they scatter. If they start to act as arrogant as the other nations, then they'll end up falling as _they_ will.

While an army or a drone would be more effective, it'll attract more… attention, y'know? He's not saying that what they're gonna do will be subtle in any way, but… it's the best to proceed without risking alerting the Russians and Russia himself.

And boy, did Russia like to keep a close eye on his two boy-toys and the Georgian government. He didn't make it easy, America will give him that much.

Stupid kids, relying too much on a guy like Russia. Heh, not like it'll matter much anyway. They'll be learning the hard way that they should've known better than to trust Russia that he'd keep their best interests in mind and always be able to protect them from the bad guys.

And so, from all this, after years and years of compiling information and preparing for various circumstances, America managed to come up with a plan that's more than guaranteed to work without a hitch. Obviously, he gave a plan to Group B as well, which was pretty much the same except due to the different structure and size of the city of Sukhumi, Norway will be helping out with the surprise too. After that, everything that they'd like to do, and would do, was fair game as long as they got the job done.

…Now, if only France thought things through as much as he did.

America felt his blood boil as he kept an eye out and held on to some materials while Ireland set up the explosive that he's keeping conspicuously hidden in an inconspicuous-looking bag. He tried to push down his anger and disappointment before he could potentially miss spotting someone looking at them funny.

This here may not be the most powerful stuff out there, but the result explosive velocity and how far and fast the harmful gases can spread out made it perfect for their little mission. It's an ideal distraction. The humans will never see it, and them, coming. While there were more powerful explosives out there, they didn't have the time to plant bombs or mines, and who's to say they won't get caught in the process? Luckily, only around thirty-thousand humans lived here, which made things easier.

He definitely didn't miss the way Ireland's grinning like a maniac while he worked on the blocks. God, Ireland loved blowing stuff up being a pyromaniac so much that it made Combustion Man, or Sparky Sparky Boom Man as America loved calling him, look like an angel.

Heh... Sparky Sparky Boom Man... Maybe he should call Ireland that from now on, maybe a codename or something.

The rest of the group's planting a couple other bombs as they speak. Put the blasting caps, leave the bombs in inconspicuous locations in crowded areas, go back to their original safe location and put on the respiratory protective equipment so they won't get seizures or anything, then detonate the explosives.

What? He wasn't kidding when he said he always came prepared. Well, Iran and Saudi and the Nordics were nice enough to help out too, but that's not the point.

It took two seconds too long that he's gripping the caps with dangerous force, which startled America enough to evaporate some of his fury. He took a deep breath

God. He's been trying so goddamn much not to think about that right now. America's still pissed- he's feeling a lot of different emotions after discovering that France 'screwed himself over' and got captured – by the Africans! He got captured by the Africans! How- How could that idiot go do that to himself so soon after America promised that he'd make things less hellish for him? Did he really want to die after all?

 _Did all that self-deprecation and hate I heard in your voice run that deep, after all?_

He… He could think about what to do with France later. Right now, America had a job to do. And he's gonna let any distractions get in the way of that.

…Except for maybe Ireland.

"Ya know, Allie, for the attack, I'm thinking of summoning a few Dullahans to help us out and spice things up a wee bit."

"Hm. Is that so?" America mumbled absentmindedly as he stared off into the distance while dealing with his inner turmoil, not completely listening to what Ireland's saying. "You think they'd be willing to help us?"

"Aye! They're wicked creatures, those Dullahans. Sinister and and all that. Creepy, spooky and all kinds of ooky as ya'd probably say," Ireland cheerfully affirmed while America desperately tried to squash the urge to snap his fingers. "Besides, I think they'll appreciate whipping and cleaving hordes of humans for a change."

"Uh-huh…" America nodded, crossing his fingers that Ireland won't notice that he's only half-listening.

"I mean, I know those headless bastards ain't no mercenaries, but I think I call in a few favors." Ireland waved his hand with a big confident smile on his face. "They still owe me big for that time I stopped Larry the Leprechaun from dumping a giant cauldron of gold all over them during last year's annual Dullahan convention."

America abruptly snapped out of his distracted daze the moment he registered what Ireland stand. After a few seconds of stunned silence, he blinked twice, straightened up, and he turned to look at his uncle with what he hoped was his best 'are you friggin serious?' face.

 _"An annual Dullahann convention?"_ America repeated slowly.

"An annual Dullahan convention." Ireland affirmed with a proud nod and a matching grin. "They hold it over in Glendalough, County Wicklow in the dark of the night. A lovely place for a lovely event, wouldn't ya agree, Al?"

America blinked again, and his eyes went to Ireland's hands, only to find no canteen being swung around, so he stared again at Ireland, "Uhhh…"

"Of course ya do, I know ya're a man of good taste," Ireland cut him merrily and patted a baffled America's head. How Ireland interpreted that as an agreement was beyond him. "It's the best place to discuss all kinds of new and unique ways to behead the poor eejits unlucky enough to cross paths with a Dullahan. Did ya know that there's one fella who had once ripped a poor bastard's head off with his mam's own hair?"

"...Uncle Patrick, have you been drinking expired alcohol again?" America deadpanned.

A vein bulged in Ireland's forehead, and he exploded, "I _so_ have not, goddamn it!"

America cringed at Ireland's outburst, public outburst to boot. Gritting his teeth, his head darted around frantically at the people going about their daily lives as he hoped no one heard the very obvious English-spoken shouting.

"H-Hey, keep it down, Patrick!" America whispered harshly, waving a hand over his neck.

But Ireland kept raging at him. "So, let me get this feckin straight, Allie. You're part of a wicked worldwide conspiracy bent on world domination and change that's manipulated events for years and is even partly made up of nations who supposedly hated each other. And you came to me believing that I'd believe that…"

"Uncle Patrick, I'm serious. You're being too-"

"…But all the headless horsemen from all throughout the great country of Ireland gatherin' in a lovely monastery once a year to get their jollies off discussing diverse beheading techniques is too much for you?"

"Hey, I'm just saying! You got a habit of dreaming up a lotta weird stuff when you're drinking that kind of stuff." America exclaimed defensively, putting up his hands. God, remind him to never bring Ireland along on a stealth mission.

Miraculously, the anger vanished off Ireland's face and he put his hand on his chin thoughtfully, "Oh yeah, I really do, don't I?"

"Yep," America nodded with sweat dropping from his forehead, and he sighed in relief that Ireland's not shouting at him anymore. "Remember that whole fiasco about you having found the spear of Cú Chulainn and trying to use it to free all the leprechauns held captive by Santa Claus's evil twin brother?"

Ireland's face turned red, and "Ugh, don't remind me, Al. I still have the restraining orders above my booze cabinet to do for me, dammit."

Yup. And they're still doing repairs on Buckingham Palace.

"Still, it's a pretty cool idea. The Dullahan thing, I mean." America smiled sincerely at the other nation, genuinely finding the idea pretty cool. "How soon do you think you can call them over here?"

That brought the usual grin back to Ireland's face. "Eh, I'm sure. You'd be surprised at how efficient those fellas can be, Allie. All I need to do is…"

After all that, they met up with everyone else back at the van, located at a safe enough distance from the explosive velocity from the bombs, and America made sure that everything and everyone was up and ready

Eventually, it was finally time get started.

Everyone had their gear on and right, so they'll be safe from the gases. Everyone knew what they had to do, and Ireland, surprisingly, did indeed manage to summon more than a few Dullahans to help them out. And boy, did they look menacing. Nearly gave poor Georgia a heart attack.

Now all that's left for him to do was press the button.

America took one last look over the glum and lame town of Tskhinvali, acknowledging that this'll be the last time it'll look like this, and that everyone's lives there were over, one way or another. At least the few Georgians that lived here for whatever reason still had some hope...

'Sorry, dudes.' America thought with a slight frown, but his eyes didn't show any sympathy. 'But you just had the shitty luck of pissing off the wrong person and being in the way...'

 _"Now!"_

Everyone covered their ears and Ireland put up a protective barrier. Taking a final deep breath, he pressed the button.

 _KABOOM!_

Everything else that followed the explosion happened so fast, it was almost a blur, but it was just America's solider instincts kicking in and getting straight to work. But what he could remember clearly were screaming – and maybe a tree branch fell on Ireland – and before he knew it, they were teleported to a street at a reasonable distance between the government and parliament buildings and South Ossetia's house.

Then they opened fire.

America didn't hesitate. When he saw humans wandering in confusion or staggering and coughing from breathing in the gases, he watched them drop as he fired his minigun, which with his super-strength he could easily carry and swing around like nothing, and made way for his allies to pass without any issue.

"Okay, people! Let's split up from here. Remember, get to your targets as soon as possible, so don't get distracted and let's, go, go, go!"

They started to split up from there while continuing killing anyone who happened to get in the way or had the damn luck of getting spotted. With Ireland and Denmark sticking with him closely, no human could ever hope to stop them.

And of course, no one did. And while America wasn't exactly enjoying this, he rarely ever did honestly; he _did_ try to make the most of things since he didn't feel any sympathy for the people here.

And he knew just how to do it.

Not to brag, but America liked to think that he's a damn good shooter, one of the best in the whole club. He still loved guns as much as anyone would expect, but boy, using his superhuman (or was it supernation? Bah, who cares.) strength felt damn liberating, especially since he didn't need to hold back anymore.

So, when he spotted a car in front of him, a light bulb lit up above his head. Feeling a rush of adrenaline and aggression, or maybe he just felt creative, he put down the minigun, ran over to the seemingly abandoned car and crouched down so that he could put his gloved hands under the car. With a small smile hidden under his gas mask, he lifted the car up with his own two hands with ease…

And promptly threw it to the nearest incapacitated couple humans he could find. He turned his head away and dashed off just as the screams reached his ears.

He always did want to do that…

America shot or literally tore apart anyone he saw or bumped into as he made his way past his intended target's house. He's going to be the one to drag South Ossetia, kicking and screaming and choking, with Denmark there to back him up in the off chance the brat somehow slipped pass him.

He didn't volunteer for any special reason, just that he and Denmark might get the job done faster than the other options, but America would be lying if he said that he wasn't at least looking forward to it.

Who knows? Might be good for him to unwind that way after that bombshell Morocco dropped on him...

/ / / / /

They're going to kick off this with a bang.

No, he meant that _literally_.

Norway snickered to himself at that, no matter how lame it probably actually sounded, and rubbed his hands together. So what if it made him look silly and cartoony? He just felt so excited that he's finally able to use his magic unrestrained and seeing the results of it.

America made sure to be explicitly detailed as he explained the plan he had given them, probably so as to not unintentionally provide any loopholes that the more bloodthirsty ones could exploit for their own amusement. And it was simple.

Sweden, Norway, Turkey and Bulgaria will keep up with the destruction the rest will capture Abkhazia in his home while kill off the government body before they could alert Russia

To just suddenly storm into the town square and open fire wouldn't exactly be the smartest option to go with. And it wouldn't exactly be the best option to go with. Yes, yes, it really wouldn't be the best thing to do. The best option, explained in great detail by America, who came up with the whole plan himself, would be to start the takeover with something that'd leave the humans too scared and rattled to properly react or know what to do.

Humans are such funny creatures, letting their emotions, particular fear and greed, mostly guide them over logic and reason… and scattering like cockroaches at the slightest sign of danger to their fragile little lives. They're weaknesses that could easily be exploited and taken advantage of, and Norway will definitely do just that.

A sudden explosion was one of the best ways to plunge the town into chaos. And chaos meant fear, uncertainly, disorder and vulnerability. They'll be too busy running for their lives and screaming their heads off to do anything else that'd help them. And that's when Norway and the others will _strike_.

Yes, they're going to be using the same bombs too, which was definitely a splendid idea. But then there's the itty-bitty issue of Sukhumi being larger than Tskhinvali, with over twice the population of the latter to boot. It's obviously going to take… more than just a few bombs to do the tric.

And that's where _he_ came in.

"That's all for preparations," Sweden announced with as much passion as always, turning to his alies. "Now we can truly begin,"

Norway grinned over at Sweden despite it being hidden by his gas mask, eagerly rubbing his hands in excitement again. "Ooh! Does this I'm finally allowed to-?"

"Ja, you are," Sweden oh so cruelly cut him off, and he turned his back to Norway. "But don't waste time with theatrics. Just summon the giant and have it strike the city before it can get out of your control."

"You're no fun, Swedie," Norway pouted over at him, but he complied anyways. Oh well, there'll always another day to have unlimited fun.

"While the barrier should protect you, I still highly recommend that you all stand far away, preferably somewhere that's not _terribly_ flammable," Norway grinned in what he hoped was in a reassuring manner. "That goes for you too, Bulgaria."

As excited as it made him to finally be able to use this particular spell, it's still a spell he should handle with great care considering the entity he was going to use– _summon_ for this. This will be the first time he'll actually test it out in a public space as well. One wrong move, and… Norway shook his head, chuckling. Hm, well, you're not going to succeed with _that_ negativity, are you, Norway?

Well, since he couldn't, without further ado, it's time to see the results of all his years of testing. Norway clasped his hands together, and got straight to work.

He poured all his concentration into getting it right.

Norway vaguely heard the voices of his friends from his behind him, and he took his as a sign to look up.

A large, dark portal had opened in the sky, high above the city.

And right out of the unbelievably large portal came out a gigantic flaming hand to grasp on one 'side' of the portal in the sky. Once he saw this, Norway could hardly contain himself, and he shivered in excitement. It- It's _working!_ It's really working! It's functioning properly!

Then another identical flaming hand appeared from the hole, this one holding a flaming sword, and a low roar was heard before the upper body of the entity finally showed itself. A monstrous-looking face with a body made out of molten rock and flames, a being positively reeking of malice and an insatiable hunger for destruction…

Surtr: The legendary fire giant of Múspell, prophesied to lead his kin to battle against the Aesir and set Earth aflame.

…Yes, maybe a little overkill, but hey, Norway wasn't about to waste a chance to test out his new spell _and_ indulge in his pyromania.

Norway grinned widely, but it faltered somewhat when he then felt himself nearly stumble as Surtr let out a deep roar. Shit, this was what he meant. Surtr was no mere toy or weapon. He was a giant. He was powerful, and a _little_ difficult to keep control over. The longer he had him out like this doing nothing, the angrier Surtr will become, and the harder he will become to control until…

He managed to glance back at Sweden, who calmly met his gaze and nodded. Good. Norway smiled to himself again, time to

"NOW!"

 _"ATTACK!"_

 _Surtr_ let out a mighty roar and raised his sword, which was bright and alight in flames. Then, he swiftly brought it down.

 _KABOOM!_

What followed next, you might ask? Well, absolute chaos, of course!

Once the explosions passed, Norway stopped covering his eyes and observed the results of his experiment. What he saw caused him to break out laughing in glee.

The city was on fire.

Surtr should be more than capable of completely incinerating cities, but Norway intentionally made sure that the giant would only cause massive damage instead of immediate destruction. It'd be… a waste, no? Besides, it'd be hard to find Abkhazia among the hundreds and thousands of charred corpses, don't you think?

Ah, but anyway, it's time to get going.

Norway then excitedly did as he was instructed to do. With a snap of his fingers, he and the rest of his fellow nations found themselves in the center of the city, where they then immediately began their destruction of the place along with the massacre of the citizens.

What fun!

And now, for his next trick, Norway will use his magic to make these people's lives disappear!

/ / / / /

Boy, did this take him back to his days of rebelling against his little shit of a brother. The good ol' Fenians and working with the IRA… Ah, those were the days.

You know, blowing shit up to piss off the royal brats over in England, blowing shit up to piss the royal brats and the fancy-dressed bastards over in England, blowing shit up and scaring the shit outta that stammering king and his annoying wife. Oh, did he mention he really liked to blow shit up? As well as setting things on fire, and overall causing massive property damage that'd get him in massive trouble.

Yeah, he was a real wild nation back in the twentieth century.

Except, Ireland didn't quite remember _this_ much gas and, you know, there wasn't that much death going on at every second and Ireland didn't remember riding on a horse while working with his loyal fellas (unless he just did it when he got drunk), but potato potatoe!

Thanks to this, he found himself wildly riding through the contaminated, hazardous gas-filled streets of Tskhinvali atop of a pitch black horse that's just as enthusiastic as he was laughing like an absolute madman while shooting feckin magic fire from his hands and overall killing every bloody person that dared in his way… Pretty wicked, huh?

"Whoa there, lassie," Ireland calm his eager stallion, petting its head and dark mane. "Easy, easy, alright? You'll get your ultraviolence in a minute. It's not just the humans we're targeting, you know."

The horse snorted, and Ireland just knew that if the little ghostie's eyes weren't completely pitch-black, it'd be rolling his eyes.

Oh, you're probably curious about the horse, or maybe just how the lovely hell did he manage to get one in the middle of this pitiful dumpster of a city. Well, he didn't get it from here, obviously. Ha! Like any other country would have mythological creatures as cool as his… except for maybe Greece, but his were overrated.

"Aw, chin up, my ghost horsie." Ireland patted the ghost-phantom-whatever Dullahans actually call them- horse on its head. He shot a burst of fire from his hand at a building of miscellaneous purpose, then grinned in satisfaction. "There. Now we can–WHOOOOA!"

Wow, this was one excited horse. Anyway, where was he, again? Oh, right. Explaining the ghost horse, of course…. Heh, that rhymed.

See, with some excellent persuasion, incomparable charm and maybe a promise to give Larry the Leprechaun a wedgie and hang him on a Northern Irish flagpole for no less than twenty fortnights, one of the Dullahans was a nice enough fella to lend him his spooky horse for Ireland to ride around like a drunken maniac on the anniversary of his independence. You know, just for the hell of it.

And so, Ireland was now having the time of his life shooting fire out of his hands while riding a wicked cool ghost horse, laughing like there's no tomorrow, and accidentally tramping over some humans.

Oops. Good thing they're supposed to be killing people then.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! MOVE IT OR LOSE IT, BASTARDS! I'VE GOT A GHOST HORSE AND I'M AFRAID TO USE IT!"

You know… if they could actually see it. Wonder what the humans were seeing right now. Sure, none of the citizens of this sorry place had the magic touch, but the legend of the Dullahan came to be because some humans saw it ride into the night and get the crap scarred outta of them, or they saw someone drop dead and then got the crap scared outta them.

Well, doesn't really matter anyway. They'll be dead soon.

Ireland's attention was soon taken away from his rampant destruction to Denmark finding all sorts of ways to gruesomely kill humans with an axe nearby.

"I see ya haven't lost your touch from the old Viking days!" Ireland shouted over to Denmark, feeling like making some friendly conversation in the middle of a bloody invasion.

"I'd sooner eat shit than go even a little rusty!" Denmark yelled back before cleaving a man in two.

"Ha! True, true…" Ireland snickered, before rearing his horse, who had been chewing something that looked suspiciously like mud… or part of debris… or maybe some poor random black tourist's skin. "Wanna go for a ride on my ghost horse?"

"I think I'll pass, but thanks anyway!" Denmark answered back, waving one hand before using both to chop off some lady's legs off. "I'd rather not deal with your drunk riding!"

Ireland took offense to that, and yelled while he ran over another straggler. "Hey, I'm not drunk, damn it! I'll have you know that I got rid of my hangover _two_ hours ago!"

"If that's true, then in that case you're the _worst_ horse rider the world has ever seen!"

"That is so not true, ya _fecking_ Dane! I'm still on the saddle, shouldn't that be enough?"

"You look like you're going to fall off any moment!"

"Oh, whatever!" Ireland growled, already fed up with this. But he tried to remain positive and ignore whatever the hell his horse was eating. "You at least interested in seein' who could kill more humans in less than five minutes? Winner gets all the Guinness!"

"We don't have any Guinness!" Denmark reminded him, apparently annoyed.

"Then the loser will have to buy the Guinness in the nearest convenient location in the near future!" Ireland declared confidently after scorching

Denmark mulled it over for a little bit, resting his axe on his shoulder as he stepped over corpses, before shrugging. "Sure, why not?"

Ireland grinned beneath his gas mask. "Great! Let's go! The Dullahans aren't going to wait for us to get started!"

/ / / / /

Cut, rip and tear. Cut, rip and tear. Cut, rip and tear.

These were the actions he repeated with every single human that crossed his line of sight. That was the fate of any human here that he could (will) get his hands on.

There's nothing else that he needed to do, save for guarding his comrades and seeing to it that Abkhazia is dragged back to Georgia with all his limbs or not. There's nothing else he really wanted to do, except to get the job done and ensure that there'll be no casualties on their side.

Nothing else really mattered.

Sweden killed left and right. He didn't particularly stayed to torture any of the humans he came across, he instead opted to often quickly leave them in a state of crippling, debilitating and excruciating pain and then leave them to die in their agony. Quite fun, he'll say.

So far, their team had remained uninterrupted in their rampage, with what few little resistance they encountered being quickly squashed like nothing. Sweden cut and tear with barely a hint of emotion expressed in his face. Norway delighted in using the people of the city as guinea pigs for his new spells or setting random buildings on fire.

Uninterrupted… until now, when Sweden heard… sirens?

The police have arrived to stop them. Sweden smiled, just a little bit. How cute.

"Well, well, look who it is, everybody!" Turkey boomed with laughter, with Bulgaria giggling at his side. "The police are here to save the day! Quick, everybody run the hell away before they tell us that we can't hide from the law!"

Norway cracked up at that, his cackling almost as manic as Turkey's, and he slapped Sweden's shoulder while he wheezed. The tall nation himself, however, remained stone-faced.

Indeed. A military squad would elicit more of an alarmed response from him, despite the futility of the situation for the humans. But he supposed it'd be a little difficult to contact the national army if you're coughing or having a seizure.

The law-enforcers opened fire on them, and everyone either ducked out of the way or gladly returned the favor. Sweden immediately opted to do the former, since his was not a long range weapon. He will give them credit there for not bothering with the whole 'surrender' or 'hands in the air' threats. At least they were a little smarter than one would expect.

While it would take more than a couple bullets to kill him, much less slow him down, Sweden was not suicidal in his desire for blood. And so, he was left with little choice but to remain hidden behind a car while Norway and the rest, the ones with firearms, did the work. He felt a small pang of disappointment at this. That he won't be able to cut and tear, but he neither acted on it nor expressed it.

And so, he waited and looked on.

Sweden then spotted Turkey moving in the corner of his eye, and the tall nation raised an eyebrow when the latter appeared to be on his way to stand up.

He met Turkey's eyes. The other man flashed him a thumbs-up, and was probably no doubt grinning under the gas mask. Sweden didn't know what that was supposed to imply, nor could he ask, because immediately after that vague message, Turkey stood up fully and…

…And started walking right into the line of fire.

Sweden could only watch, with shocked wide eyes, as some of the bullets pierced Turkey's chest.

The older nation grunted and stumbled then staggered to his knees, one of his hands holding the place where blood's currently seeping out, no doubt all the while struggling to maintain the grin hidden under his gas mask. Sweden would feel more impressed if he wasn't baffled wondering what Turkey was hoping to achieve with this suicidal action.

The aforementioned nation made a sound that sounded awfully like a strangled guffaw before he ducked out of the way just as more bullets came for him. Sweden could see his condition from here. It wasn't exactly what one would call 'good'.

And yet, despite everything, he was laughing.

Sweden frankly couldn't fathom what was so hilariously about nearly getting himself killed. Was Turkey suddenly struck with a suicidal and masochist urge to get himself shot? Was this somehow supposed to prove some sort of point? An inside joke? He didn't _always_ understand Turkey's sense of humor, so could that be part of the reason?

Luckily (for him), the answer revealed itself when a scream cut through the air and chilled Sweden to his core. It was louder than any explosion that gone off.

He whipped his head back to the other car far on his right. Kneeling behind it with hands on his head and looking like he'd just witnessed the most horrifying event in the entire history of the world, was a seething Bulgaria.

In that moment, Sweden then instantly understood what Turkey's plan idea. He narrowed his eyes. Of course, how did he not realize it earlier?

Turkey always loved watching a show. And if he could get a marvelous one by getting himself injured, then…

"Oh my," Norway spoke up with only dull surprise, looking on at the scene with interest. "If the Abkhazians haven't screwed the pooch before, then they certainly have now."

Sweden mutely nodded and didn't waste time pulling Norway away a little, just enough so that they won't accidentally suffer friendly fire. He couldn't help a slight wince when he heard another _scream_ from Bulgaria.

"You… You… You pieces of SHIT!" Bulgaria roared with unimaginable hatred that Sweden hadn't seen and heard for a long time now as he moved around erratically, his hands gripping his dark hair and his green eyes glaring at the humans. "THAT'S MY BELOVED, YOU WORTHLESS LOWER LIFE FORMS! MY BELOVED _TURKIYE!_ THE ONE AND ONLY MASTER OF MY HEART AND SOUL! YOU HURT HIM! YOU CAUSED HIM _PAIN_ , AND FOR THAT I'LL SHOW YOU HELL!"

With that death sentence spoken, Bulgaria yelled and lunged at the unnerved policemen and women. Sweden watched as he punched one officer so hard that it practically snapped the human's neck. He shot one other male officer in the crotch before kicking him down. He watched Bulgaria tackle one woman to the ground and violently tore the skin off her face as it was adhesive plastic. Screaming and screaming, Bulgaria then began to tear even more of her apart, and

"Well, since that's happening…" Norway inhaled, and turned to Sweden with surprisingly no amusement in his eyes. "I'm heading over there to treat him. Berwald, watch my back, please."

Sweden grunted, and they headed out. He spared a glance at Bulgaria's rampage before focusing back on making sure no one targeted Norway, although the enemy seemed to be too busy being gruesomely dismembered to see them.

They finally reached the car where Turkey was lying against a wheel, watching the blood his lover was spilling.

Norway stood over him, and Sweden was sure he could see him raising an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

Turkey's head lolled over to them, and he let out a dry laugh. "I regret nothing."

Norway sighed, not sounding gleeful for once, and inspected the wounds. "Oh, Sadik. I respect you, but that was seriously dumb of you to do."

"Not dumb, _stupid_." Sweden corrected him, and he gave Turkey a hard look, that, of course, had no effect on him. "Stupid as hell."

"I repeat," Turkey said again, wheezing in laughter. "I regret nothing."

"But did you really have to do that?" Norway asked flatly, crossing his arms. "Oh, honestly… Didn't you consider how Bulgaria would have felt, seeing you hurt? How he must have felt?"

Turkey's laughing abruptly stopped, and he lifted his head to stare at Norway with an uncharacteristic coldness in his eyes. "Don't get the wrong idea, Lukas. I wouldn't have done this if I didn't have faith in Dimitri that he'd be capable of killing them all."

Norway stared back even as he tried to stop the bleeding on Turkey's body. "Then why didn't you just order him to do what he's doing?

"...too dangerous." Turkey was mumbling, probably trying not to choke on his own blood. "Wouldn't have been enough, wouldn't have been enough drive for him. And we needed something to distract the cops, and what else than the terrifying anger of a lover seeing his man shot?"

He resumed his laughing even as Norway shushed him to let him concentrate.

Sweden frowned, and slowly shook his head.

He really didn't understand Turkey's sense of humor.

/ / / / /

Shooting humans into a hole-ridden mess felt exhilarating and liberating for Iran.

Actually, every single moment of his recent freedom from his façade was nothing but amazing for him.

He's done with humans changing who he was, done with their attempts to corrupt him and make him see the world in their greedy, self-serving, self-righteous way. From then on, _he's_ going to decide who he is and what he stood for.

He wasn't the lost little boy left to pick up where his father left off, the boy who failed to prevent the Muslims erode his father's legacy and teachings away, or the boy who thought he's got everything figured out now that he converted. No, no, he wasn't him. But he wasn't Persia, not anymore. That much he'll accept without much bitterness. But he wasn't Iran either, not the one his people wished, or thought he was, could be.

He wasn't sure which name left a less bitter taste in his mouth, even though it didn't really make much difference in the end. _In the end, I'm **me** , no one else. And no one can possibly take that away from me._

The Islamic Republic of Iran… Founded by hate and ruled by a madman. It was supposed to help prove a point, Prussia would say to the Middle Easterners and America, along with a lot of the other things. The point being that a theocratic government, especially the Islamic kind, would never be able to provide.

Examples, examples… Guess you could say that some Middle Eastern Nations were meant to be examples. Not all. Hell, many of the Muslim majority nations didn't even need for them to give a little push; they were truly just that terrible.

Iran didn't complain, although at times it felt tempting. He's watched his people get shot and oppressed for opposing the very government they brought to power in the first place. It was both painful and cathartic. Humans were like that, only truly being able to see the folly of their ways when the disastrous consequences of their rash choices were starting at them right in the face. Idiots.

But as he watched Saudi Arabia deal with a government and culture that made Iran's own seem soft in comparison, and America have his reputation tarnished and sanity tested as he kept intervening in foreign matters, Iran realized it still could've been worse. He kept his foolish mouth shut and harshly reprimanded himself for thinking that _he_ had it bad when…

Saudi Arabia always said that there's no point in seeing who had worse than whom. It'll just make things more painful, he said. In the end, the results would all be the same, no? With the power of subliminal influence that they discovered, they'll fix everything and then after the war was over, they'll live in the new _ideal_ world.

And so, Iran, like everyone else, sucked it up and held on to his sanity as best as he could.

And so far, all his patience and suffering was paying off!

Iran was glad to be here. He liked Georgia. Despite the little issues they had in the past, he liked her, and she's genuinely a nice girl. When America called him and informed him of the situation with her, Iran was happy to help her regain her territory.

Iran aimed his rifle, smirking.

And regain her territory she will!

/ / / / /

Words couldn't describe North Korea's joy over inflicting all this carnage on the worthless maggots.

The petty punishments and dull tortures of his country had done little to entertain him over the years, with only his peoples' suffering and hunger being his only source of catharsis and amusement for the long decades that followed the rise of the accursed communist government.

Moreover, whenever he was 'allowed' to torture and cause pain and despair with his own two hands, it'd be mostly to his inflated toddler of a boss ordering him to. And doing anything under that man's orders brought a very bitter taste in his mouth. He didn't have nearly as much creative freedom as he would've had without his 'boss' looming over him.

But... he couldn't deny that he'd be enjoying it a lot more if it weren't for America...

He felt his grin falter somewhat, but he managed to keep his demeanor after watching a woman's horrified shrieking after he blasted her the head off the man beside her, presumably her husband. Then he was more than content with shooting her throat and leaving her to die a slow painful death, along with suffering the affects to the gases.

It served as a good distraction - this destruction and pandemonium - from his lingering feelings on the subject he discussed with Ireland as well as his... disappointment at the fact that he will have to accompany Georgia on her task of locating and (brutally) assassinating the humans of the government of South Ossetia.

Yes, it was unprofessional and foolish of him, he knew. Thinking and dwelling on his feelings on that matter when he should be completely focused on killing and destroying, it could get in the way of the job. And don't think that North Korea _wanted_ to be distracted, but he couldn't help but wonder…

Did America wanted to be away from him? Did he think that the last thing he needed for the attack was to be around someone as 'toxic' as North Korea?

Immediately after the thought, North Korea growled, filled with a rage that was directed toward none other than himself, and he pinned a random woman by the wall. And in his anger, he started gutting her face with a knife he was keeping on his person.

 _No_. He perfectly knew _well_ that America was more than professional and mature enough to put aside whatever he may be feeling towards North Korea, either positive or negative, for the sake of the mission. If America saw that North Korea being placed on the team that'd be in charge of the destruction was the best decision, he'd have done it without any reluctance.

So, at least he had _that_ comfort, that America didn't put them together because he wanted to be away from him. No, no, assuming such a thing would be stupid beyond belief. America's smart, an excellent planner. And then there's how he genuinely appeared apologetic…

He shook his head, exasperated at himself, and he left the maimed woman to bleed to death and return to his comrades.

Iceland was by no means outstanding in terms of skill or intelligence, no offense to him. However, he had the advantage of having an impressive talent of magic, perhaps nowhere near as deadly as Norway, but still formidable, nonetheless. And he knew how to surprise his opponent. Obviously one of the better choices for an assassination mission.

And Georgia… Hm. While Georgia may have fought a recent war against Russia and her breakaway states only about a decade ago, she along with Ireland, as the newest additions to the organization, haven't trained to be in a very good fighting shape like the rest of them did. She was a good shot, and she definitely knew what she's doing and knew how to survive on the battlefield. But she wasn't

Ah, but she was _determined_ , North Korea will give her that. North Korea could understand that. She's _determined_ to see her two rebellious little brothers whipped back into line and have their lands fully reintegrated back into her. And didn't particularly seem to mind the methods they're going to use, as a matter of fact, she saw them as a rightful punishment for them.

However, determination could only do so much with a combination of lack of constant training and endurance.

Hmph. It looked like North Korea will have to watch her back for her. Not that he minded, she was new so of course she's going to be at least a little weaker than all of them, and it would be a waste for her to temporarily die before she could realize her dream of the destruction of this place and the government the way she wanted them.

"We'll start with the bagworms here," "There's obviously going to be others who aren't in the building, but we'll take care of them soon enough. Escape is impossible anyway."

"They'd probably die or get run over before they could try, anyway," Iceland said in a rather bored tone. "But I agree, it's still a start. So, who's going to do the honors and-"

It appeared Georgia wasn't willing to wait any longer. Without a word, she charged and she tore the doors right off their hinges upon impact, not even stopping to deal with the possible aftermath as she ran inside, with deafening gunshots following soon after.

North Korea's reaction to this sudden change of mood? He blinked, and a smile crept onto his face.

Iceland was left quite befuddled and gaping at the scene, while North Korea, still smiling, observed his ally's amusing reaction.

"I think our new recruit has just volunteered, Iceland." North Korea remarked gleefully. "Come, we shouldn't let her have all the fun just because this is her revenge."

And so they followed the trail of blood and corpses Georgia left in her wake, taking care of any ones that she probably missed or managed to hide from her. Once North Korea , he was quite pleasantly surprised and impressed.

Iceland was smart enough to magically barricade the door so as to prevent any escape, not that North Korea would actually let them.

North Korea won't let a single one escape from him. He won't be bested by mentally stunted apes like them. He knew who they were, where they worked at and where they resided. And if think that they can try get away or outwit him, heh, well, North Korea had _other_ ways to prevent their victory.

Oh, and what fun it was to hunt!

Eventually, they did finally manage to catch up with Georgia, but when they did, she had already gotten her hands on the head insect.

Though he was nothing more than the beaten, bloodied and broken corpse of a human maggot, North Korea definitely recognized that this maggot was the 'president' of South Ossetia.

Ah, now that was an impressive sight.

Grinning, North Korea looked over at the culprit herself, who was staring at the corpse with something akin to disbelief or relief, as if she couldn't believe that one of her dreams had finally came true. That she really accomplished brutally killing one of the people that made things hard for him, with the added satisfaction that Russia was completely unaware of what was transpiring to his precious 'friends'.

Well, of course they came true, North Korea scoffed. America promised her justice, didn't he? And he _hardly_ broke any promises that were actually genuine. The disgusting-looking corpse of the human there himself was proof.

He laughed.

Perhaps there was more to Georgia than he thought…

/ / / / /

Saudi Arabia surveyed the corpses around him with mild amusement. It did feel good to kill humans out of his own free will again.

They had reached the building where the… president should currently be having coughing fit or a seizure in his office, along with the rest of the people working here. So far, it's been a delightful massacre, and Saudi Arabia did take his time with some of the humans. They've been making excellent progress.

"That's it for this floor." Finland stated coldly, and his gaze was directed toward the set of stairs. "Come on, let's go clear out the rest of this sad place."

Ah, that sounded like plenty of fun. But Saudi Arabia preferred a more… _pragmatic_ approach.

"Be sure not to kill all of them, Finland," Saudi Arabia politely requested with a firmer tone.

Finland blinked, and he stared up at him as if Saudi Arabia had gone crazy or said something rather retarded. "Huh? Why the hell would you even a single one of those _kusipääs?_ "

Iran also turned away from checking the number of rounds he had left in his rifle to stare at Saudi Arabia. He also didn't appear to fully understand.

Saudi Arabia wasn't even remotely surprised at Finland's reaction. But if there's anything he learned from his miserable years as a cesspool kingdom (that helped make it all worth it, he hissed in his mind) and in the recent conversation about humans, was that as inferior as they were, they still were and will always be useful in one way or another.

"Because as much as Georgia would- does want them dead for their part for causing all her troubles," Saudi Arabia responded serenely with a patient smile, not really blaming Finland for his pessimistic attitude. "I'm sure they can still prove useful to us."

As troublesome humans could be and definitely are, Saudi Arabia wasn't so consumed by anger and bitterness to suggest that they're a worthless race. No, no, no! He wouldn't ever think that, even as some nations might disagree. Their group's recent discussion also helped him feel surer of this opinion…

Yes, it's mostly thanks to humans that many members have been driven over the edge, the world's slowly dying, and how the nations' lives were nothing but misery, but it's also the humans whom are all helping them achieve their goals. Even when they caused nothing short of problems for them all, they've never stopped being useful. And Saudi Arabia doubted that they'll ever stop being useful.

It's sad, wasn't it? That the only way humans could achieve the world of happy smiles and peace was if their nations _made_ them do it the right way.

…But Saudi Arabia wasn't about to go into his lamentations again, he'll have plenty of time for that when they're done in this place. For now, he will go ahead with his plan for the humans here, which wasn't to kill them… not _yet_ , obviously.

"Useful?" Finland repeated incredulously, still looking at him like he was crazy. "Useful how?"

"Why, for information, of course!" Saudi Arabia responded cheerfully. "Even the lowest rat here has to have some meager piece of information that could benefit us."

Iran seemed to finally understand. "So, you're suggesting we keep several humans alive to interrogate. Not a bad idea, Saudi.

Glad to see that he did understand, Saudi Arabia nodded.

Weapons, tanks, secret deals and meetings with Russia that could contain invaluable information, supplies… All the information regarding all of that should be here somewhere. And if they _find_ that information, or nicely ask one of the humans here for its location, it could benefit the Order.

It wouldn't hurt to try investigating. If they didn't, well, Saudi Arabia and the others will still have their fun with the rats.

Finland appeared reluctant to accept this, but he relented after mulling over it, sneering. "Well, I guess at least one of them must have something useful about Russia…"

"Exactly!" Saudi Arabia smiled pleasantly, clapping his hands. "So, whatever you do, don't go overboard, please."

Iran nodded, while Finland grumbled his agreement. With that, they set off.

/ / / / /

Georgia was no rookie in attacking towns or cities. She liked being a generally good person, but she's fought her fair share of wars just like every other nation did and she made sure to prove with the shelling and her relentless attacks back in the Russo-Georgian War that she's no pushover.

She liked to think she was one tough cookie. Armenia certainly did think she could be a nasty piece of work sometimes (in their less friendly days), and even South Ossetia and Abkhazia had the habit of shrinking away when they really got on her nerves enough to throw diplomacy out the window.

The twin-braided nation had torn through the crowds and the gas, firing her assault rifle at all the coughing and fleeing humans in her way and she had watched the South Ossetians collapse like puppets with their strings cut by the dozens. Screams, gasps and sobs filled her ears, but she never let them distract her for even a moment. She had a score to settle, and she needed to do it now.

Okay, okay, she'll admit that a part of her felt a little… _uncomfortable_ at shooting a bunch of civilians instead of South Ossetian soldiers like she's long gotten used to do after conflict after conflict with them and the Abkhazians. It… Guess you could say it wasn't really her thing.

But no, she had to remind herself that these people were traitors too, they supported their nation's cause and were more than happy to sell their stupid souls to Russia in the process. She shouldn't feel sorry for these idiots. Yeah, that's right. Why feel sorry or pity for them when they brought this whole mess on themselves in the first place?! They deserve to die for betraying her, for siding with that two-faced, self-righteous… Ugh!

Georgia shook her head, scolding herself for almost getting distracted, and went back to fully focusing on what she's doing.

Still, despite that, Georgia made a conscious effort to avoid killing any Georgians that she happened to come across, though there weren't really a lot here. Not just because it might affect her too, but because they might've already had a hard time in life for being Georgians in South Ossetia.

The only people she personally wanted to get revenge on for betraying her, for all the years she's had to suffer under their stubbornness and greed… were the leaders of this dumb rebellion, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Russia.

Starting… with the president, the prime minister, and every single other human in South Ossetia's so-called government. She's going to kill them. She's going to kill them all. Every single one of them. They'll be begging for forgiveness by the time Georgia made it extremely clear just how _angry_ she was.

Georgia even felt herself growing more and more impatient and angry as time went by _knowing the president's still not dead_ ,

"We'll start with the bagworms here," North Korea was saying. "There's obviously going to be others who aren't in the building, but we'll take care of them soon enough. Escape is impossible anyway."

But Georgia couldn't see anything but red.

She ran inside without so much of a second thought, with the only justification she could form in the chaos in her mind being that the humans inside will be too busy coughing from the gas to even try to escape. And upon encountering the first human here, she didn't hesitate to open fire.

It wasn't exactly the first time Georgia ever flew into a fit of rage, but she hadn't felt this angry since… the ethnic cleansings, the massacres, the betrayal…

The betrayal.

Traitors. Traitors. TRAITORS! How could they betray her and side with that two-faced monster? She won't ever forgive them for that, not even long after their dead. Georgia had to kill all of them. She couldn't focus on anything else. She had to kill them. She had to kill them. She needed to get justice; she needed to finally punish these damn traitors for what they did. And there weren't any Russians for them to _cower_ behind this time!

'Can you feel me, South Ossetia?' Georgia wanted to scream, thinking hysterically. A trio of snakes (traitors) in suits came bumbling out of a door, probably desperate to flee, before they met the furious gaze of the nation they betrayed. Georgia didn't even give them time to beg for mercy.

With every snake that she shot down, South Ossetia had to feel their pain, right? That's how it normally was. With every snake that Georgia shot or tore to shreds, he'll feel all their fear and agony. He'll feel how angry and disappointed she completely was with him. He'll feel her desire to kill him.

The thought made her feel even more motivated and hysterical.

She wasn't _completely_ blind though. When a staff member tried to throw a chair at her, Georgia reacted quickly and stepped out of the way before shooting the human's head and continuing on her way. Georgia's also sure she could hear screaming and gunshots from behind her, which obviously meant North Korea and Iceland weren't far behind.

Georgia didn't turn around to see them, she knew they were there, and that's all she needed to keep doing

The relentless killing went on for a while, until after coming across an area with at least a dozen humans suffering from the effects of the gases; she caught someone crawling their measly way toward an emergency exit.

Well, well, it's the 'president' of this delightful country. And he's fleeing from the scene…

The damn _coward_ was running away.

Georgia screamed at the top of her lungs, and finally lost it.

The rest… it was a little blurry, and… she couldn't remember all of it. Guess that's what going into a fit of blood-crazed rage was like. But she did know that she easily caught the 'president' and socked him right in the face, sending him tumbling down. And… And, well, she did what she's wanted to do for years: Beat the shit out of the 'president'.

She punched and punched and punched and punched. Georgia enjoyed seeing how the old man writhed in pain and cried at his rightful punishment, and with every cry she made sure to hit him hard enough to hear his bones crack. Years and years of all her anger and resentment came pouring out of her...

…Until she finally came to her senses, when she finally regained her ability to think clearly.

Blinking in mild puzzlement, she looked down at the blood covering her blood and sleeves, then at the mess of the corpse lying in front of her. The sight admittedly made Georgia crinkle her nose in disgust, even though she knew that _she_ did this.

It's… It's done.

A long time was spent staring at the damn 'president's' corpse, before a wave of relief started to wash over her. She felt herself relax, like she's finally free from a burden she didn't know she was suffering under. And she hardly noticed when North Korea and Iceland entered the room.

She did it. She really did it. The 'president' of South Ossetia was dead, and if the other group were being just as successful as they were, which Georgia knew was the case, then Abkhazia's boss should be dead right about now too.

And South Ossetia and Abkhazia themselves got captured.

Unaware of her knees were shaking; Georgia fell to her knees as she stared disbelievingly at nothing, and she settled in a sitting position by crossing her legs. A part of her felt like laughing, another just wanted to give a big sigh of relief. She ended up making a noise that sounded like a breathless chuckle, and she released a breath she was holding. This was _real_.

Yes… Yes, it was, wasn't it?

"Well!" North Korea finally broke the silence, smiling brightly at her. "Now that was impressive. Good job, Georgia."

Even though she's still in a bit shock and daze, still reeling from the fact that, yes, this was indeed happening, Georgia managed to give him a sheepish smile.

"Thank you," She said quietly, and it wasn't just directed at North Korea.

/ / / / /

South Ossetia wasn't prepared for the chaos when it happened.

Naturally, his first course of action would be to assess the situation before immediately going out to assist his people, particularly help ensure the safety of his boss and inform the army to get here this instant, but the smoke- gas? It got into his house and now he could feel his lungs and throat on fire and the energy leaving his legs. He felt _awful_.

But he had to! He _must_ go outside. Even- Even if he didn't have any protective gear- as personification of this nation he needed to get out, find out what's going on, and help the authorities evacuate the people. It's his duty as a nation. And he was nation!

Who could even be behind this- this violation of his sovereignty? Was it Georgia's doing? He wouldn't put it above that witch to actually have been responsible for this. If she was, which he had no doubt she was, then there will be consequences!

He- He'll inform Russia of this. When he hears of this, there will be justice and Georgia will finally pay for her crimes against his right for sovereignty! He–

South Ossetia shrieked when his front door suddenly flew right off its hinges and fell right to the ground. Feeling a sudden new sense of anger and terror at this, and he looked up and went to confront to one who dared try break into his house– and he froze when he saw who it was.

A man stood in the doorframe staring at him with his face covered with a gas mask. But he could he recognize that damn cowlick and that jacket– America? America was the one who– But h-how? Why-

"Hey, there, kid," America greeted almost mockingly as he kicked the door out of the way. "How you doin' down there?"

Too busy struggling for breath and suddenly terrified for his life, South Ossetia desperately scrambled to his feet and tried throw anything at the damn capitalist – who was no doubt conspiring with the witch, he had to be – so he wouldn't get anywhere near him.

America only scoffed at his attempts. And then he whipped out a handgun.

 _BANG!_

South Ossetia screamed and collapsed to the floor, clutching his side in pain.

America stopped his steps once he loomed over the cowering South Ossetia. The world superpower stared down at him with unsympathetic blue eyes, and cracked his knuckles. "You can scream now."

In the blink of an eye, he heard a loud crack and the sight of splattering blood, and South Ossetia did indeed do just that.

/ / / / /

Abkhazia was currently trembling violently.

It- It all started when he heard a bunch of explosions from the outside, like- like bombs from back- and suddenly, before he knew it, the gas was everywhere. He was, but the gas got inside his house and then he was coughing.

He knew should've asked Russia for more safety supplies. If he's going to depend on him so much, which he really shouldn't have in hindsight, Abkhazia might as well have asked for everything he'd need in case something terrible suddenly happened to him.

It was a bomb. It had to be a bomb. Or maybe someone released a gas on him. Georgia? It had to be, but Abkhazia really had no idea. He had no idea what's going on. He could see fire, a lot of fire. The whole block was on fire from what he could see… but it didn't answer his questions.

He– But he still had to do something, right? He just had to try to hold his breath long enough to try to contact his boss or maybe even Russia. They should know what's going on and what to do. If it's fucking Georgia again, then they could figure out a plan to get back at her. Y-Yeah! He'll call his boss and they could meet and

But his hastily formed plans were interrupted when he heard something break. It-It came from- Abkhazia spun around and he nearly found himself jumping when he saw the door suddenly get ripped off its hinges, and he wanted to scream when he saw… a man… no, _Sweden_ above the broken door, staring at him emotionlessly.

Sweden was breaking into his house, and looking at him.

Abkhazia screamed.

Immediately, he wanted to run for his life. But he was paralyzed by fear and confusion, and so he couldn't find himself able to move an inch while Sweden walked ominously towards. Abkhazia only stared in fear as Sweden's horrifying eyes

"I would say that for your own sake, you should surrender and come with us quietly," Sweden began coldly, brandishing his sword while Norway cheerfully waved from behind him. "But considering your ultimate fate, and the fact that you're immensely irritating, I realize that it matters not and so, I will enjoy ripping off your spleen."

Terrified beyond words, Abkhazia instinctively tried to run – maybe even jump out of a window – but he felt himself get yanked painfully back by the arm. Not even seconds after, he heard a sickening crack.

Abkhazia could do nothing but scream.

 **I was originally going to include segments of every nation here, but then it got too much for me and I really wanted to update this, so... expect more segments of other characters and the conclusion of the Georgia subplot next chapter, along with POV's unrelated to the subplot but still need to show up. I hope you liked it! Please review, if you have a minute.**


	80. Justice: Price for Betrayal II

**Thanks for the reviews! Sorry for the late update, I had to take a break after getting sick among other stuff that unexpectedly popped up... again. But hopefully, there'll be more consistent updates from now on. Also, I'm a little busy and tired here, so I apologize if there's any mistakes here. I'll fix them later. Now, on with the show!**

Bulgaria could care less about what's happening around him while he tore apart the worthless rats around him that hurt Turkey.

He didn't even care if he's killed the culprits already. All of them had to pay for even thinking and planning to hurt him.

How _dare_ they? How **dare** those greedy, worthless mongrels shoot his beloved? What, was separating Bulgaria from Turkey's loving, kind, majestic presence for fifty years not enough for them? Was putting him through that torture not enough to satisfy their endless need to destroy everything they touch and to see their nations suffer? Did they have to try to take Turkey from him, to make him bleed in front of him?

No. No. No, no, no, no, no, no, NO! NEVER!

It hurt. It hurtIthurtIthurt to see his beloved get shot right in front of his eyes. It hurt in a way that painfully reminded Bulgaria of memories he'd rather forget.

They're going to _pay_. They're going to pay for making Turkey bleed, for causing him _pain_. By doing such a horrible thing, they've signed their death warrant and reduced their already worthless value to literally nothing. They're dirt, worse than trash.

Oh, but of course, the worthless trash was too stupid to realize that their time's up and that they'll be put through hell for hurting the man Bulgaria with all his loved and would happily kick himself and his people for. So, they try to kill him.

If he wasn't in such a furious mood, the pain of their borderline laughable attempts to put him down would've felt _good_ , it would've tickled; it would've made him laugh despite how sick to the stomach these people made him. And he didn't care about the pain, he didn't even care to notice if they managed to hit him or not, all he wanted to see their guts sprawled all over the ground, their faces twisted in agony and terror, and seeing nothing left of them…!

So, Bulgaria just screamed and continued his killing spree, uncaring to the world around him.

He felt a hand touch his shoulder. Bulgaria's face immediately contorted in fury. He automatically spun around to stab the stupid human in the eye. No human ever touched him and lived to br…

Bulgaria froze mid-stab once he came face to face with the... No, to call him _human_ would be an unforgiveable insult. He opened his mouth, but he couldn't get a sound out.

"Shh, stand down Dimitri. There's nothing to fear." Turkey softly spoke with a grin, no longer bleeding and hissing at his own pain. "I'm here. Now breathe, it's all right now."

Turkey was in front of him, speaking to him, weary but not _hurtbleedingdying_...! And Bulgaria wanted to cry out in joy and relief.

"B-Beloved?" Bulgaria stuttered out, shakily reaching out a hand towards him.

Turkey smirked in that charming way of his, generously grabbing Bulgaria's hand, intertwining their fingers, and the latter could barely contain his euphoria. "In the flesh, Hey, stop it, kid, you're trembling. It's pretty damn heartbreaking to see."

"S-Sorry," Bulgaria quickly apologized, but he felt ashamed when he was closing to shedding tears. "I'm sorry, but I… I… you're alright?

"Well, I'm standing before you, aren't I?" Turkey smirked with mirth.

Bulgaria could hardly believe it. "Y-You… But…"

Once again, Turkey generously responded to his concern. "Eh, don't worry about it. Norway healed my injuries, not without first giving me an earful and threatening to let me bleed out if I ever thought of ever walking straight into enemy fire again of course, but I feel _great_ now."

The information, which Turkey was kind enough to provide just to ease Bulgaria's fears, made him smile. " _Ne!_ M-My beloved! I a-almost- I almost stabbed you when y-you tried to – approached me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"

That's unforgiveable! To think that he almost hurt Turkey, after he was just shot, it's one of the worst things he could ever think of doing. It's-

But Turkey threw his head back, laughing. "Oh, that? Aw, come on. It's just a reflex. I could hardly blame you for reacting that way."

Bulgaria felt himself on the verge of tears. His beloved was truly too kind, even to someone as unworthy of it as him. "B-But-"

"It's. All. Right." Turkey cooed as he jabbed a finger into Bulgaria's chest with every word. "That's an order, got it?

At first wanted to protest that it wasn't, and that he should be punished accordingly, but Bulgaria obediently closed his mouth and forced himself to relax. It's all right because Turkey said so, so Bulgaria of course had to obey.

Everything is alright, because his beloved was here. He said so himself…

Turkey's eyes swept over the corpses around them. "You've made quite the mess, my dear Bulgaria. Ha! I love it! And I especially love what you did to the two chicks over there, especially when you ripped off the younger one's face like that. No mercy no matter the gender, now that's true gender equality!"

Turkey boomed louder with his charming laughter with Bulgaria, still a little rattled, blushed from the praise and felt himself overwhelmed with glee. Turkey loved it. Turkey loved what Bulgaria did. He wasn't angry at him, he was proud of him for the slaughter he committed. The Eastern European giggled to himself. Oh, Bulgaria didn't feel worthy…

"Heh. I knew you wouldn't disappoint me…" Turkey turned towards him with a satisfied grin. "Now then, you didn't get injuries, did you?"

Bulgaria flinched at the question, baffled. "M-Me? Oh no, darling, I'm fine. How could you even ask that when you- when _you_ were the one who-?"

"Because as cute as you are when you tear into our enemies, I don't want you to be bleeding and dying on the ground just as I was, even if you'd enjoyed it." Turkey stated simply as if it were fact, the cheer gone from his voice, and he looked at Bulgaria intently. "If that happened, then I'll have to be the one to go a rampage to avenge you."

Bulgaria felt his heart soar in pleasure. "Oh, my beloved, you really don't have-"

He didn't get to finish, however, as Turkey pulled him to him by the arm and smashed his lips against Bulgaria's.

Bulgaria felt all his doubts melt away. When Turkey broke the kiss, to Bulgaria's disappointment, he _smiled_.

"Don't say things like that, Bulgaria. I love you as you love me." Turkey cooed, stroking a mesmerized Bulgaria's cheek. "Now, I promised you a romantic beach stroll didn't I? Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!

Nodding dreamily, Bulgaria let himself be led by Turkey out of the mess of corpses.

/ / / / /

Iceland's sure that he'd probably had enjoyed their killing spree a lot more if he wasn't too busy looking after his… teammates.

He'll admit, while he didn't mind Georgia in any way, her anger creeped him out a little sometimes, and don't get him started on North Korea. Iceland probably won't ever admit this in front of America, much less in front of North Korea himself, but he didn't really like that guy. If you ask him, North Korea's really off his knocker.

Now, don't get him wrong, he's happy for Georgia and he's actually pretty happy that there's finally another 'Safe' nation joining the Order, the look in her eye reminded Iceland so much of Sweden that it kind of worried him. Y-You know, about her mental health. And North Korea basically won't care about anything except getting the job done and killing as many humans (I'm sorry, 'insects') to satisfy his genocidal desires.

…It pretty much left Iceland as the only guy who _didn't_ have bloodlust clouding any of his judgment.

Did America know this? Was he aware that Iceland was going to be the sane third wheel here? He totally was, wasn't he? So, was that why America included him in his team and have him team up with North Korea and Georgia? Because he wanted Iceland to keep both of them in check?

Or at least, that's what Iceland _hoped_ was the case. Because it's either that, or America didn't really have a better option and thought 'oh, fuck it' and dumped the task onto Iceland and hoped for the best. It did help that America didn't treat him like a kid like Norway did (some things never change, façade or not), so maybe it really was the former…?

Then again, Iceland wouldn't exactly blame him in the off chance that America really did have to dump the job on him. HE couldn't see Denmark or Ireland being the calm, rational person. While one did know well to put their job before anything else, they're still pretty rough, and the other's a drunken loony that kept calling Iceland, 'Ice Queenland'.

 _…Why?_

But fine. America wanted him to be the 'chill' guy, the only sane man, or whatever the hell else you could call it? Okay, cool, whatever. No matter how many times Iceland might complain when someone gave a mission he didn't really like, he'll always suck it up and do it without grumbling all the way in the end.

"Whoa there, you two," Iceland butted in, "Hold up for a minute. Before we go killing _everyone_ again, isn't there something we should check first?"

As Iceland suspected, he was met with two puzzled looks from his teammates. From the looks of it, not only do they not have any idea what he's talking about, but they didn't seem close to figuring out what he's talking about. He would've sighed, but he figured that maybe he's not being clear enough and these two were still jumpy from all the violence.

"You know… files, info on weapons, facilities, locations, things about Russia that could prove useful in tomorrow's invasion…?" Iceland offered hopefully, checking. _Come on, you two, you're making me feel like an idiot here…!_ "…Information humans would kill to get their hands on? That _we've_ killed to get our hands on."

"There is no need to keep the insects alive." North Korea stated coldly in a way that made it clear that he didn't want any argument while he ran a finger on his bloodied knife.

This time Iceland did sigh. "Did you even listen to what I just said?"

"I listened, and I think that there's no need." North Korea narrowed his eyes coldly." "I fail to see how they would have any useful information we don't already have."

"It couldn't hurt to check, you know!"

"Yes, but it would only be a waste of time."

"Jeez, how the hell Alfred likes someone as short-sighted as you is beyond me." Iceland grumbled under his breath.

 ** _"What was that?"_**

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Iceland said quickly in the coolest, calmest most _non-suspicious_ way possible. He swiftly decided to ignore North Korea's soul-piercing stare of death and rigidly turned around to completely face Georgia instead.

She's the only other reasonable person in the room. She'll listen and understand, right?

"What do you think, Georgia?"

"Well… I did always want to see what kind of dirty secrets South Ossetia and his cronies could be finding." Georgia admitted shyly, pressing her index fingers together. It made her look a little cute. Iceland immediately pushed that thought away from his mind, that's wasn't what's important…

Thank whatever deity's in charge of the universe. There really was another sane person with him.

"So, yes, I think I want to investigate." Georgia decided, nodding at Iceland. "It might help out for after the reunification too".

"Two against one, North." Iceland said almost smugly. "It's decided. We're gonna search for info."

North Korea said nothing.

"It shouldn't be that hard finding the goods." Iceland remarked, or at least he hoped that'd be the case. "I mean, I'd ask Mr. Wannabe President here and the rest of the staff, but they're too busy being, y'know… _dead_."

Surprisingly, Georgia actually cringed, not even looking at all annoyed like North Korea would.

"B-But I guess it's on me for not thinking of this sooner, or telling you, so, like, don't worry about it, Georgia." Iceland grumbled, hating how warm his face felt. "We can just browse around, find the info ourselves."

Georgia's face brightened up again. Iceland found himself looking away before he could feel too embarrassed. He's suddenly really glad that Norway's not here.

"Are you _sure_ that this is really worth our time?" North Korea just had to ask. "The humans-"

"North, you know as well as I do that the chances of the humans going anywhere are super low." Iceland cut him off, not wanting to hear any more of this. He's trying, trying _really_ hard not to roll his eyes. "And I'm not saying we spend a lotta time here, let's just look around for a bit and see if we can find anything that can benefit us in the future."

"I think Iceland's right, North Korea." Georgia piped up. Call him crazy, but Iceland could've sworn he saw a weird mischievous glint in her eyes. "And who knows? Maybe Alfred will appreciate you going through the trouble of finding useful information, especially since he didn't really think of doing it in the first place?

The look on North Korea's face would've been so hilarious if it weren't so terrifying at the same time.

After a couple of crazy eye twitching, almost half of minute of scowling, and maybe muttering a couple of Korean curses under his breath, North Korea finally nodded. "…Let us search the insects' offices then."

Iceland felt his lips twitch up in a smile, not helping with how Georgia sent him a thumbs-up.

/ / / / /

Mexico's face scrunched up in frustration as she scrolled down the messages Brazil sent her for where Romano was supposed to be. And according to the guide, he should be in about twelve different places in Rio de Janeiro.

...In other words, it turned out Romano _wasn't_ in the place he was supposed to be at, or even in the area.

She tapped her foot impatiently, scanning the area around her for the tenth time while her eyes occasionally flickered over to her phone, waiting for any new messages about Romano's next move or maybe about the enemy that should be already here.

Tch. This wasn't good. He's on the move, and not only that, but farther and farther away from the house too, even though that's supposed to be his intended destination. Mexico knew Romano, and while the little tick had his moments of head-bashing stupidity, he's not one to get hopelessly lost. He should know the address and the way to Brazil's damn house.

Something's obviously wrong, you'd have to be brain dead to not figure it out. Mexico even felt stupid for thinking it. Could Romano have really figured them out?

...Nah. Mexico failed to hold back a guffaw, ignoring the weirded out looks Guatemala and Argentina gave her. What the hell's she saying?

She's giving Romano _way_ too much credit here. That guy probably got pissed off at something or whatever again and decided to go back to Italy to deal with, probably while muttering that Brazil wasn't worth his time anyway. That... or maybe, and this sounded more and more likely the more Mexico thought about it, the enemy had warned Romano about them, or at least convinced him that it wasn't safe here.

Mexico became deathly still after the thought crossed her mind. Then, she felt even more like a complete idiot than before.

Wait. What if that's what's happening?

In fact, she was wondering why Brazil hadn't seemed to have said anything about the supposed intruders that were supposed to have arrived by now. Guess that should've tipped her off.

 _"Chin..."_ Mexico cursed in frustration, and she facepalmed. Ow.

"What's the matter, Rosa?" Guatemala asked her serenely, a slight frown on his face. Mexico almost envied him for being so chill all the time. It's almost frustrating. "Xavier giving you a hard time?"

"Sometimes I wish he'd go take the mood enhancers again, it'd help with his sanity too." Argentina said wistfully, resorting to inspecting and cleaning his sunglasses out of the pure _boredom_ he was feeling.

"No, no… it's something worse…" Mexico grumbled as her hand slid off her face, and she turned to deadpan at the other two nations. "…I think I've figured out a possible reason why Romano's going farther and farther away."

 _That_ got their full attention. Guatemala raised a curious eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

"Well, think about it, you two," Mexico glanced at the two back and forth, a frown on her face. "According to what our, _ahem_ , sleeper was more than kind to inform Xavier, our enemies are planning to 'rescue' Romano via a half-baked plan of going to Brazil themselves to find him before we do and bring him to safety."

"Si, that's correct. So?" Argentina blinked, not quite getting it.

Mexico looked at him blankly. "…So, in case you haven't noticed, we haven't really received any notice from Brazil that any other foreign nations have entered his territory."

She waited impatiently for that to sink in as she watched the emotions play on their faces. It felt immensely satisfying to see the realization finally dawn on their faces and how they started to have the same feeling of dread that Mexico was feeling.

Argentina blinked. "…Oh."

"Wha… Oh. _Oh_." Guatemala realized with wide eyes, his tone one of enlightenment. He then frowned. "How did we not notice this sooner?"

 _"I don't know!"_ Mexico cried out hysterically, attracting the attentions of several passerby. She didn't care. How did they not realize this earlier in the eternity they've spent on what's practically becoming a wild goose chase?

"Oh, who cares how long it took us to notice, you two? What matters is that we did notice." Argentina sighed, a relatable sentiment really, before settling on a calm expression. Mexico began envying his patience. "The question is, are we sure this isn't because of some setback the enemy might've had?"

"Or maybe they are here, and Brazil's too busy to notify us?" Guatemala suggested, though it seemed like a half-hearted guess.

"No." Mexico refuted that immediately. "Xavier's not stupid. He wouldn't waste a single second daydreaming the moment the people who want to steal Portugal away from his step foot into his land."

Although, who's to say if he had reached the same conclusion as they had?

"What if they got sidetracked?" Argentina suggested again. "Maybe another member's keeping them busy."

"Come on, Tina, until like a half-hour ago, Romano was only fifteen minutes away from Xavier's house." Mexico scoffed at him. "I know our enemies are practically morons, but they should know that they can't afford to waste any time if they want Romano back in one piece, even if they're busy. They should have at least sent a couple nations by now…"

" _So_ , since the _enemy_ hasn't arrived yet, when they should've already done almost hours ago," Argentina began wondering out loud with a hand on his chin with a worried frown. "Then does this mean that they had a change of plans? Is this what you're also trying to say, Rosa?"

…Huh.

 _"Dios mio…"_ Guatemala remarked dully, blinking without the slightest hint of emotion on his face. "Wouldn't that be quite a twist? Our enemies having brain cells, I mean."

Mexico almost felt her jaw drop to the ground, and felt completely torn from either laughing spitefully or groaning for the hundredth time today. The enemy having made a change of plans… Heh, wouldn't that be something? If that's true, it meant that Mexico got strong-armed into this for nothing.

 _Nothing_.

W-Well, except for the fun killing someone, couldn't forget that.

What's more, it also meant that Portugal's possibly being put through all this and locked away foooorrr... _Yes_ , that's right. _Nothing._ Absolutely _nothing._

Oh, her poor, poor uncle. Truly, they were all victims of the enemy's inconsistent planning, as well as Brazil's anger issues.

Then again, Mexico wouldn't exactly blame them. She'd even applaud them for changing their minds even though it robbed her of having any fun. Sending a handful or even a dozen of nations into enemy territory with no idea what to expect or even being completely having Romano's location being pinpointed was an aaaaawful idea. So... kudos, or whatever she's supposed to say.

Mexico hissed as she rubbed her temples, muttering all kinds of family unfriendly words at both Romano, the enemy and Brazil under her breath. Ugh, this was why she wanted to retire after killing Spain.

"You think Brazil knows something's off too?" Guatemala asked him.

Mexico made a groan that she hoped translated well to 'How the hell should I know?'

Had even Brazil even come to that conclusion yet? Was he trying to wrack his brain for his answers too?

A full three seconds passed before Mexico groaned as loudly as she could at the sky- Oh, who's she kidding? He's probably too busy fawning over his 'papa' or cursing at their enemies to even bother thinking clearly about anything else.

"Should we tell him?"

"Of course we should tell him." Mexico said. "He's the one who knows where Romano is. I'll call him right away.

"What a shame." Guatemala lamented with just the slightest tinge of annoyance. "I was looking forward to seeing Ana Sofia and Vanessa again."

"And I was looking forward to ripping Romano a new one, but even we can't always get what we want." Mexico grumbled, and she started scrolling through her phone. "God, I swear, if Xavier hasn't at _least_ started to suspect something's wrong, I'm going to-"

"You know, Rosa, maybe it'd be best if you spend less time complaining and more time getting to work." Argentina replied in that annoying tone of his.

Mexico glared at him. "And why's that?"

Argentina looked at her as if _she_ suddenly became an idiot. "Because as while we're wasting time here talking, Romano's probably getting farther and farther away from us."

" _Chingados_ _!"_

/ / / / /

The scene of the massacre turned out to be a lot bloodier than he thought it'd be, honestly.

Lithuania observed the guards cleaning up the corpses with an even gaze, not disliking the sight of result of the massacre but not really liking it either. He may not always be for bloody methods, but these humans had brought this on themselves. He sure didn't see any real reason to feel bad for them.

Then again, his feelings would be drastically different if it were another nation's government he saw brutally massacred. Like, for example… Russia.

He shivered at the thought. No, he wouldn't just watch, he'd join in on the fun too. Lithuania covered his face with his hands, leaving only his eyes to see between his fingers as he If he could, if America allowed him, he'd absolutely **_love_** to have a chance to wipe that poker face off Russia's boss once and for that. Oh, how fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, **_fun_** that'd be!

He closed his quivering hands into fists and let them fall to his sides, and he took a deep calming breath. But no, not now. Not today. It'll have to wait until another day, no matter how much he's itching for bloodshed.

It didn't mean that he wasn't feeling anything out of _this_. That'd just be ridiculous. He's cold, not _emotionless_. The one that stood out the most was relief. There's also the feeling of satisfaction and it felt really satisfying to finally have one of the burdens lifted off Prussia. Now he could finally be a little happier and at peace.

Lithuania looked curiously to the aforementioned nation, who was currently staring blankly out the glass and into the gory scene below them with a hand pressed against the glass something indescribable in his eyes.

"Toris," Lithuania almost flinched when Prussia suddenly spoke up. "I'm sorry if this sounds strange, but don't you ever get the feeling that all of this is almost… surreal? As is you can't believe we're finally here, at this point?"

Lithuania blinked, then he smiled in understanding, "I agree that it almost seems too good to be true, but this is real, Gil. Your- _Our_ work has brought us this far, and now we're finally reaping the rewards."

"Meaning, my next goal to reclaim East Germany as well the other bits of me will proceed without worrying about opposition." Prussia finished with understandable amount of satisfaction and relief.

"Exactly." Lithuania nodded. "You'll be able to regain your strength for the war truly begins."

Prussia murmured his agreement and looked down at his hands. Lithuania wondered if he was thinking about Germany

"Although I wish I could've been able to share that moment with more of the others," Prussia mused, still smiling, albeit sadly. "It would've been… _nice_."

Lithuania's lips twitched. He wasn't sure if he could agree with that. While it might've been more like a celebration, and he's sure that a lot of the nations would be more than happy to attend, it'd be a lot noisier.

And then there's Bulgaria… and Turkey… and every other bloodthirsty maniac in the Order.

And what if Vilnius found out about it (thanks to a blabbermouth like Turkey or Bulgaria)? Then she'd want to come along for Prussia's sake more than anything else and see…

The thought made Lithuania feel a lot more uncomfortable than he would've liked. He frowned. It wasn't that he's afraid that Vilnius might react… queasily to the massacre- Oh, well, okay, he was worried about that because as good as Vilnius was with a sword, she's… not very _strong_ around blood.

Then there's also how… she… didn't actually know…

She wasn't ready, that's what. No matter how much Vilnius wanted to be useful and how she thought she could help, she wasn't ready for this. Good Lord, she's just a child. And Lithuania had too many unpleasant memories of fighting as a child, no matter how successful he was at several points in history. Lithuania didn't want her to go through the same pain he did, and there's lots of things he'd rather she not see.

"Then again, as much it'd warm my heart, I wonder if the end result would be too bloody even for my tastes." Prussia wondered out loud. Lithuania gave a near inaudible sigh of relief that Prussia thought the same. "The Africans probably wouldn't resist barging in and making this bloody mess look clean in comparison."

"Oh, they wouldn't." Lithuania scowled in disgust. "They really wouldn't."

"Ja… But while everyone's' presence might've been pleasant, I'm truly glad _you_ are here with me." Prussia smiled thankfully at him. " _Danke_ , Lithuania."

"But enough me, there's not really any point in wondering about such things now." Prussia shook his head, clearing his throat before smiling at Lithuania. "So, do you still wish to have your 'talk' with Russia?"

Lithuania grinned, and immediately nodded fervently. "Yes. Yes, I'd like that very much."

"Good. Well, a promise is a promise." Prussia fully turned his back to the window and nodded toward him. "Let's go, Toris. We can leave the rest to my humans."

"Thank you, Gil."

/ / / / /

Georgia had left the former government building with her head high, a smile on her face, and a warm feeling of pride in her heart.

It still felt so surreal, like something straight out of a dream. N-Not that she'd ever started to give up hope that one day she'd get those two back under her control again or anything, it's just that she didn't expect it to happen for _many_ years, until the status quo wouldn't have it anymore. And then there's the evil home-breaking Abominable Snowman of trouble…

…Not to mention she never expected it to happen like _this_. A conspiracy organization bent on world-domination and real change knocking on her door and offering her membership because she just happened to be a good enough person, in need of help, and have a huge grudge against Russia. Seriously, what were the odds that this would happen to her?

But the 'nations' of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, that never even really existed or even acknowledge in the first place, have fallen, haven't they? And the Russians couldn't do anything about it, America and the others were going to make sure of that.

She won.

And Russia didn't even know it.

Georgia felt a laugh escape her at the thought. It's almost a damn shame. She would love to see the look on his face when he finds out what happened while he was off terrifying people for no good reason.

But it's not over, she knew that perfectly well enough. They still needed to get South Ossetia and Abkhazia to sign those… uh… magical contracts (that's what they were, right) to officially bring the two states back under her control again. Georgia wasn't exactly sure how they're going to convince those two stubborn mules, but after everything today, she couldn't really find it in her heart to doubt their ability anymore.

The deal hadn't changed though. They get her land back, and Georgia will happily help the New World Order in any way she could. But she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't feeling incredibly confident now.

After they finished wrapping up whatever' left to be done, they met back at the van. America sent the memo that his team's done with their share of work, so they should be waiting for them there.

Georgia smiled when she saw that everyone else seemed to be mostly uninjured, and when she saw a familiar-looking kid slumped over America's shoulder. Not wasting any time standing around, she rushed over to greet everyone. Gosh, she really wished she'd be

"Hey there, Bedisa! Nice to see ya, dude!" America waved in her direction.

" _Gamardschoba_ , Alfred!" Georgia greeted happily. "How it'd go with you? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

"Aw, that's sweet of you, Bedisa, but don't worry, we're fine." America waved it off. He did look pretty, just dirty from all the destruction, probably. "We were practically unopposed."

Georgia sure didn't doubt that. She caught a couple glimpses of America using his strength uninhibited, which still sent a chill down her spine. She doubted any police force could stand a chance against him.

"And you sound pretty happy." America noted. "Anyway, I heard from Ice that you killed the president. How did it feel?"

Honestly? It's a little hard to describe everything she felt into words.

"A little overwhelming, or maybe I just can't believe I actually did it," Georgia said sincerely, lamenting that she had to keep the gas mask, and America won't be able to see how much she's _smiling_ right now. "But in the end, it felt great. Thank you, Alfred. I mean it. You… Uh, how do. You rock."

America made a kind of sputtering noise, which Georgia couldn't resist giggling at, and rubbed the back of his head. "W-Well – don't thank me yet, we still have to cede the land back to you and stuff and… But y-yeah, you're welcome. No problem."

 _Aw, he really is a kind person, isn't he?_ Georgia beamed.

"Well, it's nice to see you finally get your wish." Ireland patted her shoulder with what's probably a friendly smile under that gas mask, which then became directed at Georgia. "How'd it go for you, lass? Had plenty of fun? I know _I_ did, am I right, Denny?"

Ireland said this with a devious grin as he wrapped an arm around a rather grumpy Denmark, who then almost glared at the Irishman before he stared blankly at them.

"I lost a bet," Denmark said flatly, as if that explained everything, and he almost sounded ashamed under the deadpan. "Now I have to buy him at least twenty gallons of Guinea pigs."

 _"Guinness!"_

"Whatever."

"Who the bloody hell would drink fecking _guinea pigs?_ "

"Oh, this coming from the guy who once wanted to know what the Loch Ness Monster tastes like?"

"Not now, guys." America ordered them, one of his eyebrows twitching, before going back to Georgia. "So, I assume things went great with you guys? What about you, North?

North Korea flinched, or at least Georgia's _sure_ she saw him flinch, but then he straightened up with his head held high. "As if the vermin ever stood a chance in the first chance, it was very satisfying to kill them."

Georgia couldn't quite make out America's expression behind the gas mask, but he sounded pleased. "Cool. Glad you all could work together; I knew you could do it. Good job, Hyung."

Not responding to that, North Korea lowered his head and mumbled something while America looked at Georgia again.

"I think we did pretty good, if I say so myself." America informed them casually. Not sounding proud of it, but not ashamed of it either. "We caused mass casualties and irreparable properly damage, Uncle Patrick got to ride on a weird ghost horse and somehow not get sent flying straight into a window, Denmark finally found out how humans react when you cleave them up from between the legs."

Georgia gaped, not that anyone could see that. "…Huh?"

"Don't ask." America said quickly. "Anyway, as for the South Ossetia…"

The blonde patted the personification slung over his shoulder.

"Welp, here he is." America stated simply, holding up the bruised and bleeding South Ossetia up by the shirt. "Hope you don't mind that I roughened him up a bit, never liked the brat and I'd rather be safe than sorry. But he's all yours now."

"Nah, don't worry about it, Alfred." Georgia assured him with a smile and a wave of her hand, before scowling at the brat. " _He's_ been long overdue for a beating."

"Oh, I'm sure he ain't seen yet either." America then raised his voice. "Okay, let's head back to your capital to finish this up. I've already told the other team that we're on our way there. Uncle Patrick, how's your energy? Think you got enough to teleport us back to Tbilisi?"

"Of course I can! So what if I set a lotta stuff on fire and threw up after getting off my horse?" Ireland snorted, then he smirked. "Now, let's go get this girl her land back."

/ / / / /

…You know, it just occurred to him that he had little to no experience taking care of little kids.

Estonia thought this in embarrassment as he awkwardly helped tug the sleepy Vilnius into bed. He couldn't believe that time passed by so fast. He couldn't believe that they didn't notice that it was late.

In the midst of all their storytelling, from the time Latvia almost got eaten by sheep to Estonia's numerous attempts to join the Nordics, a goal he'd since given up on, (which may or may not have something to do with how they're in on this too and what Vilnius said about them didn't exactly endear Estonia to their 'real' selves), it took an embarrassing long time for them to notice that Vilnius was starting to doze off.

And then they remembered Lithuania had a clock in the living room.

And then they remembered the living room had a window.

…And then they realized that they've been a little kid up late with stories about all the creative, 'child-friendly' ways Russia or just life in general screwed them over, which probably weren't as child-friendly as they thought now they told the whole tale, when she should be in bed.

See? Not a lot of experience with children. And so, they helped her get ready for bed.

S-Sure, one might say that they could just leave her to sleep on the chair she was sitting on and finally have some time to themselves… But that didn't feel right. A-And come on, just look at her. Hell, _talk_ to her. She… She's such a nice girl and…

"There, do you feel uncomfortable, Vilnius?" Estonia asked her.

It still felt weird hearing the name roll off his tongue. Even weirder was the fact that the personification of said capital was right in front of him dressed in blue pajamas and holding a Mickey Mouse plush to her chest.

The little girl shook her head sleepily. "I'm fine. Thank you, Mr. Estonia."

Estonia smiled, genuinely. Really, it's a little hard to believe how nice of a girl she was compared to Lithuania.

It was… It was actually nice getting to know her and talking with her. She's really a sweet kid, contrary to what Estonia might expect from the apparently 'real' Lithuania.

God, he and Latvia still don't know what to do about that. Estonia was completely torn whether to spill the real nature of their 'rescue', psychopaths and all, and quite possibly shatter Vilnius's view of her brother and the people he worked with, thus possibly leading to Lithuania killing them for it as the price of being relieved of the sugar-coating… or just keep their mouths about it.

Goodness, it wasn't Vilnius's fault that he and Latvia were in this terrifying mess. She's innocent in all this. Taking all their frustration out on her would be cruel and just wrong. B-Besides, they've just met. Who's to say she'll actually believe them?

"W-Well, if there isn't anything else you need, then I think it's time to turn the lights off." Estonia prepared to get up his chair and leave, before Vilnius's high-pitched voice piped up.

"Hey, um… Mr. Estonia?"

Estonia, who somehow didn't flinch, looked back, curious. "Jah?"

Vilnius blushed and sank deeper into her blankets. It was so cute that Estonia almost wanted to burst into tears, but he certainly wasn't about to… no matter how adorable she was. The little, miniature female clone of Lithuania (who wasn't really a clone after all) murmured something that sounded muffled with her mouth under the blanket.

"U-Um, I'm sorry. I didn't quite catch that." Estonia frowned, not liking how nervous she's looking all of a sudden.

"Do you and Latvia hate me?"

Estonia stared dumbly for about half a minute before the question fully sank in. To put it mildly, he was _flabbergasted_. "What?!"

Vilnius flinched and retreated deeper into the blankets.

"I-I mean, no! No! Of course not!" Estonia exclaimed. The idea honestly repulsed him. "Why would you think that?"

Was it something he– they said?

"B-Because of what Toris did," Vilnius stuttered, not needing to elaborate more for Estonia to know what she meant. "H-He scared you, didn't he? I-I can tell. And then he made you come here just to meet me, why wouldn't you hate me? He's making you to stay here with me."

Estonia swallowed anxiously. Well, yes, but that's no good reason to hate her. S-Someone in his position might _resent_ her, especially since she didn't really seem all that aware that one of Lithuania's friends was a nutcase. But that's still no excuse and neither Estonia and Latvia resented! Oh no oh no. How can he fix this…?

"I don't hate you, not all!" Estonia figured he'd start there, with the obvious. "And neither does Latvia, I'm sure."

Latvia seemed to like Vilnius too, he thought. He was a lot more comfortable conversing with her than he first had

"I don't think we _hate_ Toris either."

Vilnius blinked up at him in surprise. "Y-You don't?"

Estonia hesitated a little before answering, he was going to start being more honest with her here. "I don't really think… hatred is the right way to put it. A-Are we mad at him? Well, of course we are. Betrayed? Obviously. Disappointed? Jah, that too. Upset? Well… Vilnius, wouldn't you be upset if Toris spent many years lying to _you_ too?"

The child's big eyes widened, almost as if she never thought of that, " _Taip_ … I would be. But he didn't want to hurt you, and…"

Despite feeling his gaze softening, Estonia couldn't help a sigh.

"I… Vilnius… Please, you have to understand. Toris lied to us, and… uh… kidnapped us." Estonia said, maybe a little more bluntly than he would've liked, and he tried not to look away while he scratched the back of his head. "Of course we're not going to be pleased with his actions, regardless of the reasons why he did it and that he did it for us."

"I understand." Vilnius said quietly. "But…"

"And what Lithuania did- It's got nothing to do with you. You had nothing to do with it. It's…" _Not your fault_. Estonia paused for a moment before continuing. "It's not that we hate you, it's just that at first, we weren't really what to make of you. I mean, a capital? Wha… How?!"

Estonia threw his hands up over the absurd concept, which still baffled him to no end. Yet it also intrigued, and if he could, he'd liked to know the scientific/magical process behind it. But as impressive as it was, it's still shocking, and it practically rubbed salt to the wound over the discovery that Toris was keeping this many secrets from them.

"I-I don't think I'm allowed to tell anyone about that, yet." Vilnius muttered with evident remorse.

"You don't need to." Estonia assured her. "It's just shocking, is all."

Vilnius didn't respond to that, "Toris does care about you."

"I'm sure he does." Estonia nodded, smiling a little awkwardly. Well, all right, he wasn't completely sure, but he supposed the fact that the fact that he and Latvia are unharmed should be proof enough... "It's just… something that'll take a lot of getting used to."

"I understand," Vilnius said again, nodding, "I don't think I can blame you, Mr. Estonia."

Estonia managed to smile a little at that, and he stood up from his chair. "I'm glad you do. Well, I think that's enough discussion for today. I don't think Toris would appreciate me keeping you up so late."

"Okay," Vilnius said drowsily, yawning in the most adorable manner possible. She looked up at him again. "Um, Mr. Estonia?

"Hm?"

"I… I'm really glad we met today." Vilnius smiled sleepily at him. "Thank you for telling me all those stories. Y-You really didn't have to do it, but you did and… thank you."

Estonia felt his heart swell, and he found himself smiling with a lot less effort. "You're welcome. If you want, I can tell you more stories tomorrow."

Vilnius's eyes lit up. "Really?

"Of course!" Estonia proclaimed proudly, pushing up his glasses.

Maybe he could tell her about his awesome blog, or the mochi, or he could show that his singing voice was indeed revolutionary!

"Good night, Estonia."

With one last smile, Estonia flipped the switch and stepped quietly through the door, where he was then greeted by a sobbing and wailing Latvia.

Estonia sighed, face-palming. "Latvia, did you overhear all that?"

Latvia shook his head frantically. "Yes… the door was open and I couldn't resist! 'sob'."

"You really do need some help with your brutal honesty." After yet another sigh, Estonia gestured Latvia to follow. "Well, let's get you some tissues and retire for the night. I think we all need some rest."

This really was going to take a lot of getting used to.

/ / / / /

Algeria intentionally refrained from speaking to most of the other nations and kept to herself.

It was less out of cowardice born from the fear of seeing other nations hiss and glare at her for her mistake and more out of tremendous self-hatred and guilt. In all honesty, she'd actually welcome the resentment; she felt that she more than deserved it.

Obviously, in case you couldn't tell, the guilt was indeed practically eating away at her.

Algeria came to Switzerland with her mind almost completely obsessed with two things: Protecting Tunisia from any further harm and shame (which she also failed spectacularly to do) and confront and interrogate Morocco about what he did to Western Sahara. She'd strangle the answer out of him if she had to. She needed to know – she needed to know if Western Sahara was alight and if Algeria really was that much of a failure of a friend to not notice her suffering.

There's no point in trying to make excuses. She didn't want to make any excuses for herself. She was stupid, she let herself grab the painfully obvious bait, and France just happened to have an enough lack of self-preservation to pay the price in her stead.

"You fool." She muttered bleakly at the wall as it was actually France. "Why did you have to sacrifice yourself for me? Why… Why do you care about me to the point that you'd…?

She wanted to scream at him, to yell at him for his stupid, stupid, decision.

But knowing what he's likely going through, it'd be like kicking a poor puppy. Hmph. Well, that's actually a fitting way to put it, wasn't it? As much as Algeria preferred to stay _away_ from them for _reasons_ and found their barking a little annoying, she would _never_ wish any harm on any puppy. It described her feelings toward France rather well.

Now France was a poor puppy, trapped by dangerous predators that will never ever let him have a single moment of peace.

And it's all Algeria's miserable, stupid fault, because she was too stupid and hot-heated to see the obvious bait.

She failed Tunisia and she failed France.

/ / / / /

Surprisingly, Tbilisi hadn't changed a bit in the hours Georgia was away.

Even with the government practically dissolved, life went on as normal. People continued on their everyday business and it didn't seem they had a clue that the president and any other important government figure had been killed There wasn't any panic or chaos going on in her city, which was a huge relief for her. She'd feel awful if something like that had been happening while she'd been off getting revenge, but thankfully it looked like things were completely normal.

She wondered if it had to do with her 'will' or something else America told her about or maybe the change just hadn't completely set in yet, but now's hardly the time to think about that.

Well, she did want to make sure her people would be all right, but first things first. She had two pieces of land to reclaim, and finish her payback.

It turned out Group A, AKA America and Georgia's group, were the first ones to arrive.

But about seven-ten minutes later, Group B finally showed up.

And unexpected, Georgia was greeted with a lot more warmth than she had expected.

Iran smiled and told her he's happy for her. Turkey cackled, saying he's glad Georgia's finally getting her wish while saying how it's a shame she didn't take pictures. Bulgaria, who's still too cheerful, said that he hoped Georgia made it painful. Norway grinned her way, congratulating her and the others for a job well done. Saudi Arabia complimented on the way the blood smelled on her uniform… something that's more creepy than flattering. Finland's as blunt and snappy as he ever was since she last saw him, but it didn't seem to stop him from greeting him politely (do massacres put him in a good mood?). And Sweden… patted her head and turned his back to her without another word.

It's almost embarrassing. N-Not to mention, it's… _weird_. Yeah. weird.

Think about it. 'You helped massacre a local populace and toppled the fake government of one of your breakaway states, well done!' 'Good to hear you got revenge, I'm really happy for you, Georgia!'. That's not something people normally do, even with nations. The 'normal' thing to do would to be to give her flak for it. No, she will get flak for this, even though almost no one cares about South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

So it's… nice being congratulated and having people be happy for her instead of… which will probably be how Armenia and the others will react.

Speaking of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, they've just unloaded them. And Georgia had to keep herself from laughing at just how pitiful they looked. Abkhazia wasn't in any better shape than South Ossetia was.

"I admit I may have overdone it." Sweden said gruffly, emotionless as always. "But it was nothing Norway couldn't fix, and I truly tried not to kill him."

"Ja, don't worry. He's just unconscious." Norway assured with a wave of his hand, grinning. "I made special care to keep him alive and semi-conscious throughout the entire journey."

Georgia snorted. It didn't really matter to her as long as they're not dead, she couldn't wait any longer.

America asked her where she'd like to the reunification process, since they obviously couldn't do it here in broad daylight. Georgia suggested they go back inside to the Parliament Building. It's less out of how it'd be 'fitting' and more out of the fact that it's only several minutes away from they're at. And they should've cleaned up about half of the mess there, right?

So here they were now, in a room with a table with Georgia sitting on one side with two chairs put for the two brats on the other. Everyone else appeared to be in deep conversation except for Norway, who just put the papers in front of her and was making some last minute checks.

"So… These papers will really and officially reunite South Ossetia and Abkhazia's lands back into mine?" Georgia asked up at him.

"But of course, Bedisa." Norway affirmed gleefully. "Once they sign… here, right here, their 'nations' will be no more. The land will legally be returned to you and no longer be under Russian occupation either.

"Um, cool…" Georgia blinked, and she frowned before asking her next question. "But there's one other problem. How are we going to convince the people to just accept this instead of rebelling all over again?"

"We won't need to!" Norway held up the paper in front of her and pointed a finger at one particular line. "The contract will take care of that too."

Georgia stared at him in surprise and then skeptically squint her eyes to read the contract. "Wait, it will?"

"Ja! Look at one of the terms of the 'agreement' here: _…Therefore, the citizens of South Ossetia will never consider, plan or commence any attempt to break away from the Republic of Georgia. They will be content to remain under Georgian influence and so they will never consent to any alliance or to the rule of the Russian Federation._ See? I made sure to be very specific so as to prevent any trouble for you in the future."

Georgia was both shocked and impressed. "Wow… You can really do that?"

"Why, Georgia, with power of magic, anything is possible!" Norway exclaimed dramatically, making Georgia snort. "Okay, maybe not _anything_ , but still, a lot of things _are_ possible!"

"I'll take your word for it." Georgia told him with an amused smile.

"Good. Now then, let me just go heal those two rebels back to full consciousness." Norway announced cheerfully. "I'll be just a moment. Swedie, help me out will, you?"

Sweden grunted and followed him out of the room.

"Okay, Georgia. This is it, the moment you've been waiting for." America said as he walked up next to her. "Remember. If it's still okay with you, we'll be doing most of the talking, coaxing and intimidation. We may have them in our grasp, but it's gonna take a bit more effort to convince them to sign them."

"I figured. They're both stubborn as oxen." Georgia narrowed her eyes briefly before smiling up at Alfred. "So does this mean have some kind of plan to get them?"

"Yup," America flashed a thumbs-up. "Don't worry about it though. You just sit tight, relax and enjoy the show. We got ya covered, Bedisa."

"And I do hope that you'll know better to doubt us from now on." North Korea unexpectedly interjected coolly.

"North…" America groaned exasperatedly.

"Oh, it's all right." Georgia said, though she didn't quite like how North Korea's looking at her. "I trust you, Alfred."

The two Nordics came back. And Georgia was treated with the _hilarious_ sight of Norway happily waltzing into the room with stone-faced Sweden holding the two thrashing traitors up by the collar, one looking very angry yet terrified and the other frozen in fear, ready to piss his pants.

And when they saw her sitting there, smiling at their expense, they were _both_ angry and ready to piss their pants.

"Georgia! I knew you were the one behind this- this mess." South Ossetia stammered, trying his best to look brave in the face of defeat. It didn't work.

Georgia couldn't resist wanting to rub her victory in their faces "Well, you caught me. Congratulations. But as you can see, it hardly matters now."

"I-It will! When Russia finds out about this, you'll regret you ever decided to hurt us!" South Ossetia squawked. "And I should've known you would be helping her with this, you slimy, American pig-"

"Yeah, yeah, capitalist pig, fatty, idiot, moron, blah, blah, blah," America cut him off with a flat tone, rolling his eyes. "Seriously, you Russia sycophants really need to come up with new material. Just shut up and sit down."

Sweden and Norway then forced them to sit on the chairs on the sight, with a threatening glare from the former silencing them and destroying any intent they'd have of escaping.

"W-Wait, what are you people doing here?" Abkhazia exclaimed, eyes wide in fear.

"Are you saying that you _just_ noticed our presence?" Finland asked disdainfully.

"Rude," Turkey scoffed.

"N-No! Wh-What are you all doing here?" Abkhazia demanded, both shocked and horrified. His eyes went ridiculously wide when his uneasy gaze settled on North Korea. "What are _you_ doing here? This isn't your- America's right there! I thought you two were enemies!"

"Exactly. You _thought_ he and I were enemies," North Korea grinned nastily and leaned against America's chest, who looked on blankly. "The _truth_ is far from that."

Georgia felt a rush of satisfaction at seeing the horror on the two traitors' faces. Oh _boy_ , did it feel good to crush their worthless confidence!

"What about you? What reason could you have for helping this bitch and helping the American pig?" South Ossetia spat at Iran, who then recoiled when the Middle Easterner stared down at him.

"Me? I'm just sick and tired of everything Middle Eastern culture has put me through." Iran remarked casually with a hand on his chin, grinning mischievously. "More importantly though is that I'm here for Bedisa's sake. Also, the two of you are among the most deluded self-absorbed people I've ever met, and I hate you for that. That's a _very_ important detail."

"Before you even try to ask, allow me to give a very brief summary of why I'm here." Saudi Arabia spoke as soon as Iran finished, smiling smugly. "Oil, money, Islam… None of that ever mattered to me. If anything, I wish to be free of all those curses and live life my own way. So… here I am."

"I'm here for the same reasons Iran and Saudi are, but also because this looked like lots of fun." Turkey said simply, flashing a toothy smile full of malice. "Also also, I really like Bedisa, she's cool. We need more nice women out there."

"I'm here because of my beloved and my friends!" Bulgaria proclaimed proudly, gazing up adoringly at Turkey. "If he likes Georgia, so do I!"

"I'm here because… Well, why not?" Ireland shrugged with a lazy smile. "I'm part of the club now, so I figured there's no better way to start."

"And we helped because America asked us to." Norway said with the same grin as always. "And how could we resist helping out such a nice lady like Georgia here?"

"Also, she's a lot more likeable than _you two_ will ever be." Iceland chimed in.

Georgia had to beam. It felt great to be well-liked even among people with questionable morals.

Both of the brats looked flabbergasted and horrified beyond words, now they know what it's like to have the tables turned. "B-But-"

"Enough." Georgia snarled, relishing at seeing how they cringed at her display of anger. "You weren't brought here to whine. Today's the day you two are going to pay for your crimes."

"Crimes?" Abkhazia gawked. "You accuse us of crimes when you've-?"

" _Shut it._ I'm tired of your whining and entitlement." Georgia growled hatefully, once again enjoying the looks on their faces. "You are going to _suffer_ , you're going to _pay_ the price for siding with Russia, and you're going to feel the anger and pain of the Georgians whose lives you've ruined."

And neither of you will ever live to cause more pain again.

"But first you're going to sign this."

Georgia pushed the two papers to them, along with the pens.

"What-What's this?" Abkhazia asked.

"Papers that once you sign will officially and legally make your lands a part of mine once more." _As it should be._

The reaction was instantaneous.

"What?!" South Ossetia shouted, standing up from his chair only to be pushed right back into it by Sweden. "Is this some kind of joke? You think w-we've give up our lands to you? You're even stupider than-"

He shut up when Sweden shot him a glare, but Georgia could care less about that.

"A joke?" Georgia repeated blankly. "You think this is a joke?"

Her fists trembled, itching to punch these two morons, but she stopped herself. Wait. Just a _little_ bit more.

" _No_. No, this is not a joke. A _joke_ wouldn't involve the near destruction of your respective capital cities, thousands of civilian casualties, the massacre of your government bodies, and the assassination of your presidents and vice-presidents, wouldn't it?"

Eyes widening, both of them opened their mouths, ready to deny what she said, but she didn't give them the chance.

"Oh, don't try to deny it." Georgia snapped. "You should've already felt that your 'bosses' are dead and rotting in their offices."

"Y-You killed them…" Abkhazia murmured in shock. "You really killed them…"

"You won't get away with this, you witch." South Ossetia snarled. "When Russia hears of this, he'll make sure you'll never bother us again."

"Oh?" Turkey smirked." "And what makes you think Russia will be there to rescue you… when he's already gone?"

"Blasted from the face of the Earth," America chuckled.

Georgia stared at him in shock. W-Wait, what? But she thought- Didn't-

She caught America wink at her in the corner of her eye, but it didn't really answer anything. But seeing the look of identical shock and confusion on Ireland's face did give her a little comfort that this wasn't all part of a secret part they excluded her from.

The color flushed from Abkhazia's face. "N-No! That's a lie!"

"Yes, that's impossible!" South Ossetia shook his head frantically. "Not even all of you combined can ever hope to defeat him!"

That bold remark actually caused a few of the members present to burst laughing or at least smirk in dark amusement. Even Georgia, who wasn't that sure she knew what's going on anymore, had the corners of her mouth twitching up.

"Not even all of- HA!" Turkey wheezed while using a cackling Bulgaria as a support. "Get a loud of this! He says that all of us combined can't ever hope to beat the Abominable Snowman!"

Yeah. She doubted that Russia would actually be able to overpower all these guys after everything she found out today. These guys really redefined what's impossible and not. Especially if America's secret weapon was really as powerful and able to destroy the General as he said 'she' would. And who's this 'she' anyway? Georgia really wanted to know.

Speaking of America, as opposed to the others, he actually looked offended. "Uh, hello? World superpower here. Didn't I, like, have the longest Mexican standoff in history with Russia?"

"Indeed you did, little brother." Norway affirmed, wrapping an arm around a reluctant America. "And who would've thought it wouldn't be that difficult to pull it off? I mean, with my cloaking magic, America's very special crazy girlfriend and using our connections and spies to cause a nationwide blackout to prevent any news or calls for help from getting out, Russia didn't stand a chance.

" _She_ is not his girlfriend." North Korea growled at him.

Who is this 'she'?! Georgia really hated this pronoun game.

"That's hardly the point, North Korea." Norway waved him off, and leaned towards the frightened Abkhazia.. "The point is that there's no rescue coming. Even if Russia was still here, he wouldn't even know what's happening to you two."

"And besides, even if he was still on this pathetic earth, what makes you think he'll actually come to your rescue?" Turkey continued his taunting, walking over to the two trembling brats with his terrifying grin. "With you two out of the way, he'll have no issue claiming your land for his own growing wasteland of unhappiness, stamp out all your culture and replace it with his own.

"N-No, that's not true. Russia wouldn't do that." Abkhazia tried to deny, although he didn't sound very confident.. Georgia wanted to scoff, this coming from the guy who was starting to regret his dependency on Russia?

"He would never!" South Ossetia cried out, his voice growing hysterical. "You're lying."

"Well, he's not wrong on the second part." Ireland smirked.

"It doesn't matter what either of you think." America said coldly. "And if you don't want to meet the same fate as Russia, you'll sign the papers."

"N-No." Abkhazia shook his head. "If we sign those papers, we'll-"

"You won't vanish, I promise you that." The blonde cut him off. "However, if you don't sign, then you leave us no choice. We'll attack your people again, this time with even more casualties than before."

"You wouldn't! Haven't you done enough?"

"Oh, yes we would." America smiled darkly. "What we did to your capital, we can easily do with your whole country. Give us an hour or two, and your lands will be reduced to complete uninhabitable wastelands."

With that, the hope and confidence started to vanish from them, leaving nothing but despair. Georgia smiled and pushed the papers toward them again.

"Now then, if you don't want to be fed to the Africans or for your people to get scorched by a fire giant." America began, before slamming his hand down the table, causing the two brats to flinch " _Sign_. **Now**."

 **I really wanted to finish the Georgia subplot here, but after so many words, I think I'll have to finish it for good next chapter. Please review if you have a minute.**


	81. Justice: Price for Betrayal III

**Thanks for the reviews! Okay, it's still a bit late for my comfort but here it is! I'll get better next time. Again, I've had a tiring weekend so even though I did check for any mistakes, I'm sorry if I missed any. I'll fix them later. Now, on with the show!**

"So, what's it gonna be, boys?" Turkey grinned nastily over at the two stupid brats. "You gonna do the smart move and the sign, or will you wanna do this the painful way instead?"

"Please choose the painful option," Bulgaria begged, sounding a bit too eager. "I haven't carved up anyone with my scalp for years."

"I, too, would appreciate having someone to torture," North Korea remarked with a toothy smirk. It's still a little hard not to feel intimidated by that.

"There is _no_ way out of this," America said coldly, crackling his knuckles. "Sign, or me, Georgia and the other guys here will take _all_ the time we need to convince you to do it."

A silence hung over the room with the group staring expectantly or just looking menacingly at the two brats.

The first one to grab their pen was Abkhazia, sweating bullets and looking sick with fear, and he shakily began signing the paper. Of course, South Ossetia, ever the stubborn ox to the very end, hesitated, gulped, and kept his hands down no matter how much it's obvious how terrified he was. Georgia's sure she'd never seen him this scared in their whole lives.

Georgia felt her face form into a scowl, feeling her patience growing thinner with every second South Ossetia stalling the inevitable. She was just about to bark at him when she spotted America giving Sweden a look, and the tall European nodded. What followed honestly almost made Georgia jump from her seat.

An extraordinarily horrifying psychotic smirk from Sweden was all it took for South Ossetia to barely stifle a shriek, snatch the pen and start writing.

And just like that, Georgia won.

Just like that, everything was fixed.

Everything that was wrenched from her hands over twenty years ago had been returned to her. The humans, Georgian or not, the land, the beautiful beaches of Abkhazia, all the mountains of South Ossetia, justice, it's all _hers_ again. _Hers_. Just hers. Not South Ossetia's or Abkhazia's over a claim of independence that held no real meaning, and certainly not Russia's.

 _Especially_ not Russia's.

Georgia watched with anticipation as the two damn traitors finished scribbling their names, waiting for the 'magic' to finally kick in.

She felt it. It wasn't anything overwhelming, but the feeling of giddiness that followed over her victory certainly was. It's… It felt warm, pleasant, something along those lines. It's like, like something she'd been missing for so long had finally returned to her. A-And it was, it pretty much described the situation perfect and– Oh, God, she couldn't believe this.

She did it. She finally corrected her failures that irked and frustrated and made her want to scream at the sky for more than twenty years. What she'd failed to fix for two decades, she managed to pull it off in less than a day with the Order's help. No more divides. No more pain. No more ethnic cleansings. No more watching helplessly as Russia got away with everything he did to her.

Victory was finally, finally _hers_.

When she knew that it was done, Georgia reached out and snatched the papers away with a victorious smile. "Thank you very much, boys."

The two brats glared at her, Abkhazia more weakly than South Ossetia's, but they both looked the same amount of scared. Georgia was absolutely sure that if it weren't for Sweden breathing down their necks, they'd call her all kind sorts of politically incorrect names. Oh, but what did that matter now?

She won. She won. _And there's nothing NOTHING they or Russia can do about it now, or ever!_

"Well, I'm glad that's settled." America's surprisingly chipper voice cut through her inner celebration, and he waved his hand. "They're all yours, boys!"

"Wh-What?" Abkhazia stammered.

South Ossetia in particular looked like he just pissed his pants. "W-Wait, what are you–?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Norway grinned maliciously, lighting up one of his hands. "You two children have been _very naughty_ for the past several decades, and naughty children should always be punished. And I think it's about time you children get the punishment you _deserve_."

"But you said that we wouldn't be harmed if we signed the–"

"Nooooo, we said that you wouldn't get harmed if you didn't sign. We never said that you'd be free and unharmed when you did sign either," Norway's grin broadened, stepping closer and closer toward the increasingly terrified brats. "Our real plans for you are so, so much worse."

"Exact words, kids," Turkey smirked as he grasped the two brats' shoulders, before cackling. " _Always_ make sure think over the exact words. Not that it'd matter much in the end, but still, it's something you should always pay attention to."

"What are you going to do with us?" Abkhazia demanded. "What's going to happen?"

"I told you," Georgia decided to speak, still grinning and enjoying her victory. "Today's the day you two are going to pay for all that you've done. Giving your lands back to me isn't enough; I'm going to make you feel the pain of all the Georgians whose lives you've ruined."

Then Georgia could finally start having some peace in her mind.

Sweden, who despite looking as emotionless as always seemed like he's also eager to start hurting the brats, then, lifted up South Ossetia and Abkhazia by the shirts. But of course, those two weren't having any of it even though they should just call it quits and South Ossetia defiantly tried to punch Sweden. Emphasis on _tried_ , and Georgia's at least sure that was a punch, because South Ossetia froze just as he swung his arm.

"Wh…"

Turkey burst out laughing. "Man, kids these days never look at the terms of agreement anymore, don't they?"

"The inherent carelessness of human nature must have deeply infected them." North Korea snorted derisively.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Abkhazia asked fearfully.

"The contract, you morons," Denmark hissed, grabbing a paper from Georgia's hands and holding it up. "Right here, see? It says that neither of you will harm members of the New World Order in any manner. And since this isn't just any ordinary piece of paper…"

"Ja, made possible by my magical expertise!" Norway proudly added from the side.

"That's hardly relevant right now, Norway, but sure," Denmark rolled his eyes, ignoring Norway's pout, and continued. "Point is, you guys are now no better than humans, and you can't hurt us, you're basically screwed. Nothing more to say."

Oh, so those were the 'bonuses' Norway mentioned before. Wow, they are neat.

"That's impossible!" South Ossetia exclaimed.

"Oh, nothing is impossible with the power of magic!" Norway proclaimed dramatically, spreading his arms and all, before suddenly deflating. "Okay, maybe some things _are_ impossible even for me, but for the most part, it is _not_ impossible!"

"This can't be!" South Ossetia exclaimed hysterically, looking around frantically while Georgia just snorted. "You – You haven't won –"

Iran just smiled and grabbed South Ossetia's arm. "Yes, yes, you're still in denial. Cute, really cute. Can we drag them away, now?"

"Yeah, let's find a room where people are less likely to hear the screaming." America nodded with a small smile before turning towards Georgia. "Come on, Bedisa, Uncle Patrick, might as well learn how we do torture too."

"Okay!" Georgia happily stood up from her chair and followed along, Ireland doing the same.

"You – You can't do this!" Abkhazia started screaming as Sweden effortlessly dragged him away no matter how he struggled. "You can't get away with – OW!"

Norway stood grinning with smoke coming from one of his fingers "Oh, but I believe we just did, land and all. Save your voice for the screaming, okay?"

"It doesn't matter if you're practically humans now. We'll just play with you…" Turkey cracked his knuckles, wearing the most sadistic grin on his face. "Until. You. _Break_."

/ / / / /

"What do you mean England's been attacked?!"

His shouting was soon followed by a pained grunt. Raising his voice hurt a lot more than he cared to admit, but that's hardly important right now.

What was important; however, was that the idiot of the day (and that was really saying something after _everything_ he saw and found out today) had gotten attacked and probably had been too fucking intoxicated to even react except to slurr 'who the bloody hell are you?' before getting introduced to a world of pain.

Goddamit. How many more surprises were there going to be today?

"C-Calm down, Germany-san–"

"Calm down?! _Verdammt_ , Japan, how do you expect me to be _calm_ after–"

Mind racing, Germany tried to sit up with medium success despite his aching ribs and limbs, but it seemed Japan wasn't going to have any of that either.

"P-Please stay down, Germany-san," Japan anxiously said, rushing over to stop Germany from sitting up. "You are in no condition to–"

"I know damn well I'm no condition to anything that involves getting off the damn bed!" Germany growled irately at him. Maybe he's being a too harsh, but after that bombshell?

First France got capture by the enemy (which included _two_ of his bloodthirsty vengeful ex-colonies), then something happened with the nations that remained behind that they stubbornly won't tell him about until he's 'chillaxed' enough in Belize's own words, and now this?! God must really delight in dropping one problem after another on him.

"What the hell happened, Japan?! What did that dumkopf get himself into this time?"

"I-I am getting to that, but please, calm down and lie back on the bed." Japan pleaded shakily, sweat trailing down his face.

"I don't need to-"

"I think you do," Japan uncharacteristically cut him off, Germany could see now that his friend was tired too. "Forgive me, but I do not think straining yourself will fix anything."

After spending several seconds scowling but doing nothing, out of habit from his own stubbornness, and after some grumbling, Germany lied back down.

Alright, maybe that was poor behavior on his part, Germany grudgingly acknowledged. Japan's right. Yelling and shouting in anger and disbelief won't do himself any favors, especially not for his throat after how much he had to throw up.

When he finally got his act together, he looked up at Japan. "Alright, I'm not sitting up anymore. Now tell me how England screwed himself over again."

"W-Well, as I said, a few agents were the ones who stumbled upon England-san," Japan began explaining, looking a little uncomfortable by Germany's stare. "It seems that his repeated insistence on nuking America and others have drawn concerns from his government, and so they sent people out to find him."

"Hm," Germany grunted in acknowledgement. Good on them, he supposed. "And let me guess, they found him injured in an alley."

"Essentially, yes." Japan nodded, and he began to look queasy as he spoke the next sentence. "They said that they found him lying in a pool of his own blood with several lacerations, broken bones and twisted limbs."

Germany felt himself blanche. Alright, now he's feeling a lot more worried for England.

A part of Germany, however, which had been left very exhausted by all the idiocy and insanity he saw today, felt darkly satisfied at hearing that England had gotten a sort of comeuppance after the amount of immaturity he had shown today, not to mention his idiotic plan to cause a nuclear apocalypse. The rest of him, however, was stressed beyond belief and even a little glad, because he didn't need to hear that they lost another nation today.

As troublesome as he proved to be today, he's still a fellow nation, a powerful one at that. He'd be plenty of help when he (hopefully) becomes sane and not as moronic after an extensive tongue lashing from every single nation here.

Germany frowned deeply, before another question crossed his mind. "Is he dead?"

"He was _dying_ when they found him," Japan answered uncomfortable, and Germany felt a pang of pity, despite everything. "Very, very slowly, despite all his injuries. And according to the agent I spoke with on the phone, he somehow managed to remain alive throughout the entire journey to the hospital and even when they began tending to him."

He blinked in surprise. "Wait, what? But how…?"

Even nations had their limits to how much punishment their bodies could take before dying.

"Yes. The humans were quite surprised too. This might be stating the obvious or perhaps not, but it is in my opinion that whoever attacked him made sure to leave in a state that'd prolong his agony for as long as possible."

Germany clenched his fists, even though they ached along with the rest of his body, tightly. An extreme sadist must've been the one who attacked him, although from the members he had encountered and had been told about today, that clue didn't narrow it down that much.

"Who attacked him?" Germany asked, although now that he said it, it's obvious they couldn't know the answer.

"A-Ah, we do not know Germany-san." Japan said remorsefully. "Th-There was apparently no evidence left behind that could indicate who the culprit could be. Only England-san could possibly know the answer."

Germany sighed at that. So, they had no choice but to wait, huh?

"The government has still launched an investigation though," Japan then added. "Although, pardon my pessimism, but I doubt that it'll be much help."

"Ja, probably." Germany grumbled, and he grumpily looked up at Japan again. "Is there anything else I should be told about this?"

"Not really. Except that we won't be allowed to visit him until sometime tomorrow, when England-san's boss gives us permission."

Germany muttered a few words under his breath "…Fine. It sounds reasonable."

Not that they'll just sit here and wait for him to be able to talk to them with all his limbs bended the right way. There's still many things that needed to be done but that he couldn't help out in because _someone, some **bastard** decided to shoot up his entire government! _He needed to check up on his country. He needed to organize the emergency meeting. He needed to – He needed to–

"Goddamit…" Germany gritted out through his teeth. "We need to get everyone together as soon as possible."

Japan had that concerned look again. "A-And I'm sure you'll be able to do all that when you have recovered."

"Japan, there's no time! All over the world, the Order could be out there, carrying out their damn plans while we sit here doing–"

"Germany-san–"

" _Nein_ , don't start–"

"Please listen to me! Do not worry, Germany-san." Japan insisted in a calmer voice, and before Germany could retort, he continued. "How does this sound? We can take over the task of assembling the other nations while you stay here and rest."

Germany actually stopped and considered that, albeit reluctantly. But could he really trust them to do that? There's a chance they might be more hesitant to listen if it's not coming out of the ever-bossy Germany's mouth.

"Are you sure you can do that?" Germany asked skeptically with a raised eyebrow.

"We will do our best." Japan stated stoutly, before anxiously averting his gaze. "If that, ah, does not work out as well as we hope, then I am confident that Russia-san will be able to scare them all into attending."

"Huh," Germany hadn't thought of that. "That… could work."

"I'm sure it will." Japan assured him. "So, _please_ rest and trust us to be able to do the work ourselves."

Germany stared for what felt like a long time, wondering if he really could leave it to them, before he relented with a few grumbles. " _Fine_. But don't let that Italian dumpkoff anywhere near a phone."

Japan nodded vigorously. "Oh, please trust us, Germany-san. We will _not_."

Why did he feel that there was more to that statement than he thought?

"Uh… Alright?" Germany wasn't quite sure what to say to that. He cleared his throat again, face stern again. "Is there… anything else, any news you need to share with me?"

"Not that I rem…" Japan trailed off for a few seconds before his eyes went wide in realization. "O-Oh, right! There is one thing I have almost forgot about to tell you. Bosnia has also been found. He has been apprehended after attempting to brutally assassinate-"

"JAPAN, MEIN GOTT, WHAT IS WITH YOU AND TAKING SO LONG IN TELLING IMPORTANT INFO– AGH!"

"D-Don't yell, Germany-san!"

/ / / / /

Herzegovina was on verge of literally crying in frustration.

Hungary won't answer her calls. Austria didn't answer either, Turkey was being vague for no good reason and he claimed that he didn't know anything about where Bosnia was. The other Yugoslavians don't have the slightest idea either. So what was she supposed to do now? Call her boss? He'll probably just dismiss her worries as always.

Herzegovina felt extremely tempted to just throw the phone to the wall, consequences and limited allowance be damned. But she was better than that... _barely_. What would that solve? In fact, it'll just make things even harder for her than they already were.

What's going on?

At this point, she'd just be happy if this all turned out to be a sick ploy by Bosnia to make her worried-sick about him as payback for all those times she had to drag him back home to their work by the ear, scolding him each time like the dysfunction couple they were. There, she said it. Her marriage was chaotic. Could she please have Bosnia back now? She wanted him back, please bring him back.

She wouldn't even pull his ear or smack his head if this all turned out to be a prank.

But why didn't Hungary want to talk to her?

It could be that Hungary's too busy (and it better not be with her gay porn tapes) to answer her call, or… maybe she just didn't want to talk to her for one reason or another.

Herzegovina inhaled sharply, becoming rigid.

Hungary wouldn't want to talk to her, if Turkey's right and Bosnia really was with her and Hungary didn't want Herzegovina to know–

Why though? What would she want with just Bosnia?

Herzegovina felt extremely tempted to try calling Turkey again, even though a part of her felt that it won't get any meaningful answer. But still if that man was kind enough to give her a vague clue, who said that he wouldn't do it again?

She sighed, collapsing on a chair.

There's really nothing she could actually do except try contacting nations that were probably too busy or important to give a damn about Bosnia's disappearance or just pray that Bosnia will be alright…

/ / / / /

France truly wished he could say that he wasn't feeling the slightest bit terrified right now.

But alas, even he could only increase his self-confidence and pretend he was indeed all that so much, and there's still how it was only yesterday when two of the nations present here literally cut his stomach open and ate his liver.

 _His now regrown liver still felt like it shouldn't belong there and he could still feel the knife–_

And he saw the looks on the Africans' faces and the glints in their eyes. They're practically oozing rage and bloodlust. They had lost. Both prisoners were gone and what casualties there were on their enemies' side were safely taken away before they could get their hands on him. Everything was gone, except for France, who just happened to be a top target.

Anyone with a good brain could see what would happen to him.

Yes, the proud nation of France was scared beyond all meaning.

Did this mean that he regretted what he did?

 _No._

He didn't rush into what might as well be his own death with delusions of glory or imagining himself stand proud against the torture he'll surely go through, no, he knew what he was damning himself to when he made that choice that save his grumpy little sister Algeria. He knew what he was getting himself into. The liver, being frozen, that'll probably nothing compared to what else could be on his little brothers' minds.

And he knew very well that neither Morocco nor Cameroon could possibly resist not getting a shot at him.

It was the perfect plan! And quite a genius one if he said so himself, especially for one he practically came up with on the spot. Well, maybe not perfect in the sense that everyone will be able to escape save for him, but it was indeed perfect in the sense that everyone else will be able to go back to fight another day!

France had essentially screwed himself over for Algeria, he had accepted that, and he hoped that she won't blame herself. Also, he's most certainly going to go through hell. Cameroon and Morocco certainly made sure to remind him of this with their jeering words and their punches and kicks. He's pretty sure he now had a fractured rib or two.

But it didn't matter to him, in the end. He won, his little siblings were safe, and Morocco and Cameroon could focus most of their rage on him instead on other people.

And now Haiti's here. Oh, he really wasn't expecting him to show up.

Heh. Now only South Vietnam's missing, thought France bitterly with a nervous gulp.

Thoughts of terror and pain filled his mind at the sight of his boy appearing in the room, the memory of Haiti gleefully sending him a Cheshire grin while holding a wool doll of him and France himself being unable to even scream stuck out the most in particular. And he felt his blood freeze.

He did not regret what he did today, but he's pretty terrified right now.

Now Haiti's here standing over him with the most flabbergasted yet cold expression France had ever seen. . As if he found what France did to be completely unbelievable. Was it because of how suicidal it was, or that poor Haiti didn't believe he was capable of sacrificing himself for his family? Could it be both? It's hard to know what the boy's thinking behind that cold, cold stare of his.

"I can't believe you," Haiti started off bluntly, his tone dripping with resentment. "I've known you were stupid for centuries, but this is a whole new level of stupid. Like, did you even think of what you'd be getting yourself into?"

France had no reason to now answer. "Oui."

The shock became more evident on the boy's face, and he scoffed. "Fool. And yet you did it anyway?"

France nodded.

"But why? Why did you do it?" Haiti demanded, sounding very close to anger.

Swallowing his fear, France mustered up a clear response. "Come on, Hennrick… You should know the answer to that question. You still don't of me as selfish, do you…?"

Haiti contorted in rage at the question, answering France's question. He covered his face with his hands, and France could vaguely hear him muttering. "Non… Non… Must be more than that… can't be…"

Yes, that definitely answer France's question. It hurt a lot more than he thought it would've.

"Tch… I'll get my answers soon enough."

That got France's attention. Speaking of, could Haiti have been searching because… No. Surely, even he couldn't be in that much denial.

"Say, Francis," Haiti's smile became nearly feral, a needle suddenly in his right hand. "How'd you like to have a little talk with your _frère_? I have some questions I'd like to ask you."

France gulped.

/ / / / /

Call him crazy, but Seychelles' jumpier than he remembered.

He supposed it shouldn't come off as that much of a surprise. God knows what happened since he was off being messed with. And she's been uneasy ever since they escaped, fussing over him and stuff like that. But that didn't mean that he had to like it. He didn't like it one bit.

In fact, Mauritius really had to wonder what's happened since then. Well, he could obviously see that the others managed to get some word out. That's good news. But that's it from what he could see. And Switzerland didn't exactly bother with telling him any news from the outside, not that he'd even answer if Mauritius had asked him. Bastard…

Still, it really warmed his heart to see Seychelles smile.

"I… I really appreciate what you did for me, Michelle." Mauritius had to say, smiling gratefully at her.

"What, me?" Seychelles blink, eyes wide in surprise. "But I barely did anything – I didn't even go help rescue you. I mean, I wanted to but Francis and Egypt didn't let me."

The idea made Mauritius almost choke.

"Good," Mauritius sighed in relief. He'd never be able to live with himself if he discovered she got hurt – or worse – for him.

Seychelles looked at him, betrayed. "How could you say that, Kelvin? I–"

"Mich, I've trapped with them for a good two days." Mauritius reminded her somberly. "Those people are… are m… mo… _monsters_. They would've torn you apart."

"What I meant was, thanks for convincing the bigger nations to come save me." He smiled at her again, hoping that it'll make her smile too. "I didn't think they'd actually go through the trouble for a small island like me, but you convinced them, didn't you?"

Seychelle's blush answered for him.

"Merci, Michelle. I mean it."

Seychelles lowered her head. "Even though it got Francis captured?"

"I told you, that wasn't your fault." Mauritius told her quickly, feeling himself getting angry at the idea. "I don't blame you for that, and… I'm sure the others don't either. Canada's the only one who feels that way, you shouldn't listen to him."

"Forget about him. Let's talk about something else." Mauritius insisted with the best smile he could muster. "Like, what smells so good in here?"

"Well… Oh, I almost forgot! I-I brought you some food," Seychelles smiled sheepishly as she picked up a tray that Mauritius had just noticed was on the nightstand "Chinese food. I'm not sure if they fed you there, but I... I thought that maybe you'd like some?"

Mauritius perked up at the mention of food. "F-For real, Michelle? You shouldn't have!"

"It's no problem really. And, w-well, how much did they feed you… there?"

"They… gave me as… much as I needed, I guess." Mauritius said with a shrug. He'd like to remark that it wasn't enough, but he'd rather not worry her more than she already was. "Can't say it was anything good, though."

Seychelles frowned at that anyways, but didn't comment it. "Oh… Well, I hope you'll like this then. I'm sorry that we don't have anything you really like, but you like Chinese food and _noodles_ , so–"

"Are you… kidding? I'll take it." Mauritius felt himself even grinning and eagerly tried to take the bowl of delicious noodles from her hands, exhaustion be damned. "I… I would've _killed_ for noodles. _Merci_ , Michelle!"

He hadn't eaten or drank anything except for Switzerland's stale food and the weird metallic wine for like, two days (there's no way only two days have passed, he still couldn't–), so seeing some quality food being brought to him made Mauritius's mouth water.

"Y-You're welcome, but please, remember to eat slowly." Seychelles instructed, trying her best to look like a strict teacher as she kept the bowl away. "Y-You said you were feeling dizzy and you really do look tired, so please…"

"Oui, but I'm sure I'll be fine."

"You're not taking this seriously!"

"Come on… Michelle, don't do this to me after I just got freed." Mauritius whined.

Seychelles stared at him some more before giving up with a sigh and handing him the plate. "Just don't eat fast, okay?"

"Deal." Mauritius eagerly took the bowl with his trembling hands and got straight to eating. Wow, this is good.

Wait a minute. What's this place, again?

"Hey… W… Where are we, again?" Mauritius looked around with a small frown after swallowing a mouthful of noodles. The place didn't look at all familiar.

"In Monsieur England's house," Seychelles answered, smiling shakily. "We, ah, needed a good place for the injured and dead nations, so… here we are."

Mauritius let that information sink in his drowsy state. He wondered why he didn't see England with the others, and he considered asking. But that question was quickly shot out of his mind when he had horrifying realization.

He could feel himself getting sick to his stomach, and he gaped at Seychelles. "Oh God, Michelle, please tell me that you didn't grab this from _Angleterre's_ fridge."

"Goodness, non! Of course not!" Seychelles practically shrieked, looking hurt. "How can you think I'd do that to you, Kelvin?"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, but– Then where you'd get it?"

"Um… well… A lot of us were getting hungry, but no one wanted to even touch anything on England's shelves," Seychelles started explaining, understandable grimacing. "So… Belize broke into England's safe and wanted to order some Chinese food, but then she got into an argument with China because he wanted, well, 'real' Chinese food, so they… B-But um, long story short, we ended up ordering Chinese food."

"Oh…" Mauritius blinked, not sure what to make of it. He'd ask, but he's just too happy that he finally got some real good food to care right now. "Cool."

He went back to eating, with Seychelles scolding him every now and then for slurping too fast or putting too much in his mouth, his fatigue mostly forgotten.

"Merci, Michelle." Mauritius gratefully handed her back the bowl. Man, he's starting to feel sleepy again…

Mauritius offered a weak smile, but then he returned to a frown when he realized something. "Hey, by the way, should... should you really be here, Michelle?"

Seychelles looked like she almost flinched, and then she _tried_ not to show her anxiety. "Wh-What do you mean?"

"I mean... Should you really be around me? You know, since I..." Mauritius trailed off, his face scrunching up in discomfort. God, even he couldn't spit it out. "I-It might be dangerous to be around me. I'm not sure what they did to me, but I wouldn't live with myself if I suddenly found myself hurting you or..."

He trailed off again, and he felt disgusted with himself this time. No… He wouldn't do that to her, would he? He wouldn't latch her teeth onto her skin and tear it off and chew just like they did with him and – _Oh god, what if he snapped and did that to her?_

He tried – forced himself to imagine him doing that to her, and revulsion rose up his chest along with a need to gag. That… should be a good sign, right?

In classic Seychelles style, the look on her face gave it all away. "I… I guess I shouldn't be…"

"What?!"

"Y-You were supposed to be locked up in here with no visitors until they can be sure that you're… fine," Seychelles admitted slowly, saying the last word like it pained her, her eyes were downcast in guilt. "They even told _me_ not to visit you…"

Fine. The word repeated itself in Mauritius's mind, and the _dread_ came crashing back to him. Oh. _Oh_. They meant if he was gonna be dangerous or not. Well, it made sense. Even he didn't know if he's completely safe or not.

But that wasn't even what bothered him.

"Wh-Wh… Are you kidding me, Michelle?" Mauritius, suddenly feeling very, very terrified of himself. "

"I couldn't just leave you here alone!" Seychelles desperately retorted. "I couldn't stand the thought of you w-waking up in unfamiliar place all alone again, I wanted to make sure you're okay and…"

"And what?"

"I wanted to see you."

Mauritius felt his heart break at that. Oh God, did him getting capture really affect her that much?

"Hey, listen, I appreciate that'd you go that for me," Mauritius frowned. "But maybe you shouldn't stay here for long. In fact, maybe you shouldn't visit me again period."

"But–"

"I don't want to end up hurting you. Please, just… don't do it again.

Seychelles said nothing after that, instead settling for staring at him in that worried way Mauritius had been seeing a lot lately.

"What is it, Michelle? Come on, don't make that face. You can ask me anything." _That I actually know the answer to._

" _Are_ you okay?" She asked quietly, her features etched in worry for him.

Mauritius opened his mouth to automatically reply that yeah, he's just _peachy_ , but that would be a lie, wouldn't it? He felt like crap. He felt drowsy. He felt disgusting and he still didn't have a single damn clue _why_. He _still_ couldn't get that damn buzzing out of his ears. And he'd found out that France basically screwed himself over just for him.

If he looked uncomfortable or bothered, it must've really showed because Seychelles tripped over herself to rephrase her words.

"O-Oh no! I didn't mean- that'd be a really dumb question-!" Seychelles suddenly ended up stammering, which made Mauritius frown. What did she have to apologize for? "I-I mean, do you feel– um… um…"

It took an embarrassing amount of time to figure out what she really meant by that while he stared at her, and then it suddenly hit him in the face like how Morocco dumped all that cold water at him. He cringed. _Do you feel different? Do you think they changed you? Do you feel even a little that you want hurt the people you care about just for kicks?_ That's what Seychelles was trying to say, but too nice to actually do it.

What if he was? Mauritius didn't feel that he's somehow different. But what if that's part of the whole plan? What if they did manage to mess him up and he didn't even know it? The thought struck him with terror. He felt nauseous. Great, now he felt even more disgusting on top of how shitty he's already feeling.

"Oh," Was the only thing Mauritius could say that, and he suddenly felt pretty awkward.

Already Seychelles had a look that reminded Mauritius way too much of a kicked puppy for his heart to handle, like asking Mauritius a perfectly reasonable question like that was one of the worst things she could ever do.

"I-I don't think you're acting off, I-I mean, if you ask me." Seychelles quickly assured him, which, unfortunately, barely did anything to reassure Mauritius that he'll be okay. She "You're still normal old Kelvin. B-But what d-do you think– _feel_?"

It'd be such an easy question to answer, if Mauritius felt that he could really trust his own head right now.

"I… Honestly? I don't know." Mauritius admitted somberly, brow furrowed. As much as he hated that, it's the truth. He _didn't know_ the state of his own mind or even what those creeps did to him. "A _lot_ of the stuff they did to me's a blur. And for all I know…"

He trailed off, and he shuddered.

"But, I mean, I haven't _hurt_ anyone." _Yet_ , a dark part of his mind seemed to whisper to him. Mauritius ignored it and just tried to smile. "At least there's that, right?"

"You almost punched Canada." Seychelles pointed out quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Mauritius flinched, anger rising at the mention of that guy. He scowled, "Y-Yeah, but he had no right to talk to you like that. I wasn't going to let him bully you."

Seychelles said nothing.

"It's not your fault." He insisted, and he'll tell her that as many times as he'll need to. He snarled. "If he was so damn worried about Francis, then he shouldn't have been such a fucking coward and stay behind while Francis risked his neck for me!"

"Francis made him stay behind." Seychelles revealed, to Mauritius's surprise. "Canada really did want to come along, but Francis made him stay. It's not his fault…"

"Still doesn't give him any right to blame you for what happened." Mauritius spat, clenching his fists. "The point is, he was being an ass. I would've done the same even I wasn't all drowsy and I haven't been messed up…"

But a sliver of doubt made itself known in his mind. He choked.

"I-I mean, I _would_ , wouldn't I…?" Mauritius trailed off, a new horror dawning on him, and his hands grasped his head, unaware of the way he was starting to shake. "I don't know… _I j-just don't know…!"_

Despite his pride and his desire to stay strong for Seychelles, he cried.

If there was something wrong with him, then it's only natural that he wouldn't notice, would it…?

He felt Seychelles wrap her arms around him. He didn't resist, even though he shouldn't be near her because there's no letting if he'll get the urge to kill her. He just wanted some comfort.

Or was that… the brainwashing?

Mauritius didn't know.

/ / / / /

"I-I shouldn't stay here any longer."

"What?"

"I think I've caused you enough distress, Safiyya.

"Oh, don't start with that nonsense. Look at yourself, Ike. You're in no condition to even walk."

"I should at least be able to teleport myself home. Then from there I'll–"

"Don't be ridiculous. You'd faint – No, you might even _drop dead_ shortly after doing that."

"But I-"

"But _nothing_. For the tenth time, you are not at fault what happened in any way and I'll tell you that a million times again if I have to. You're staying, and if you try to leave then I'll tie you down to the couch myself."

And so, whatever protests died in the face of Western Sahara's (suicidal) stubbornness and harsh glare, and he very reluctantly consented to stay.

But Igbo still wanted to leave.

Not because he no longer wanted be in Western Sahara's presence, no, it's by staying away from her that'll benefit them both, but especially her, greatly. Hadn't Igbo hurt her enough? He hurt her – and even if that wasn't truly out of his own free will he was still corrupted into possessing a unspeakable desire to hurt her and take euphoric pleasure over doing so.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry–" Igbo had cried and sobbed, the tears freely falling from his face. He no longer forced himself to push down his pain.

"Stop apologizing, you fool." Western Sahara chided without the slightest bit of venom. She wasn't smiling, but her gaze was soft, sympathetic, if not angry. It wasn't directed at Igbo, however. "You have nothing to apologize."

"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you, Safiyya."

"You – or rather, the _other_ you – did explain that you couldn't do it, even though you wanted to," Western Sahara cringed, no doubt at the memory of Igbo's altered behavior, before her expression softened again. "Like I said, it it's not your fault."

If only he found a way around that order to stay quiet…

Igbo knew, he knew during every time he visited Western Sahara and considered seeing her that he's always at risk of suddenly becoming corrupted if he so much as let something secret slip or 'misbehaved' in a way that was just unacceptable in Nigeria's eyes. He tried not to (never) think about it, to pretend that there's nothing wrong with him.

But he was also so secure in the knowledge that Nigeria wouldn't do it without a good reason and just do it solely for the fun of it. And Igbo hadn't been corrupted, twisted, brainwashed in years, almost two decades. It had gotten to the point where he had begun to slowly forget the danger and believe in the illusion that nothing could go wrong with him.

(Or was that Nigeria _influencing_ him into a false sense of security, therefore making it all the more horrible when he _did_ corrupt him?)

It didn't occur to him that Nigeria would use him to prevent Western Sahara from discovering the truth of where some of her siblings were. Then again, Igbo didn't know who the caller was until he overheard, so… he supposed that… he wasn't entirely at fault for that?

But he should've thought of staying far away from earshot so that if Western Sahara had been speaking to Algeria, Igbo wouldn't have been aware of it and the piece of Nigeria's will inside of him wouldn't have set off the alarm. Why didn't he think of that? If he had, then Western Sahara would've discovered where her family was. But if she did discover the truth, then she'd rebel without hesitation, and Morocco would–

Igbo winced and resisted putting a hand to his head so as not to strain himself any further. Grr, he wasn't exactly in the best state to contemplate what would've been the best outcome, even though what's done was done. His body was still in pain…

Yet still not the most painful state he had ever found himself in, Igbo noted dryly. This was even almost heavenly compared to the injuries and the agony that had been inflicted on him by Nigeria in the Civil War. But even so, it hurt.

He could bear it easily enough, but it _hurt_. He hissed in pain when he tried to flex one of his arms. He winced when tried to make an effort to stand up before Western Sahara halted his attempts along with reprimanding him harshly.

He was thankful that she still cared for him even after what happened, despite the now… broken trust between them.

Igbo could see it.

He wasn't blind.

He saw in the way she hesitated, in her tone when speaking with him was slightly more cautious and reserved. As much as she'd deny it, his assault left her _wary_ of him, perhaps even afraid of being too close to him.

It's alright. Igbo didn't blame nor resent her for it.

It's… probably for the best.

/ / / / /

Hungary didn't know what to do.

She groaned miserably into her hands as she collapsed back on her temporary bed, feeling a mixture of guilt, confusion, frustration and uselessness as she stared up at the ceiling, completely at a loss at what to do with Tunisia.

Hell, she wasn't sure what's going on. If she knew, or at least had a pretty good guess, it'd sure help a lot.

"God, how rude," Hungary huffed, turning on her side to absentmindedly glare at the wall. "I keep my mouth shut about what happened, approach him for an answer after giving him some space, try to talk to him in the kindest, understanding and open-minded away possible, and he snaps at me? Some thanks I get for being nice..."

But as soon as the words went right out of her mouth, the Hungarian woman quickly felt stupid for saying that as her face twisted into a guilt-ridden grimace. Oh, what the hell's she saying? How could she say that when she didn't even for sure what happened to him?

Goodness, she kind of like Poland there with that whole 'rude' thing. Just add the valley girl accent and you've got a good impression of him!

The thought brought a small sad smile to her face, and made her heart ache more than she'd like to admit. But Hungary did her best to push that thought – and the pain – from her mind, because this wasn't about Poland, she wasn't going to make it about Poland, and she _really_ doubted crying her eyes out would help her out in her situation here.

She chuckled humorlessly for a brief moment before going back to frowning, and she held her arms. But then again, what exactly could help her out in her situation? In her list of ideas, Hungary had nothing so far.

But… was it… really her business wondering what's going on with Tunisia? I mean, it's not like they're real friends or anything, even though Hungary pretty much saved him from his brother and Tunisia went out of his way to help her against Morocco too. She wondered if it's actually right for to butt in his issues…

Maybe Algeria could help him out instead! Wait, could she have a clue about what's bothering him? She seemed to be really involved in her brother's life. Hm… or maybe not... Judging from how Tunisia hardly spoke to Algeria after they got here and sneaked away to get away from everyone at the first opportunity, she doubted that Tunisia saw her as someone who could help him out.

It's probably none of her business, and maybe she had no right to butt in, but it felt wrong to just leave him miserable when she's probably the only one who knew something's eating away at him and willing to help.

And he looked so _miserable_ there when Hungary found him. It's the kind of the look of someone who just went through a really traumatic experience.

She shouldn't make assumptions, she knew, but it could at _least_ help her in trying to find a good way to approach Tunisia about his problems. Hungary needed to show that she wouldn't make fun of him, ridicule him, and blackmail him or whatever.

Yeah, Hungary already had a bit of time before visiting him to think things over, and she did use it well. Then at some point she decided that she didn't want to risk jumping to conclusions and scaring the poor guy or piss him off. He's jumpy and shaken enough as it is. So, she decided it'd be better to ask him in the nicest, gentlest and understand way possible. But we all know how _well_ that turned out in the end.

Hmm… Well, there's no reason she couldn't try brainstorming again. She had free time and her mind's not so occupied by her worries anymore, so there's no time to start like the present!

Okay… Okay… Look at again what you know, or rather, what you saw. When you broke into that room ready to give concussions, you saw two _brothers_ (two _Muslim_ brothers to top it off) kissing, like romantic coupley kissing. Hungary couldn't help but gag. Which, and please correct her if she's wrong, wasn't a culture thing and so wrong in so many ways. And the two were supposed to be enemies, so they shouldn't be doing that… obviously.

Hungary wished she had more details, but she was kind of too busy carrying Liechtenstein, worried about the noises, and running in a rush of adrenaline to properly pay attention whether or not it actually looked consensual or if Morocco was assaulting him (which wouldn't be surprising considering the Morocco incident)

But one other thing she did know and that likely would disprove the Morocco-Tunisia romance theory (which already was a far-fetched theory but considering the things she'd discovered…) were the sounds and voices she heard across the hallway and while she was listening through the door. They sounded panicked, afraid.

Tunisia sounded afraid. And Hungary's sure she heard sobbing.

Oh, for the love of God, the drama-loving, tired part of her mind was really making her overthink this. The answer's as clear as day. Come on, Hungary, you saw what Morocco did to Mauritius. It's obvious what happened, and that it wasn't consensual. And you know how Muslims tend to treat people attracted to the same gender. Oh, poor thing…

What should she do then? Should she just go ask him again, in an even nicer way and try her best to make him see that he could trust her? Just like that? Sure, he might try to avoid her, but so did her victims of her frying, and Hungary's not for giving up so easily-

Just when she was getting optimistic, the door in her room burst open. It's someone who she definitely didn't expect to storm into her room.

"What did you say to my brother?" Algeria demanded with cold anger.

For a while, Hungary kind of just stared open-mouthed at the sudden intrusion and the out-of-nowhere accusation. "Huh?"

"Tunisia. What did you do? What did you say?" Algeria kept pilling accusing question or question, stepping closer to Hungary with a murderous expression.

"Why, what did he tell you?" Hungary asked with a concerned frown after she finally found her voice again. Tunisia wouldn't…

"Don't play dumb with me, Hungary!" Algeria hissed venomously, as if all of a sudden, Hungary's a freaking snake. "I _know_ you spoke with him. After I was patched up, I was wondering where Malik had gone off and decided to ask around, and then _Monaco_ mentioned how you were asking for him for unknown reasons just earlier..."

Hungary scowled and quietly cursed under her breath... even though she didn't really ask anyone to keep it a secret, didn't she? She did tell some people it's a private matter, but…

"…Then all of sudden, right in the middle of our little conversation, Malik came running out of a door in tears!" Algeria bit out that last part as if it actually pained her. Hungary's face softened, and she would've felt bad for her if Algeria didn't go right back to _glaring_ at her like she just insulted her prophet or something. "I tried and tried to talk to him, but he demanded that I leave him alone."

Hungary digested all that information, and while trying to hide her increased worry for Tunisia, she tried to play it cool. "So? How is that any of my fault?"

"Well, you must've done _something_ , as _you_ were the last one to speak to him." Algeria said stubbornly, and she crossed her arms, eyeing her suspiciously. "And why were you seeking him out, anyway?"

Hungary decided to tell one part of the truth. "I was worried about him."

It really wasn't a lie.

Algeria narrowed her eyes sharply. "And why would you be worried about him?"

Hungary's eye twitched and she held back the urge to facepalm. She should've expected this… "You don't need to sound so _suspicious_ , not all Westerners and people who don't agree with you are as demonic as your people make it seem. And what's _wrong_ with caring about another nation, especially at a time like this?"

"Because you…" Algeria gritted her teeth, cutting herself and briefly looking away before glaring again at Hungary. "Don't try to avoid the question, Hungary, out with it. Why are you concerned for him?"

She sighed. Well, if she's going to be that close-minded and stubborn…

"Have you forgotten already? _I_ was the one who found him with Morocco." Hungary pointedly reminded her, folding her arms over her chest.

Algeria flinched, as if she really did forget that detail. "Y-You were?"

"Yes, I did. Where do you think I got this chest wound from?" Hungary said flatly, pulling on the semi-fixed hole of the fabric on her chest where Morocco threw a knife at her. "It… He looked… scared, and frankly, pretty depressed."

"What did you see?" Algeria cut her off.

Hungary's eyes widened. "You mean Tunisia didn't tell you?"

"No. As I told you before, we have barely spoken at all since we returned. He's avoiding me, I know it." Algeria said with a pained expression before once again looking at Hungary it's all her fault. "So, what did you see? How did you even stumble upon him in the first place?"

"I heard crying and yelling from across the hall. Then I went and listened in from the door. I couldn't really understand what they were saying, but it didn't sound good." Hungary recounted honestly, and she felt herself grimace. "And then when I decided that I could stand around, I stormed in and I saw… Tunisia and Morocco kissing. Yuck."

An array of emotions passed over Algeria's face. First it was shock, then the expected disgust, then remorse, and then anger.

"That's it? That's all you know and saw?" Algeria asked disbelievingly.

"Before Morocco threw a knife into one of my breasts? Yes." Hungary said dryly, nodding. "Why do you ask? And why do you sound like you don't believe me?"

"Well, are you _sure_ that you didn't waste time listening in instead of immediately rescuing my brother for more vulgar reasons?"

"No, I wasn't even sure it was Tunisia until…" Hungary trailed off, blinked, and she felt furious when she _glared_ at Algeria. "Hold up, are you seriously trying to imply that I didn't the door sooner because I was-"

Algeria scoffed derisively. "I certainly wouldn't hold it _above_ you. People like you find enjoyment in the most disgusting of things."

Hungary stood up, her vision flashing red. "Me? _I_ find enjoyment in disgusting things? This is coming from the woman who just harrumphs and says 'good riddance' when Muslims, including _your_ people, ostracize or even murder homosexuals."

"Don't you dare bring my people _or_ religion in this, you depraved woman!"

"Ooh, depraved. I better watch it, or you might call me an infidel! I've been called worse, you know that?"

"Don't mock me! I just don't believe that you would be so concerned about the well-being of my poor brother who has suffered _indignities_ at my brother's hands."

"I'm not like that, Algeria! If I didn't respect his feelings, then I would've blabbed about what happened to everyone."

"Well, _I_ have a hard time believing that."

"You know, I think I see why Tunisia doesn't want to talk you." Hungary spat, crossing her arms angrily. "What, with how you and your people treat humans who don't follow your religion's rule. He's probably scared that you'll throw him off a roof or set him on fire."

"I'm his sister!" Algeria exclaimed angrily, sounding extremely offended. "How **dare** you think that I would do such a thing?! No, how _dare_ you assume that my brother would–"

"Well then, you shouldn't _assume_ that I'm enjoying any of this!"

"I've heard of the kind of things you take perverse pleasure in!"

"And I've heard the kind of shit your people do to gays!"

"You-"

"Um, Hungary-san?" In a twist, Japan's voice interrupted Algeria, and Hungary looked behind the woman to see him standing very awkwardly beneath the door frame. "

Feeling herself cool down a little "O-Oh… Japan! You… How much did you hear and… how long were you standing there."

"I have just arrived. And a-actually, I am pretty sure everyone in the house, or perhaps even the neighborhood, heard your heated discussion."

Both Hungary and Algeria turned red from embarrassment. Oh no, did this mean that Tunisia heard too?

"Anyway, I have come with some news." Japan announced, and he looked at the two warily. "I-Is this really a bad time or shall I come back later?"

"Don't worry, Japan." Algeria assured him coolly, sending one last glare at Hungary. "I can continue my discussion with Hungary another, better time."

And with that, she stomped out of the room despite how Japan stuttered protests after her. Well, that took care of that for the time being, at least.

"S-So, uh… What's the news, Kiku?" Hungary asked with a forced smiled.

"Ah, yes. England has been found, albeit horribly injured."

"Oh…" Hungary was the only thing she could say. "Well… okay."

Not that she didn't care, of course, she's glad that another problem had been solved. But… Was this really the only reason why Japan wanted to speak with her?"

But the Japan continued talking. "Also, I feel that I should inform you that Bosnia has also been found-"

Hungary froze at the name. But not even two seconds later, before she knew it, she had Japan held up by the shirt. "WHAT?"

"I-It's as I said, Hungary-san. Now, c-can you please let me go? Y-You are starting to look terrifying..."

"Where is he, Japan? What happened? Is he hurt? Did he hurt anyone?"

"W-Well, I-I…" Japan fumbled over his words, but after Hungary shook him again, he quickly started talking. "H-He has been caught violently breaking into Kensington Palace to assassinate members of the Royal Family, and had already committed quite a bit of manslaughter and even managed to in his rampage before they managed to shoot him down."

In her shock, Japan ended up dropping to the ground. Bosnia tried to do WHAT now?

She's never going to catch a break, was she?

 **And a bit of a note for the last segment since I don't want any people to get the wrong idea or anything. Yes, both Hungary and Algeria were wrong in how they argued. Algeria for thinking the worst of Hungary and being close-minded and Hungary for being too hostile and giving in to anger too easily. There isn't anyone who is supposed to be definitely in the 'right' here. Of course, in the end, it's your opinion.**

 **If you're wondering why Hungary's so particularly hostile towards Algeria, that would because of two main reasons: 1) Real life Hungary's going through trouble with the EU over the issue of not permitting entry to Muslim immigrants after seeing the wonderful results it produced in countries like England, France and Germany. So aside from being bitter over them being the reason for her troubles, Hungary's also distrustful because of the many crimes committed by Muslim immigrants (as you'd see in Sweden's current situation, for example). 2) As in canon, she's a strong supporter of gay couples, so of course she'd hold a grudge over how homosexuals tend to be treated in Muslim-majority countries, including Algeria where that sort of attitude is more than common, and how the governments seem to do next to nothing about it.**

 **Whew. Thanks for reading. Next time's the finale for the arc, so stay tuned. Please review if you have a minute.**


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